Entering the Passion of Jesus:
A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week.
Amy-Jill Levine.
Pbk144pp. ISBN 9781501869556. Abingdon Press (2018).
$37.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
Book and DVD supported study course
Author, professor, and Jewish scholar, Amy-Jill Levine dives deep into the biblical texts surrounding the Passion story in Entering the Passion of Jesus. Levine explores characters such as Judas, Pilate, Caiaphas, the disciples, and the women around Jesus to understand their relationships and roles in the Passion story.
The book’s six chapters are:
- Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
- The Temple Incident
- The Anointing of Jesus and the Role of Women
- Jesus’ Teachings in the Temple
- The Last Supper Traditions
- Gethsemane
Click here for a short video introduction: https://youtu.be/WXl8e2Lo8ns
Also available:
Entering the Passion of Jesus
Leader Guide:
A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week.
Amy-Jill Levine.
Pbk 64pp. ISBN 9781501869570.
Abingdon Press (2018).
$31.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
Entering the Passion of Jesus provides a rich and challenging learning experience for small groups and individual readers alike
This Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the six-week study including session plans, activities, and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options.
Entering the Passion of Jesus
DVD:
A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week.
Amy-Jill Levine.
DVD US region 1 format.
ISBN 9781501869594.
Abingdon Press (2018).
$74.00.
[Allow 4 weeks].
The six-session DVD features Dr Amy-Jill Levine offering a fresh, timely reinterpretation of the Passion of Jesus. The video segments are approximately 10-12 minutes each and, when combined with the six book chapters, make an ideal six-week group study. All videos sessions are closed captioned so you can display sub-titles.
Entering the Passion of Jesus
Large Print:
A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week.
Amy-Jill Levine.
Pbk 144pp.
ISBN 9781501876158.
Abingdon Press (2018).
$38.50.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
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Simon Peter:
Flawed But Faithful Disciple.
Adam Hamilton.
Hbk.176pp. ISBN 9781501845987.
Abingdon Press (2018).
$42.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
Book and DVD supported study course
Simon Peter—an ordinary fisherman who heard an extraordinary call. He was not rich or educated but was familiar with hard work. He was quick-tempered and impetuous but possessed a passion that would change the world. He left everything to follow his teacher yet struggled with doubt and fear.
Join pastor and author Adam Hamilton in this six-week Lenten journey, and take an in-depth dive into the life, faith, and character of Simon Peter.
Additional components for a six-week adult study include a comprehensive Leader Guide and a DVD featuring author and pastor Adam Hamilton teaching on site in Israel and Italy. Also available are resources for children and youth.
Chapters are:
- The Call of the Fisherman
- Walking with Jesus in the Storm
- Bedrock or Stumbling Block?
- “I Will Not Deny You”
- From Cowardice to Courage
- The Rest of the Story
Click here for a short video introduction: https://youtu.be/4F7XDQrviBY
Also available:
Simon Peter
Leader Guide:
Flawed But Faithful Disciple.
Adam Hamilton.
Pbk 64pp. ISBN 9781501846014.
Abingdon Press (2018).
$30.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the six-week study, including session plans, activities, and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options.
Simon Peter
DVD:
Flawed But Faithful Disciple.
Adam Hamilton.
DVD US region 1 format.
ISBN 9781501846038.
Abingdon Press (2018).
$74.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
The six-session DVD features Adam Hamilton on location in Israel and Italy. The video segments are approximately 10-12 minutes each and, when combined with the book, make an ideal six-week group study. All videos sessions are closed captioned so you can display sub-titles.
Simon Peter
Youth Edition:
Flawed But Faithful Disciple.
Adam Hamilton.
Pbk 64pp. ISBN 9781501846106.
Abingdon Press (2018).
$29.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
This Youth Study Book takes the ideas presented in Adam Hamilton’s book and interprets them for young people aged 11-18 years.
Simon Peter
Children’s Leader Guide:
Flawed But Faithful Disciple.
Adam Hamilton.
Pbk 64pp. ISBN 9781501846120.
Abingdon Press (2018).
$39.99.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
The Children’s Leader Guide contains session plans for younger and older children aged 5-11 years, including games, activities, craft ideas, and reproducible handouts.
