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The Gospel of Matthew: God with Us, By Matt Woodley alt

The Gospel of Matthew

God with Us

Resonate Series

by Matt Woodley
Afterword by Skye Jethani
Foreword by Leonard Sweet

The Gospel of Matthew
Ebook
  • Length: 301 pages
  • Published: September 13, 2011
  • Imprint: IVP
  • ISBN: 9780830869381

They say the Bible is true, but does it ring true? Does it resonate?In this journey through the Gospel of Matthew, Matt Woodley considers the audacious idea of a God with us--confronting us in the midst of all we've invested ourselves inand dedicated ourselves to, and encouraging us with the promise that the God who made us has a better life in mind for us.The Resonate series recovers the ancient wisdom of Scripture for a complex world. The stories and insights of each book of the Bible are brought into conversation with contemporary voices of hope and lament--the cultural messages we interact with on a daily basis. The Scriptures become a meeting ground where God is confronted with the pressing concerns of our day, and we areconfronted in turn with a fresh experience of God's truth.

REVIEWS

"In Matt Woodley's capable hands, here theologically astute commentary meets culturally relevant story. Instead of only interacting with Matthean scholars, we also hear from Bono, Anne Lamott, J. R. R. Tolkien, Bob Dylan, etc. Simply put, Woodley interweaves these stories (and so many more) with Matthew's story of Jesus in order to show how the latter story resonates with our own. Make your way through this book then and you will not only find a readers' guide to Matthew and his most important themes, but you will find as well a telling critique of modern culture and church and their often misguided attempts to make sense of the mysteries of life. In the end, readers 'hear the story' and realize that the core of Matthew's message is simply this: Jesus came to embody the truth that we can trust God, that he really is good, and that he has come near to rescue us from ourselves. In Matthew's Jesus, God is not only with us, he is for us."Steven A. Hunt, associate professor ofbiblical studies, Gordon College
"This commentary by Matt Woodley is one you don't simply want to reference but read. Woodley rightly manages to find the note of grace and promise in every passage. This is a book about the gospel--good news--of Matthew. I can't imagine studying the first Gospel without this book within easy reach."Mark Galli, senior managing editor of Christianity Today
"With an engaging, well-written narrative, Matt Woodley invites readers into the story of Matthew's Gospel with a pastor's sensitivity. This is a substantive and accessible commentary that readers will find hard to put down."Ed Cyzewski, author of Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life
"As I read through Matthew Woodley's commentary on the book of Matthew, I was consistently surprised by his interaction with the text and the ideas and insights that developed as a result. This book is a gift and a challenge to pastors who want to think more theologically and to theologians who want to think more pastorally."Tim Keel, teaching pastor at Jacob's Well Church, author of Intuitive Leadership
"Matt Woodley's commentary is a wonderful resource for every pastor trying their best to communicate the good news of Jesus Christ and the values recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. I found this work to be theologically intelligent, spiritually insightful and delightful to read. I kept thinking to myself, 'Reading Woodley is like reading F. Dale Bruner in dialogue with Philip Yancey.'"Kevin J. Navarro, senior pastor of Bethany Evangelical Free Church and author of The Complete Worship Leader and The Complete Worship Service
"The gift of Matt Woodley's Matthew commentary is application. He takes the central meaning of each ancient Gospel text and then, in refreshing ways, applies these meanings to real, earthy, human life today. I heartily recommend his work.F. Dale Bruner, professor emeritus, Whitworth University, and author of Matthew: A Commentary
"There is an ancient way of reading Scripture known as lectio divina--reading and rereading and digesting a portion of the Bible, asking: What does it say? What did it mean then? What does it mean now? How does it call me to respond? MattWoodley gives us more than a commentary; it is a contemporary lectio divina which may help any reader both to know and to live out the truth of God with us in everyday life! I am going to recommend it to many of my intellectually alert, culturally aware and spiritually serious friends."Leighton Ford, president, Leighton Ford Ministries
"Throughout the pages of The Gospel of Matthew: God with Us, Matt Woodley makes accessible the truth of the incarnation of Christ through his own candid personal narrative and the inspirational stories of others. The reader is continuallyengaged from the divinely 'human' genealogy of Jesus to the promise of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit at book's end. This commentary provides a refreshing expository of an often familiar Gospel by provoking questions about the impact ofGod's coming kingdom in today's culture and society."Reverend Mae Elise Cannon, author of Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World
"Woodley's work brings both Christ and Matthew near; we experience them present with us, speaking to us about things that matter then and now."Mark DeYmaz, pastor, Mosaic Church of Central Arkansa, and author, Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church and Ethnic Blends
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CONTENTS

