Miracles are extraordinary facts or events that happen through divine intervention. They strike instantaneous fear, awe, and admiration. They are not meant for entertainment as the mad King Herod wanted them from Jesus. Neither were they for the amusement of Satan who tried to tempt Jesus to turn stone into bread. The extraordinary, awesome character of miracles is meant by God to attract man's curiosity to hear what He wants him or her to know or need to know for his salvation. That's divine psychology -- very much like what scholastics used to teach: learning starts with the senses. Remember how Moses' curiosity was excited by the burning bush that preceded God's message: go seek Pharaoh to let God's chosen People go? Indeed, once man's attention is engaged, God reveals His message -- a salvation-related message. Miracles are God's ways of communicating what He wants people to know and live by to attain the purpose of their existence. Citing extraordinary events in the Old Testament and the prodigious works of Christ, the Apostles, and the Saints, "Handbook of Miracles" defines miracles as conveyors of God's messages of salvation. Every true miracle is salvation-ordained. Miracles were among Christ's manners by which He revealed a way of life that leads people to eternal happiness. By the miracle of His resurrection, for instance, Christ reveals He is the Son of God sent by the Father to redeem mankind from sin. The book further explains the nature of miracles from philosophy and theology. From eternity, we read, the Creator determined what everything in His creation can or cannot do. God's creation includes angels, who are pure spirits, and humans, who are made of spirit and matter. He created the universe and everything in it: physical objects, time and movement, any conceivable and inconceivable energy and potency embedded in them. The sum total of His creation and everything in it is what we come to know as nature. Nature is finite; it has limits. Only God is infinite; He is limitless. He can do what He wills to do-- can make any creature do what is beyond what He determined it can or cannot do. And when that happens, miracle occurs. The author also explains scripturally and theologically how Mary's conception of Jesus and His birth are miracles; so are Mary's immaculate conception and assumption to heaven. The conversions of St. Peter and St. Paul are also discussed as internal miracles, as explained by St. Thomas Aquinas. "Handbook of Miracles" notes that since people live in space and time that continually change, God makes miracles to happen in different times and various places; thus, miracles happen in every generation and in various places of the world. The messages conveyed by the Saints' miracles -- together with their holy lives -- model and explain for their generation and generations after them the way of life taught by Christ. This book attempts to spell out the meaning of each of the Saints' miracles, but also invites readers to meditate on the miracles' significance as applicable to every reader's personal life. The "Handbook" discusses the various miracles wrought by God through the Saints who, because of their holy lives, their unwavering faith and heroic love of God and neighbor, became conduits of God's power and mercy. Accordingly, one or the other Saint raised the dead back to life, cured the sick, multiplied food, read minds and prophesied, received the gift of tongues, defied the enemies of God and laws of nature, levitated and shone like the sun. And each of these miracles conveyed a divine message of salvation. Citing the Scriptures, the author cites conditions by which miracles can happen to anybody: unwavering faith, coupled with love, according to St. Paul "If I have faith so as to remove mountains, yet do not have love, I am nothing" (1 Cor 13, 2-3). Perseverance (Lk 18, 37-41). Resignation to God's will by which we ask God's will be done (Lk

The German church cantata of the eighteenth century was the culmination of a long tradition of Lutheran "sermon music" that used the proclamation, amplification, and interpretation of scripture to teach and persuade the listener. Bach's cantatas also served this didactic purpose and typically incorporate numerous allusions to scriptural passages or themes in their librettos. Unfortunately, many of these passages remain obscure to the twentieth-century musician because they demand a much closer familiarity with the Bible than is common today. The Handbook to Bach's Sacred Cantata Texts identifies scriptural references for the wording, imagery, and themes that Bach's listeners would have known. In addition, the religious or literary theme of each text is summarized within the specific context of the cantata as a whole. With interlinear translations and a full complement of indexes.

The Bible has had a tremendous influence on world history and culture, but it is largely unfamiliar to many students. This book relates the Bible to a wide range of literary works commonly read by students and thus helps students understand these texts as well as the cultural and historical contexts surrounding them. Included are chapters on 20 themes, such as creation, family and friends, love and marriage, the hero, war, and death and the afterlife. Each chapter discusses the biblical significance of the theme, provides scriptural quotations and citations, and explores the biblical presence of the theme in literary works often read by students. Each chapter cites works for further reading, and the volume closes with a selected, general bibliography.

The Political Handbook of the World 2022-2023 provides timely, thorough, and accurate political information, with more in-depth coverage of current political controversies than any other reference guide. The updated 2022-2023 edition continues to be the most authoritative source for finding complete facts and analysis on each country′s governmental and political makeup. Tom Lansford has compiled in one place more than 200 entries on countries and territories throughout the world, this volume is renowned for its extensive coverage of all major and minor political parties and groups in each political system. It also provides names of key ambassadors and international memberships of each country, plus detailed profiles of more than 30 intergovernmental organizations and UN agencies. And this update will aim to include coverage of current events, issues, crises, and controversies from the course of the last two years.

While this one-volume guide is especially useful for Christian educators, showing them how to teach week by week according to the ethos and tradition of the Episcopal Church, it also provides a valuable and useful reference tool for all church leaders and members in connecting Christian faith to daily life. This new guide to Christian education and formation is based on the Book of Common Prayer, the cornerstone of Anglican liturgy and theology. Keyed to the Revised Common Lectionary, all activities and lessons are structured on the seasons and lessons for Years A, B, and C. The guide stresses the major themes of baptismal theology and shows how teachers, parents, and children can live the liturgical cycle in Christian formation ministries at church and at home.

The NIV Application Commentary helps you communicate and apply biblical text effectively in today's context. To bring the ancient messages of the Bible into today's world, each passage is treated in three sections: Original Meaning. Concise exegesis to help readers understand the original meaning of the biblical text in its historical, literary, and cultural context. Bridging Contexts. A bridge between the world of the Bible and the world of today, built by discerning what is timeless in the timely pages of the Bible. Contemporary Significance. This section identifies comparable situations to those faced in the Bible and explores relevant application of the biblical messages. The author alerts the readers of problems they may encounter when seeking to apply the passage and helps them think through the issues involved. This unique, award-winning commentary is the ideal resource for today's preachers, teachers, and serious students of the Bible, giving them the tools, ideas, and insights they need to communicate God's Word with the same powerful impact it had when it was first written.