Publisher's Synopsis
Guidelines is a unique Bible reading resource that offers four months of in-depth study written by leading scholars. Contributors are drawn from around the world, as well as the UK, and represent a stimulating and thought-provoking breadth of Christian tradition. Instead of the usual dated daily readings, Guidelines provides weekly units, broken into at least six sections, plus an introduction giving context for the passage and a final section of points for thought and prayer. On any day you can read as many or as few sections as you wish, to fit in with work or home routine. As well as a copy of Guidelines, you will need a Bible. Each contributor also suggests books for further study. Published every four months (in January, May and September), commissioned by Canon Dr Jeremy Duff and edited by Lisa Cherrett. The Editor writes... 'A personal God' is a phrase some Christians often use to capture the sense that God is not just a 'force' - a distant omni-potent being - but someone they relate to as individuals. It speaks of God's love, compassion and care for them. Many of our readings in this edition bring out aspects of this idea of God encountered as 'person'. We start with 'Retreat to focus on God', in which Tim Blewett encourages us to deepen our relationship with God. Then Andrew Angel continues his studies in Mark's Gospel, in which we are pressed to grasp both who Jesus really is and 'the heart of God' seen in his desire to bring salvation. Then Jeremy Duff tackles the Song of Songs, a text whose place in the Bible encourages us to use human experience of love as a pointer to our relationship to God. Juxtaposed with this, we find the cross. Here Graham Tomlin helps us engage with this most stark aspect of Christian belief - suffering and death mixed with love and sacrifice in a brew that is nothing if not emotional and personal. Next comes our regular foray into the Psalms with Henry Wansbrough, this time with psalms expressing much about what God is really like. After this, Jill Duff, a pioneer minister in Liverpool, gives her 'Reflections of a pioneer'. This is part of our continued commitment to engaging with mission. It also fits with our theme, for it begins and ends with the idea of God's compassion and speaks of how we can be sustained through our closeness to God. Deuteronomy 11 - 22 follows, where Matthew Firth helps us ponder what it means to be 'the people of God'. If this is what God is like, what does that mean for those who claim to be his people? Finally Jenny Hellyer gives us much to reflect upon at Christmas - the moment when God indeed 'came to us', shockingly taking on human nature, to speak to us person to person. Jeremy Duff Lisa Cherrett writes: With this issue we say 'goodbye' and a very big 'thank you' to the Revd Dr Jeremy Duff as Commissioning Editor of Guidelines. Jeremy has been engaged in this role since 2004, and we have appreciated his commitment and vision in steering Guidelines through several changes over those years. We hope that he will continue to write for the notes. From the May 2013 issue on, Guidelines will be commissioned by the Revd Dr David Spriggs, of Bible Society, who will be familiar to many readers as a contributor in earlier issues.
