Risen: a springboard to the gospel

risen-movie
Image © 2016 Sony Pictures Digital Productions Inc.

It is not unusual to see accounts from the Bible make it to the silver screen. Even if the films are not biblically accurate, they are good conversation starters that allow us to share what the Bible really does say. It is an opportunity for us to share the message of the gospel.

This year is the release of Risen. It tells the story of Christ’s resurrection from the perspective of a Roman soldier. Rather than throwing doubt onto the biblical account, Risen supports it. It presents Jesus as the Messiah sent by Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews. While one can appreciate how the story is crafted, the movie doesn’t explain why Jesus died and rose again. And so here is a good opportunity to take the conversation further with your unsaved friends who have seen the film.

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Video: The production of “No Ordinary Story”

Music resonates with people of all ages and backgrounds. No Ordinary Story is the gospel message, told through music and drama in a fresh, compelling and objective way. The vision for this musical is to share the gospel message with music lovers and those who prefer not to read. We are excited at how far we have come in this project: the script, the scores and the backing music tracks have all been completed.

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This can’t wait! There are only hours left

time“Ming Wei, you need to come home urgently. Your grandmother might not last long!”

When he received the phone call from his parents, Ming Wei’s* heart grew heavy. Not only was he concerned about his grandmother’s health, he had a much deeper concern—he was worried about the spiritual state of his grandmother.

As an overseas Chinese student, Ming Wei had the opportunity to learn about Christianity and had become a believer just a couple of years ago. Now as he packed to go home to China, he was anxious about how to broach the subject of the gospel with his ailing grandmother. Since coming to Christ, he hadn’t found himself in this position before and he was at a loss as to how to talk to her about Christ. One thing he did know—time was short and this would be his one and only opportunity to address her eternal destiny.

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400,000 copies of L’histoire qui fait toute la différence!

drcEach day, GoodSeed sees numerous books shipped out into the waiting hands of… who knows? Typically we hear little of what happens with the tools we send out after they arrive at their destination.

For example, last year, in partnership with the Revival Movement Association in Ireland, GoodSeed saw 400,000 copies of L’histoire qui fait toute la difference, the French translation of The Story that Matters, shipped to French speaking countries around the world–primarily to Africa, though small numbers of books were also sent to France, Quebec and to the Dominican Republic for use with the Haitian community. We had tidbits of feedback, but really for the most part, we had very little idea how the materials were received and being used in these various locations.

Until now.

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How to identify the Promised Deliverer — Insight #5

This series gives an inside view on the structure of By This Name and how it breaks through confusion in our diverse society, bringing clarity to the message of the gospel.

As we read the Bible chronologically, we learn more and more about God as he reveals additional details about himself. This is known as progressive revelation. This is also true about the Promised Deliverer—the Saviour—that God said he would send. By This Name follows Scripture’s historical narrative and builds an increasing comprehensive portrait of the Promised Deliverer as the story unfolds.

For example, take the account of Adam and Eve’s fall into sin (Genesis 3). Here, we see God’s promise to provide the One who would rescue mankind from the consequences of sin.

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She never gave up on me

chained handsRick’s* drinking and drug use had taken everything from him. It had taken his wife. It had taken his home. It had taken his job. But there was one thing it had never succeeded in robbing from him—Alyssa, his daughter. Somehow that girl never gave up on him. Rick can only shake his head in both thankfulness and bewilderment at her persistent love over the decades.

Rick doesn’t remember much from his childhood and the memories he does have aren’t happy ones. He struggled through school. He failed at sports. As one of the smallest kids, he was bullied and picked on. At home, his older sister got whatever she wanted, while Rick was the one never quite good enough. He felt inadequate and rejected. In an attempt to boost his self-esteem, he started drinking and smoking marijuana in his early teens. By the time he was 15, he had quit school and moved out of home.

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New year, new opportunities to share the gospel

January 4, 2016

Betty Scott Stam, a young wife and mother serving as a missionary to China in the 1930s, didn’t just know the gospel in theory. It was her life. And it ended up costing everything. She and her husband, John, were martyred as a result of their witness for Christ. Years before this happened, she wrote,

“Nobody can force a single soul to turn to Christ. All that the followers of Jesus have to do, all they can do, is to lift up Christ before the world, bring Him into dingy corners and dark places of the earth where He is unknown, introduce Him to strangers, talk about Him to everybody and live so closely with and in Him that others may see that there really is such a person as Jesus.” *

What Betty understood is something that each of us is called to. We are ambassadors for Christ. This is not a part-time job that we somehow “fit in” to our busy schedules. All believers are given the biblical mandate to live a lifelong lifestyle of being ready to share the gospel at a moment’s notice.

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Why talk about other “gods”? — Insight #4

This series gives an inside view on the structure of By This Name and how it breaks through confusion in our diverse society, bringing clarity to the message of the gospel.

“The God of the Bible is just like any another god. You worship your god as you wish and I’ll worship mine, my way.”

“I like Jesus. I will worship him together with my other gods.”

Many today believe that all gods are essentially the same. No one is better than the other. They are just different. Therefore, it is entirely up to a person’s preference whom they choose to worship. Everyone is free to create and adopt his or her own form of spirituality.

Additionally, others have no problem respecting and revering a number of gods. They find no paradox in worshipping a collection of gods. For some, they are “hedging their bets,” hoping that by venerating many gods, one or more will be of help to them in their lives.

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The darkness that I carried around was lifted

Last year, Willow Creek Baptist Church (fondly known as “The Creek”) was a host church for one of our TERM Seminars. It was exciting for our staff to interact with the pastor and the congregation because many in the church had come to faith with the help of The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus. A number of their members have shared their testimonies on video.

Here is one from Ashley Murphy. This is a quote from her story:

It didn’t make sense before that. Reading through The Stranger, everything clicked, everything finally made sense. It was the first time that I ever felt that… Jesus did that for us, that I could have my sins forgiven. The darkness that I carried around… it was lifted…. That was huge because I’ve lived with it my whole life…. This has made such a difference in my home and my marriage…”

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By This Name studies take off in Thailand

thailandKeith and Elaine* had enjoyed the past two years. Living in Thailand had its challenges and the language was not simple to learn, but they had grown to love the country and its people. They also appreciated the pastoral leadership Chaow gave to the Thai church and enjoyed building relationships with the Thai believers. As their understanding of the language progressed, they were able to participate more in the work Chaow and his wife, Lawan, were doing.

But Keith wasn’t sure how to respond when Chaow approached him about leading a Bible study. It was an intimidating thought. Yes, he had put extensive hours into language study and yes, he would love to come alongside the church’s discipleship program, but he did not feel ready for the responsibility. Where would he start?

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