On November 29th, we had a very special event in Olds, Alberta. We were celebrating God’s provision of the funds to purchase the international office building. Together with friends and supporters, we gathered in the other part of the building that was currently being used by another business. We are deeply thankful for what the Lord has provided and are so grateful to all who have prayed, donated and shared the project with others.
Marion* had read little of the Bible during the 20 years she had been away from church. She felt it was too daunting. Recently, however, she started going to church again and even offered to help prepare the meal for a session of a marriage course. To thank her for her effort, one of the leaders, Kat, gave Marion a copy of Fieldnotes, GoodSeed’s annual compilation of testimonies.
Reading through the book, Marion was struck by the stories of those who began with no knowledge of the Bible but, by the end of each account, had come to faith in Jesus Christ.
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.
Thumbing through a copy of By This Name, you might notice a number of tables placed throughout the text. While they look very simple in structure, their function is quite valuable when it comes to helping a reader shift their worldview to a biblical one.
In today’s world where truth is relative and the differences between the biblical worldview and other belief systems are very badly blurred, By This Name draws sharp distinctions between what the Bible teaches—and what it does not. While this is done in the text, the comparison tables strengthen what is communicated in the text by acting like quick visual summaries.
Here’s how they work as the reader moves through the book.
Ian’s* voice over the phone was laced with despair. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t put a bullet in my head.”
On the other end of the call, Dennis could tell that Ian meant what he said. He knew this wasn’t a random comment. Ian’s suicidal depression was the result of a life gone completely awry.
In those brief moments before Dennis answered, he thought of Ian’s failing health caused by a workplace accident. He had gone from being very robust and active to being physically and mentally incapacitated. Dennis remembered how Ian had lost his job, friends, family, and his very identity as a result. His friends had abandoned him, his wife had divorced him, and his children had turned against him.
In late October, GoodSeed’s songwriter Allan Ellingsgaard and special project consultant James Janzen, along with our video team, made a trip to Surrey, British Columbia, to record all the instrument tracks for No Ordinary Story. With the invaluable help of a professional recording studio and quality musicians, this goal was achieved over a span of nine days.
When asked about how he felt about the whole experience, Allan says that he entered this phase with a lot of nervousness. “Having just the piano until this point had made me feel sort of boxed in,” he recalls. “I knew I wanted something but I didn’t know exactly what.” The idea of working with professional musicians was a little intimidating. Would they appreciate the musical for what it was?
It has been called “the greatest story ever told.” Now the central message of the Bible is brought to life in this eleven-hour online Bible study. This self-paced course has been adapted from the popular award-winning DVD series, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus.
Your teacher will take these individual elements and chronologically tie them together into one universal drama. Whether you have significant Bible knowledge or have never read “the Book,” this online series is for you.
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<div class="strvb-title"><h2>The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus - VideoBook</h2></div>
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It has been called "the greatest story ever told." Now the central message of the Bible is brought to life in this eleven-hour <a href="https://www.goodseed.com/learn-about-the-bible.html">online Bible study</a>. This self-paced course has been adapted from the popular award-winning DVD series, <em>The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus</em>.
Your teacher will take these individual elements and chronologically tie them together into one universal drama. Whether you have significant Bible knowledge or have never read "the Book," this online series is for you.
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<table summary="This table displays the different chapters and sections of The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus video Bible study.">
<tbody>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">Introduction</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/atNkfF69jng?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">Introduction to the Course</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Chapter 1</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/c4Nesrn3GKU?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 - The Prologue</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/O45bfldPcJE?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 - Getting Things Straight</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/kafgUi7qc78?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">3 - A Unique Book</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">Chapter 2</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/crO9rdk_5c0?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 - In the Beginning God</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/3Lx2KVuCFps?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 - Angels, Hosts and Stars</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Chapter 3</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/v8rj5ffjA2o?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 - Heaven and Earth</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/XG97ilLB0y0?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 - It Was Good</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/waxsVVILNxI?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">3 - Man and Woman</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">Chapter 4</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/M0Oiw7vIkcY?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 - I Will</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/wuKlH4nOmLs?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 - Has God Said?</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/oknCc32xLEU?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">3 - Where Are You?</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/f_d2tgfB6EM?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">4 - Death</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Chapter 5</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/2hndjzm790U?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 - A Paradox</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/qIL5X5e-nKw?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 - Atonement</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/PgZE_PLNy-0?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">3 - Two By Two</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/K5BvKxYAmSQ?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">4 - Babel</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">Chapter 6</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/0YLM3NNr_zU?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 - Abraham</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/q-4pb8I-dpE?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 - Belief</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/xRZAOkhbEN4?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">3 - Isaac</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Chapter 7</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/_JpZzmHsXM0?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 - Israel and Judah</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/3bcEipCC8yw?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 - Moses</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/EIO6IdkW0s8?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">3 - Pharaoh and the Passover</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">Chapter 8</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/2sfdKGiWppw?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 - Bread, Quail and Water</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/4IqG0o-Q1W8?