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The Old Testament prophets do not get much airtime on Sunday mornings. Preachers tend to leave the books at the end of the Old Testament unexplored, treading the safe waters of Gospels, epistles, and the occasional psalm or proverb. While prophetic oracles do contain pitfalls, they also hold unique promise for the pulpit. This book explores both, offering a series of preaching strategies based on the literary and theological techniques the prophets employed. Designed for theological students and preachers, its goal is to prepare readers to preach biblically faithful, theologically sound, and rhetorically effective sermons from prophetic oracles. By the end, readers will feel both challenged and equipped to preach the prophets.

Irenaeus of Lyons, a significant theologian of the second century AD, played an influential role in shaping the Christian understanding of the gospel, Scriptures, and church structure. While not a founder, his articulation provided an unparalleled scope that laid the groundwork for future church leaders. This volume, part of the Patristic Essentials series, situates Irenaeus in his historical context and emphasizes his contributions to second-century Christian doctrine. By including well-known passages and preserving their internal logic, it offers readers a clear understanding of his theology. Each chapter begins with an overview, supplemented by strategic headings, to guide readers through Irenaeus's arguments. Updated English translations are provided to aid contemporary readers. Through his careful curation and clear editorial guidance, Spellman introduces Irenaeus's vision of God's redemptive work to a new generation, reflecting the ancient theologian's comprehensive approach to Christian understanding.

What if Revelation was not about the end of the world? Too often, eschatology (the study of "end times") has been hijacked by controversial theories and timelines of when Jesus will return. Some have even seen the topic as divisive and irrelevant. A Resurrected Cosmos offers a vision of eschatology that is biblically faithful and imaginatively beautiful. Pastor and theologian Brayden Brookshier leads readers through the book of Revelation, focusing on key scenes and passages to show that this apocalyptic book should not be feared, but rather revered and relished as it offers hope to God's people. When we see Revelation's grand vision as one concerning the Messiah's inaugurated victory and the coming culmination of God's new creation, we can grab hold of eschatological truths worth sharing.

Rarely read and even less rarely preached, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs have been compared to riddles wrapped in enigmas. While included in the trilogy of Solomonic works along with Proverbs, they are often ignored because one seems to be overly pessimistic and the other is almost risqué in its description of physical love. Sometimes readers wonder why these books are in their Bibles! Employing a key that is found near the back door of each of these neglected books, William Varner attempts to shed light on the purpose and value of these treasures hidden away in a dark corner of the Old Testament. His suggested reading strategy sheds valuable light on their purpose and leads to a very practical message for our lives and for our loves.

In the first and second centuries, the early church flourished in literary activity. A variety of writings collectively named the Apostolic Fathers give us insight into the early church's diverse life, developing theology, and biblical interpretation. Another group of writers known as the apologists defended the faith against outsiders and defended the church's rights from infringements by the Roman empire. Editor Kevin Douglas Hill has curated essential readings from these earliest writings of the church outside the New Testament. Readers will encounter the concerns and perspectives of early Christians in their own words as they wrote in service of the early church. With an authoritative and accessible introduction by Paul Foster, short entries providing context for each major text, fully revised translations in contemporary English, and appendices with readings on the early church's Greco-Roman context, this reader will serve students of the Bible, church history, and theology.

The chapters in this volume were written in honor of Dr. William Varner's decades of service and teaching in the church and the academy. Because of the breadth of Dr. Varner's academic engagement, the contributors cover a variety of subjects including linguistics, exegesis, theology, intertextuality, textual criticism of Old and New Testament texts, early Christian literature, and the land of the Bible. Many contributors follow Dr. Varner's lead in exploring and developing the relationship between several of these topics at once. With essays focusing on theoretical foundations for approaching Scripture and on concrete applications of particular texts, this volume yields just some of the fruit of Dr. Varner's labor and demonstrates its applicability both in the academy and in the church.

In early Judaism and Christianity, the apocalypse genre and related apocalyptic materials shared a common ideology that can be identified as apocalyptic eschatology. Religious communities employed apocalyptic eschatology in order to resist theological pluralism as it encroached upon them. Writers were capable of utilizing apocalyptic eschatology to dictate acceptable belief and practice in an effort to control and preserve a faithful community. Among the early Christian writings, Jude's use of this ideology follows the same exclusionary pattern, addressing theological pluralism that his ancient audience faced and that the contemporary church continues to face today. Through his polemic, Jude also reveals a cluster of worldview non-negotiables for the early church.

The Messianic promises find their fulfillment in the midst of dark times and schemes that we tend to ignore, but only against this dark side of Advent can the Light to shine the brightest.