In this groundbreaking book, Dennis R. MacDonald offers an entirely new view of the New Testament gospel of Mark. The author of the earliest gospel was not writing history, nor was he merely recording tradition, MacDonald argues. Close reading and careful analysis show that Mark borrowed extensively from the Odyssey and the Iliad andthat he wanted his readers to recognize the Homeric antecedents in Mark’s story of Jesus. Mark was composing a prose anti-epic, MacDonald says, presenting Jesus as a suffering hero modeled after but far superior to traditional Greek heroes. Much like Odysseus, Mark’s Jesus sails the seas with uncomprehending companions, encounters preternatural opponents, and suffers many things before confronting rivals who have made his house a den of thieves. In his death and burial, Jesus emulates Hector, although unlike Hector Jesus leaves his tomb empty. Mark’s minor characters, too, recall Homeric predecessors: Bartimaeus emulates Tiresias; Joseph of Arimathea, Priam; and the women at the tomb, Helen, Hecuba, and Andromache. And, entire episodes in Mark mirror Homeric episodes, including stilling the sea, walking on water, feeding the multitudes, the Triumphal Entry, and Gethsemane. The book concludes with a discussion of the profound significance of this new reading of Mark for understanding the gospels and early Christianity. Read more

Charles Wesley (1707–1788) was the cofounder of Methodism and the author of more than 9,000 hymns and sacred poems, including such favorites as "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing," and "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today." John Tyson here traces the remarkable life of this influential man from cradle to grave, using rare — including previously unpublished — hymns, letters, and journal materials. As the younger brother of John Wesley, Charles was a vital partner in the Methodist revival. While often standing in the shadow of his more famous brother, Charles Wesley was arguably the founder of the Oxford Holy Club, and he actually experienced evangelical conversion three days prior to John. In Assist Me to Proclaim Tyson explores, among other things, behind-the-scenes questions about the brothers' sometimes-stormy relationship. Notwithstanding all his accomplishments as an evangelist and itinerant preacher, Charles is chiefly remembered for his startling facility at writing hymns that show God at work in almost every instance of life. His remarkable legacy endures around the world, as hundreds of Charles Wesley hymns are still sung in churches everywhere today. Assist Me to Proclaim draws a picture of a man whose fidelity to both the Church of England and the original vision of Methodism energized his remarkable abilities as a revivalist and hymn writer. Readers also get a glimpse into Wesley's heart and mind through the window of his hymn texts. This is a biography that any student of church history or hymnody will welcome. Read more

This biography sets Wesley and his movement against the background of his time, so that we can see the political, social and religious influences on growing Methodism. Full attention is paid to contemporary figures: not only Charles Wesley and George Whitefield but also the Moravians and others whose movements influenced Methodism, both positively and negatively. John Wesley himself emerges as a truly human figure, with many weaknesses, not least where women are concerned; and we are left to wonder that his work created a movement which has lasted for more than 250 years. This new and updated edition incorporates an expanded and revised introduction which takes account of new developments in the field, while the original bibliography and supplement of the second edition have also been updated. A new preface is included, while in the main text of the book it is indicated where new work has filled gaps in the original coverage. Read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein (August 27, 1861 – December, 1945) was a Methodist minister in the United States. He was a prominent teacher and conference speaker. He was also the father of educator and philosopher of Christian education Frank E. Gaebelein.Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity which derive their doctrine of practice and belief from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significant early leaders in the movement. It originated as a revival movement within the 18th-century Church of England and became a separate denomination after Wesley's death. The movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States, and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, today claiming approximately 80 million adherents worldwide. Read more

"The Making of Methodism" has since its first publication proved to be one of the most popular resources for those who are exploring the background and the history of Methodism for the first time. As well as telling the story of John Wesley and his followers in a way that is accessible to the non-specialist, the text is interspersed with short extracts from original sources which allow the early Methodist to speak for themselves. Barrie Tabraham traces the origins of Methodism from the time of John Wesley to the present day. The new updated edition of this popular volume draws on recent events and sources showing how Methodism whilst being faithful to its roots and traditions engages with the changing situation of the contemporary world. Read more

