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God has blessed us stewards by entrusting us with many assets we can share with others for the glory of God and the benefit of the neighbor, especially the poor. Numerous books help us to be wiser stewards, even if they do not focus on the usual stewardship topic — money.

One blessing we are to use more wisely is Sunday worship, and many books help us to be better stewards of that sacred time. Along these lines, one exciting book is New Book of Festivals and Commemorations: A Proposed Common Calendar of Saints by Philip H. Pfatteicher (Fortress, $49, 2008), a luscious volume of nearly seven‑hundred pages that goes month by month to offer an ecumenical calendar for the Western Church of notable, model servants of God. Each entry contains a biographical sketch, a bibliography, a pertinent reading, a prayer, and useful worship information such as hymn selections. The book includes Principal Festivals, Lesser Festivals, Commemorations, and Optional Memorials. The figures honored span people of Scripture as well as of the church of long ago, including Martin Luther, Thomas Aquinas, and John Calvin. Pfatteicher also includes more recent saints, such as Teresa of Calcutta, Dag Hammarskjöld, Maximilian Mary Kolbe, and Evelyn Underhill. Here is yet another book in which Pfatteicher provides an outstanding, illuminating, and enjoyable resource for helping us improve our stewardship of sacred time.

One of the saints Pfatteicher honors is Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and a book that can help us to know better this astonishing steward is Paul Barz’s novel I Am Bonhoeffer: A Credible Life, translated from the German by Douglas W. Stott (Fortress, $25, 2008; originally published in German in 2006). Although at times the writing is a bit stiff, the novel succeeds in transplanting the reader into Bonhoeffer’s world and creates a palpable connection with this humbling pastor who knew well the cost of discipleship. Actually, the novel reads more like a biography and even includes Bonhoeffer’s “Who Am I” poem, a chronology, and an index. The biographical feel and features remind us readers that this novel tells an‑all‑too‑true story both excruciating and reviving.

Other excellent works that can help us to be better stewards of worship include books that guide preachers to proclaim more effective sermons. God entrusts preaching with proclamation, words, and the Word, and books abound that can guide them to use these blessings to proclaim words fitly spoken. One such book is Knowing the Context: Frames, Tools, and Signs for Preaching by James R. Nieman (Fortress, $12, 2008). This short, wise volume is part of Fortress Press’s Elements of Preaching series (edited by O. Wesley Allen Jr.). Nieman is practical and insightful as he offers ways for preachers to be more deliberate and systematic in their study of the context in which they preach. At the same time, he is careful not to overwhelm the reader with an approach that is academic to the point of being unwieldy. For instance, Nieman suggests ways to frame or consider context, including “frame as border,” “frame as support,” and “frame as mind‑set.”

These frames help a preacher study a congregation from different perspectives and thereby increase the likelihood of noticing facets and hues of the congregation that a preacher might otherwise overlook. Nieman provides intelligent guidelines, such as recommending that the preacher study Scripture “with local listeners” (p. 81), that sermons should “aim at participatory encounter” (p. 82), and that preachers should “begin locally” and then move “toward a wider horizon” (p. 83). Nieman also includes a case study to help illustrate his points. In general, for the serious preacher this book provides valuable challenges toward a richer understanding of the congregation.

An even more impressive preaching resource is The Folly of Preaching: Models and Methods, edited by Michael P. Knowles (William B. Eerdmans, $18, 2007). This exciting collection provides essays and sermons from some of the top minds in preaching today, including David G. Buttrick, Tony Campolo, Edwina Hunter, Cleophus J. LaRue, Thomas G. Long, and Martin E. Marty. All of these pieces were written either toward the end of the twentieth century or the beginning of the twenty‑first century.

Cogent guidance abounds. For instance, David G. Buttrick writes, “The task of the pulpit at the end of the century may well be social vision; we must once more paint pictures of the new humanity to a hoped‑out world” (p. 13). Such words still are valuable in the new century, especially as we stumble in the long shadow of 9/11. Another example of the book’s brilliance is Thomas G. Long’s assistance with helping our congregations recover their nearly forgotten theological vocabulary. A third example is Diane McClellan Walker’s sermon on Ephesians 5:21‑33, “The Power to Submit,” which puts the submission exhortation in its proper context, thereby illustrating how relevant this passage still is to marriage.

As we Lutherans strive to be righteous stewards of the blessings God has entrusted to us, we would do well to familiarize ourselves with the blessings of our heritage, and one marvelous book that can help us with that goal is the second edition of A Reformation Reader: Primary Texts with Introductions, edited by Denis R. Janz (Fortress, $36, 2008). I have been using the first edition (published in 1999) as the text for a college course I teach on the Reformation. The students enjoy this engaging collection of key texts from that profound turning point in history. They find shocking the misogynistic Malleus Maleficarum. They benefit from reading not only the great masterpieces of Luther such as the “Ninety‑five Theses” and “The Freedom of a Christian,” but also a letter from Luther to Katie and a letter from Luther to his father. Janz’s collection also contains other seminal Lutheran works, such as the Small Catechism and the Smalcald Articles as well as excerpts from the Augsburg Confession and its apology and the Formula of Concord. Janz goes on to include important writings from Thomas Müntzer, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Ignatius Loyola, and the Council of Trent. The second edition contains new graphics and maps, several new writings about and by women, and a new chapter on Müntzer and the Peasants’ War.

I have ordered this second edition of A Reformation Reader for my students and am looking forward to exploring it with them. The book also would be eye‑opening and engrossing for parishioners as they strive to be better stewards of their Reformation heritage.

Speaking of crucial Reformation texts, Fortress Press offers a fresh translation of Luther’s The Freedom of a Christian by Mark D. Tranvik ($16, 2008). This translation is a study edition containing a chronology of Luther’s life, a map of important Luther sites, elucidating footnotes, and a glossary. The translation itself provides a new level of accessibility to Luther’s extraordinary work for both ordained and lay readers.

Finally, as we strive to grow as stewards, we would do well to read A Moral Climate: The Ethics of Global Warming by Michael S. Northcott (Orbis, $20, 2007). This fascinating and ambitious book profoundly draws from Scripture, including the stories of Noah and Joseph, the prophetic corpus, and the Eucharist, to address the global warming emergency. Northcott lays down challenges for Christians to take seriously the calls from Scripture to have greater reverence for the planet and to work harder to defy current imperialism with a biblical insistence on holy stewardship. Even if one does not agree with all of Northcott’s interpretations, one will find helpfully compelling his urgent cry for Christians to be devout, passionate protectors of the planet.

May all of these books humble and guide us toward holier, more radical stewardship.

David von Schlichten is pastor of St. James Lutheran Church, Youngstown, Pennsylvania and the the book review editor of Lutheran Partners magazine.