Not all Bible reading is created equal.
In Sacred Rhythms—free this month—Ruth Haley Barton describes the posture we must bring to Scripture for true transformation: (more…)
Free Book and Excerpt: Why Your Scripture Reading Isn’t Changing You
Free R.C. Sproul Book: The Promises of God
The word “covenant” is difficult to understand, yet central to biblical interpretation. But is it really all that important?
The late R.C. Sproul answers assuredly, “Yes!”
In this excerpt from The Promises of God, free this month, Sproul distinguishes biblical covenants from man-made contracts and affirms what makes biblical covenants so unique.
[Read more…]
Faithlife Ebooks Weekly Deals: Nov. 20–23, 2018
Here are this week’s top deals, brought to you by Faithlife Ebooks. For more deals, visit our sale page or get our Free Book of the Month. Some of these deals are only good for a few days, so act fast to get these books at the sale price! [Read more…]
Faithlife Ebooks Weekly Deals: September 4–7, 2018
Here are this week’s top deals, brought to you by Faithlife Ebooks. For more deals, visit our sale page or get our Free Book of the Month. Some of these deals are only good for a few days, so act fast to get these books at the sale price!
52 Weeks Through the Bible
Why do our Bibles often sit on bookshelves collecting dust? Why don’t we mine the wisdom filling their pages? Pastor James Merritt, author of the bestselling 52 Weeks with Jesus, invites you to view Scripture afresh, and fall in love with the book that changes everything. You’ll see how every subject and story in Scripture paints a picture of God’s plan for humanity—including the story God wants to write with you.
$14.99 $2.99
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Strengthening Your Faith
Super Bowl–winning former head coach Tony Dungy shares keys to strengthening your faith and living an “uncommon life” of walking with God. Strengthening Your Faith is perfect for sports teams, small groups, or personal reflection. With a reading for every week of the year, this book will help you learn how to create a life of real significance and impact your world.
$2.99 $0.00
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Cold-Case Christianity
J. Warner Wallace was a devout atheist for the first 35 years of his life. But when he decided to apply his skills as a detective to the claims of the New Testament, he came to a startling realization: the case for Christianity was as convincing as any case he’d ever worked on as a detective. Cold Case Christianity will renew your passion for articulating the case for Christianity.
$16.99 $2.99
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More or Less
What is enough? In More or Less, readers will learn how to draw a line of “enough” in their consumer choices, how to see generosity as a chance to experience freedom in a greedy world, and how to make small changes now that will help others forever. It is a reminder that “enough” is more than a responsibility—it is an opportunity to give hope.
$17.99 $0.99
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If you are a fan of faith-inspired books, make sure to join the Faithlife Ebooks group where we post regular fiction deals, author interviews, and more.
The Pinnacle of God’s Creative Work
Sometimes the Bible’s biggest ideas are hard to grasp.
First Corinthians 13 speaks of love being patient, kind, and not easily angered. But for someone who has been hurt, this can seem near impossible.
Psalm 37:7 tells us God’s love never fails. But for a grieving parent, those words may feel hard to believe. [Read more…]
Faithlife Ebooks Weekly Deals: August 21–August 24, 2018
Here are this week’s top deals, brought to you by Faithlife Ebooks. For more deals, visit our sale page or get our Free Book of the Month. Some of these deals are only good for a few days, so act fast to get these books at the sale price! [Read more…]
Study a Jewish Perspective on Exodus with a Free Commentary
There’s still time to get January’s free book. Download your copy of The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus before February 1 to get it for free.
See the Cultural Context of Acts with a Free Book!
All through August, get a free commentary on the Book of Acts!
The Book of Acts shows modern day Christians how the church took shape in the wake of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and how the Holy Spirit changed everything. In your Bible, it’s the first book to follow the four gospels, and it’s a road map for navigating church today. For Christians and churches to get the most out of Acts today, we need to have a full grasp of the context Acts took shape within, and how that affects its message to believers.
In Paideia Commentaries on the New Testament: Acts, leading biblical scholar Mikeal Parsons gleans fresh theological insight into Acts by attending carefully to the cultural and educational context from which it emerges. Parsons see Acts as a charter document explaining and legitimating Christian identity for a general audience of early Christians living in the ancient Mediterranean world.
Dr. Joseph Tyson of Southern Methodist University says,
Parsons draws on his extensive studies of Greco-Roman literature and ancient concepts of physiognomy to provide a useful and illuminating commentary.