Simon Peter
Large Print:
Flawed But Faithful Disciple.
Adam Hamilton.
Pbk 176pp. ISBN 9781501846007.
Abingdon Press (2018).
$44.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
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Short Introductions to the Bible Readings for the Revised Common Lectionary, Years A, B & C:
A Resource for the Readers at the Lectern. Bill Bennett.
Pbk 118pp. ISBN 9781988572017.
Philip Garside Publishing Ltd (2019).
$20.00.
[30+ in stock].
Would you like a simple, quick way to engage with the Revised Common Lectionary Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel readings for each Sunday and other important days in the church calendar, including Lent and Easter? Bill Bennett’s short introductions to each Bible reading will get you started.
There are several ways you can use the entries in this book:
- As a preface to the Bible reading in a service
- As a sermon spark
- For personal devotional reading
- In your church’s weekly news bulletin
- Using the full Scripture Index
The readings in this book mainly follow the pattern of the Anglican Lectionary — Te Maramataka used in New Zealand.
eBook editions in Kindle, ePub and PDF formats are also available: Details here
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 The Journey to Jerusalem:
A Story of Jesus’ Last Days.
John Pritchard.
Pbk 144pp. ISBN 9780664262693. Westminster John Knox (2017).
$30.50.
[1 in stock,
then allow 2-3 weeks].
In this imaginative retelling, John Pritchard explores the Gospel of Luke by looking through the eyes of the disciple John. The book follows Luke’s account from Luke 9:51 onwards, as Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem.”
This is Lectionary Year C which features Luke’s gospel.
There are few open-ended “I wonder…” questions after each reflection to either ponder by yourself or in a group.
We may have heard and read these stories lots of times, but then a sentence or two of Pritchard’s pops out of the page and offers a new idea to mull over. This book will reward a engaged day-by-day exploration in Lent.
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 Five Events That Made Christianity: Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost.
John Pritchard.
Pbk 160pp. ISBN 9780281078066.
SPCK (2019).
$33.50.
[Publishing 15 Jan 2019,
then allow 3 weeks].
Jesus was a pest to the Romans and a threat to the religious leadership, so they hung him out like so much refuse. Little did they realise that it was like trying to put out a fire with petrol. The whole world exploded. With characteristic style, John Pritchard takes us on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, as he unpacks the five great events that made Christianity – Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost.
We explore:
- What happened?
- What did it mean?
- What does it mean for us?
Absorbing, immediate and full of stories, this volume offers deeply considered theology, brilliantly communicated to connect with life as we actually experience it.
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The Resilient Disciple:
A Lenten Journey Through Adversity to Maturity.
Justine Allain-Chapman.
Pbk 176pp. ISBN 9780281078530.
SPCK (2019).
$33.50.
[Publishing 15 Jan 2019,
then allow 3 weeks].
A Lenten pilgrimage is testing. We have to search within ourselves for answers which lie hidden, to draw on each other’s strengths, to reflect deeply and to trust that we will be enabled to integrate our many experiences. But there is a ‘bright flame before us, a guiding star above.’ And the God, who always calls us to love beyond ourselves, offers tender healing for our brokenness, longing that we may be consoled and renewed.
This vividly written book includes wide ranging prayers and scripture readings, along with guides to using the material with groups and in preaching and worship.
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Reconciliation.
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s
Lent Book 2019.
Muthuraj Swamy.
Pbk 144pp. ISBN 9780281080083.
SPCK (2019).
$33.50.
[3 in stock].
Global in scope, but homing in on the role ordinary people play in conflict and division, Reconciliation enables Christians to engage confidently in a ministry bequeathed to us by Christ himself.
The book issues a vibrant call to the church to support and strengthen relationships amongst church members; to cross borders to build connections with different denominations, and to maintain open attitudes towards our neighbours from other religions and ideologies.
Forty biblically-based meditations introduce topics such as: Impediments to reconciliation – risking the self – humility and self-criticism – radical openness to the other – peace with justice. Questions for reflection are included, making Reconciliation suitable for use at weekly gatherings or for everyday devotion during Lent.
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Open Our Hearts:
Daily prayers for Lent and Holy Week.
Ann Gerondelis.
Pbk 104pp. ISBN 9781849526197.
