1. St. Helen's Training: Bible Overview, Part 1 and 2
Part 1 and 2 of a new Bible overview video series from St. Helens Bishopsgate.
2. 10 questions for better Bible study
Some useful questions to go through when reading the Bible.
3. Free PDF: Acting the Miracle
A free PDF, 'Acting the Miracle' by David Mathis and John Piper.
4. What Are the Essentials of the Christian Faith?
Kevin DeYoung looks at ten essential christian behaviours and ten essential christian beliefs.
5. Infographic: 3 Dangers of Busyness
An infographic from Crossway about busyness.
6. And finally…
In case you missed it, our video of the week for a second week running, an interview with Bake through the Bible authors, Susie Bentley-Taylor and Bekah Moore:
Found something that you think should make it on to the On to a Good Thing round-up? Send it to: ontoagoodthing@thegoodbook.co.uk
Below is an engaging book review from our friends at the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood on Sam Allberry's, "Is God Anti-Gay?" The original review appeared on their blog here and is written by Chris Sarver.
--------------------------
On campuses across the United States, the number of believing college students who have confided with their friends, pastors, and campus ministers that they struggle with same-sex attraction (SSA) is on the rise. For instance, on a 2013 summer missions project, nearly one in five male and female college students anonymously indicated that they had in the past engaged in “some sort of sexual activity with a person of the same gender.” Likewise, over the course of the last decade, I have seen a distinct rise in the number of students who have cyber-sexed with others of the same gender or viewed homosexual-themed pornography.... continue reading
Below is an engaging book review from our friends at the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood on Sam Allberry's, "Is God Anti-Gay?" The original review appeared on their blog here and is written by Chris Sarver.
--------------------------
On campuses across the United States, the number of believing college students who have confided with their friends, pastors, and campus ministers that they struggle with same-sex attraction (SSA) is on the rise. For instance, on a 2013 summer missions project, nearly one in five male and female college students anonymously indicated that they had in the past engaged in “some sort of sexual activity with a person of the same gender.” Likewise, over the course of the last decade, I have seen a distinct rise in the number of students who have cyber-sexed with others of the same gender or viewed homosexual-themed pornography.... continue reading
Oliver Barclay, second General Secretary of IVF/UCCF, died on 12 September 2013, aged 94.
He was born in Kobe, Japan, on 22 February 1919, the son of Joseph Gurney Barclay (who served with what is now the Church Mission Society). His great grandfather was the MP Thomas Fowell Buxton who campaigned with William Wilberforce as part of the influential Clapham Sect.
A memorial service will be held in Leicester on Saturday 5th October (see details at the end of this obituary).
Oliver first joined the small IVF team in 1945, having completed a doctorate in zoology. His original hope was to teach in one of China’s newer universities, but Douglas Johnson, IVF founding General Secretary (always known as DJ), persuaded him to defer his departure by two years. As Oliver’s newly-created role as Assistant Secretary took shape, it soon became clear that the universities of Britain and Ireland would instead be his life’s work.... continue reading
What sermons or Bible talk do you remember most? It's a really important question - and not just for you.
There are moments in sermons when God's Spirit speaks to us with such clarity and simplicity that they become turning points for our spiritual lives. There are moments when things just go "click" in our minds, and what was cloudy or opaque becomes suddenly crystal clear. It's what every preacher longs for, prays for, works for as they prepare week by week, and as they strive to develop and improve their craft.
My own observation is that it is the simplest and clearest of talks that have remained with me over the years. Of course I love to hear a talk that is filled with deep thoughts, has impressive cultural and biblical cross references, and stretches my thinking and understanding. But the ones that have stuck with me; the ones that have made a conscious change to my direction or motivation in following Christ have all had this in common: they were plain, simple and clear.... continue reading
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:4-10
New Bishop of Durham announced as Rt Rev Paul Butler
Morsi Backers Terrorize Christians in Egyptian Town
Christianity and climate change: the relationship between God and green
Head of Southern Baptist School Marks 20 Years
Widow gives Bible to husband's killer
Disclaimer: The Good Book Company is not responsible for the content of external sites and does not necessarily agree with the content of articles listed.
Work was going well. Yes, very well indeed.
Jim couldn't stop himself rubbing his hands together as he cast his eye over the latest monthly figures. His timber yard was bustling with energy, and the shouts of the foreman and the sound of sawing came through the open window.
But he had a problem to deal with. He had seen only growth for the past three years, but would it continue? Lots of building work going on. And lots of rebuilding work too. There were always places that burned down in the hot summers - and there were plenty of louts around who were happy to set fire to places for fun. But there was a cloud on the horizon. His best customer had just finished his massive project and, unless he decided to start something else equally ridiculous, it would drop his income by a quarter the next year.... continue reading
1. Holy infographics: the bible visualised
Interesting infographics from the Guardian newspaper Data Blog.
2. Seven Ways for Busy Moms to Get in the Word
Helpful tips for busy mums and for anyone else too.
3. How to Criticise a Preacher
Ten thoughts from David Murray on how to give constructive feedback to preachers.
4. Infographic: America’s Busyness Epidemic
An infographic from Crossway with 8 things you may not know about busyness in the USA.
5. Confession Connects Us to Christ
A thought-provoking post on the topic of confession from Joe Thorn.
6. And finally…
Our video of the week, an interview with Bake through the Bible authors, Susie Bentley-Taylor and Bekah Moore, about their book which was released yesterday:
Found something that you think should make it on to the On to a Good Thing round-up? Send it to: ontoagoodthing@thegoodbook.co.uk
Last week I watched two mums exploring the Bible with their sons. They were fulfilling their biblical responsibility for the spiritual education of their children – and it was great fun!
Bekah and Susie have two children each. They knew they wanted to read the Bible with their children from a young age, and also to help them grasp the big picture of the Bible storyline. But they couldn’t find anything to help them do this. So they wrote it themselves. The result is Bake through the Bible – a 20-story Bible overview for toddlers, supported by cooking activities.
The idea is simple, but also brilliant. There’s a retelling of the Bible story – carefully written at the right level for pre-schoolers, while also staying biblically accurate – followed by a prayer. Then there’s a fun (often messy!) baking activity to do together. While you bake, there are some simple discussion questions to reinforce the meaning of the story. And when it’s time to eat, there’s one final question to pull it all together.
Susie and Bekah made Creation Cookies with their sons Joshua and Simeon. Watching the boys with their hands in the bowl mixing the dough was brilliant – they obviously loved it – then rolling the dough, pressing in the cutters and decorating the final cookies. And quite a lot of eating of the dough. All the way through they chatted about the wonderful things God made, as they cut out trees, stars, ducks, people, cows…
We filmed them doing all of this, with Joshua and Simeon turning out to be natural film stars. It was so great that I kept wanting to join in rather than stay behind the camera.
So was it just fun? Or did it help these young boys grasp something of the wonder of the creation account? I’ll leave the last word to Joshua (aged 2):
Susie: “What must God be like if He made all these wonderful things?”
Joshua: “Amazing”
Job done.
