After a 2 week summer break, On to a Good Thing is back!
1. Show Then Tell
A free e-book from Eric McKiddie with original, hand-crafted illustrations that will point the people you teach to Jesus..
2. 19+1 Ways to Lead a Bible Study
Twenty ideas to try with your Bible study group.
3. The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
Two free e-books from The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.
4. Making the most of the year's easiest invite
Jonathan Greenaway thinks it's time for us to be planning our church Christmas activities. Here's some information about his new project.
5. It Happens At The Table
An interesting article from The Christian Pundit.
6. How do your favourite preachers do sermon prep?
Some videos from some of today's great preachers explaining their process in writing a sermon.
7. And finally…
Our video of the week, from Open Up the Bible, 'Bible reading at every opportunity':.
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
Who: Thomas Cranmer
When: 1489 – 1556
Where: Archbishop of Canterbury
So what?
There is very little about the Anglican Church—its offical theology, its rhythms of worship, its relationship to the monarch—that Cranmer didn’t have a hand in. He was integral to King Henry VIII’s efforts to get a divorce from his first wife, so that he could marry Anne Boleyn, who he hoped would give him a son and heir (she didn’t manage the first, but kind of achieved the second—her daughter was Elizabeth I). He became Archbishop of Canterbury under Henry and then Edward VI, and having slowly moved to committed Protestantism himself, he slowly moved England in the same direction: very cautiously under Henry (who was a Catholic who didn’t like the Pope), then quite quickly under Edward (a convinced Protestant, the son of Henry’s third wife).... continue reading
This is an unusual book. It has daily thoughts, usually just one page, sometimes with a well-chosen Bible text, giving 50 practical ways to care for a loved one with cancer.
The author, June Hunt, is an American who has herself suffered from cancer and experienced the blessing of family and friends rallying around to give specific, practical help, who herself now joins with others to help care for loved ones with cancer.
June is founder of Hope for the Heart, a worldwide biblical counselling ministry and a half-hour radio broadcast of the same name, and is also the author of numerous books and devotionals.
Each day she shares at least one tip from her own experience as to how to express practical care – on pain relief, physical comfort, stimulating the mind and senses, where to seek medical advice etc. There is a tremendous variety of ideas given, many extremely creative - or just simple, but excellent.... continue reading
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
‘Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counsellor?’
‘Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?’
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
Romans 11:33-36
There are likely to be carers in your congregation – among those who are fully integrated or those on the periphery. Some will be coping. Some wont. Here are our top 6 tips on supporting those who care for others.
Pray
In your services, on your notice-sheets, in your own personal quiet times pray for the physical, emotional and spiritual perseverance of those who care. Ask them for their own specific pray requests too.... continue reading
My middle daughter has got me into Manga - and I'm loving it.
It started for her when we watched a TV series called Naruto together and went on from there to the wonderful anime stories produced by Studio Gibli. I have just finished reading a massive series that is wildly popular among Manga readers, called Deathnote - and it blew away all my preconceptions about how this medium works, and the kinds of ideas that it can communicate.
Originally, I had thought that Manga - a style of comic book that originated in Japan, but has been picked up and copied around the world - was filled with stock characters and lame stories. How wrong could I be. Turns out there are several different kinds of Manga - shojo is aimed at girls, shonen at boys, which tends to have darker themes and more violent plotlines. Deathnote is definitely the latter.... continue reading
I was 13 when my Nan moved in. I loved my Nan. She was absolutely wonderful in every way. And what’s more she looked like Nans should: slightly plump, white wavy hair, rosy cheeks and a big smile. She spent her time doing what Nan’s (of her era) should: talking about the war, eating boiled sweets and sewing. She had an uncanny ability to make pretty much anything out of scraps of material. And I mean anything … When she had some fingers amputated and was told she was too old for prosthetics she simply went to her “rag bag”, dug out some leatherette, some old tights and some ribbon and made herself some fingers that she could tie on each morning. Best - Nan - ever!... continue reading
Who: Constantine
When: Ruled 312-337
Where: Emperor of western half of the Roman Empire; then Emperor of the whole empire
So what?
Constantine’s conversion probably had a greater impact on the church, and history, than any conversion since Paul’s. Until Constantine became a Christian, and then (almost immediately) became Western Emperor, the church had, other than in Armenia, never existed under a state which had a Christian head. Roman policy until this point had veered between uneasy toleration and horrific persecution.... continue reading
It really is a privilege to care for those who struggle. To show God’s love to friends and family in their hour of need is a wonderful thing. But anyone who has been a carer for more than a few days knows that a sense of privilege isn’t always the dominant feeling. There’s a whole range of other emotions that swirl around too. What struggles do carers face? Here are just a few:
60% of us will be a carer at some point in our life. 10% of us are right now. There are some 7 million carers in the UK - 13,000 of whom are under 18. Wikipedia suggests 50 million in the US. It sounds a lot but those stats could well be right. There are millions of people quietly undertaking vital roles within our families, within our communities, often at the expense of career and other relationships.
A carer is someone who provides unpaid support to an ill or disabled friend or relative who would not be able to cope without their help. The role ranges from popping to see a neighbour a couple of times a day with shopping and a willingness to help them dress to full-time care for a loved-one with multiple and profound physical or mental needs. It could be tending to the complex requirements of a spouse who has suffered a severe stroke or making safe a parent with advanced Alzheimer’s Disease.
Many carers are themselves elderly or frail but not all. For some children the daily routine involves making breakfast for an incapacitated parent before leaving for school – then coming home with the shopping to make them dinner. For a few it involves mopping up the less than sanitary consequences of substance abuse in the home – disposing of bottles and needles, dialing 999 when the worst happens …
The permutations are limitless. But in every story there is some common ground – there is pain, pain that at times masks the privilege that it is to stand alongside those who suffer. This week on The Good Book Blog we are going to look at how churches can care for the carers in their congregation.
