This guide to the New Testament, like its companion volume, A Guide Through the Old Testament, combines the background information of a textbook with the format of a workbook to create a unique resource for studying the New Testament. By eliciting as much active response from the reader as possible, Celia Sinclair provides the basis for personal hands-on study, direct reading of the scripture (including Old Testament references where appropriate), and a study guide for group discussion.

In the comprehensive The New Testament: Its Background and Message, the late Thomas Lea presented a clear and concise introduction to the New Testament giving readers the key that unlocks the door to understanding these important texts. This influential work presents the background of the New Testament with broad strokes and with a focus on specific books including the Gospels, Acts, and Paul and his letters. Originally written in an easy-to-understand style and form, Lea’s text continues to unlock the message of the New Testament for both new students and seasoned scholars.

A landmark work in the study of conversion. With the tools of scholarship and as a seasoned practitioner, Richard Peace explores the New Testament understanding of the turning points of conversion -- from the night of our captivities to the light of Christ, into the church and out to the neighbor in need. Our contemporary efforts in evangelism have much to learn from this full-orbed view of conversion. - Gabriel Fackre, on back cover.

"Ready-made Bible studies for the New Testament appear next to the passage they refer to in this study book. No need to flip pages or juggle study book and Bible. This study book consists of: the NIV New Testament, an introduction to each New Testament book, study questions for each New Testament section with a heading, 48 Bible studies on Christ's life, 10 topical study courses for general study from the Gospels, and the same 10 topics for advanced study from the Epistles. The Serendipity Bible Study Book enables the user to lead a Bible study without having to spend hours in preparation -- the book provides everything necessary to lead a group week after week. It also supplies an individual with material for guided quiet times."--Back cover

“Important both historically and theologically. Readers will not be able to see the New Testament in the same way again.” —Marcus Borg, author of The Heart of Christianity “A New New Testament does what some of us never dreamed possible: it opens the treasure chest of early Christian writings, restoring a carefully select few of them to their rightful place in the broad conversation about who Jesus was, what he did and taught, and what all of that has to do with us now.” —Barbara Brown Taylor, author of Leaving Church and An Altar in the World There are twenty-seven books in the traditional New Testament, but the earliest Christian communities were far more vibrant than that small number might lead you to think. In fact, many more scriptures were written and just as important as the New Testament in shaping early-Christian communities and beliefs. Over the past century, many of those texts that were lost have been found and translated, yet are still not known to much of the public; they are discussed mainly by scholars or within a context of the now outdated notion of gnostic gospels. In A New New Testament Hal Taussig is changing that. With the help of nineteen important spiritual leaders, he has added ten of the recently discovered texts to the traditional New Testament, leading many churches and spiritual seekers to use this new New Testament for their spiritual and intellectual growth. “Remarkable . . . Not meant to replace the traditional New Testament, this fascinating work will be, Taussig hopes, the first of several new New Testaments.” —Booklist

This book, “Serendipity”, is the story of the author’s forty-five year long genealogical search that ultimately reunited the long separated family of Tomes ancestors and cousins, and the story of his wife’s ancestors and family. The search also enabled the author to find and collect the many 19th century books and magazine articles written by his great-grandfather, Dr. Robert Tomes, and also a treasure-trove of Robert’s and his great-great grandfather Francis’s unpublished journals, letters and memoirs. Most of these manuscripts have been restored, transcribed and published privately, and are now in the special collections of the Newberry Library in Chicago. The search also enabled the restoration of the ancestral Schaeffer dairy farm and cemetery in Pennsylvania. The search is called “Serendipitous” because of the repeated accidental good fortune that propelled the search forward, albeit after many long interruptions. While the author’s results were unusually successful, many other amateur genealogists have had similar experiences. The main lesson of this search for other amateur genealogists is to follow up every lead and never give up. Some serendipitous will probably happen to keep the search alive. The book contains a number of short biographical sketches of the author’s and his wife’s ancestors and current family members. The author’s direct ancestor, Francis Tomes, came to America in 1815. Collateral Tomes ancestors started coming to America in the late 1600’s. The author’s wife is 100% “Pennsylvania Dutch”, meaning “Deutsch” - German speaking from the southern Rhine valley - now Alsace in France, and the Palatinate - now north of Strasbourg in Germany and western Switzerland. Her Schumacheree ancestor was with the Mennonite group led by Pastorious who settled Germantown near Philadelphia in 1683. The others soon followed in the 1700’s, settling what was then the wilderness of western Pennsylvania. These family stories are not the epic sagas of famous people, but they are the true and often heroic stories of the lives of extended families of real, ordinary people. Most of them emigrated to America beginning in its early days, took great risks and worked hard to live good lives, and mostly, succeeded. Such stories are shared by many American families. They crossed the Atlantic from England, Scotland and the Rhineland to Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York on small, dangerous, disease-prone sailing ships. Some worked of their contracts of servitude and homesteaded frontier farms; others started businesses and travelled throughout frontier America on horseback, stagecoach, wagons and riverboats. They and their children fought as Yankees in the Revolutionary War and on both the Union and Confederate sides of the Civil War. Later on, others served in World War I and II, the Korean War, and Vietnam. They became farmers, soldiers, businessmen and women, doctors, writers, artists, lawyers, teachers and ministers. It is, in short, a very personal history of America.

Festschrift in honor of Arie de Kuiper, a Dutch theologian in Indonesia.