New Testament Times

As the father of a son with special needs, I’ve long been drawn to Jesus’ encounter with a paralytic in Luke 5. When previously pondering this encounter, I always did so from Jesus’ perspective. Until recently, I never viewed this remarkable event from the perspective of the paralytic’s four friends. Approaching this encounter from that viewpoint gave rise to this new eight-chapter book.

When we see a person of great strength and ability but also with a fatal flaw, it’s often said that they have “feet of clay”. Did you know that expression came from the Bible? The heroes of the Bible had great strengths and abilities and were used by the Lord to do wonderful things, but their stories are not preserved for us without including their struggles and failures.

Charles Dickens referred to the parable of the prodigal son as the greatest story ever written. He has not stood alone in that sentiment. For generations this brief parable, as told by Jesus Christ, has been not only familiar but captivating to its readers. Perhaps what makes this story so intriguing is the way so many of us can identify with the younger son, who rebelled against his father only to realize later the gravity of his mistakes.

In a 21st-century version of the book of James, Dundy Aipoalani takes the book of James and examines it verse-by-verse. He alternates his version with the World English Bible, using an interlinear format, and also includes commentary after each section, expounding on each section in a conversational tone. This audiobook will give you new insight into the book of James, helping you appreciate what can be an intimidating book for some.. With practical language and easy-to-understand wording, even a child can benefit from this audiobook.

Much of the contemporary discussion of the Jesus tradition has focused on aspects of oral performance, storytelling, and social memory, on the premise that the practice of communal reading of written texts was a phenomenon documented no earlier than the second century CE. Brian J. Wright overturns that premise by examining evidence that demonstrates communal reading events in the first century.