"Preachers are guided by Karl Barth's advice to go into the pulpit with an open Bible in one hand and the daily newspaper in the other hand. The relationship between the two, the scriptural text and what is happening at the moment in the community and world, is critical, complicated, and, at times, fraught. Connections is a welcome preaching resource that addresses that important relationship, grounded in sound and current biblical scholarship and reflecting the ways the Word can engage creatively and thoughtfully the world God so dearly loves and Jesus Christ came to redeem. I can think of no more valuable help for those who stand up in the midst of their congregations weekly and attempt to speak a faithful, challenging and reconciling word." —John M. Buchanan, former Editor, The Christian Century, and author of From the Editor's Desk: Thinking Critically, Living Faithfully at the Dawn of a New Christian Century, also published by Westminster John Knox Press.