Reuben Bredenhof Livres

Exploring the Lord's Prayer in the context of the Old Testament, this study reveals how Jesus' teachings are rooted in the Psalms, the ancient prayer book. It emphasizes the themes of worship, seeking divine provision, confession, and mercy, illustrating what pleases God in prayer. Readers will discover how to honor God's name in their lives and find reassurance in the promise that God listens to His children's prayers through Christ. This work offers a deeper understanding of prayer's significance and its connection to biblical tradition.

The apostle Paul's teaching on ministry in a local church reveals challenges acutely familiar to today's church leaders: unclear expectations, unhelpful comparisons, style criticisms, vocational stresses, money disputes, and more.

Exploring the intersection of the Ten Commandments and Proverbs, this book offers practical guidance for navigating modern life as a Christian. It addresses various aspects of daily living, including worship, communication, finances, relationships, and personal desires. By examining these ancient texts together, readers gain wisdom that is both memorable and applicable, providing insight on how to approach life's complexities with a God-centered perspective. The aim is to instruct and encourage through the understanding of divine wisdom rooted in reverence for God.

Bredenhof analyses the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31) by examining its functions as a narrative, considering its persuasiveness as a rhetorical unit, and situating it within a Graeco-Roman and Jewish intertextual conversation on the themes of wealth and poverty, and authoritative revelation. The parable portrays the consequences of the rich man’s failure to respond to the suffering of Lazarus. Bredenhof argues that the parable offers its audience a prospect for alternative outcomes, in response both to poverty and to a person who has risen from the dead. This prospect is particularly evident when the parable is read in anticipation of the ethical and theological concerns of Luke’s second volume in Acts. Bredenhof asserts that reading within the context of Luke-Acts contributes to the understanding of Luke’s purposes with this narrative. It is in Acts that his audience witnesses the parable’s message about mercy being applied through charitable initiatives in the community of believers, while the Acts accounts of preaching and teaching demonstrate that a true reading of “Moses and the prophets” is inseparably joined to the believing acceptance of one risen from the dead. Through a re-reading of Luke 16:19-31 in its Luke-Acts context, its message is amplified and commended to the parable’s audience for their response.