Fullness of Time

"O wondrous exchange!" Of all the seasons of the church calendar, Christmas is the one most recognized and celebrated by our society at large. That means it's the season we're most familiar with-but that can also make it harder to see past Christmas's many cultural trappings to its timeless beauty. At the first Christmas, God exchanged the glories of divinity for the vulnerability of human existence, uniting himself to us in order to unite us to God. In this short volume, priest and theologian Emily Hunter McGowin invites us into the church's celebration of that great exchange, in all its theological and liturgical splendor. Each volume in the Fullness of Time series invites audiences to engage with the riches of the church year, exploring the traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals of the seasons of the church calendar.

"Christians believe not just in one coming of Christ, but in three." We tend to think of Advent as the season of anticipation before Christmas-and while it is that, it's also much more. Throughout its history, the church has observed Advent as a preparation not only for the first coming of Christ in his incarnation but also for his second coming at the last day. It's also about a third coming: the coming of Christ to meet us in our present moment, to make us holy by his Word and Sacrament. In this short volume, priest and writer Tish Harrison Warren explores all three of these "comings" of Christ and invites us into a deeper experience of the first season of the Christian year. Each volume in the Fullness of Time series invites audiences to engage with the riches of the church year, exploring how its traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals all point us to Jesus.

"He is risen indeed!" Easter Sunday is the holiest day of the year, a day when even those who don't usually observe the Christian calendar or attend liturgical churches greet each other with the proclamation "Christ is risen!" But Easter is more than a day-it's a season even longer than Lent. In fact, for the Christian who has died with Christ and been brought to life in him, Easter is the new, joyous, and radical way of living. The world is turned upside down. In this short volume, priest and New Testament scholar Wesley Hill explores the history and significance of Easter for the church and for our own spiritual formation. This volume of the Fullness of Time series offers listeners ● An accessible, digestible introduction to the history and practice of the season of Easter ● Practical application of the Scriptural story and theology of Easter to our own spiritual formation, and ● A helpful contextualization of the Easter season into the context of the rest of the church calendar.

"The power of Pentecost is inseparable from the good news of the Christ who is proclaimed in the Gospels, in accordance with the Scriptures." Pentecost may well be the most misconstrued day on the church calendar. A long legacy of cessationism has drained Pentecost of much of its significance, and it's largely misunderstood in many Western churches today, if not outright ignored. That's not the case in Emilio Alvarez's tradition, though. In this Fullness of Time volume, the Pentecostal bishop and theologian offers us a rich biblical and theological introduction to the day of Pentecost and sets it in its liturgical context-not only in the Protestant tradition but also in Catholic, Orthodox, and Pentecostal expressions. The result is a rich theological feast and an invitation to find afresh the power of the gospel for all peoples. Each volume in the Fullness of Time series invites audiences to engage with the riches of the church year, exploring the traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals of the seasons of the church calendar.