Fresh From The Word 2022

Fresh From the Word: The Bible for a Change will inspire your reading of the Bible in a changing world. Bringing together top theologians and biblical scholars, creative writers from around the world, cutting-edge church leaders, activists for peace and justice and a range of others, Fresh From the Word offers 365 sets of notes, prayers and suggestions for action on biblical themes. This fresh approach to Bible reading is aimed at new readers of the Bible from across the church, as well as anyone seeking a faithful, creative and challenging conversation with the Bible every day of the year. Contributors this year include: Theologian and pastoral counsellor in Samoa / Alesana Fosi Pala’amo / on a new heaven and a new earth New Testament scholar / Catrin Harland-Davis / on love for one another Aid and development worker / Mark Mitchell / on rain, storm and sunshine Chaplain of Sheffield United FC / Delroy Hall / on facing the darkness Entrepreneur, author and speaker / Bola Iduoze / on readings from Luke

“God is a poet, paying exquisite attention, crafting the words to pull our heartstrings, connecting our pulse to the great pulse of life. God is a priest, intoning the chants that tie earth to heaven, invoking our prayers, summoning our spirits to reach beyond. God is a prophet, commanding our attention, provoking our outrage, channeling our best intentions.” So writes author and scholar Carla Grosch-Miller for the last day of 2021 in this year’s Fresh From The Word: The Bible for a Change. And indeed you will meet this God in the reflections of the writers in these pages. At turns poetic, priestly and theological, prophetic and inspiring, Fresh From The Word 2021 invites you to the discipline of daily Bible reading with readers around the world. Discipleship is the focus of Lent this year in Fresh From The Word 2021: discipleship as a way of following Jesus Christ ‘into the unknown’, growing, and facing challenges. Other themes include reading the Bible through the seasons, surprising women in the Bible, family tensions in Genesis, and riddles in the Bible, and more. The book also features continuous readings from the Gospel of Mark, the shorter epistles of the New Testament, Job, Galatians, Revelation, and the Minor Prophets. Fresh From The Word: The Bible for a Change 2021 will inspire your Bible reading in a time of change. Bringing together theologians, scholars, creative writers, church leaders, and activists from around the world, it offers notes, prayers, and further thought suggestions for every day of the year. Contributors this year include: Buenos Aires-based liturgist and activist Dafne Sabanes Plou on the mercy of God, prison chaplain and Pentecostal pastor Deseta Davis on God and prison life, blogger and playwright Aileen Quinn on growing with God, Shetland Methodist minister David Lees on numbers in the Bible, pioneer minister Tim Yau on Peter the church leader.

'The Christian faith is new every morning, and that's a wonderful reason to read the scriptures each day . . . Let us seek to be encouragers to one another as we journey on together. My prayer is that God will give you faith, hope and love for whatever the coming year brings.' Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York Many have written of the spiritual insight, comfort and joy derived from their regular reading of Fresh from The Word. We know the sheer variety of contributors and their willingness to engage with live issues can prove both (helpfully) disturbing and exhilarating! This year's volume, which has much to say about the Christ who walks beside us and the challenges of sharing his tender love with others, offers true nourishment, as always. Alongside a reading for each day, you will find fresh thoughts and prayers. Fresh from The Word aims to help us build the discipline of Bible reading into our lives so we are grounded in God's Word and our faith may deepen and develop. By offering accessible and engaging material, it aids our understanding of the Bible and helps us understand it from different Christian perspectives.

What will the world be like in a year's time? What changes will we have seen, and what global events will be fresh in our thoughts? What highs and lows will we have encountered, and what surprises will we have had that bring unexpected joy? And in the midst of all those things, how will we make sense of it all? That's where Fresh from The Word comes in! This edition tells the whole story of the Bible, so we have a framework in which to better understand each part. In addition, readings through 1 Chronicles culminate with Solomon building the Temple, and those in Mark and Luke show us how the Master Builder came and lived amongst us. We see how God began to build his church, looking at leaders in the New Testament, and how Paul encouraged one of those leaders as we read his letters to Timothy. And when the building gets broken, we study how to be reconciled, with Nehemiah offering a worked example of how God uses his people to rebuild. Finally, the Song of Solomon reveals the aim of it all - intimate, loving relationship with God himself. Fresh from The Word 2024 aims to help us build the discipline of Bible reading into our lives so we are grounded in God's word and our faith may deepen and develop. By offering accessible and engaging material, it aids our understanding of the Bible and helps us understand it from different Christian perspectives.

