 |
Matthew. Interpretation Bible Commentary Series. By Mark Allan Powell
Westminster John Knox, 2024. Amazon: $35.37. Trinity Days: $20.00
Distills 45 years of the author’s expertise on Matthew into a reader-friendly commentary for preachers and teachers. The book is selling extremely well—on its way to being the world’s best-selling commentary on Matthew. R. Alan Culpepper says “This is definitely the commentary that any church leader should look at first for understanding and appreciating texts from our first Gospel.” Yes, Series A is coming to an end, but it will be back—and it’s okay to read Matthew’s Gospel other years as well.
|
 |
Kindness Stones: Stories for Melissa. By Mark Allan Powell
Cascade Books, 2026. Amazon: $35.35. Trinity Days: $10.00
A collection of 13 secular short stories—not religious or theological but what Powell calls “frequently humorous and sometimes poignant stories to engage the heart, soul, and mind.” Here you will meet a man who has fallen in love seven times, but never fallen out; a teacher whose devotion to children has distracted her from a guilty past and a present loneliness; a troubled soul who finds meaning in life by recounting tales of Greek mythology to Girl Scouts and vagrants; a retired priest who is (literally) haunted by memories of a girl he once loved. The stories differ wildly in mood and genre: they may be silly, sentimental, sexy (as in PG-13), or spooky—but they are all meant to be entertaining. Julie Faith Parker calls them, “utterly heartwarming, deeply insightful, surprisingly humorous, gently meaningful, and thoroughly uplifting.” David Rhoads (who knows a lot about stories) says these tales are masterfully told, “with fascinating characters, plot developments with twists and turns, an encyclopedic fount of details, and some potentially life-changing lines.”
|
 |
Out of the Box: Stories by Melissa. By Melissa Curtis Powell
Lulu Publishing, 2026. Amazon: unavailable. Trinity Days: $5.00
A collection of ten original short stories by Melissa Curtis Powell, Trinity’s long-time financial-aid director. These absorbing tales capture the exploits of memorable characters dealing with both mundane and dramatic events in their lives. What does a therapist do when she discovers she was the “emergency contact” for a man she has never heard of? Can a private detective continue scouting a man suspected of infidelity when he gets distracted by bird-watching? How many foster dogs can a couple decide to keep before they will be regarded as “crazy dog people”? And what will a woman who has survived multiple traumas and tragedies do when she discovers her beach cottage may be haunted? Readers say they find the stories “impressive, exquisite, thought-provoking, beautifully crafted, engaging, and provocative.”
|
 |
The Kingdom of God: Present & Future. By Mark Allan Powell
Cascade Books, 2026. No Advance Purchase. $10.00
This book is not available for advance purchase, but may be offered for purchase at Trinity Days.
A survey of what Jesus, the Gospel authors, and Paul say about the present reign of God in our world, the reality of eternal life, and life in the Spirit—plus a surprising synopsis of what the Bible actually teaches about life after death in a glorious world to come.
|