John A. Darr, associate professor of theology at Boston College, calls it, “a masterful exposition both of the myriad strategies whereby the author of Acts attempted to persuade his original audience, and of the ways in which this ancient book continues to speak powerfully to Christian faith in our own day.” He goes on to say, “Readers will find here a treasure trove of insights into Hellenistic rhetorical conventions and their usage in Acts.”
Let the cultural context of the Book of Acts help shape your understanding of church.
Get your free commentary on Acts today! You can also add a commentary on Ephesians and Colossians for $1.99!
Get a Free Commentary on Isaiah
All through April, you can get Isaiah by Brevard Childs for free!
The book of Isaiah is central to understanding the Old Testament prophets and helps us appreciate other Major Prophets like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. It informs our view of sin in the Old Testament, and plays a major role in the New Testament gospel message.
Now through the end of the month we’re giving away this great book. You can also add a commentary on Jeremiah for $0.99.
Get both books today for 99 cents.
Isaiah and the meaning of sin
One important insight from Isaiah revolves around the meaning of sin. For example, we often hear that “sin” is merely “missing the mark.” Dr. Childs, however, argues that:
The term sin (ḥaṭṭā’āh) is not a deviation from some ideal norm, or simply missing the mark, as often suggested, but in the context is directly related to rebellion against God by Israel’s action.
This clearly fits within the context of Isaiah where the people have not only “missed the mark” but have completely turned their backs on YHWH. With this commentary, you can gain additional insights into the meaning in the original text.
Download Childs’ commentary on Isaiah for free!
New Testament allusions
The New Testament takes many of its messianic quotes from the book of Isaiah. A quick Passage Guide, run in Logos Bible Software, shows over 15 quotations from the book of Isaiah in the Gospel of Mark alone.
The Gospel writers had a deep understanding of the Prophet Isaiah. They themselves were living in the aftermath of Israel’s sin: an oppressive Roman regime.
Before reading these important quotations in a gospel context, it’s important to go back and understand them as they pertained to the original audience. This exciting literary commentary allows you to do just that.
Get Isaiah free today.
Enter to win the whole set!
This seven-volume series of The Old Testament Library offers powerful commentary, exegesis, and literary insight into some of the most critical writings in the Old Testament. With over 3,000 pages of rich scholarship, The Old Testament Library Series (OTL) is worthy of a prominent place in your modern biblical library.
This collection is a $229.95 value—enter to win it below!
Get a Free Book on Justification
“How we construe Paul’s claim that one is ‘justified by faith, not by works of the law’ depends, at least in part, on the question we think it addresses.” —Professor Stephen Westerholm
What did Paul mean when he spoke about justification by faith, not the works of the law? That’s the question Stephen Westerholm explores in his study, Justification Reconsidered. And throughout the entire month of February, you can get Justification Reconsidered: Rethinking a Pauline Theme for free!
“To lift Paul out of his first-century context is to distort him.”
In his book, Dr. Westerholm carefully examines proposals by leading scholars such as N.T. Wright, James D.G. Dunn, and Douglas A. Campbell. Noting weaknesses in traditional understandings of Paul’s writings, Westerholm shows how these fundamental weaknesses shaped more recent proposals.
In a recent interview, Westholm shared why this issue of interpretation matters to the church:
“The social implications of what Paul wrote about justification have been duly emphasized by scholars of the New Perspective; but, to my mind, they tend to misconstrue (in various ways) what Paul means by ‘justification’ itself. Since the topic is central in several of Paul’s letters, its correct understanding is important for a grasp of Paul’s gospel. Since, historically, different views of what Paul wrote about justification have divided churches, we cannot understand current divisions in Christendom without grappling with the issue.”
He went on to say, “On an individual level, the ‘peace with God’ that Paul speaks of as a consequence of being ‘justified’ (Romans 5:1) is, for many, a crucial part of their Christian experience as well as of their Christian faith. The question whether traditional understandings of justification are based on modern Western distortions of Paul’s message is thus hardly of trivial—or merely academic—significance.”
Justification Reconsidered offers a springboard for deeper study on justification, providing an assortment of views from biblical scholars, an examination of the foundation of those beliefs, and an invitation to take another look at what Paul meant.
Continue the conversation
Through February, you can also get Douglas A. Campbell’s The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul for 99 cents.
Campbell suggests, “Justification theory posits a God of strict justice who holds all people accountable to a standard they are intrinsically unable to attain, and this seems unjust.”