For Theirs Is The Kingdom

The publication of the King James version of the Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611, coincided with an extraordinary flowering of English literature and is universally acknowledged as the greatest influence on English-language literature in history. Now, world-class literary writers introduce the book of the King James Bible in a series of beautifully designed, small-format volumes. The introducers' passionate, provocative, and personal engagements with the spirituality and the language of the text make the Bible come alive as a stunning work of literature and remind us of its overwhelming contemporary relevance.

A stirring saga of England in the late 19th century, as the Industrial Revolution takes hold, forever changing the landscape of England and her people.

Images of Jesus blessing children adorn Sunday schools across the globe. Nevertheless, interpreters typically flatten Jesus’ interaction with children into a handful of scenes, suggesting that children were the exception rather than the rule in Jesus’ ministry. In contrast, historical evidence suggests that Jesus’ first-century world was teeming with children. Re-reading Luke’s gospel in this light, For Theirs Is the Kingdom interrogates the role and presence of children among Jesus’ early followers. Demonstrating a rich presence parallel to the gospel’s surrounding cultures, it offers a new perspective not only on Luke’s child-centered narratives, but on the account as a whole. By drawing out the acceptance and participation of children in the Kingdom of God, Lindeman Allen places interdependence across generations at the core of Lukan discipleship.

"A gripping discovery of God's grace where we least expect to find it—in the decaying core of the city." —Ronald A. Nikkel, president, Prison Fellowship International "The story of Lupton's ministry is one of the most inspiring in America. Those of us who are trying to accomplish something of value in urban settings look to him and his co-workers as models." —Tony Campolo, author of Stories That Feed Your Soul Urban ministry activist Robert Lupton moved into a high crime area of Atlanta intending to bring Christ’s message into the ghetto—but his humbling discovery of a spiritual life already flowering in the city’s urban soil forces the minister to reexamine the deepest parts of his own soul, confronting his own patronizing, materialistic attitudes and the biases he himself held against the urban poor.

Ben Cabot, a millennial Boston lawyer in the midst of a personal crisis, is deployed to Montreal for eighteen months, where he chances on the Bishop of the Anglican Church. Mired in a multimillion-dollar project to build a metro stop and shopping mall underneath the cathedral, the Bishop asks Cabot to review his legal rights to stop a plan he adamantly opposes. Unwittingly drawn into the world of the church, Cabot asks the Bishop about an outdoor community he has seen after dark in the streets of Old Montreal. So prompts Cabot’s first encounter with its enigmatic cleric, Luke Hale. The renegade priest, and once apprentice to a shaman, inspires Cabot to embark on a spiritual journey through the privileged life he is living. But when a young, charismatic American rector becomes Dean of the cathedral, money and greed jeopardize Hale’s community, Cathedral in the Night. On the journey, Cabot comes to question the church’s commitment to the poor, and to confront the loss of his country’s moral compass in an increasingly bankrupt time.

The words Christ spoke to a huge crowd gathered on the side of a mountain nearly two thousand years ago echo within our hearts today. As your group studies through the Beatitudes they will find themselves challenged anew to reshape their thinking and lifestyle. This study will light a fire for holy living that is bound to change you and the people around you.

Some of the most comforting words a Christian could possibly hear from God are, "I want to bless you." In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ told us that we can come to Him as we are—in need, mourning, oppressed, or hungering—and He will bless us. In Charles Spurgeon's revealing exploration of The Beatitudes, you will learn to... Receive God's comfort Develop a gentle, forgiving spirit Inherit the earth Find contentment Obtain mercy Be pure in heart See God more clearly God has an excellent benefits package for His children. Discover the way to receive the rich treasures God wants you to have!