From inside leaf: "A gap exists in the academic preparation of the ministry. 'It is the gap,' writes the author, 'between the study of the biblical text...and the actual delivery of messages to God's people. Very few centers of...training have ever taken the time...to show the student how one moves from analyzing the text to constructing a sermon that reflects and is dependent on that analysis."

From inside leaf: "Understanding the Old Testament as the 'indispensable foundation on which the New Testament is built,' the authors...examine comprehensively the nature and contents of the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament. They combine critical concern for the historical and cultural setting of the writings and their literary and linguistic character with an evangelical interpretation of the Old Testament authors' purpose and meaning for both their original audience and the modern Christian."

From inside leaf: "By the time Christianity became a political and cultural force in the Roman Empire, it had come to embody a new moral vision. This...book describes the formative years...when Christian beliefs and practices shaped their unique moral order. Wayne A. Meeks examines the surviving documents from Christianity's beginnings...and shows that they are largely concerned with the way converts should behave. Meeks finds that for these Christians, the formation of morals means the formation of community..."