Much has been written about the life, ministry, and theology of the apostle Paul. But what about Paul specifically as a preacher? How did he understand his commission from the risen Lord Jesus to preach the gospel, and how did he put it into practice? Further, what lessons can contemporary preachers learn from Paul about the theology and practice of preaching to help them be more faithful messengers of God's Word?As a leading Pauline scholar and practicing pastor, Frank Matera has ...

In this fresh and readable addition to the Paideia series, well-respected New Testament scholar Frank Matera examines cultural context and theological meaning in Romans. 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...

Distinguished biblical scholar Frank Matera here views the theology of the Pauline letters through the lens of the saving grace that Paul experienced at his call and conversion. Focusing on Christology, soteriology, theology, anthropology, ecclesiology, ethics, and eschatology, Matera explores both the unity and the diversity of the thirteen Pauline letters.Written in a clear and coherent style, God's Saving Grace presents students, professors, and pastors with a comprehens...

Although Paul's letter to the Romans is the most theologically charged writing of the New Testament, it is rarely preached from Catholic pulpits. Perhaps some of the Pauline themes? Redemption and sanctification, justification and reconciliation, resurrection and parousia? seem too daunting for homiletic purposes. Not so, insists Frank Matera, who has learned to preach in a Pauline key" that has invigorated the whole of his preaching. Homilists who heretofore have avoided Romans will appre...

Much has been written about the life, ministry, and theology of the apostle Paul. But what about Paul specifically as a preacher? How did he understand his commission from the risen Lord Jesus to preach the gospel, and how did he put it into practice? Further, what lessons can contemporary preachers learn from Paul about the theology and practice of preaching to help them be more faithful messengers of God's Word?As a leading Pauline scholar and practicing pastor, Frank Matera has ...

This commentary on II Corinthians in the New Testament Library continues the exemplary quality of the series. Frank Matera provides a commentary that is a close study of the backgrounds and language of the text while also providing important theological insights into the message of Paul for his time and for the contemporary church.The New Testament Library offers authoritative commentary on every book and major aspect of the New Testament, as well as classic volumes of scholarship....

In Praying the**Psalms in the Voice of Christ, Frank J. Matera offers a way to pray the psalms within the Liturgy of the Hours rooted in the New Testament and the great writers of the early church. Taking his cue from Saint Augustine, Matera demonstrates how to hear the voice of Christ in the psalms so that they can be prayed in the voice of Christ and his Body, the church. In addition to this introduction to a christological reading of the psalms, Matera also provides a commentar...

The kingdom of God is the central theme of Jesus’ preaching. Through stories and images, Jesus teaches that God’s presence among us—his powerful reign—is both mighty and quiet, both welcoming and demanding. As small as a seed and as grand as a great dinner party, the kingdom of God grows among us and transforms everyone who embraces it. In this volume of Alive in the Word, New Testament scholar Frank Matera explores three gospel passages that will orient you to this essential, tra...

Saint Augustine once described the Sermon on the Mount as "the perfect measure of the Christian life." Taking his cue from Augustine, Frank Matera provides an exposition of the sermon for contemporary readers who wish to use the sermon as the standard by which they live their lives every day.Matera shows how the Sermon on the Mount summons believers to single-minded devotion and wholehearted service to God. He unfolds the historical and theological background to the sermon. He expl...

A nontechnical overview of New Testament theology that summarizes the diverse theologies in the writings of the New Testament, identifies its overall theological vision, and explains the contribution that New Testament theology can make to the life of the Church and the contribution that the life of the Church can make to it.

At the heart of the Christian message stands the proclamation of the resurrection: the good news that God raised Jesus from the dead. In Resurrection: The Origin and Goal of the Christian Life, Frank Matera explains why the resurrection was so important to the early church and why it remains important for Christians today. Beginning with the gospels, then moving to the Acts of the Apostles, the Pauline Epistles, and concluding with Hebrews, 1 Peter, 1 John, and the book of Revelation, Mate...

Paul's Letter to the Galatians has played a major role in the history of theology, especially in the Church's teaching on grace, faith, and justification. This commentary argues that Paul's doctrine of justification by faith is essentially social in nature and has important ecumenical implications for the Church today. In its original setting, Galatians established a foundation for the unity of Jewish and Gentile Christians: all are justified by the faith of Jesus Christ.In additio...