Do you have a question? A burning ministry conundrum? Something that is confusing you about the Bible, Jesus or how to serve him? Then why not post your question below or send it in to: blog@thegoodbook.co.uk. We'll do our best to answer them all in the coming weeks ... and throw open the discussion to all our other readers too.
Whether you'd value some hints on leading your youth group better, preaching more engagingly, discipling more effectively or you're simply wondering what the Bible says about a specific doctrine, we'd love to help you tease things out.
Following the success of our last open day, we're flinging wide the doors of the company once again this summer!
It would be great if you could join us in Epsom, Surrey on July 14th for a look around our premises and a chance to snap up some great bargains. Plus, this time, we're offering 4 great seminars:
10:30am-11:30am
Supporting someone with depression in the local church - Alison Mitchell
Running an all-age family service - Helen Thorne
12:30pm-13:30pm
Leading homegroups - Tim Thornborough
Growing disciples in the local church - Barry Cooper
There's no charge for these seminars but as we have limited space we're asking people to book in advance, so please click here to reserve your place.
We look forward to seeing you in a few weeks!
We’ve been studying 1 Chronicles in homegroup, and I was struck again by the contrast between the Philistines’ “god”, Dagon – and the LORD, Sovereign of all things. You may be familiar with the account in 1 Samuel 5 v 1-5 where the Philistines have captured the ark of the covenant and plonked it in their temple, next to Dagon. In the morning, Dagon has fallen over. So they prop him back up. But the next morning, he’s not only toppled over but his head and hands have fallen off. It’s a great story that points to the supremacy of the LORD God – and children love it!... continue reading
Hi I'm Martin Cole, and I've been working at The Good Book Company for far too long! 15 years to be precise, and it's been such a huge and enjoyable privilege to see God graciously grow our work here. When I began here, as the entire admin department, there were only two of us in the office, and now there are more than 25 GBC employees. These days I'm Youth Editor, which means I write for and edit the daily Bible notes Discover (11-13s) and Engage (14+). I'm also responsible for the daily tweets of soundbites from Explore and Engage, and I produce "Fighting that Monday feeling" here on the blog, amongst my other crimes.
Away from GBC, I'm married to Kirsty with 2 gorgeous and crazy daughters, Josie and Charlotte. I foolishly but enthusiastically support Chesterfield FC and I know far too much about films.
I'd just like to say what a privilege it is to work here at GBC, and to spend my day in God's Word, wrestling with how to engage young people with the Bible. I was so rubbish at reading my Bible regularly, that God gave me a job where I have to study it daily! I've grown hugely and continue to be humbled and amazed at how God uses strange and flawed people like myself in His work. Right, time to get back to making Ezra exciting for 16 year olds...
But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Jude v 20-25
We hope you've enjoyed this week of blogs on Men's Ministry. It's such an important area for the church and we hope you've found it useful to your ministry.
Here's for the last part of the week....
For 72 hours we're offering the popular men's book Men of God 50% off! This deal only lasts for 3 days so hurry. If you're in the UK you can get it here and if you're in the USA here.
We haven't forgotten the ebook readers...... you can get it from the UK site here and from the States here.
To get the 50% off simply use the code men50 at the checkout. Enjoy and have a brilliant weekend!
Offer expires 18/06/2012.
The key is to think small, but to keep the objectives and end goals in view. Can you identify some like-minded men, with whom you could share the idea of developing a men’s ministry? The first step would be to meet with them and talk about the possibilities, and pray. There is nothing wrong with dreaming big dreams at this stage, but starting small and working up will always be easier and less prone to collapsing through fatigue or indifference.... continue reading
Church of England warning on gay marriage
Evangelicals press Congress on [US] immigration
Christian GP 'told patient to put faith in Jesus or suffer eternally'
Religious education increasingly 'marginalised' in schools
Young people less tolerant and more ignorant of other religions, poll suggests
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.
Jon is a young married man with two children who holds down a demanding job while also serving as an elder and youth leader in his local church. On getting promotion a couple of years ago he took the conscious decision to seek to adapt and put in place a model of accountability and mentoring that he had come across in business. It involves meeting with three people, one older, one younger and one contemporary in order to be helped and help others maintain their Christian focus. This is how it works:... continue reading