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One of the most enduring images of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, is astride his horse as he travelled the country to spread the word of the gospel. But what about the horse? Methodist historian and Warden of the New Room in Bristol has named the horse Gospel and told the story of Wesley's preaching through Gospel's eye.This children's book (ages3-8) is beautifully illustrated by Leah Heming and tells the story of some of the key places and events in Wesley's mission including his sermon on the beach at St Ives, his hostile reception in Salisbury and the riot that greeted Wesley in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, his visit to Oxford University and Newgate Prison.Gospel's Story is the third title on the new Room Publications imprint of Tangent Books. Other titlesJohn Cennick The Forgotten Evangelist (9781910089477)A Tragedy of Errors: The Story of Grace Murray (9781910089378) Read more

🔥 Rediscover the Bible That Changed the World! 🔥Step back in history with The Complete Geneva Bible (Annotated)—a rare and essential treasure for anyone passionate about faith, history, and the power of Scripture. 📜✨🔍 What’s Inside:The entire, unabridged text of the 1560 Geneva Bible, the Bible that inspired reformers, shaped nations, and ignited spiritual revivals. 🙏Exclusive annotations before every chapter provide rich historical context, theological insights, and fascinating details about the people and events surrounding this monumental text. 🕊️📖A meticulously curated edition of a Bible that’s hard to find in its full form today. 📚⚔️ Why This Bible Matters:The Geneva Bible wasn’t just a book—it was a revolution. It was the first Bible to include extensive commentary and was beloved by leaders of the Protestant Reformation. It empowered everyday believers to engage directly with God’s Word. It’s also the Bible that the Pilgrims carried to the New World. 🌍✨ Who This Book Is For:Faithful Christians eager to deepen their understanding of Scripture and its impactHistory buffs fascinated by the Protestant Reformation and its transformative legacyCollectors and scholars who seek rare and meaningful works of historical literature💡 What Sets This Edition Apart:Rich, accessible commentary that makes the Geneva Bible’s significance clear—even for modern readers. 💬A beautiful, faithful reproduction of a groundbreaking text that once shaped the destiny of nations. 🌟A unique opportunity to own a piece of history that you can hold in your hands.🎁 A Perfect GiftWhether for a loved one or yourself, this book is a profound and inspiring gift for anyone who values Scripture, history, or beautifully crafted works of faith. 🎀⚡ Order your copy today and embark on a journey through the pages of the Bible that shaped the world. Don’t miss this chance to experience the power, beauty, and truth of the Geneva Bible for yourself! ✨📚 Read more

Winner of the John Whitmer Historical Association’s Smith-Pettit Best Book Award! Under the subject of alternative lifestyles, the issue of polygamous relationships falls squarely in the middle of the debate. Polygamous marriages are a common practice in many other countries, but the United States has vehemently opposed such unions and will no doubt find itself disputing its position on them again in the near future. As with the same-sex marriage issue, a firestorm of controversy surrounds the question since the right to participate in a polygamous union is very much tied to the right to live out one’s preferences, religious or not. Detailed accounts of sexual abuse and child brides are frequently leaked from the various polygamous societies, notwithstanding their extreme efforts to remain under the radar of law enforcement and the press. A by-product of these mysterious societies is that public interest is vitalized by their continuous efforts to gain independence from traditionalist culture. This fascinating study seeks to trace the historical tapestry that is early Mormon polygamy, details the official discontinuation of the practice by the Church, and, for the first time, describes the many zeal-driven organizations that arose in the wake of that decision. Among the polygamous groups discussed are the LeBaronites, whose “blood atonement” killings sent fear throughout Mormon communities in the late seventies and the eighties; the FLDS Church, which made news recently over its construction of a compound and temple in Texas and Warren Jeffs' arrest and conviction; and the Allred and Kingston groups, two major factions with substantial membership statistics both in and out of the United States. All these fascinating histories, along with those of the smaller independent groups, are examined and explained in a way that all can appreciate. Read more

