Author: Staff Writer

Can I stretch the teaching of By This Name over a year?

Time stretchedQuestion:
I have a youth group that meets weekly. Can I use By This Name to teach over the course of a year?

Answer:
By This Name works very well with youths and young adults. It addresses many questions that they may have arising from New Age thinking, postmodernism and secularism.

In our teaching experience, and based on feedback from others who have taught it, we believe that By This Name works best when it is taught in as short a time as possible. This doesn’t mean you rush through the book but we would not encourage you to extend the study over a long period. This is because the gospel message is, in reality, a story—God’s Story. When it becomes stretched out—say over a year—the Story of God becomes a series of disjointed narratives.

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Lord, where would you have me use these tools?

Praying handsThe warm spring sunshine lit the windows of the church fellowship hall. Nestled among a group of 50 or more TERM Seminar participants, Marie* felt a growing sense of anticipation. She had spent three days learning how to share the gospel, concluding with hands-on experience in guiding a course. Now, she had been won over by how simple it was to use the Worldview Rethink curriculum to lead someone through a clear presentation of the gospel message. Along with her fellow participants, Marie had been asked to think of people in her life with whom she could invite to a course. She started to make a mental list.

Back at home, Marie prayed, “Lord, where would you use me? Where would you have me use these tools?” She took her responsibility as an ambassador for Christ seriously and started with a neighbour. She invited Laura* to sit with her through a study of the Bible.

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An ambassador in chains

SunriseRick* has been a believer for many years and he is serving a life sentence for a crime he did not commit. But Rick is not letting his time in prison go to waste. Rather, he has led a number of fellow inmates to faith in Christ and is currently discipling a group of men. As he actively engages others in conversation who are struggling with complex questions and issues in their lives, Rick has been on a lookout for materials that will enable him to give clear, biblical answers. Most of these men know very little about the Bible and some also struggle with learning difficulties—adding to the challenge facing Rick.

His sister Justine* recently attended a TERM Seminar. She began sharing with Rick how GoodSeed tools were designed for those who were biblically illiterate. She also described how visual aids were a significant part of the teaching and how their use would help those with learning challenges grasp the central message of the Bible.

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Question Time with Oaks Christian School No.7: Which is your favourite book of the Bible?

In the seventh video question from The Oaks Christian School, Cameron asks John Cross which is his favourite book of the Bible. John shares that the Gospel of John is his favourite (among many!) because the Apostle John wrote his gospel so that people may come to believe that Jesus is the Saviour.

The Apostle John wrote:

…but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31 ESV)

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By This Name on air in Sri Lanka

Radio

Every time we receive a report from a partner ministry, our hearts are encouraged. It is always good to hear how our tools are being used in another part of the globe.

At the beginning of this year, TWR in Sri Lanka, with our permission, took By This Name and created a weekly radio broadcast in Sinhala called, God’s Unique Book. Sinhala is one of the three official languages of Sri Lanka. In just two months of being on air, TWR had received over 50 letters and phone calls from listeners. Here are some quotes that have been translated from Sinhala into English:

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More eBooks on our stores

By This Name eBook

A few months ago, we began the process of updating our eBooks. We wanted to ensure that each version worked well across a range of ebook readers and reading apps.

We are making progress on this project. We now have nine ten fifteen eBooks on our stores (Australia, Canada, UK and USA), with more on the way.

With each purchase of an eBook, you will be able to download three different file types: Mobi, ePub and PDF.

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Question Time with Oaks Christian School No.6: What is your favourite verse?

In the sixth video question from The Oaks Christian School, Emily asks John Cross which is his favourite verse and which is most meaningful to him.

John says that he has a favourite verse and there is another one which is most meaningful to him. He shares with her John 3:16 and Romans 15:4, and he explains her why each verse is important to him.

Watch as he explains.

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Question Time with Oaks Christian School No.5: What is the most important point besides the gospel?

In the fifth video question from The Oaks Christian School, Ben asks John Cross what was the most important point besides the gospel that the video series wanted to convey.

John admits he has no good answer to the question because the sole intention of The Stranger VideoBook was to make the gospel message clear to viewers who had little or no knowledge of the Bible.

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Question Time with Oaks Christian School No.4: Funniest Moment

In our fourth video question from the The Oaks Christian School, Manon asks John Cross about the funniest moment he can remember from the production of The Stranger VideoBook.

John relates that the VideoBook took seven years to produce, with the bulk of the principal shooting done in Papua New Guinea. There on the set, they had an unexpected problem: crickets!

Be sure to watch till the very end of the video where you can see an outtake from the filming!

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