Foreward by Leonard Sweet
Series Introduction
Acknowledgments
The Resonate Editorial Team
Introduction
1. The Identity and Mission of Jesus (1:1--4:11)
The World's Greatest Adventure Story Begins (1:1-17)
When Love Found a Form (1:18-25)
The Strangest Christmas Story (2:1-23)
The Good News of Repentance (3:1-17)
Into the Soupy Fog (4:1-11)
2. The Public Ministry of Jesus (4:12--11:1)
Starting with the Big Story (4:12-25)
Upside Down, Upside Right (5:1-12)
The Glory of Salt (5:13-16)
When the Author of the Rule Book Shows Up (5:17-37)
You Must Display Mercy . . . or Else! (5:38-48)
Stealthy Spirituality (6:1-8, 16-18)
A Big Prayer for Little People (6:9-15)
Freedom from the Trap of Stuff (6:19-34; 7:7-12)
Dismantling the Spirit of Judgment (7:1-6)
Make a Decision (7:13-29)
The Beauty of Being Present (8:1-17, 28-34)
Counting the Cost (8:18-27)
Extreme Desperation (9:1-34)
Unlikely Heroes (10:1-15)
Mean People (10:16-11:1)
3. The Varying Response to Jesus (11:2?16:12)
John the Baptist Meets the Prosperity Gospel (11:1-15; 13:53-58; 14:1-11)
Woe to Those on the Inside Track (11:20-30)
Fighting for Redemption (12:1-21)
The One Unforgivable Sin (12:22-52)
The Unlikely Journey of the Little Seed (13:1-20)
Would You Hurry Up and Do Something! (13:24-43, 47-50)
Joy Happens (13:44-46)
Beautiful Flops (14:22-33)
Missing the Point of It All (15:1-20)
Getting in the House (15:21-28)
Faith Is "Impossible" (15:29--16:12)
4. The Growing Conflict with Jesus (16:13--25:46)
Spiritual but not Religious (16:13-28)
What a Wonderful World (17:1-23)
A Person's a Person, No Matter How Small (17:24--18:20)
The Unnatural Act of Forgiveness (18:21-35)
Should We Call the Whole Thing Off? (19:1-15)
Everybody Needs an Intervention (19:16-31)
The Shock of Grace (20:1-16)
Jesus and the Culture of Celebrity (20:17-34)
Who Put You in Charge of Us? (21:1-27)
And Then What Happened? (21:28--22:14)
Jesus' Quiet Superpower (22:15-46)
Christians Behaving Badly(23:1-39)
A Long, Painful, Messy Birth (24:1-35)
Planting Gardens in Junkyards (24:36--25:30)
Jesus' Version of the Butterfly Effect (25:31-46)
5. The Death and Resurrection of Jesus (26:1--28:15)
Smashing Into Life and Love (26:1-35)
Shattering the Myth of Innocence (26:31--27:66--Part 1)
God with Us, Asking Our Questions (26:31--27:66--Part 2)
God for Us, Setting the Captives Free (26:31--27:66--Part 3)
One Little Word Changes the World (28:1-15)
Living Between the Bookends--God with Us (28:16-20)
Afterword by Skye Jethani
Notes

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ABOUT Matt Woodley

Matt Woodley

Prior to joining PreachingToday.com as its managing editor, Matt Woodley pastored a number of churches, most recently in Long Island, New York. He is the author of several books, including Holy Fools and The Folly of Prayer.

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