Last week was an exciting time of filming in the States. Here, cameraman Luke Stanley adjusts the microphone for Erik Raymond, pastor from Omaha and writer of the Ordinary Pastor blog. Watch this space for more news of the Gospel Shaped Church curriculum we're working on with The Gospel Coalition.
One of the reasons we want to encourage systematic Bible preaching and teaching in churches is because it forces us to focus on the harder parts of scripture. If we just pick and choose, we end up filtering out the difficult bits, or the things that will stretch us or disturb us.
It's the same with daily Bible reading. Over about a five year period, if you stick with our popular Explore daily Bible reading notes, you'll work your way through the whole Bible, and be exposed to the whole counsel of God. Including all the tough bits, the stories that make you squirm, and the parts that just have you scratching your head in bewilderment!
Image caption: Brooklyn Museum - Woe unto You, Scribes and Pharisees - James Tissot - Public Domain... continue reading
Porn in unexpected places
I walked down the office carrying a pile of pornography. I'd wrapped it in two bags so my colleagues wouldn't see it, but I still worried. What if I tripped and broke my neck? After failing to resucitate me, the first thing people would discover was my pile of porn.
Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as it sounds, but is a salutary tale nonetheless.
It started on my ride to work. The subway under the A3 always collects litter - usually crisp packets, coke cans and the odd condom. Not cards. Not a full pack of playing cards. And certainly not pornographic cards. I glanced down as I wheeled the bike through the tunnel, wondering who'd dropped their playing cards, to be faced with umpteen nude women. I was slightly shocked, but late for work so kept on going.... continue reading
God is a generous God. He gives us life, salvation, hope and a whole host of gifts so we can serve him and each other in the local church.
We don't deserve the gifts God gives us but we can make sure we use them well - humbly, lovingly, enthusiastically and for his glory. And we can make sure we hone them, so we learn more about what the Bible says on teaching, caring, administrating, encouraging, welcoming, evangelising as the years go on and become more aligned to God's desires.
That's where some structured studying can help.
In the busyness of preparing talks and craft activities, it can be easy to lose sight of what it means to teach the whole counsel of God to the children in our care. Beneath the piles of paperwork, we can forget just how missional administration truly is. Amid the texts and calls from hurting friends, we can let our eyes shift away from the pastorally liberating words of truth found within the pages of Scripture. Setting aside some time to study can help put all those things back on the map.
So this term, whether you're interested in Administration, Mission and Ministry, Pastoral Care, Women's Ministry or Youth and Children's Work, why not set aside some time to do one of The Good Book College's short courses?
Biblical, accessible and practical, these distance-learning courses will inspire you to read God's word and encourage you to serve God's people. All in the comfort of your own home without the pressure of fixed deadlines.
For more details and to enrol online, click HERE.
Find more videos like Ben's on the Live DVD.
The following is an extract from the Going Deeper section from LIVE: Session Three.
Jesus was never hesitant to state the benefits of what he offers. We never hear him say: “Well, if it seems like a convenient time, you might want to consider” … “I think you really might enjoy this” … “I don’t want to sound presumptuous, but what I offer is rather special!” Instead, Jesus is bold and remarkably direct. He says the benefit of placing our faith in him is that he forgives our sins and brings us into an intimate relationship with God now and for all eternity. He gives us abundant life—not gifts like a Ferrari or an all-expense-paid holiday, but a life of meaning, purpose, profound joy and fulfillment! Through Jesus we discover who we are and whose we are. We have a sense of belonging because we finally know our true home.
At the same time, Jesus warned people to stop and count the cost of being his disciple. William Barclay, author and Bible commentator, rightly observed about Jesus and his disciples: “No one could ever say that they were induced to follow Jesus by false pretenses. Jesus never tried to bribe men by the offer of an easy way.”... continue reading
Rebecca Manley Pippert has done more to shape the church’s evangelism, and done more evangelism herself, than virtually anyone else in the last fifty years. Her bestselling Out of the Saltshaker was listed as one of the fifty most influential Christian books of the 20th century in Christianity Today. More recently, she has been based in Europe, encouraging Christians of all ages but particularly students to read the Bible with their non-Christian friends. The fruit right across the continent has been astonishing.
Now, Becky has turned her mind to a gap she’s noticed as she’s told people about Christ throughout the world. When people become Christians… what next? Or, when people have read the Bible with a friend, or done a course such as Christianity Explored or Alpha, and are interested but not yet converted… what next?
It’s worth asking yourself what you do. What your church does. What comes next for the nearly believer, or the new believer, or even the newly committed believer?... continue reading
Work is well underway on our second graphic novel: Light in the Darkness
We're currently on the inking stage of this exciting project, which is the prequel to our first, popular graphic novel, 'The Third Day' - and we thought you'd like a glimpse of how it's going.
Light in the Darkness uses the biblical text of Luke chapters 1-2 and visualises the drama and emotion of Luke's narrative as we explore the characters of the very first Christmas...
We're expecting it to be available in early October - just in time for your Christmas shopping!
Watch this space...
