Old Testament Stories from the Back Side


Book Description

Brings a new perspective to selected Old Testament stories by exploring them from a unique starting point or from a different person's viewpoint. Chapter titles: The Second Sin; The Importance of Naming Joseph; Because My Mother Told Me; Moses' Midlife Crisis; Patron Saint of the Minority Report; Tragic Son, Tragic Father; Honey in the Lion; Beauty and the Beast; A Refugee at the King's Table; In Defense of Job's Wife; Jonah's Christmas Story; God Is Better Than His Plans. 12 Sessions with a leader's guide.




Old Testament Stories from the Back Side


Book Description

Using an approach similar to that in his book Parables from the Back Side, popular author J. Ellsworth Kalas brings a new perspective to selected Old Testament stories by approaching them from the “back side”—through a unique starting point, a creative retelling, a new “lens,” or the eyes of a minor or unsympathetic character. Chapter titles and Scripture: “The Second Sin” (Genesis 3:1-13); “The Importance of Naming Joseph” (Genesis 30:22-24); “Because My Mother Told Me” (Exodus 2:1-10); “Moses’ Midlife Crisis” (Exodus 2:11-22); “Patron Saint of the Minority Report” (Numbers 13:1-3, 25-33); “Tragic Son, Tragic Father” (Judges 11:1-6, 30-35); “Honey in the Lion” (Judges 14:5-14); “Beauty and the Beast” (1 Samuel 25:2-42); “A Refugee at the King’s Table” (2 Samuel 9:1-13); “In Defense of Job’s Wife” (Job 2:1-10); “Jonah’s Christmas Story” (Jonah 3:1-6, 10; Matthew 12:38-42); “God Is Better Than His Plans” (Ruth 1:1-5; 4:13-17). Includes 12 Sessions with a study guide.




New Testament Stories from the Back Side


Book Description

Using an approach similar to his other "Back Side" books, J. Ellsworth Kalas opens up new possibilities of insight into selected New Testament stories by entering them through the "back side" -- through a unique starting point, a creative retelling, a new "lens", or the eyes of a minor or unsympathetic character. Includes 12 stories and a study guide.




Faith from the Back Side


Book Description

In his popular series of books "From the Back Side," J. Ellsworth Kalas looks at Christian topics through a new lens, takes unique starting points on those subjects, and uses creative re-telling from different points of view. In Faith from the Back Side, Kalas explores something that is central in a Christian life but often difficult to understand. "We exercise faith every day, in hundreds of secular moments, then struggle to find it in its purest form when we need God’s help the most. The back side, indeed! Sometimes it’s the only side of faith we can seem to approach. Yet faith is nearer than our hands or feet, and more real than the air we breathe. It’s time we learned more about it." (J. Ellsworth Kalas, adapted from the foreword) A discussion guide is included for small-group use.




Parables from the Back Side Volume 1


Book Description

Includes Meet J. Ellsworth Kalas and 12 weekly sessions (10 minutes each) that examine the chapters of the book Parables from the back side: Bible stories with a twist.




Parables from the Back Side Volume 1


Book Description

Offers a new understanding of twelve of Jesus' parables by viewing them through the eyes of a minor or unsympathetic character. Chapter titles: When the Good Samaritan Is Bad News; God Called a Party, but Nobody Came; The Timid Soul; The Seasons of the Soil; The Sad Story of the Embarrassed Farmers; Love Always Wins...Sometimes; Why Doesn't God Like Religious People?; Pardon My Insistence; The Prodigal Who Stayed at Home; A Case for the Un-hired Hand; Moses and the Fig Tree; I Wish I Could Sell You More. 12 Sessions, with a leader's guide.




Parables from the Back Side Volume 2


Book Description

This study is an addition to the author’s popular “Back Side” books. J. Ellsworth Kalas presents new insight into twelve of Jesus’ parables by entering them through a unique starting point, a creative retelling, a new “lens,” or the eyes of a minor or unsympathetic character. Chapter titles: 1. The Value of the House--Matthew 7:24-27 2. The Man Who Talked with His Soul--Luke 12:13-21 3. What Chance Does an Average Sinner Have?--Luke 7:36-48 4. The Importance of Downward Mobility--Luke 14:7-11 5. The Danger of Being Good and Empty--Matthew 12:43-45 6. Risky business--Matthew 13:45-46 7. Miracles Can Be Overrated--Luke 16:19-31 8. Second Chance for a Poor Manager--Luke 16:1-13 9. A Laugh and a Prayer--Luke 11:5-13, 18:1-8 10. It Happens While We Sleep--Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 11. The Importance of Being Dressed for the Party--Matthew 22:1-14 12. The Genius of Effective Waiting--Luke 12:32-40




The Ten Commandments from the Back Side


Book Description

In this study, Kalas opens up new possibilities of insight into the familiar Ten Commandments by restating them in the positive and showing how they were intended to make life richer and more fulfilling. Kalas uses contemporary illustrations and personal experience to show how these timeless laws give us an appetite for divine excellence. Includes study guide, 10 sessions.




The Lost Books of the Bible and The Forgotten Books of Eden


Book Description

Presented here are two volumes of apocryphal writings reflecting the life and time of the Old and New Testaments. Stories told by contemporary fiction writers of historical Bible times in fascinating and beautiful style.




Christmas from the Back Side


Book Description

CHRISTMAS FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE Take a look at Christmas from alternative angles. Using an approach similar to his other “BackSide” books, Kalas crafts new insights into the scriptures of the Christmas story by looking at them from the “back side” – ...taking unique starting points...creative re-telling from different views...examining the story through new “lenses”...or looking through the eyes of a not-so-familiar character. Book session titles include: The Scandal of Christmas Three Votes for an Early Christmas Christmas Comes to a Back Fence How the Government Helped the First Christmas Happen Celebrating Christmas in a Hotel Christmas Comes to a Church Christmas and the Impossible Dream