Having experienced the ancient spiritual practice of pilgrimage as a lifeline following tragic bereavement, Jill Baker  discovered more about being a pilgrim not only by making journeys but also by identifying and developing attitudes and perspectives which help her and others to travel well through this journey of life, with all its ups and downs, green pastures and desolate spaces.In this book, she encourages us to step into the pilgrim spirit and discover more about the big, wild God who constantly calls us to follow. The book dips into the biblical roots of pilgrimage and takes a cursory voyage through the history of the practice, particularly asking the question about how pilgrimage fits into a Methodist theology and culture.Jill Baker invites us to explore pilgrim words, such as restlessness, encounter, attentiveness, courage, liminality, to suggest ways in which seeing our lives as pilgrimage may help us to navigate through them, reflects on how the experience of and thinking about pilgrimage has affected her own ongoing journey with grief. Read more

Author Kenda Creasy Dean writes that starting with why is the wrong place for Christian ministry to begin. Human decision-making starts in a different place. "Starting with why" assumes a rational relationship between human cognition and human action: if we understand someone's purpose, we will be persuaded to join them. What we do, writes Dean - buy an iPhone, join a cause, come to church, choose a side - has more to do with what we feel than what we think.Our model - and indeed, our power-source - for such a compassion-driven, grace-drenched version of humanity is Jesus.Our vocation always involves becoming more profoundly human, becoming more like Jesus, divinely wired and earthly-born, made from mud but bound for heaven, one with God and one with all the world. We are not called to build better churches. We are called to be better humans who reflect God's love.This book argues Christians must enact a distinctive approach to social innovation. In short, we are called to participate in God's dream, rather than invoke God's blessing for our own. the task of Christian social innovators is the task Christ offers to every believer: to unbind one another as we stumble out of our tombs toward the new life Christ offers.We are not called to build a better church. We are called to go and tell about Who is doing a "new thing." God becomes human, death becomes life - it doesn't get any more innovative than that. The Bible both begins and ends with stories of God innovating, and records God delight in it.Not since the Reformation, writes Creasy Dean, has so much energy gone into discerning what it looks like to be Christ's body in the world. If you leave these pages feeling a little bolder, a little lighter, a little more ready to risk making your life look more like Jesus' - you are already innovating, redeeming the wreckage for the next leg of your journey toward God.What Readers are saying about Innovating for Love:This is the book the Church has been waiting for. Kenda Creasy Dean leads us humbly to discover love’s relentless creativity and imagines a new kind of flourishing. Innovating for Love quickens us to love as we are loved. Indeed, our collective grief has loosened us to receive her timely invitation, to embody God’s new thing. We are all hungry for this message.Gregory BoyleFounder, Homeboy Industries • Author, Tattoos On The HeartKenda Dean knows exactly what time it is in the church. It is time to come to terms with our common weariness about a church that is excessively compromised and accommodated to culture. More than that, it is time to let the deep mandate of love energize new entrepreneurial efforts to explore new ways of ministry. Dean is utterly serious and completely convinced that the church, because of its singular mandate to love, can indeed be innovative in ways that add real value to human life, citing numerous specific examples of innovative church initiatives and an extended battery of “practices” in the art of innovation. Dean invites us to a fresh breath in the church that is nothing less than the gift of the Spirit.Walter Brueggemann Columbia Theological SeminaryIf you’re a young person, congregant or pastor teetering between whether or not to practice innovation, Kenda Creasy Dean argues compellingly why you and your church should be all in, and articulates beautifully a theology and rationale for why Christians innovate. If your curiosity is piqued, read the evocative words of this professorial innovator. Invite others to practice the ideas in this engaging work of art. And be inspired to see, think about, and approach Christian ministry and service as an innovative expression of God’s love for us all. Read more

