Parables--used by Jesus to reveal to us the kingdom of God, used to move us from being bystanders to active recipients of Gods work of revelation--are constantly at risk of being buried as "mummies of prose," as George MacDonald puts it. We become so familiar with the language of Scripture that Jesus parables no longer work on us in this revelatory and transforming way.

George MacDonald, the Victorian poet and theologian, observed this very process at work in Victorian society. It was a culture saturated with Christian jargon but often devoid of a profound understanding of the gospel for...

Throughout his many years of pastoral ministry, almost everything Eugene Peterson has done -- preaching, teaching, praying, counseling, writing -- has involved words. To keep himself attuned to the power of words and to help himself use language with precision and imagination, Peterson both reads and writes poetry.
Holy Luck presents, in one luminous volume, seventy poems by Peterson, most of them not previously published. Speaking to various aspects of -Kingdom of God- living, these poems are arranged in three sets:
Holy Luck -- poems arising out of the Beatitudes
The...

Enjoy the surprising clarity of The Message . . . with a font size to match.

This large-print edition of The Message is designed for anyone who prefers larger type for clearer, more enjoyable reading.

The Message is a reading Bible translated from the original Greek and Hebrew Scriptures by scholar, pastor, author, and poet Eugene Peterson. Thoroughly reviewed and approved by twenty biblical scholars, The Message combines the authority of God's Word with the cadence and energy of conversational English.

What makes The Message the...

About the Contributor(s): Luci Shaw is a widely known and published writer, essayist, and lecturer on art and faith. Born in the UK in 1928, she has lived in Australia and Canada and now makes her home in Bellingham, Washington, with her husband, John Hoyte. Since 1989 she has been writer in residence at Regent College, Vancouver. She is winner of the tenth annual Denise Levertov award for ""sustained engagement in creative writing in the Judeo-Christian tradition.""

"This is a book written specifically for those of us who are assigned the task of developing an imagination for living the Christian faith with insight and skill in and for a society that is disconnected from the biblical revelation and the Jesus incarnation," writes Eugene Peterson in the foreword of The Cultivated Life. "But it is equally useful for all of us who are committed to following Jesus with our families and coworkers and neighbors." Sociology professor and spiritual director Susan Phillips walks us through the "circus" of our cultural landscape to invite us into a cultivated life...