God's identity cannot be fully expressed in human words, but Scripture uses one particular Hebrew word to describe God's character: hesed. Often translated as lovingkindness, covenant faithfulness, or steadfast love, Michael Card unpacks the many dimensions of hesed, exploring how it is used in the Old Testament to reveal God's character and how its fullness is ultimately embodied in the incarnation of Jesus.
Professor Nelson Glueck's pioneer study of hesed and its meaning in the Bible has long been a basic source for biblical scholarship and theology. When the work first appeared as a published doctoral dissertation in 1927, titled Das Wort hesed im altentestamentlichen Sprachgerrauche als menschliche und gottliche gemeinschaftgemasse Verhaltunsweise, it was a methodological landmark study of the history of the ideas of the Bible. -- Alfred Gottschalk Hebrew Union College Los Angeles The importance of Nelson Glueck's monograph on hesed is, perhaps, best demonstrated in the use of his research in almost every important study involving the term since 1927, and in the relatively limited contribution made to Glueck's interpretation of the word. -- Gerald Larue
This impressive semantic study, with a useful glossary of special and technical terms, develops an original methodology, bringing new insights into the meaning of a much-discussed word. Working with an immense amount of data, obtained by examining every occurrence in the Hebrew Bible of 35 field elements, the author achieves a new degree of semantic refinement based on meticulous quantitative analysis of distribution, collocations, parallels and syntagms. Sense-relations are formulated between hesed and other related terms. This study provides much material for a better understanding of this crucial term for Hebrew thought, and also makes an important theoretical contribution to Hebrew lexicography.
In A Better Freedom Michael Card explores the biblical imagery of slavery as a metaphor for Christian discipleship, revealing Christ as the true Lord and Master who sets us free from our own slavery to sin.
In this second volume of the Biblical Imagination series, Michael Card leads us on an imaginative journey through the Gospel of Mark. Card teaches us to enter each scene with the eyes of faith, knowing that Mark intended us to be filled with passion at the sight of Jesus.
God desires for us to pour out our hearts to Him, whether in joy or pain. But many of us don’t feel right expressing our anger, frustration, and sadness in prayer. From Job to David to Christ, men and women of the Bible understood the importance of pouring one’s heart out to the Father. Examine their stories and expand your definition of worship. Also available: A Sacred Sorrow Experience Guide (9781576836682, sold separately), to help individuals or small groups get the most out of this book.
Could brain science be the key to spiritual formation? Why does true Christian transformation seem fleeting? And why does church often feel lonely, Christian community shallow, and leaders untrustworthy? For many Christians, the delight of encountering Christ eventually dwindles—and disappointment sets in. Is lasting joy possible? These are some of the questions Michel Hendricks has considered both in his experience as a spiritual formation pastor and in his lifetime as a Christian. He began to find answers when he met Jim Wilder—a neurotheologian. Using brain science, Wilder identified that there are two halves of the church: the rational half and the relational half. And when Christians only embrace the rational half, churches become unhealthy places where transformation doesn’t last and narcissistic leaders flourish. In The Other Half of Church, join Michel and Jim's journey as they couple brain science with the Bible to identify how to overcome spiritual stagnation by living a full-brained faith. You'll also learn the four ingredients necessary to develop and maintain a vibrant transformational community where spiritual formation occurs, relationships flourish, and the toxic spread of narcissism is eradicated.
In this richly designed book, Michael Card reflects on what it means for Christians that we meet our savior at a cross. Card combs the Old Testament prophecies and Gospel accounts of Jesus? self-sacrifice, seeking a renewed vision of the cross—the inconceivable meeting place of violence and grace.
Over the course of his career, singer-songwriter Michael Card has explored the depths of Scripture by bringing together biblical study and the power of the imagination. Now he sheds light on the life of Jesus through forty lyrical reflections on the four Gospels, leading us to a place where Jesus becomes real and we can hear him with both hearts and minds.
Card brings a special blend of artistic craft and scholarly research to this candid look at the text of John--including his own translation of the gospel from the original Greek text. He introduces readers to the apostle in a fresh new way and offers insight into the apostle's unique outlook on life.