Rejuvenating a movement of transformation.Would you love to see spiritual and social transformation? Revive Us Again explores how the founder of the Methodist movement, John Wesley, achieved extraordinary impact across the United Kingdom and beyond. This is an invitation to be inspired by Wesley’s message and methods and see how, by reclaiming these treasures, Methodism and the wider church may once again transform society. “A timely and timeless reminder that I hope is read widely throughout British Methodism, and beyond.” Revd Dr Martyn Atkins“A hope-filled invitation to rediscover the richness and vibrancy of the early Methodist movement.” Deacon Eunice Attwood“It’s impossible to resist the infectious enthusiasm for God and the Methodist movement in this engaging book.”Rachel Lampard MBE Read more

This biography tells the story of John Wesley's colourful and dramatic life, beginning with his childhood and his family background, looking especially at the influence of his powerful and austere mother, Susannah. The author then goes on to examine Wesley's school and university careers (including the Holy Club), his mission to Georgia and finally his "conversion" and mission to England - including the organisation of methodist societies. Key issues in Wesley's life, such as his renunciation of wealth and the role of women, are given prominent treatment as is an assessment of Wesley's long-term impact both in this country and abroad. Read more

The English Revival of the eighteenth century was an exciting time. What caused the Revival? Why did it spread? Did it prevent a revolution in the UK, similar to that which had convulsed France? And what effect did it have, both locally, nationally and globally? This fascinating book introduces the reader to its main players: the Wesleys and Whitefield, John Newton and William Wilberforce. It brings together what they believed, what they taught, and the immense impact they had on the people of the UK, both the rich and the poor. Out of the Revival came the Clapham Sect and the successful campaign to end slavery; the Methodist church and a new role for women. Read more

Classic religious songs. Read more

This is the third edition updated 2017. This brings all formats up to date (leather, textbook, and ebook) so that they may be used in critical study for research and in the classroom. The bonus material, John Wesley's Tracts on Prayer has been updated to match the latest edition of that book and included in all three formats. "I BELIEVE there is no LITURGY in the World, either in ancient or modern language, which breathes more of a solid, scriptural, rational Piety, than the COMMON PRAYER of the CHURCH of ENGLAND." John Wesley. Despite those words, Wesley realized that in its entirety the BCP needed to be modified to fit the practices of the Methodists society, especially for those congregants living abroad in the new frontier. In 1784 he published this version to be considered for use in the parishes of the Continental US. This book is a Methodist Book of Common Prayer, integrated for modern use, yet allegiant to the original Anglican-Wesleyan text. This is the original work by John and Charles Wesley published by them in 1784. This was their version of the English 1662 The Book of Common Prayer. It was intended to be a Ministers Manual useful to the itinerant pastor. In the back of the book is a collection of Psalms and Hymns that they found inspiring and useful for Methodists services. It appears that these Hymns are from a variety of authors such as Issac Watts though no credits are referenced in the original. This is neither a scan of the original book nor a facsimile. The entire original work including scriptures has been transposed word for word from the 18th Century original publication to the 21st Century digital age keeping all the original language and spellings so that students and researchers may make complete comparative studies of early Methodism and early Christian services and liturgies. In addition to John Wesley's The Book of Common Prayer, this eBook contains BONUS MATERIAL: 1) Included is the Minutes of the 1784 Methodist Conference in which the original book was accepted by the U.S. Methodists Societies as a form of Discipline. 2) Also included is John Wesley's Tracts on Prayer which were published earlier by Wesley. These readings make the eBook a complete John Wesley Prayer Collection for your daily reading, study, and devotion. The entire book has been specially prepared for eBook. This book is a very large volume and as such it has been specially indexed for efficient navigation. The default Table of Contents is large and detailed, if you click on Contents at the top of the list it will take you to a shorter menu. This shorter Contents page is also the next page from USING THIS eBOOK. Larger sections link to sub-menus in order to give you quick access to specific content. Clicking on Headings at the top of the page will bring you back to the Contents page. The large sections that use submenus are as follows: COLLECTS, EPISTLES, and GOSPELS. consist of 57 readings for Sunday services and special services throughout the year. SELECT PSALMS. have Morning and Evening selections of Psalms to be read over 30 days. ARTICLES OF RELIGION. consist of 24 Articles. Psalms and Hymns. have a selection of 42 Psalms and Hymns. Psalms and Hymns 2. have a selection of 74 additional Psalms and Hymns. MINUTES. contain 81 Questions with multiple Answers. John Wesley's Tracts on Prayer. contains 72 readings. for more info on this project go to http://www.johnwesleyprayer.com or http://www.furocious-studios.com Read more

