向大歷史學家學習，重尋說故事的藝術這是一個看重「故事」的時代，因為人們開始發現，「故事」所側重的角色和布局、情節和對話，能在邏輯理性所不能及的地方，帶出真理更深刻的意涵。於是乎，「故事」愈來愈常出現在教會的牧養工作裡，不管是牧師講道，或是會友彼此間的分享，都能聽到一個又一個故事。不過，若是仔細觀察，教會裡的故事，仍以「寓言」或是「個人的生命見證」這類「小故事」為主。我們缺少的，是所謂的「大故事」──講述一個時代興衰，跨越多個時間、空間距離的歷史故事。這並非否認「小故事」的意義和價值，畢竟聖經也有許多「寓言」和「見證」。可是，相較於「小的寓言故事」，「大的歷史故事」處理更廣泛的政治、經濟、社會、文化等議題，在開拓信徒視野、拉大格局這件事上，有著不可小覷的重要性。只是，講述大歷史，和講小故事不一樣。要講大歷史，需要有豐富的背景知識，也要有鋪陳刻劃的技巧。所幸，聖經除了「寓言」和「見證」之外，同樣收錄非常多精彩的歷史故事，每個歷史故事，作、編者都投注了非常多的心力，為要將故事說得動人，讓聆聽的人都滿載而歸。...

Designed to strengthen the global church with a widely accessible, theologically sound, and pastorally wise resource for understanding and applying the overarching storyline of the Bible, this commentary series features the full text of the ESV Bible passage by passage, with crisp and theologically rich exposition and application. Editors Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton, and Jay Sklar have gathered a team of experienced pastor-theologians to provide a new generation of pastors and other ...

At the beginning of 1 & 2 Kings, Solomon's reign brought peace, prosperity, dynamic international trade and a magnificent centre of worship. By contrast, at the end, the people faced complete reversal: they and their king were in exile; Jerusalem and the temple lay in ruins.How can this story of reversal, told by the very people who suffered that defeat, be of value today, and equip us for every good work?In this rich and insightful commentary, John W. Olle...

"Possibly one of the best short books ever written on Sleep!"One day a friend asked me: “When was the last time you had a good night of sleep?”. Though I felt tired and had been working through some tough deadlines, I never thought it would be so obvious that I had problems sleeping. Maybe the blackish eye bags gave me in or my lack of attention during long meetings. Anyway, I knew I had to do something or else.So many people are in this position and are to busy t...