Wild Goose (2018).
$34.50.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
A series of Bible readings, prayers and colour images for each day of Lent and Holy Week, to invite reflection, contemplation and action in the world.
Ann’s images are icon-like in their depth and focus; her prayers are poetic and prophetic.
Follow this special and very original book through Lent and Holy Week to open up space to meet God anew; and to open our hearts to God’s all-inclusive love and the call to feed the hungry, work for peace and build communities of love.
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Daily Devotions for Lent 2019
(Living Gospel series).
Charles Paolino.
Pbk 96pp. ISBN 9781594718496.
Ave Maria Press (2018).
$15.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
Each day’s two-page devotion begins with a simple call to prayer followed by a psalm verse and a brief scripture passage. Paolino’s daily reflections help you connect your everyday life with the call to repentance and conversion we hear during Lent. His insights and guidance are reinforced with a focused spiritual exercise for the day and summed up with a brief prayer asking God’s blessing, mercy, and courage.
The compact size and affordable pricing make this ideal for individuals as well as bulk purchases in parishes, schools, diocesan offices and other Catholic settings.
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Wild Goose Big Book of Liturgies
volume 2.
Iona Community.
Pbk 204pp. ISBN 9781849526166.
Wild Goose (2018).
$48.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
Liturgies and liturgical resources for New Year, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, Advent and Christmas. A liturgy for an ‘ordinary day,’ and resources for special days like the UN International Day of Friendship and World AIDS Day.
Includes full communion services and shorts acts of worship; liturgies for small groups and all-age gatherings and collections of resources that could be used to help shape liturgies, or at special events and gatherings.
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A Resurrection Shaped Life:
Dying and Rising on Planet Earth.
Jake Owensby.
Pbk 128pp. ISBN 9781501870811.
Abingdon Press (2018).
$37.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].
Can we begin to experience the resurrection in our ordinary life on earth? Bishop Jake Owensby says yes as he re-examines the biblical concept of resurrection and how Jesus’ resurrection influences his followers every day.
A resurrection-shaped life:
- Finds hope through honest reflection on the past.
- Discovers meaning in suffering.
- Moves beyond shame and blame toward self-acceptance and compassion.
- Emerges from loss and regret to find contentment and joy.
- Develops forgiveness as a habitual way of life.
- Transcends “us-them” divisions to form inclusive community.
- Draws strength from the hope of life after life.
Owensby explains how we begin to experience resurrection in Christian practices such as repentance and forgiveness and discusses how new life emerges from our small deaths: suffering, shame, regret, and loss.
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Lasting Hope:
Devotions for Lent 2019.
Nathan Hilkert; Christina Klein;
Rebekkah Lohrmann.
Pbk 96pp. ISBN 9781506447766.
Augsburg Fortress (2018).
$14.00.
[Currently out of stock at US supplier, allow 4-6 weeks].
The book of Psalms gives us a realistic look at the journey of faith for individuals and a community. From crying for help to singing songs of praise and thanksgiving – and everything in between – the psalms show faith with all its ups and downs, twists and turns.
This beautiful, full-colour Lenten devotional explores the Psalms texts for Lent in year C of the Revised Common Lectionary with 40 entries, one for each day in Lent. Each reading is accompanied by a photo, a quote to ponder, a reflection, and a prayer. This accessible and colourful format makes it easy to incorporate a simple Christian observance into your Lenten journey.
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From Now On:
A Lent Course on Hope and Redemption in The Greatest Showman.
Rachel Mann.
Pbk 112pp. ISBN 9780232533927.
Darton Longman + Todd (2018).
$24.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
A brilliant new Lent Course for 2019, based on the hugely popular film The Greatest Showman. The movie starring Hugh Jackman, about the founder and stars of the Barnum & Bailey Circus is ideal for Lenten study of Christian themes of hope, redemption and new life.
The five-week course offers discussion points, biblical reflections and prayers based on short excerpts from the film. The themes are:
- A Million Dreams: exploring what liberation and hope might look like for an ‘outsider’ in the world.
- Come Alive: exploring how the family of faith can bring hope and purpose.
- Rewrite the stars: asks what forms of resistance can be placed in the way of salvation.
