Staff Writer – Page 4 – The GoodSeed Blog

Do you have a story for Fieldnotes?

It’s May already. And that means the editorial team at GoodSeed is beginning to put together a long list of amazing testimonies that believers from around the world have shared with us. Every week, someone gets in touch with one of our offices to share a story: either someone has led a friend to the Lord with one of our books or someone has come to faith as a result of reading a book or going through a Worldview Rethink study.

We’ve found that testimonies, like the ones in Fieldnotes, encourage believers to make the effort to spread the good news. And it gives us more reason to praise God for the wonderful work he is doing through faithful ambassadors of his message.

Do you have such a story? Has the Lord used you to lead a neighbour, parent, co-worker or stranger to faith in Christ? Or has someone who cared taken the time to explain the good news to you in way that made good sense to you? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Write to us at yourstories[at]goodseed.com. The Lord willing, your testimony may make it to volume 3 of Fieldnotes and be an encouragement to others!

We look forward to hearing from you!

Dynamic Reading-Leading-Modelling… What is it? How does it help me?

(Download this article in a handy PDF format for printout and sharing.)

When Cheryl began a study with three women, she dismissed the notion of just sitting down and reading By This Name together. To her it seemed so basic and uninteresting. Surely a lecture format with some good discussion thrown in would be a more compelling method for teaching the same material.

Cheryl was not alone in her thinking. GoodSeed staff are often asked:

“Why do you just read the book together? Isn’t that boring? A turn-off to well-educated students? What about breaking things up with times of discussion? Why not just give it to them to read on their own?”

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TERM USA 2016: More dates on the schedule

TERM USA 2016 Our USA TERM Seminar schedule is starting to fill up. We’ve added two more seminars in the mid-West/Great Lakes region.

There are currently four confirmed seminars you can register for:

Organize a team from church and get a group discount.

If your church is interested in hosting a seminar or having one of our TERM lecturers speak at your church, please contact our US office at (208)-665-2333 or email us at [email protected].

Also, don’t forget we have one more upcoming TERM Seminars in Australia:

Brisbane, QLD (May 21, 2016)

Vacation time: See the world, share the gospel

Busselton Jetty It’s that time of the year again when people are planning for the mid-year holidays. You might already be making up your packing list.

As a believer, there’s something else you should consider packing. How about taking along resources so you can share the gospel with those you meet?

Consider the people you might meet on vacation:

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May is National Leave a Legacy Month

Couple holding hands In Canada, the month of May is Leave a Legacy Month. This is an annual national public awareness program designed to encourage people to leave a gift through their will or any other gift-planning instrument to a charity or non-profit organization of their choice. Canadians are living in a time when an unprecedented amount of wealth is being transferred from one generation to the next. But without a will, people lose the ability to control distribution of their estate to their chosen beneficiaries. Mike and MaryAnn* were such a couple. Here’s their story.

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What were her true intentions?

book study

Rachelle* seems to always be guiding someone through the gospel message using Par ce nom, the French edition of By This Name. Though she never sets out searching for an individual to teach, the Lord regularly brings people into her life who desire to understand the Bible’s message. Amièle, a young teenager, was one such seeker.

Amièle had a rough start in life. Her home life was defined by upheaval and uncertainty, finally culminating with a move to live with her grandparents. When a friend invited her to attend church, she agreed and began joining the teen class each week. Though she attended for a year and a half, she still understood very little about the Bible. As this became more apparent, her Sunday school teacher asked Amièle if she would like to study a book called Par ce nom. The teachers would be Rachelle and the Sunday school teacher and the participants would be Amièle, the teacher’s daughter and a young man who was not a believer.

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The clearest explanation of the sacrifice Jesus made for us

Creek Stories We had previously shared the video testimony of Ashley Murphy, a member of Soteria Church who came to faith in Christ through reading The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus. Many others in this church have also come to faith through this book. Dave and Kelly Bell are two of these.

Here are quotes from their testimonies:

“The book, Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, I kid you not, is the clearest explanation of the sacrifice Jesus made for us and how we were separated from God prior to that… Reading that book established the understanding for me that Jesus is the bridge between us and our new connection with God.” — David Bell

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Dad, are we Jews or are we Christians?

By This Name in Hebrew A Jewish parent shared this question of identity with a GoodSeed staff worker one afternoon during a meeting in the ancient city of Jerusalem. His teenage children had posed the question to him after being repeatedly harassed at their local school for their beliefs. Finally they confronted their father, frustrated with these attacks on their identity. “Dad, are we Jews or are we Christians? What are we and what’s the difference between the two?” they asked.

He reassured them, “You’re both. You’re Jews who believe that the Messiah has come, just as He promised.”

As a ministry looking to support the Christian faith in Israel, the Bible Society in Israel (BSI) began looking for a resource that would explain the harmony between the Old Testament and the New.

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Free Bible Study: The Hebrew Tabernacle—A Model of Messiah

Detailed view of the Ark of the covenant Just as Jesus used parables to illustrate and bring to life his teachings, so God frequently used visual aids in the Old Testament to better illuminate our understanding of many spiritual truths.

That is certainly true of the Hebrew Tabernacle—an amazing picture of God’s plan of redemption for mankind.

We have two visual aid resources and a set of free lessons that help explain the purpose and meaning of the Tabernacle.

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Over 1000 attend “No Ordinary Story” production

The lights dim, train cars rumble, followed by the sound of a whistle blowing. Then the shout of “All aboard!” calls out and a performance of No Ordinary Story is underway.

The auditorium is packed out as 35 choir members find their places on the stage. From the beginning songs, “Train Ride” and “Let Me Tell You What the Bible Says,” to the climax of “Praise the Risen Lord” and “Trust Him,” the audience remains engaged. As the final notes fade away, they break into applause and some are soon on their feet in a standing ovation.

For the choir, director, cast and church leadership, this doesn’t just mean a successful performance. What is far more important is that the gospel has gone forth in clarity, to many people who have never heard it before.

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