The Methodist Church, with its distinctive musical inheritance by which the worldwide Church has been enriched, famously expresses its theology through its singing. Its authorised hymnbook therefore means more than a hymn book does in other traditions – it expresses the central beliefs of the Church itself and is commended to congregations as their core worship resource. Seven years in development, Singing the Faith is authorised by the Methodist Conference and replaces Hymns and Psalms, published almost 30 years ago. Containing the classic, best loved hymns of the Christian tradition it also incorporates many bold and exciting elements including hymns, songs and liturgical chants from the world church. A large proportion of its 830+ items are 20th and 21st century compositions, offering congregations a feast of musical choices spanning centuries and continents. It is arranged thematically in three parts: God’s Eternal Goodness - the Trinity, praise and adoration, creation, gathering for worship, Scripture and revelation God’s Redeeming Work – the life of Christ revealed throughout the Christian year God’s Enduring Purposes – the Holy Spirit, our life in God, prayer, the sacraments, our human journeys, the saints and the life to come. Many helpful indexes enable fitting choices to be made that will enrich all occasions of worship. Read more

How should the Methodist tradition continue to embody its evangelistic mission? Some believe effective evangelism requires ecclesial adaptation seeking relevance to attract outsiders. But does this strategy result in the church’s embrace of consumer market practices, pandering to a world of church shoppers? Others suggest the most evangelistic thing the church can do is to be the church, displaying to the world the attractive beauty of a holy community. But could this ironically distance the church from its context and neglect the many ways the church is called to engage the world? The Wesleys formed a people called Methodist, embodying an evangelistic mission combining commitments to disciplined spiritual life and vital social engagement. In this book, Conklin-Miller suggests faithful (United) Methodist evangelism requires living in the tension between the church and the world, “leaning both ways at once,” emphasizing the holiness of the church as a particular people, but at the same time, being a people sent to intercede in the world as servants, advocates, and witnesses. This understanding constitutes not only a broader reframing of evangelistic mission but also a vision for the identity and agency of the church in the Wesleyan tradition: a Methodist missional ecclesiology. Read more

Fast and Easy Ways to Meditate on the Bible and Grow in Worship, Love, and Peace. Meditation is the way to develop your spirit man. It helps get our minds better prepared for prayer. We are better able to focus and worship God in spirit and in truth. As you meditate on God’s word, you help your spirit, soul, and body become more detached from the influences of the world; you detach your affections from what’s not necessary and re-channel them to the most important things of life. You open yourself up to divine encounters that will establish your destiny. When you “meditate” on God’s words, they become “His sayings.” That is, God begins to talk to you through them. The Holy Spirit amplifies the Words inside of you and gives you details that could have only come from God. You gain direction. This small booklet will show you: =>What is bible meditation? =>10 benefits of meditating on the word of God. =>The 7-step method for effective Bible meditation. =>Biblical meditation techniques. =>How to meditate and talk to God. =>How to meditate on the word of God daily. =>Meditate on God's word day and night scriptures. If you desire to grow in the knowledge of God and enrich your prayer life, then this book will certainly guide you on that path. Read more

The liturgy of the Methodist Church. Read more