- Never Enough: questions the temptations of false fulfilment that can lead us to betrayal.
- The Greatest Show: shows how redemption is found when we discover ‘the circus is our home.’
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Sense and Sensibility:
A Lenten Exploration.
Sam Portaro.
Pbk 96pp, colour images.
ISBN 9781640651272.
Church Publishing (2018).
$30.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].
Empathy – emotional identification and connection with others – is crucial to liturgical engagement, especially in the highly dramatic practices of the key events of the Christian Year. Portaro helps to restore our ability to participate emotionally in the Lenten journey by revisiting the five physical senses – one per week – in Lent.
He encourages the reader to renew a relationship with the physical senses that is a prerequisite to a deeply attuned engagement with the biblical stories read, taught, and liturgically re-enacted in the rites of Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter.
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The Gift of New Creation
(Lent – RCL Year C):
Scriptures for the Church Seasons.
Thomas L Ehrich.
Pbk 112pp. ISBN 9781501870903.
Abingdon Press (2018).
$26.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].
Ehrich invites us to explore God’s saving and redeeming love through a study of the lectionary Bible readings for Lent and Easter. Key Scriptures call us to prepare and contemplate God’s restoration and new creation through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Through the readings, we hear the invitation to embrace God’s salvation and the new life offered to us through Christ. The season of Lent offers opportunities to reflect on God’s redemptive action and to explore means of grace that help us move into new life in Christ. Transformation is a key focus of Lenten worship, study, and prayer. We will discover the salvation and renewal of creation revealed through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
Includes commentary and reflection on readings from the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the Epistles.
Also available:
The Gift of New Creation
(Lent – RCL Year C):
Large Print:
Scriptures for the Church Seasons. Thomas L Ehrich.
Pbk.112pp. ISBN 9781501870927.
Abingdon Press (2018).
$27.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].
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Gathering – Subscription – 4 issues p.a.
United Church of Canada.
A4 copied sheets. 92pp. ISSN 0823-1869.
United Church of Canada (2018).
$79.99, including postage in NZ.
[2 copies of Lent & Easter 2019 in stock].
Published four times a year, Gathering is a worship planning resource for ministers, lay preachers, music directors and worship teams.
For each Sunday or feast day Gathering provides:
- a one line summary of each lectionary reading
- an overall theme spark
- a children’s talk idea
- a sermon starter, and
- titles and sources of suggested hymns/songs.
There are also Calls to Worship, Prayers of Approach, Words of Assurance, Offering prayers and benedictions. And each issue has materials around a central theme.
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Nothing More and Nothing Less:
A Lent Course based on the film
I, Daniel Blake.
Virginia Moffatt.
Pbk 128pp. ISBN 9780232533446.
Darton Longman + Todd (2018).
$24.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
A new and original Lent course which uses the powerful, multi-award winning film I, Daniel Blake, directed by Ken Loach and written by Paul Laverty, as an opportunity for us to question why so many people in our society are suffering, what causes injustice and oppression – looking at examples from Jesus’ time as well as today – and what we can do in response.
The course is based around five weekly group sessions entitled:
- Systems of Oppression
- Staying Human
- Compassion in the Darkness
- Fighting Back or Giving In?
- The Suffering Servant
Each session includes suggested clips from I, Daniel Blake to watch as a group (with timings for a DVD or film download), reflection points and discussion starters, a suitable Bible reading and prayers, and a short section of suggestions for ways in which course members could make a positive practical response.
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 Love that Dares to Speak:
A five-session group study course exploring Christian reactions to homosexuality.
Hilary Brand.
Pbk 136pp. ISBN 9780232533835.
Darton Longman + Todd (2019).
$23.00.
[Publishing 28 Feb 2019,
then allow 3-4 weeks].
Disagreements over issues relating to homosexuality are perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Christian Church today.
Brand provides an opportunity for people of differing opinions and experiences within small church groups to explore the issues together; to share views and questions, to find out what the Bible actually said about being gay, and to gain deeper understanding. It brings into focus deeper issues about how we as Christians form our ethical opinions, and how we react to a changing society.
