I try to set time aside every couple of weeks to walk up to strangers and share the same powerful gospel that saved me. Many Christians want to do this but lack confidence, so here are some practical tips from my own experience.
I am currently preaching through the book of Acts. It is my second time preaching through this book, and I love it! I just recently finished preaching through Acts 11:19-30: the formation of the church in Antioch. This account is one that has always intrigued me.
As we face the reality of our flaws and weaknesses, most of us will employ some common strategies. We will hide our weaknesses, minimize them, or deny them. We pretend they don’t exist. We don’t talk about them, we don’t acknowledge them, and we try our best to ignore them.
Sandy Grant's collection of links this week covers the government we can anticipate, mentoring group leaders, prayer and God's control, abortion, rest, God's smashing of barriers, and BP Man.
A Christian is “at the same time justified and a sinner” (simul iustus et peccator). It is one of the more well-known phrases of the Reformation. God in his grace and mercy has declared the Christian to be righteous due to the atoning work of Jesus Christ. And what God declares something to be, truly is. And yet at the same time, sin is still at work in our flesh.
Doing things well and developing new leaders are both valuable and necessary objectives. The trouble is that these two agendas often clash. Training someone up means, almost by definition, that in the beginning they won’t be particularly good at whatever it is they’re learning to do. And they almost certainly won’t be as good at it as you are.
Today, on the 9th of September, 2015, Queen Elizabeth II becomes the longest reigning monarch of Britain, eclipsing Queen Victoria’s reign of 63 years and 7 months. (She is already Australia’s longest serving monarch, since in modern nation state terms, we are such a young nation!)
I don’t typically think of tension as a good thing. The stress of life, throbbing headaches, tight shoulders, difficult meetings, and arguments at home are not my favorite experiences. However, I was recently reminded again that tension is quite important as we teach our people the Bible.
Bible verses are hard to remember, because you’re trying to hang a tiny shred of Scripture on the flimsy hook of an arbitrary chapter and verse number. They lack context, which makes them not only harder to remember but less useful for disciple-making ministry, and potentially dangerous.
Sometimes it takes a new perspective on an old idea to get you to try reading the Bible one-to-one with a friend.