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 - Ten Rules</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/YkClAJuT23Y?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">3 - The Courtroom</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Chapter 9</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/oBOriY6bjeA?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 - The Tabernacle</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/0imNjQYEbcA?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1b - The Gold Box</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/dtvLu_gVPC8?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 - Unbelief</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/snw4ec-T1Zk?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">3 - Judges, Kings and Prophets</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">Chapter 10</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/mkMfTCCpWA0?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 - Elizabeth and Mary</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/JKtd9syeIWM?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 - Jesus</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/HOsjrMSzuaY?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">3 - Among the Sages</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/WvwVl40UI38?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">4 - Baptism</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Chapter 11</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/42f0nfErnxc?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 - Tempted</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/_er3O7JQvNM?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 - Power and Fame</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/zJm9bXX2AZc?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">3 - Nicodemus</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ly_INY_MF64?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">4 - Rejection</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/zXNYnlcq_HA?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">5 - The Bread of Life</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">Chapter 12</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Agtdwd95nMw?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 - Filthy Rags</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/JYee6NtX8FM?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 - The Way</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/BlHByuUy2Ts?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">3 - Lazarus</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ibnEoiD8hj4?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">4 - Hell</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/3iRaRPvCP6E?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">5 - Acceptance and Betrayal</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Chapter 13</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/0RCnyjLtwcc?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 - Arrested</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/XS3wk4UIkO4?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 - Crucified</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/y04YfwpGIfw?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">3 - Burial and Resurrection</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">Chapter 14</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/sMd6YFHlpO8?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 - The Emmaus Road</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/yMO9yAkFApM?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 - (Adam to Noah)</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/1p6HcpvalME?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">3 - (Abraham to the Law)</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/72-mH3zSIqY?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">4 - (The Tabernacle to the Bronze Serpent)</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/zYuQCMcUF5M?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">5 - (John the Baptist to the Resurrection)</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Chapter 15</th>
<td><a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/pHeMoFX5Olo?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 - A Convenient Time</a> <a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/85QAjqv1fxk?rel=0" target="strvb-iframe" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 - Credits</a></td>
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Summer Bible camp. How Megan* loved the week-long escape into the quiet of nature. The rustic cabins nestled among the evergreens, the liveliness of the campers, the crackling bonfires in the evening… it was all one big highlight. But there was something that brought even more joy to Megan, and that was watching God at work in the hearts of the campers.
When Megan was asked to be a main speaker at a girls’ Bible camp, she was more than willing to oblige. She also knew what she would talk about. Ever since she had attended a TERM Seminar, she had been sharing the gospel using a Creation-to-Christ approach. She decided to use the five days of camp to do this once again.
It is 1979. Minh Trang* is three years old. In the cover of darkness, his family boards a makeshift boat on the coast of Vietnam. The boat is meant to hold 20 but 70 frightened people are crushed together, shoulder to shoulder. It is dangerous in the rickety vessel because it can capsize in a heartbeat. But to suffer at the hands of the communist regime is worse. Minh’s parents decide to risk this flight in the dark.
Thus began more than eight months at sea. Minh has never forgotten that terrifying time. Eventually, after many trials and a circuitous route, his family landed in Canada. They had escaped death but not misery. It was a struggle for Minh’s parents to rebuild their lives. They had been doctors in Vietnam but now in Quebec, they had to be re-qualified as Canadian physicians. There was a quota system for foreigners so both parents struggled as they learned French, worked at menial jobs, took care of the children and laboured towards being certified as doctors.
Minh remembers those difficult years. His parents eventually qualified as doctors and inspired by their perseverance, he too has become a physician. But even as life improved, Minh was searching for something more. He wanted answers to what life was all about.
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.
One of the distinctive features of By This Name is the repeated reference to unique characteristics of ancient Egyptian culture, circa 1500 BC. In a book that is intended to provide a clear understanding of the gospel, that raises the natural question “Why?” Consider the following rationale.
Our target audience includes many in our current generation who conceive of God as an impersonal, abstract force that permeates all of nature. It includes those who believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses and those who hold to the idea that every person possesses a certain “god-ness.” It is common to find people creating a custom-designed spirituality that best suits their own interests and needs. Still others reject the concept of God in its entirety or, at least, believe that it is impossible to know for certain whether God exists or not.
For those who hold to any of the above views, the Bible presents some major obstacles. Beginning with the very first verse in Genesis, “In the beginning God…” the reader is confronted with the assumption that God exists and this God is seen “in action” in the succeeding pages.
On November 29th, we had a very special event in Olds, Alberta. We were celebrating God’s provision of the funds to purchase the international office building. Together with friends and supporters, we gathered in the other part of the building that was currently being used by another business. We are deeply thankful for what the Lord has provided and are so grateful to all who have prayed, donated and shared the project with others.
Marion* had read little of the Bible during the 20 years she had been away from church. She felt it was too daunting. Recently, however, she started going to church again and even offered to help prepare the meal for a session of a marriage course. To thank her for her effort, one of the leaders, Kat, gave Marion a copy of 
