Preaching – described here in Johan Cilliers’s groundbreaking new book as the heart and soul of the church – requires both constant revision and fidelity to principles. Hence this book’s subtitle: “Revisiting the basic principles of preaching”. From various theoretical and practical viewpoints, Cilliers critically examines the state and future of preaching and deals boldly with contentious issues such as the validity of legalistic and moralistic preaching.

The voice of Francis J Moloney, SDB, has been heard in New Testament studies for many decades. Internationally famous for his work on the Gospel of John, this volume gathers studies that demonstrate the breadth and richness of his interests, beyond that well-established enterprise. The first part of the boom is dedicated to Gospel studies, with the majority of essays focussing upon the Gospel of Mark. They reflect his long interest and his major commentary on that Gospel (2012). Studies on Matthew, Luke and John complete these reflections.

Did Luke interview eyewitnesses to write his Gospel? Living Footnotes in the Gospel of Luke provides a careful, thorough examination of Luke’s claims (Luke 1:1–4), demonstrating that he not only claims to use living sources but also did so. It builds a corroborative evidence case towards this end, not merely by accumulating unrelated strands of evidence, but by showing the interconnectedness of independent lines of subtle clues in Luke’s text. These historically rich, unintentional features weave together to generate a robust impression upon the reader: Luke not only relied on living informants but in fact sifted his sources in preference of eyewitness testimony.

Gordon Jensen's careful analysis of the 1534 Luther Bible uncovers the central truth of Martin Luther's prodigious translation efforts: Luther's commitment to producing this physical object was founded in his desire that receiving the Gospel might become a lived experience. Contrary to popular perception, Luther's works were not the first, the freshest, or even the most user-friendly German biblical translations of the time. Rather, their power came in Luther's utter commitment to creatively sharing the Word "so that people would encounter Christ within the pages of scripture and through scripture, thus driving Christ into their hearts and lives." Jensen locates proof of Luther's commitment in his deliberate decision to highlight seven specific words and phrases in the text of his 1534 translation. Combined, these terms provide a concise summary of Luther's Reformation theology: the source, voice, content, and command of the gospel. Skillfully tracing the theological implications of Luther's editorial decisions, Jensen provides readers with a crystalline view into the very heart of Luther's theological message. The written Bible is important not for its literary qualities or its "inerrancy" -- an irrelevant premise for Luther, as Jensen explains. Rather, the Bible's essential value is as the conduit through which Christ is proclaimed. Luther's hope was that once someone encountered the Bible, they "would experience the gospel, and having experienced it, want to share this gospel so that others might experience Christ and the Word of life as well."

Outstanding American biblical scholar examines key themes n the New Testament.

Balanced, comprehensive survey of the critical questions involved in studying the four Gospels In this book, through a distinctive evangelical and critical approach, Michael Bird explores the historical development of the four canonical Gospels. He shows how the memories and faith of the earliest believers formed the Gospel accounts of Jesus that got written and, in turn, how these accounts further shaped the early church. Bird's study clarifies the often confusing debates over the origins of the canonical Gospels. Bird navigates recent concerns and research as he builds an informed case for how the early Christ followers wrote and spread the story of Jesus -- the story by which they believed they were called to live. The Gospel of the Lord is ideal for students or anyone who wants to know the story behind the four Gospels. Watch an interview with Michael Bird from our Eerdmans Author Interview Series:

Scholars have long understood that the texts we now know as the Gospels were read aloud in the Greco-Roman world, but few have actually envisioned what a performance of the Gospel of Mark would have been like in the first century and how it would have shaped the experience of its audience. Proclaiming the Gospel shows us. Oral performances in the New Testament world were lively affairs. In the performance of Greco-Roman theater, readers lose their voices from the stress of emotional passages. Audiences cheer for philosophers as if at a rock concert, and in law courts, they are paid for their responses. Storytellers compete for attention with jugglers, and some speakers must fend off hostile crowds. Congregations at churches and synagogues cheer as if at the theater. Shiner reveals the ways that Mark wrote his Gospel to compete in this arena and how his audiences would have responded: applause for the miracles of Jesus, then an altogether different response at the cross. Whitney Shiner is Assistant Professor of Christian Origins at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, and the author of Follow Me: Disciples in markan Rhetoric.