Christianity is not becoming a global religion—it has always been one. Vince Bantu surveys the geographic range of the early church's history, investigating the historical roots of the Western cultural captivity of the church and the concurrent development of diverse expressions of Christianity across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

In first-century Ephesus, life is not easy for women. In this gripping novel, Holly Beers introduces us to the first-century setting where Paul first proclaimed the gospel. Illuminated by historical images and explanatory sidebars, this lively story not only shows us the rich tapestry of life in a Greco-Roman city, it also foregrounds the interior life of one woman—and the radical new freedom the gospel promised her.

How were holidays chosen and taught in biblical Israel, and what did they have to do with the creation narrative? Michael LeFebvre considers the calendars of the Pentateuch, arguing that dates were added to Old Testament narratives not as journalistic details but to teach sacred rhythms of labor and worship. LeFebvre then applies this insight to the creation week, finding that the days of creation also serve a liturgical purpose.

Christians cannot ignore the intersection of religion and violence. In our own Scriptures, war texts that appear to approve of genocidal killings and war rape raise hard questions about biblical ethics and the character of God. Have we missed something in our traditional readings? Identifying a spectrum of views on biblical war texts, Webb and Oeste pursue a middle path using a hermeneutic of incremental, redemptive-movement ethics.

Paul's epistle to Philemon is one of the shortest books in the entire Bible, and it certainly leaves plenty to the imagination. From the pen of an accomplished New Testament scholar, this vivid historical fiction account follows the slave Onesimus, fleshing out the lived context of first-century Ephesus and providing a social and theological critique of slavery in the Roman Empire.

Patronage is a central part of global cultures and the biblical story of God's mission, yet many Westerners misunderstand or ignore this concept. In this resource for ministry practitioners and lay Christians alike, Jayson Georges brings his crosscultural experience and biblical insights to bear on the topic of patronage, with sections on cultural issues, biblical models, theological concepts, and missional implications.

From the overcrowded apartment buildings of the poor to the halls of the emperors, this gripping tale of ambition, intrigue, and sacrifice is a compelling work of historical fiction that shows us the first-century Roman church as we've never seen it before. Illuminated with images and explanatory sidebars, we are invited into the daily struggles of the church at Rome just a few years before Paul wrote his famous epistle to them.

Did Mark write his Gospel in response to Roman imperial propaganda surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem? Adam Winn helps us rediscover how Mark might have been read by Christians in Rome during the aftermath of this cataclysmic event. He introduces us to the imperial propaganda of the Flavian emperors and excavates the Markan text for themes that address the Roman imperial setting.