David A. deSilva

Galatians: A Handbook on the Greek Text offers teachers and students a comprehensive guide to the grammar and vocabulary of Galatians. A perfect supplement to any commentary, this volume's lexical, analytical, and syntactical analysis is a helpful tool in navigating New Testament literature. David A. deSilva leads students toward both a greater understanding of the Greek text and an appreciation for the textual and rhetorical intricacies not available in English translations.

Journey inside the pages of Scripture to meet a personal God who enters individual lives and begins a creative work from the inside out. Shaped with the individual in mind, Immersion Bible Studies encourage simultaneous engagement both with the Word of God and with the God of the Word to become a new creation in Christ. Immersion Bible Studies, inspired by a fresh translation--the Common English Bible--stand firmly on Scripture and help readers explore the emotional, spiritual, and intellectual needs of their personal faith. More importantly, they'll be able to discover God's revelation through readings and reflections.

In this addition to the well-received Paideia series, two respected New Testament scholars offer a practical commentary on James and Jude that is conversant with contemporary scholarship, draws on ancient backgrounds, and attends to the theological nature of the texts. This commentary, like each in the projected eighteen-volume series, proceeds by sense units rather than word-by-word or verse-by-verse. Paideia commentaries explore how New Testament texts form Christian readers by• attending to the ancient narrative and rhetorical strategies the text employs• showing how the text shapes theological convictions and moral habits• commenting on the final, canonical form of each New Testament book• focusing on the cultural, literary, and theological settings of the text• making judicious use of maps, photos, and sidebars in a reader-friendly formatStudents, pastors, and other readers will appreciate the historical, literary, and theological insight that John Painter and David deSilva offer in interpreting James and Jude.

Jews have sometimes been reluctant to claim Jesus as one of their own; Christians have often been reluctant to acknowledge the degree to which Jesus' message and mission were at home amidst, and shaped by, the Judaism(s) of the Second Temple Period. In The Jewish Teachers of Jesus, James, and Jude David deSilva introduces readers to the ancient Jewish writings known as the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha and examines their formative impact on the teachings and mission of Jesus and his half-brothers, James and Jude. Knowledge of this literature, deSilva argues, helps to bridge the perceived gap between Jesus and Judaism when Judaism is understood only in terms of the Hebrew Bible (or ''Old Testament''), and not as a living, growing body of faith and practice. Where our understanding of early Judaism is limited to the religion reflected in the Hebrew Bible, Jesus will appear more as an outsider speaking ''against'' Judaism and introducing more that is novel. Where our understanding of early Judaism is also informed by the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, Jesus and his half-brothers appear more fully at home within Judaism, and giving us a more precise understanding of what is essential, as well as distinctive, in their proclamation. This comparative study engages several critical issues. How can we recover the voices of Jesus, James, and Jude from the material purporting to preserve their speech? How can we assess a particular text's influence on Jews in early first-century Palestine? How can we be sufficiently sensitive to the meanings and nuances in both the text presumed to influence and the text presumed to be influenced so as not to distort the meaning of either? The result is a portrait of Jesus that is fully at home in Roman Judea and Galilee, and perhaps an explanation for why these extra-biblical Jewish texts continued to be preserved in Christian circles.

The emotionally evocative power of the book of Revelation has been often noted and experienced by interpreters, but until now it has never been systematically explored. The strange visions of the book of Revelation provide some of the most difficult passages of the New Testament, yet Christians have long been fascinated by its power and provocative pronouncements. David deSilva analyzes how the book argues and persuades us to see the world through the eyes of John, and suggests that the study of ancient rhetoric is particularly valuable in understanding the book of Revelation. deSilva interprets the book of Revelation as a rhetorical and communicative strategy to persuade a particular audience for specific goals. Throughout this analysis, he pursues John's construction of his own authority, John's use of emotion and logic, and his attempt to shape the formation of the reader. Despite the complexities of Revelation, deSilva has produced a remarkably clear text sure to cause readers to rethink their view of Revelation.

What happens when old meets new? As David deSilva has experienced the ancient wisdom of the Book of Common Prayer, he's been formed spiritually in deep and lasting ways. In these pages, he offers you a brand new way to use the Book of Common Prayer, that you too might experience new growth, new intimacy with God and a new lens through which to view the world. Focusing on the four sacramental rites of baptism, Eucharist, marriage and burial, deSilva explores each one in depth through the prayers, liturgies and Scripture readings of the Book of Common Prayer, and then adds his own devotional exercises that help you immediately apply what you've reflected on. As you read and contemplate the material, you may notice old habits, wrong beliefs and negative patterns being replaced with new desires and perspectives that help you draw ever closer to God. In this innovative and engaging resource David deSilva invites you in to a new way of being spiritually formed through an old book that has shaped thousands of disciples through the years. "I hope that, as you read and pray through this guide," he writes, "you will discover afresh the ways in which the rites contained in the Book of Common Prayer facilitate a genuine encounter with God, and a transforming experience of grace."