Bills pile up. Savings accounts go down. Marriages go south. Pandemics rage. Work goes off the rails. Stress goes off the charts. Suddenly, you feel powerless to calm life's chaos. It's all too much to take on by yourself. But pastor and bestselling author Max Lucado has great news for you--Help Is Here. Now more than ever, we're all weary from the loads we carry and the challenges we face. We have questions we cannot answer and problems we cannot solve. We'd hoped that life would be an invigorating adventure or an inspiring journey. We never expected to grow so tired so quickly. But Max teaches us that we can find fresh strength and purpose in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible makes more than a hundred references to the Holy Spirit, and Jesus says more about the Spirit than he does about the church, marriage, finances, and the future. But do we really know the Spirit? In Help Is Here, Max will give you the tools and encouragement you need to: Learn who the Spirit is and how the Spirit can help Become joyful, enthusiastic, and empowered as you draw closer to God Confidently take on any difficulty with the power of the Spirit Discover your unique gifts and purpose to further God's kingdom Help Is Here reminds us that our Good Shepherd doesn't just feed us; he leads us. He does more than correct us; he directs us. God keeps us on track--and best of all, he's commissioned the Holy Spirit to guide us down the winding roads of life, wherever they may lead us. No more walking this path alone. No more carrying weight you were not intended to bear. It's time for you to enjoy the presence of the Holy Spirit and experience the vigorous life he offers. You can rest easy knowing that Help Is Here.

The curriculum produced by the Church Of God In Christ is prepared to train and nurture this generation in the faith. Use it and cherish the very opportunity you have to tutor the next generation of Bible reading and Word believing Saints in a world of need. This Annual commentary is your source of continued readiness, fresh and anointed Word for the entire year. Its compilation of the year’s International Sunday Uniform Lesson series will help you grow and develop in your knowledge of the Word of God. Not only has the Church Of God In Christ provided you the lessons, but the Annual Commentary also provides insight into practical ways to utilize the lesson material.

Fresh from the Word 2023 aims to help us build the discipline of Bible reading into our lives so we are grounded in God's word and our faith may deepen and develop. By offering accessible and engaging material, it aids our understanding of the Bible and helps us understand it from different Christian perspectives. One of the key themes in this year's edition is ‘Hidden Heroes & Heroines’, characters in the Bible who are overlooked but play a pivotal role in the unfolding of the Kingdom. As we read their stories, we may be encouraged that our lives, though they sometimes feel insignificant, are indeed being used by God in ways possibly beyond our imagining! The book also explores the different types of literature in the Bible. A number of the international and diverse community of writers who have contributed their wisdom, understanding and hard-won insights to encourage and bless us, unpack passages written in each particular style. And so we learn how we might safely interpret poetry, law, prophecy, narrative or apocalyptic. The hope is that these reflections - and indeed the complete volume - will will help us see revealed that which was previously hidden from us. Contributors this year include: Terry Lester, who writes on the Judges of Israel. Terry has been an Anglican priest in Cape Town for almost four decades and currently serves in Constantia. A vocal advocate for justice, he is engaged in projects aimed at restoring dignity and building reconciliation in his fragmented community. Immaculée Hedden, who writes on Healing Divisions in the Old Testament. She and her husband Richard are the authors of Under His Mighty Hand, the story of how she survived the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The couple are currently based in Rwanda, serving in healing and counselling support ministry with YWAM. Jane Gonzalez, who writes on Celebrations. Jane is a Roman Catholic laywoman and an active member of the Justice and Peace Group. Joshua Taylor, who writes on The God of all Comfort and Mercy. Joshua is an Anglican Priest in New Zealand, where he and his family have been exploring what it means to be a family following the way of Jesus. Louise Jones, who writes on Lord of the Sabbath. Working for an embedded, community-based organization (Newbigin Community Trust), Louise has a passion for empowering, resourcing and loving those who have slipped through the cracks of our systems, in order to help people see their immense value and worth in Jesus.