This book takes the form of a five-session study course, suitable for use at any time of the year, including Lent. The weekly sessions are:
- Responding to a changing world
- Grappling with ancient tradition
- Matching 1st Century instruction with 21st Century experience
- Re-evaluating marriage – and celibacy
- Recreating a welcoming and respecting church
Leader’s notes are included for each session, and the book includes useful appendices for background information. The material is intended for small groups but could be usefully done as an individual study.
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From Darkness to Eastering.
Bonnie B Thurston.
Pbk 112pp. ISBN 9781849525565.
Wild Goose (2017).
$33.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
Explore how, on a cosmic and a personal level, darkness gives way to light. It does not sugar-coat the reality of darkness but is full of hope, reminding voyagers that ‘light shines in the darkness,’ that darkness is required to perceive light – and that Easter means the light has come, life triumphs, and the promised Holy Spirit will empower us for growth.
These reflective, prayerful poems are ‘a ticket and passport for a spiritual journey’ and can be used in a daily discipline or with groups.
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The Sun Slowly Rises:
Readings, reflections and prayers for Holy Week from the Iona Community.
Neil Paynter.
Pbk 152pp. ISBN 9781849525275.
Wild Goose (2017).
$36.50.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
Bible readings, reflections and prayers for the days of Holy Week. Also a large section of resources, including ‘Prayers on the seven words from the Cross,’ ‘A service of lamentation to liberate us for action,’ poems, meditations, and reflections.
- The sun slowly rises on city streets where saints trail and spread God’s light.
- The sun slowly rises in Glasgow classrooms where folk teach English as a second language to refugees and asylum seekers.
- The sun slowly rises at islands for world peace and over Iona Abbey.
- It rises on farms in Palestine where folk plant olive trees and work to grow peace from the ground up.
- It rises where street pastors hand out bandages and love.
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Dancing in the Desert:
Prayers and reflections for Lent.
Sally Foster-Fulton.
Pbk 160pp. ISBN 9781849524575.
Wild Goose (2016).
$36.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
Reflections, meditations, prayers, activities and liturgies for Lent. Includes a liturgy for Mother’s Day, worship for Ash Wednesday, an all-age service for Shrove Tuesday for making and sharing pancakes, and other all-age resources.
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Another Story Must Begin:
A Lent Course Based on Les Miserables.
Jonathan Meyer.
Pbk 95pp. ISBN 9780232530278.
Darton Longman + Todd (2014).
$18.00.
[10 in stock, then allow 3 weeks].
A Lent course based on the film, the novel and the stage adaptation of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. Through discussion of some of the themes and principal characters of this epic narrative, the course explores the grace of God and our own fallen state and opportunity for redemption, and helps us to reassess what we can do with our lives and for those around us.
The course is based around five weekly group sessions:
- Fantine and Cosette
- The Bishop of Digne
- Jean Valjean
- Javert
- Redemption and Salvation
Each session includes watching scenes from the Oscar-winning movie starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway (with timing references for the DVD), and questions and reflections for group discussion. Each session also includes introductory reading, notes for leaders, related Bible passages and suggested closing prayers.
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A Beautiful Friendship:
A Lent Course based on Casablanca.
Zoe Young; Paul Kerensa.
Pbk 112pp. ISBN 9780232531404.
Darton Longman + Todd (2014).
$19.50.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
The book is designed to be studied by groups or individuals alongside the DVD of Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
The classic movie Casablanca provides a great basis for discussion of themes of sacrifice, repentance, suffering, loss and hope at Lent. Its wartime setting provides additional poignancy for study at a time of continued armed conflict around the world as well as the centenary remembrance of the first world war.
The book includes leaders’ notes, timings for film clips, discussion-starters, reflections and prayers.
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Stages On the Way:
Worship Resources for Lent, Holy Week and Easter.
Wild Goose Worship Group.
Pbk 256pp. ISBN 9781901557114.
Wild Goose (1998).
$57.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
Prayers, meditations, litanies, readings, responses, scripts, symbolic actions and more, tracing Jesus’ road to the cross through Lent, Holy Week and Easter.
These are worship resources that enable people to sense the hope, apprehension and joy of Easter as felt by Jesus’ friends. The range and diversity offers a unique source of elements for lay and clergy worship planners and enablers. All of the material has been used in celebrations and services of public worship. |
