"Advent, says Fleming Rutledge, is not for the faint of heart. As the midnight of the Christian year, the season of Advent is rife with dark, gritty realities. In this book, with her trademark wit and wisdom, Rutledge explores Advent as a time of rich paradoxes, a season celebrating at once Christ's incarnation and his second coming, and she masterfully unfolds the ethical and future-oriented significance of Advent for the church" -- Amazon.com.
On Good Friday, March 30, 2018, Fleming Rutledge preached on the Seven Last Words of Jesus at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, New York City. Her seven meditations, delivered over the course of three hours, were met with rave reviews. Printed in full in this volume, these sermons display Rutledge's usual combination of resolute orthodoxy and pastoral wisdom--at once traditional and fresh.
Fleming Rutledge presents a compelling collection of sixty sermons that delve into familiar Old Testament texts, emphasizing their relevance to contemporary Christian life and theology. By exploring the lives of iconic figures such as Abraham, Samuel, and Job, she illustrates how these ancient narratives provide a foundational context for understanding the New Testament. Rutledge champions the richness of the Old Testament, urging preachers to reconnect with its diverse messages while affirming the core truth of monotheism central to the faith.
A collection of fifty-one sermons on Romans, this book shows how Paul actually makes explicit what is implicit in the Gospel narratives and reveals the full dimensions of God's project to reclaim the cosmos and everything in it for himself.
Sermons of hope and faith for those who have lost both. Many of us struggle with doubt, uncertainty, and disbelief. The problem is not the struggle but when we stop wrestling; not when we lose sight of God but when we stop looking. Fleming Rutledge speaks directly to readers who are plagued by doubts and uncertainties about Christian faith. Among the host of challenging questions she addresses are: Doesn't everyone have their own idea of God? What if I'm not very religious? Can we still believe in the Resurrection today? Rutledge approaches these questions with a combination of pastoral warmth and intellectual fearlessness. She aligns herself with the struggling questioner as she faces the most penetrating theological challenges of our day. Provocative, learned, and displaying the elegance of expression for which Rutledge is well known, Help My Unbelief does not offer arguments but points toward the One who creates and sustains faith.
The book features a foreword by William H. Willimon, known for his insightful perspectives on faith and ministry. It delves into themes of spirituality, community, and the challenges faced by modern believers. The author offers a fresh take on traditional concepts, encouraging readers to engage deeply with their faith and the world around them. Through thought-provoking narratives and reflections, it aims to inspire a transformative journey in understanding and practicing one's beliefs.
J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings has long been acknowledged as the gold standard for fantasy fiction, and the recent Oscar-winning movie trilogy has brought forth a whole new generation of fans. Many Tolkien enthusiasts, however, are not aware of the profoundly religious dimension of the great Ring saga.In The Battle for Middle-earth Fleming Rutledge employs a distinctive technique to uncover the theological currents that lie just under the surface of Tolkien's epic tale. Rutledge believes that the best way to understand this powerful "deep narrative" is to examine the story as it unfolds, preserving some of its original dramatic tension. This deep narrative has not previously been sufficiently analyzed or celebrated. Writing as an enthusiastic but careful reader, Rutledge draws on Tolkien's extensive correspondence to show how biblical and liturgical motifs shape the action. At the heart of the plot lies a rare glimpse of what human freedom really means within the Divine Plan of God. The Battle for Middle-earth surely will, as Rutledge hopes, "give pleasure to those who may already have detected the presence of the sub-narrative, and insight to those who may have missed it on first reading."
For at least a century, at special three-hour services on Good Friday, it has been the custom in many churches to reflect on the Seven Last Words of Jesus from the Cross. In this tradition, Fleming Rutledge here presents seven eloquent meditations on these final sayings of Jesus.Rutledge links the sayings from the cross with contemporary events and concerns, but also incorporates recent biblical scholarship and modern questions about the death of Christ, particularly in light of Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ . Rutledge shows how each word or saying from the Cross affords an opportunity for readers to gain a deeper understanding of the horrific death suffered by Jesus.Intending for this book to lead readers into a genuine devotional experience, Rutledge has made every effort to evoke and preserve the contemplative atmosphere of the three-hour Good Friday memorial. The book includes frequent references to hymns associated with this special day, and each meditation ends with an appropriate hymn text for personal prayer and reflection.
Few treatments of the death of Jesus Christ have made a point of accounting for the gruesome, degrading, public manner of his death by crucifixion, a mode of execution so loathsome that the ancient Romans never spoke of it in polite society. Rutledge probes all the various themes and motifs used by the New Testament evangelists and apostolic writers to explain the meaning of the cross of Christ. She shows how each of the biblical themes contributes to the whole, with the Christus Victor motif and the concept of substitution sharing pride of place along with Irenaeus's recapitulation model.
Christmas celebrates Christ's birth; Epiphany manifests his glory. Many of us associate Epiphany with the visit of the Magi but don't know much more about it. In this Fullness of Time volume, priest and theologian Fleming Rutledge expounds the primary biblical texts and narrative arc of the season, inviting us to discover God's glory anew.