Fleming Rutledge

"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.

The Season of Glory

Epiphany

Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ

The Crucifixion

"Advent," says Fleming Rutledge, "is definitely not for sissies." As the midnight of the Christian year, Advent is rife with dark, gritty realities. In this book Rutledge spotlights the rich significance of the Advent season not just as transitional but as vibrant and profound in its own right. With her trademark wit and wisdom, Rutledge explores Advent as a time of such paradoxes as waiting and hastening, suffering and hope, justice and mercy, now and not-yet. Showing how Advent at once celebrates Christ's incarnation and his second coming, Rutledge masterfully unfolds the ethical and eschatological implications of this special season.

The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ

Advent

Sixty superlative sermons on familiar Old Testament texts. 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.

Preaching from the Old Testament

And God Spoke to Abraham

Fleming Rutledge discovers the deeper religious meaning behind Tolkien's masterpiece.

Tolkien's Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings

The Battle for Middle-earth

In this collection of sermons representing 25 years of Holy Week and Easter preaching, Fleming Rutledge offers a wide-ranging vision of the cross and the resurrection.

The Undoing of Death

“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.

Help My Unbelief, 20th Anniversary Edition

In this inspiring collection of fifty-one sermons on Romans, Fleming Rutledge presents afresh the radical gospel of Paul. Countering the widespread suspicion that Paul somehow complicated Jesus' simple teachings, Rutledge shows how Paul actually makes explicit what is implicit in the Gospel narratives and reveals "the full dimensions of God's project to reclaim the cosmos and everything in it for himself." 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.

Sermons from Paul's Letter to the Romans

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

For at least a century, at special three-hour services on Good Friday, it has been the custom in many churches to reflect on the Seven Last Words of Jesus from the Cross. In this tradition, Fleming Rutledge here presents seven eloquent meditations on these final sayings of Jesus. 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.

The Seven Last Words from the Cross

“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.

A Year of Weekly Devotions

Means of Grace

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.

J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings has long been acknowledged as the gold standard for fantasy fiction, and the recent Oscar-winning movie trilogy has brought forth a whole new generation of fans. Many Tolkien enthusiasts, however, are not aware of the profoundly religious dimension of the great Ring saga. 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."

This collection of vividly illustrative sermons by a leading contemporary Episcopalian preacher eloquently heralds the Christian call to faith in the face of modern challenges. 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.

The Bible and The New York Times

"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.

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.

Sermons for Good Friday

Three Hours

Heralded by congregations and peers alike as one of today's most compelling and powerful Christian voices, Rutledge is also a bestselling author whose previous collections of sermons have touched readers deeply. This new volume contains short, readable reflections on the seven last words from the cross.

Fleming Rutledge

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