Click here to read session one The Participant's Guide guides daily study and preparation for discussion in the weekly group meeting. The expectation for daily study will be no more than thirty minutes. Invitation To The New Testament8 sessions, 60-90 minutesExperience required: In Depth Explore the writings of the New Testament using the story of Jesus as the starting point. This survey of the testament looks at how the early church took ownership of and was shaped by the story of Jesus and how the church learned how to develop as disciples and create communities of faith. Participants find a deeper conversation with the writers of the NT and a renewal of our commitment to be shaped---personally and communally---by the story of Jesus. In the weekly video segments, listen as scholars fascinate you with facts and information that opens new understanding and enlightenment for your group. In the second video, sit in on a table conversation between guest scholars and debate key issues in the text. Sessions: 1. Jesus Calls Us Into God's Redemption Story2. Jesus Calls Us to a Transformed Life3. Jesus Calls Us to Minister to a Hostile World4. Jesus Calls Us to Complex Communities of Faith5. Jesus Calls Us to Serve One Another6. Jesus Calls Us to a New Relationship With Tradition7. Jesus Calls Us to Live in Light of His Coming Again8. Jesus Calls Us to Experience the Gifts of His Dying and Rising

Click here to read session one The Leader's Guide provides process guidance for weekly group sessions and understands the role of leader as facilitator of small-group sessions. Procedures for guiding sessions include: directions for using related video segments, and questions for discussion. Invitation To The New Testament8 sessions, 60-90 minutesExperience required: In Depth Explore the writings of the New Testament using the story of Jesus as the starting point. This survey of the testament looks at how the early church took ownership of and was shaped by the story of Jesus and how the church learned how to develop as disciples and create communities of faith. Participants find a deeper conversation with the writers of the NT and a renewal of our commitment to be shaped---personally and communally---by the story of Jesus. In the weekly video segments, listen as scholars fascinate you with facts and information that opens new understanding and enlightenment for your group. In the second video, sit in on a table conversation between guest scholars and debate key issues in the text. Sessions: 1. Jesus Calls Us Into God's Redemption Story2. Jesus Calls Us to a Transformed Life3. Jesus Calls Us to Minister to a Hostile World4. Jesus Calls Us to Complex Communities of Faith5. Jesus Calls Us to Serve One Another6. Jesus Calls Us to a New Relationship With Tradition7. Jesus Calls Us to Live in Light of His Coming Again8. Jesus Calls Us to Experience the Gifts of His Dying and Rising

Professor deSilva's outstanding textbook sets a new standard for the genre. The usual topics of New Testament introduction are integrated with instruction in interpretative strategies and application to ministry formation. The attractive layout includes numerous maps, photographs and text-boxes.

Contemporary Western readers may find it surprising that honor and shame, patronage and reciprocity, kinship and family, and purity and pollution offer us keys to interpreting the New Testament. But as recent scholarship has proposed and as David deSilva demonstrates, paying attention to these cultural themes opens our eyes and ears to new discoveries and deeper understanding. Through our understanding of honor and shame in the Mediterranean world, we gain new appreciation of the way in which the personhood of early Christians connected with group values. By examining the protocols of patronage and reciprocity, we more firmly grasp the meaning of God's grace--and our response has fresh meaning. In exploring the ethos of kinship and household relations, we enlarge our perspective on the early Christian communities that met in houses and functioned as a new family or "household" of God. And by investigating the notions of purity and pollution along with their associated practices, we come to realize how the ancient "map" of society and the world was revised by the power of the gospel. DeSilva's work will reward you with a deeper appreciation of the New Testament, the gospel and Christian discipleship. More than that, it will also inform your participation in contemporary Christian community.

This commentary is the first to fully apply the resources of socio-rhetorical analysis to Hebrews. Insights into the cultural and social world of the audience are combined with analysis of the author's rhetorical strategy and ideology to create a rich, three-dimensional reading that helps unravel key issues in the interpretation of the epistle. David deSilva's reflections on application concluding each section also make his commentary valuable to seminarians and pastors seeking to make Hebrews relevant to today's world.