You may well have heard of William Tyndale, the man who translated the Bible into English in the 16th century, losing his life in the process. But standing behind him, largely unknown, was Henry Monmouth. This was a man who shared Tyndale’s vision, partnered with him and, to put it bluntly, paid the bills. Monmouth put Tyndale up while he worked on his translation, and then used his business connections to smuggle the English Bible around the country. Monmouth is an example of what John Rinehart calls a “Gospel Patron”.
Gospel Patrons are men and women who do not take centre stage of the gospel story, but who play a vital role nonetheless. Rinehart’s book of the same name takes a look at how God has used such people to change the world, and how we can become those kinds of people too.... continue reading
1. Compelled by Joy ebook - just £5!
Get the ebook version of Compelled by Joy by Michael Green for just £5!
2. Together for the Gospel Live
Watch the live stream from the Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, KY.
3. Free ebook: Love to the Uttermost
Free devotional readings for Holy Week from John Piper.
4. My Shelves are Full of Mentors
Kyle Worley looks at 3 suggestions if you’re struggling to find a mentor.
5. Six Lessons in Good Listening
Six lessons in good listening from David Mathis.
6. And finally...
This week's video of the week, ‘Inspector Smart Tour Promotional Video’ from Michael Tinker:
Found something that you think should make it on to the On to a Good Thing round-up? Send it to: ontoagoodthing@thegoodbook.co.uk
We all know butterflies. Some of us may be butterflies. Those people who flit from church to church on an annual, monthly or weekly basis - constantly shifting spiritual family. I'm not talking about those people who travel for work (never ideal but not necessarily a sign of spiritual ill-health!) but those who can get to the same church consistently but simply don't.
They have their reasons, of course. Some of them may be spoken: a desire to be more ecumenical, a passion for hearing different perspectives, a keenness to avoid people who have wounded them in the past. Others unspoken: a fear of commitment, a desire to avoid accountability or a deep-seated suspicion that no-one would love them if they showed their true selves week by week.... continue reading
Lent and the run-up to Easter is typically a period in which lots of churches ramp up their evangelistic work. This might be through events, getting out in to the community a bit more, or just being more "vocal" in what we are doing already.
There is a danger sometimes, however, that we can allow evangelism to become a duty rather than a privilege. Compelled by Joy is a book to provoke, stimulate and inspire, but above all fire-up every Christian for the urgent task of evangelism. It will refresh your thinking as you reach out to those around you this Easter.
Michael Green shares his passion, reflections, convictions and suggestions from a lifetime of church and university missions, not to mention numerous informal encounters.
Read more HERE and get the ebook for just £5 until midday on Thursday. Use code cbj0414 at the checkout.
I don't wish to make you squirm. I certainly don't want to make you feel guilty. But let me ask you a question: When was the last time you prayed for your congregation? I don't mean praying for specific individuals or events within the congregation but prayed for the congregation as a whole? If you're anything like me, it's the sort of thing that can easily fall off our prayer-lists ... or not even make it on to them in the first place. But our congregation is our family. It's full of the people who the Father has deliberately chosen - the people who God is using to make us more like Jesus. We are called to learn together, share together, encourage together and grow together. And they, without doubt, need prayer! So, why not take a moment now to pray for your congregation as a whole? You might like to use the wonderful words of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians as a basis:... continue reading
John Richardson, known to many through his writings and his blog, died at the end of last month after a short illness.
I first met John when we started discussing the possibility of taking his self-published books to a wider audience. Get into the Bible was a short book that introduced many people to the idea of biblical theology for the first time, and ran into several printings with us. We went on to publish Revelation Unwrapped a short, accessible commentary on the last book of the Bible, and God, Sex and Marriage, unpacking marriage from 1 Corinthians 7. The latter book was all the more intriguing , as John was at the time of writing a bachelor. He approached the subject of marriage with all the enthusiasm of the non-combatant. All these books are still available from us as e-books.... continue reading
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation – if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.
Colossians 1:21-23
Christian preacher John Craven held 'without food or water'
Rick Warren: Churches Must Do More to Address Mental Illness
Pakistani judge sentences Christian to death for blasphemy
Christian Group That Flip-Flopped on Gay Marriage Loses Donors
Why 'admitting' you are a Christian at work is so very hard
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Working for A levels or a degree? Recently graduated? Love Jesus? Enjoy writing? Considering a career in Christian publishing? Then why not apply to come on The Good Book Company work experience week?
From June 30th to July 4th 2014, we will be offering 5 young people a glimpse into the wonderful world of The Good Book.
Based at our offices in Epsom, Surrey, there will be opportunities to try your hand at proofreading, editing, manuscript-assessing and putting together design-briefs plus writing for marketing and the blog. And you’ll get a great overview of how the different parts of a publishing company work together too...
If you have a genuine interest in serving Jesus through publishing, please apply to join us. Simply send in your CV and a covering note, setting out why you’d like to be part of our experience week, to Helen at careers@thegoodbook.co.uk by Tuesday 15th April
Well it's the end of another school term - hands up parents who can't wait for the Easter break! My wife and I are certainly in that category. It's been a long term, the kids are tired and grotty, they have had enough of school already with Sats, mock test this, assessment that. Their lethargy and irritable nature is in danger of bringing the house down!
So how do we as parents cope with this and other things that family life throws at us?
Tim Chester understands what it means to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ in your daily life. So, in his very practical book about family life - Gospel Centred Family - he shows what it means to rest in grace as parents, to respond with grace to our children and to teach them to hope in grace themselves. This book is a must read for parents. It brims with encouraging grace and practical direction on every page.
Read more HERE and get the book for just £2 using code gcf0414 at the checkout.
