Twelve Virtues

Sermons That Unite Honest Scholarship with the Good News of a Living Faith

Craig Mindrum

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN:
  9798385262434
  9798385262441
• eBook ISBN:
  9798385262458
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Twelve Virtues is a collection of sermons rooted in historical-critical interpretation but also alive with proclamation and imagination. The book moves beyond pious platitudes on the one hand, and academic lectures in disguise on the other. Each sermon centers on a classical virtue—faith, hope, love, wisdom, courage, justice, and more—showing how the ancient texts can still speak powerfully to the challenges of our time. With the best of modern scholarship in the background, these sermons do not shrink from difficult questions about what Jesus did and did not say. Yet they remain grounded in the good news: that Scripture, when heard honestly and imaginatively, can still transform lives.



In an age when liberal theology finds itself too academic and secular for some, and too religious for others, this book offers another way. By making the biblical text more fully available—both to the church and to those who have drifted from it—Twelve Virtues points toward a faith that is critical, courageous, and profoundly hopeful. For pastors, teachers, and thoughtful seekers alike, these sermons invite readers to discover how ancient words can still shape a living faith.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword by the Reverend Albert G. Butzer III
• Introduction
• January—Learning: “Trying to Make Sense”
• February—Love: “Jesus, Looking at Him, Loved Him”
• March—Knowledge: “A Theology of Uncertainty”
• April—Courage: “The Black Hole of Good Friday”
• May—Hope: “The Hard Work of Hope”
• June—Justice: “Tough-Minded and Tender-Hearted”
• July—Liberty: “St. Paul’s Declaration of Independence”
• August—Judgment: “If That’s How You Want to Play the Game”
• September—Joy: “Training to Be Joyful”
• October—Repentance: “The Limits of Forgiveness”
• November—Wisdom: “Jesus or John?”
• December—Faith: “Trust as the Foundation of All That Is”
• About the Author
• Bibliography