Adapted from Chapter Nine, “The Vanity of Strength and Beauty” from Making Sanity Out of Vanity: Christian realism in the book of Ecclesiastes by Stanley D. Gale (EP Books, 2011) Pursuing the Fountain of Youth Youth is a good thing, the picture of strength and vitality. Often, young people cannot imagine death. They believe […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Discovering the Fountain of Life: the gospel for the ages (2)Adapted from Chapter Nine, “The Vanity of Strength and Beauty” from Making Sanity Out of Vanity: Christian realism in the book of Ecclesiastes by Stanley D. Gale (EP Books, 2011) Introduction There is something special about the older generation. Before I entered the pastorate, I served as a hospital chaplain. One of my greatest […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Discovering the Fountain of Life: the gospel for the ages (1)Why do you think Jesus talks so much about sin and righteousness and judgment? Why can’t He be more like those soothing, encouraging, reassuring pep-talk preachers? Look at the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7, our Lord tells us we can recognize a tree by its fruits. A good tree will produce good […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Kingdom ConfidenceSometimes the title says it all. In my teaching on evangelism, I’ve often referred to a book by Ron Johnson entitled, How Will They Hear If We Don’t Listen? Typically we think of evangelism as talking. Technically it is. But we want to talk with people, not at them. We want to enter their […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Prayer as First ResponderHave you ever seen those “Coexist” bumper stickers? They are quite clever. The designer included various symbols of world religions to spell the word “coexist.” A crescent moon representing Islam forms the letter C Lines within the O make it a peace sign E has the symbols for male and female attached to it, […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on The Road Less TakenWe are told by Matthew that after beginning His public ministry, Jesus “went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.” (Matthew 4:23). His fame spread. Crowds followed. Jesus went up on a mountain, sat down, and taught […]
Continue Reading... No Comments.“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is […]
Continue Reading... No Comments.A member of my local congregation recently hinted to me that our church does not have enough outreach. His comment was not critical so much as zealous. His heart was for the gospel of the kingdom, the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. As I listened to this church member it became apparent […]
Continue Reading... 1 Comment.I’m not sure resourcing is an actual word but since any noun can be verbized nowadays, I’m sure you get the idea. When we talk to people about the gospel, it is helpful to have something to put in their hands to reinforce the conversation. Some of you are aware of my recent hospitalization […]
Continue Reading... 1 Comment.What does your church do to mobilize its members for personal evangelism? A pastor friend of mine said the approach of most churches is to have their members memorize the pastor’s phone number. While a case could be made that the pastor of the local church is the chief evangelist, for him to be […]
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