They grabbed on to each truth

Chlldren reading The LambStephen and Geraldine* wanted to share their testimony. They wrote us the following email as an encouragement to other families who are going through, or have gone through similar circumstances:

Our family has been so richly blessed by The Lamb. We have been through the book several times with our children and have been excited to see how well they have grasped the gospel at a very early age. My wife and I have also been challenged to reconsider how well we grasped the gospel ourselves and how we can better teach it to others.

However, last year the rubber really met the road when we were faced with the tragic loss of our unborn child 19 weeks into the pregnancy. At that time our children were five, three, two and one years old.

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These are miracles for us!

School

Ada and Konrad* told our German staff, “These are miracles that we’ve personally experienced…we can only marvel at them!”

Konrad is the principal of a school in a German city. Though it is a Christian school, he could clearly see that many of the students and their families had little understanding of the Bible. He wondered how he could help them know God better and understand the gospel message.

He recalled how he and his wife, Ada, had gone through a Bible study that used the German edition of The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus. That course had helped them both in their faith, and now Ada was regularly leading ladies’ studies with it. Konrad began informing the students’ mothers about Ada’s studies. Were they interested in attending?

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A scene straight out of the book of Acts

A scene straight out of the Book of ActsIn a quiet German city, the Monday night study had come to an end. Fourteen participants had been coming together once a week for fifteen weeks. Several were believers who had wanted to learn more about the Bible. Others were accompanying friends who had never read the Bible before. In this gathering were Germans, Russian-Germans and Italians. And in all the weeks that the group met, no one dropped out.

There was nothing new or radical in what was taught. The study leader simply used the German edition of The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus to take the participants though a simple and coherent explanation of the gospel message. For many in the study, they heard the gospel clearly for the first time.

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That’s not going to work

Storm clouds

Anne* grew up in a family that was fairly religious. Her mother would read and teach the Bible to her four children. Anne remembers Mom rousing the children early on Sunday mornings to get them ready for church service.

But as she grew up, Anne fell away from Sunday school and, by the time she reached high school, she had dropped out of church. The crowd she hung out with were troublemakers. They introduced her to alcohol and she ended up getting into trouble with the law. Though there were people who cared enough to ask her why she was walking this path, she turned a deaf ear to them. She simply didn’t care to listen or to change.

Fast forward to her adult years. By now, Anne had married twice, ending up with a daughter and five step-children. With so many young ones to care for, she tried to clean up her life. Anne modelled her mother’s behaviour—she took the children to church, started reading her Bible and did her best to be a good person.

When her daughter was baptised, Anne felt a strong desire to find God. But how? She had thought that being a good person—helping others and doing good things—would make her acceptable in God’s eyes. But there was a nagging doubt in the pit of her stomach that she wasn’t succeeding. However she didn’t know where to find answers.

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Counselling with “By This Name”

Worldview Rethink Visual Aids organizedAs a church counsellor, Stephen* encounters Christians in all manner of difficulties—couples facing marital problems, people who are suffering depression, others with addictions of all kinds, even a few who are suicidal. While the challenges that his clients face come from many diverse sources, one common theme he’s discovered is a lack of understanding of who God is. Stephen is discovering that more and more, people today—even Christians—do not know much about God. Their knowledge of God’s character—his sovereignty, holiness, power, love—is very limited, or worse, incorrect. As a consequence, their lives are filled with little hope. They have a low view of God.

Additionally, many clients believe that they can make themselves right before God. They strive to act right, speak right and live right. They fail to understand the power of sin in their lives and how, on their own, they cannot lead lives acceptable to God. They have an unbiblical view of their human nature.

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Just throw me down the stairs

Woman staring at the sunCandice’s* emotional life was in a free fall. Her thoughts were consumed by wanting to escape from work and from her life. One day at work she approached a flight of stairs. Glancing down at the steps before her, Candice turned to her co-worker and said, “Just throw me down the stairs!”

She got her wish the next day when she fractured her tailbone while snowboarding. Her injury gave her time to reflect on her life. For months now, she had been a zombie at work. To protect herself, she realized she had “turned off” her emotions every time she was at work. Now Candice discovered that she could not turn them back on. She felt she was becoming a robot, at risk of losing all her humanity. Candice was in complete misery. She felt trapped, with no way out.

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A providential mistake

Little girl reading The LambWe have great staff who look after all the orders coming in (via phone calls, online store and walk-ins) and they ensure each order is shipped out in a timely manner. However, occasionally a mistake is made and then we do our utmost to make sure we correct it to the best of our ability.

Last fall, one such mistake became a blessing in disguise—both for our customer as well as for us as a staff.

Lisa,* a French language teacher in a Christian school, had been introduced to GoodSeed resources by an enthusiastic friend. When she was given The Lamb to read to her four-year-old daughter, she did so several times, appreciating the simple and clear message the book contained. They especially connected with the explanation of the atoning lamb sacrifice and how it pictures Christ’s sacrifice for us. Lisa said, “It is written so clearly!”

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I would love to use this book to help others understand!

By This Name StudyAt one of our TERM Seminars in Canada last year, Walter* flew up from the States to join in. He’s a missionary working primarily in Western Asia and had been using one of our translations to teach. Now, he was looking to learn how we use the books as curriculum. He joined us as we went through By This Name with the rest of the group. Over the course of the week, Walter listened very attentively and learned how we guide a group through the gospel message. At the end, he wrote us a very encouraging note.

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There’s no way you’re sharing that story!

Can we meet?Sandra* is an easygoing person with an affable manner that allows her to easily make friends with strangers. She knows how to tell a story and she can engage in tough conversations without getting into an argument. She has been volunteering at a hospital and gets to meet many types of patients. Not too long ago, she met Erin, who was dying of a serious illness. Having appreciated an earlier visit, Erin wanted another opportunity to talk to Sandra. Fortunately, Erin’s doctor, who was sympathetic to her needs, also knew Sandra and so arranged for the two women to have some time together.

What ensued was a three-hour meeting. Sandra had brought along with her a copy of What are Christmas and Easter All About? and, with Erin’s permission, was able to read aloud the entire booklet. Sandra went on to answer Erin’s questions and, by the end of their visit, Erin had put her trust in Jesus for salvation. She was now a believer!

Barely three weeks after this meeting, Erin passed away. She left a letter instructing her young adult sons to invite Sandra to speak at her funeral. Erin specifically requested that Sandra read aloud What are Christmas and Easter All About?, just as she had done during that earlier time together. A furore broke out. Jeremy, Erin’s brother, strongly objected to Sandra’s presence at the funeral.

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You gotta do it again. You’re not saved

Brad Powell struggled for many years to understand what salvation meant. He grew up in a religious family whose faith was based on fear. They were focused on doing the ‘right’ things and doing their best to avoid the ‘wrong’ things. Every day, he feared he wasn’t good enough to be accepted by God.

Brad’s family firmly believed that baptism was necessary for salvation. As Brad’s father baptized him, the pastor stopped them and said, “You gotta do it again. You didn’t go all the way under the water.” Hearing this crushed Brad’s heart. He was never certain of his salvation.

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