Articles, news and testimonies
Last month a team of seven GoodSeed staff completed a 19-day ministry trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was a field test, or soft launch of sorts, introducing Worldview Rethink. (What exactly is Worldview Rethink? Here’s a short video (4 mins) explaining it:
“Teacher, you swore!” Mrs. Barclay had just begun to read the Christmas Nativity to her third-grade class when Lisa, a bright little girl in the front row interrupted. It took a moment before she realized Lisa had never heard ‘Jesus Christ’ as anything but profanity.
(Fast-forward ten years…)
Now a college sophomore driving home for Christmas, Lisa squints through the windshield at a billboard protruding from a field. Silently the sign’s letters form on her lips as it whips by… “Jesus.”
For the past few Christmases, many people have taken the opportunity to share the Gospel by giving friends, neighbours and co-workers copies of What are Christmas and Easter All About? Using “Easy-English,” this fully-illustrated booklet has been a real help in explaining the core message of the Bible to people with absolutely no Bible background.
Praise God for some of the stories we’ve heard of people who have believed the Gospel simply by reading this booklet. One family received it as a gift at a Christmas concert and it had a huge impact on them! (Read more about their story.)
“Christmas time can be weird! What other time of year do you sit in front of a dead tree in the living room and eat nuts and sweets out of your socks?” ~Unknown.(1)
How did all the holiday weirdness begin? Some point to the ancient Druids and their mysterious winter solstice rituals. Others insist it was the Romans who first decorated with evergreen boughs. There’s also debate between the Scandinavians and the Germans as to who first brought a mid-winter fir tree indoors. One legend tells of Martin Luther who on a snow-covered Christmas Eve around the year 1500, decorated a fir tree with candles and read the Christmas Story aloud to his children.
Sam* and Nick* are brothers. Sam is a believer but Nick was ardently opposed to talking about religion. Because Sam loved his brother, he never stopped trying to give Nick the gospel. When Sam came across By This Name, he was excited and got a copy for Nick and urged his brother to read it. Nick took the book but put it aside.
Pete* is a professional musician. He shared a story with us, a story that demonstrates God’s wonderful grace through the body of Christ. The story is centered on a Christmas concert at a small prairie town and the small GoodSeed book entitled, What are Christmas and Easter all About?
Pete told us of a family he had come to know just up the street from him, how he was often invited to their home for coffee. During these visits, he would play songs and sing for this young family. They all loved to hear the music and Pete too was enjoying his new friends. Pete soon came to realize this family’s worldview embraced postmodern ideas.
Continue reading “A musician, a Christmas concert and a little book”
One of the things that encourages us to cultivate a lifelong lifestyle of evangelism is to hear stories and testimonies from others who have shared the gospel. It really renews our spirits to hear of someone coming to a good understanding gospel.
Do you have a story of giving away one of GoodSeed’s tools and then seeing someone put their trust in Jesus? Or have you led a GoodSeed course or a study and seen a friend’s eyes light up with understanding? If so, we would love to hear from you.
Please tell us your story or testimony in the comment box below to encourage others to keep on sharing or giving the gospel. By the way, we’re assuming you won’t mind us writing a fuller article based on your story to post on our site. (If not, let us know in your note.)
We thank you!
The GoodSeed team
The Lamb was written with children in mind, to explain the Bible’s central message in a way that young ones can understand. What we’ve seen is that adults have also enjoyed the book tremendously and many have benefited from its simple language and detailed illustrations. Moreover, we’ve heard many stories of how families (parents and children) have discovered the wonderful message of the gospel as they read The Lamb together. Here is one such story:
Our Thai brothers and sisters in Christ are continuing to give out copies of the Thai translation of By This Name to anyone who is interested. Near Chiang Mai University where the books were being handed out, a man who runs a little shop selling ice saw the book and was very keen to read it. He asked for and received a copy. Please pray he will read it through and understand the gospel.
Books covered:
The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus: Chapter Four, Section 1 “I Will”
All that the Prophets have Spoken: Chapter Four, Section 1 “I Will”
By This Name: Chapter Four, Section 1, “Two Ways”
Do these passages speak of Satan?
In a day and age when the Scriptures are often mangled and twisted out of context it is important that we know why we teach what we do concerning Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. We do not want to allegorize or read a deeper meaning into a passage unless the passage is clearly intended to be understood that way by the original author. We also recognize that some Bible scholars would take a different viewpoint on these passages and this is reflected in some study Bible notations.
In writing The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, the goal was to get down to the basics without being sidetracked on some of the exegetical challenges that exist. There are certain parts of Scripture that are harder to interpret and we would put Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 into that category.
Continue reading “Do Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 speak of Satan?”
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