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Revealed: hidden treasures about who you are, who Jesus is, and where your story and His intersect

Set against the backdrop of the Roman world, Come Alive: Philippians and Colossians invites you into the real-life drama of the early church, clarifies your thinking about who you are and who Jesus is and reminds you of the supreme joy of knowing Him: the Son of God and the only authority in heaven and on earth.

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Philippians and Colossians: on the surface, they are nice books filled with treasured platitudes for encouragement, relationships, and life.


The great temptation for modern readers is to read these books just that way: as a series of brilliant but disconnected sound bites. But these two powerful letters are full of hidden treasures – treasures about who you are, who Jesus is, and why your identity can never be separated from His supremacy.


Set against the backdrop of the Roman world, where ideas were a dime a dozen, Come Alive: Philippians and Colossians will help you understand some of the false, competing claims that were being made about Jesus and remind you of the supreme joy of knowing Him: the Son of God and the only authority in heaven and on earth.


In these pages, you will:

  • Uncover hidden treasures and see why these letters are so much more than a doctrinal statement or advice column
  • Experience how Jesus exposes who we are so we can see who He really is
  • Meet the quiet heroes of the early church and what they have to say about your role in the world
  • Peel back the curtain on the lives of the first followers of Christ as they were working out the story of Jesus and the reality of their faith in real-time


Come Alive: Philippians and Colossians will invite you into the real-life drama and humanity of the early church and help you see how your story and Jesus’s story intersect today.

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Talbot Davis

I’ve been a preacher for half my life, but until 10 years ago, I didn’t comprehend the full
richness and beauty of the Bible. Sure, I knew what the Bible said and what it was
about, but it had never truly come alive to me. Have you experienced this
disconnect?


This text is full of confusing, challenging, and downright weird stuff. It can even seem –
dare I say – boring. But it only seems boring because we don’t understand what the
Bible really is or how to read it.


I had always assumed the Bible was a mix of a how-to manual, a science textbook, and
a self-help book. But it’s none of those things; it’s not even a book! The Bible is a library
of books that capture a divinely inspired conversation between God and his people. It’s
a story. And when we understand how to approach it and the context of the biblical
world, we discover it’s far more interesting – and life-changing – than we ever imagined.
Talbot Davis was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. As a teenager, he was the two-time
Texas state champion in tennis for boys’ 18-and-under. After graduating from high
school in 1980, he attended Princeton University in Princeton, NJ, where he played
varsity tennis for four years, served as team captain, and graduated with honors in
English in 1984.


Talbot is a 1990 graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY. In 32 years
of full-time United Methodist ministry in the Western North Carolina Annual Conference,
he has served two appointments: Mt. Carmel-Midway (1990-1999) and Good Shepherd
(1999-present). Since 1999, Good Shepherd’s average worship attendance has
increased from 500 per Sunday to 2,000 per Sunday.  The church is known for its
modern style of worship, ethnic and racial diversity, and radical impact projects. Prior to
the Come Alive series, Talbot published six works, all with Abingdon Press: Head
Scratchers, The Storm Before The Calm, The Shadow Of A Doubt, Solve, Crash Test
Dummies, and Simplify The Message; Multiply The Impact.


Talbot has been married to Julie since 1984 and they have two adult children.

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Reviews

What people
are saying…

Talbot Davis' Philippians and Colossians is a deeply insightful and winsome exploration into the depths of two of Paul's great letters to the Church. This work combines excellent scholarship with immediately accessible practical insight. I strongly commend it to all who wish to experience a deeper walk with the Lord.

Mike Lowry
Mike Lowry
Bishop Emeritus, Global Methodist Church

If you love Jesus and you love your Bible, you will appreciate Talbot Davis' guidance through Philippians and Colossians. He offers life altering points of application. The Church will find joy in hearing the letters afresh.

David A. Banks
President pro tempore, NC Provisional Annual Conference, Global Methodist Church

You love Jesus and you want to know more about God, but when you go to read the Bible, it’s a struggle. The world you encounter there is a world with a very different culture and very different values. It can be confusing, frustrating, and – let’s be honest – sometimes weird. Many Christians end up feeling like they’re not “getting anything out of it” or that what they were promised doesn’t line up with their lived experience.


But when we learn to approach the Bible in different way, we discover it’s far more
interesting and richer than we ever imagined. Come Alive will help you:

Revealed: hidden treasures about who you are, who Jesus is, and where your story and His intersect

Discover a new way to approach the Bible

It’s not about the takeaway, but trust and transformation. It’s not about “how to” but “Who” to which it points.

Revealed: hidden treasures about who you are, who Jesus is, and where your story and His intersect

Learn to read the Bible “literarily”

Not as a how-to manual, a science textbook, or a self-help book (actually, it’s not a book at all), but as a library of books that capture a divinely-inspired a conversation between God and His people.

Revealed: hidden treasures about who you are, who Jesus is, and where your story and His intersect

Watch God change your life

When you start your day in the Word, you’ll find you’re less focused on the times and more on the timeless, less on the urgent and more on the ultimate.

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Discover where your identity and Christ’s supremacy intersect

Get cultural context, insights, and reading prompts that help you de-weird the Bible and understand how God is speaking into your life through Philippians and Colossians today.

Order now