Countering our contemporary tendency to bypass Jesus' crucifixion, Rutledge in these pages examines in depth 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 mines the classical writings of the Church Fathers, the medieval scholastics, and the Reformers as well as more recent scholarship, while bringing them all into contemporary context.

Widely known for her preaching, Rutledge seeks to encourage preachers, teachers, and anyone else interested in what Christians believe to be the central event of world history.

Credo Book Award Winner - Imagination, Beauty, and Liturgy

We have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.

This line from the prologue of the Gospel of John declares the theme of Epiphany. Christmas celebrates Christ's birth; Epiphany manifests his glory.

The feast of Epiphany and its following season are not as well observed as they should be. Many of us associate Epiphany with the visit of the Magi but don't know much more about it. In this short volume, priest and theologian Fleming Rutledge expounds the primary biblical texts and narrative arc of the season, inviting us to discover anew the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Each volume in the Fullness of Time series invites readers to engage with the riches of the church year, exploring the traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals of the seasons of the church calendar.

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.

In By the Word Worked, Fleming Rutledge exhibits a lifetime of wisdom gained from reflection upon the power of the Word of God to address, convict, comfort, and exhort the church. Rutledge contends that the Word of God is the very lifeblood of the church, with preaching, based upon Holy Scripture, calling the church into existence, determining its identity, providing its calling and commission, and enabling its faith in the ultimate triumph of its Lord. Despite Satan's interference, the revelation of God in his Word continues to show itself triumphant, relevant, transformative, and powerful in the modern era. Rutledge asserts that the continued proclamation of the Word of God is for the church life itself, never to be neglected even in the face of intense and targeted adversity.

In this initial volume of the Parchman Lectures series, Rutledge provides an incisive presentation of the power of the Word of God in its verbal form of Christian proclamation. Her call is for the reader to rediscover preaching that is not centered on human potential and the authenticity of the self, but on a divine Word of God that comes to us from outside ourselves, the Word of the Gospel, a Gospel that is both powerful in its effect and urgent in its appeal. These lectures challenge prevailing practices and paradigms in preaching but also present a faithful vision of Christian proclamation that is effective by means of the Word worked.

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.

I bring you news of a living reality that changes everything. Jesus has come; Jesus will come. Whatever your own personal darkness, it has been and will be overcome.

Means of Grace is a weekly devotional culled from the sermons of beloved pastor and theologian Fleming Rutledge, organized according to the framework of the liturgical calendar. Each entry, compiled and edited by Rutledge's friend Laura Bardolph Hubers, begins with a biblical passage and ends with a short prayer.

Those familiar with Rutledge's work will recognize both her genuine empathy for human experience and her deep reverence for God. Anyone longing for the wise pastoral guidance of an adept veteran preacher--one who views Scripture not as bland life lessons or timeless teaching but as the living God present and acting in the story of redemption--will find here a meaningful companion through the seasons of their spiritual journey that they can return to year after year.

Fleming Rutledge is just such a preacher. Heralded by congregations and peers alike as one of today's most compelling and powerful Christian voices, Mrs. Rutledge is also a best-selling author whose previous collections of sermons have touched readers deeply. This new volume, representing twenty-five years of Holy Week and Easter preaching, offers a wide-ranging vision of the Cross and Resurrection that will inform and inspire committed believers and serious seekers alike.

Divided into seven sections that progress through Holy Week from Palm Sunday to Good Friday to Easter and on through Eastertide, these sermons incorporate the biblical themes of sacrifice for sin, vicarious suffering, victory over evil and death, and the new creation arising out of eternal love. Many of these sermons are brand-new; others -- especially those for Good Friday -- have been rethought and reworked over a period of years. None have ever been published before. All of them consistently display Mrs. Rutledge's startling ability to bridge the message of the ancient biblical texts with the distinct needs of modern people.

Intellectually engaging, pastorally wise, and beautifully written, The Undoing of Death is accented with thirty-three artistic masterpieces depicting the events of Holy Week, making it a feast for the eye as well as the soul.

Many Christian preachers today largely neglect the Old Testament in their sermons, focusing instead on the Gospel accounts of Jesus' teachings and activities. As Fleming Rutledge points out, however, when the New Testament is disconnected from the context of the Old Testament, it is like a house with no foundation, a plant with no roots, or a pump with no well.

In this powerful collection of sixty sermons on the Old Testament, Rutledge expounds on a number of familiar Old Testament passages featuring Abraham, Samuel, David, Elijah, Job, Jonah, and many other larger-than-life figures. Applying these texts to contemporary life and Christian theology, she highlights the ways in which their multivocal messages can be heard in all their diversity while still proclaiming univocally, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.

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.

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief

Nothing has motivated Fleming Rutledge in her preaching more than addressing people's struggles with doubt. Now with a new preface from the author, Help My Unbelief speaks directly to the faithful doubters and the unbelieving believers of the church who wrestle with questions and uncertainties about Christian faith.

What if I'm not very religious?

Why isn't it enough just to be good and loving?

How can I respond to an abstraction like the Trinity?

Isn't Christianity outmoded?

Can we still believe in the Resurrection today?

Fleming Rutledge approaches these questions with a combination of pastoral warmth and theological fearlessness, aligning herself with those seeking answers and pointing readers toward the One who creates and sustains faith.

Widely known for their up-to-the-minute relevance to modern life, the sermons of Fleming Rutledge are always out on the edge, challenging the boundaries of contemporary thought and experience. No issue is too threatening, no event too shocking, no question too impertinent to be addressed. Following Karl Barth's dictum that sermons should be written with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other, Rutledge weaves the changing events of the daily news together with the unchanging rhythms of the church seasons. Her book leads readers through the liturgical year, from All Saints to Pentecost, showing how the biblical story intersects with our own stories.

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.

With her stirring words and joyful delving into Romans passages, Rutledge leads readers to refocus their eyes and ears on Paul's valuable teachings. She unpacks major ideas and motifs in the epistle, including the cross and resurrection of Christ as the first event of the age to come, faith as the human response ignited by the fire of the Word and the Holy Spirit, and God's work of salvation as all-encompassing and incomparable. Her Not Ashamed of the Gospel will be a help to preachers and an encouragement to listeners.