We've all got it in us - that drive to want more, that yearning to try to accumulate that which is most important to us day by day. The drive isn't necessarily a bad thing - in fact it's great to want more humility, more patience, more gentleness, more love, more self-control - but all too often my "wants" are of a less godly nature. I tend to want more respect, more control, more comfort, more pleasure, more things that allow me to pretend that my will is more important than God's. Which is why I needed to hear the wise words of two of Matthias Media's minizines this week.
If you've never dipped a toe into a minizine, please let me encourage you to do so. They are - as the name suggests - mini magazines, each containing three articles related to a single topic. You can read each one in under an hour and they are a great way to get yourself thinking seriously about some of the big issues we face in our Christian life.... continue reading
With heads in the Gospel of Mark, hearts overflowing with passion to see more and more people come to Christ and hands clutching the Portuguese translation of Christianity Explored, these were some of the exciting scenes in Angola earlier this month as the first wave of young leaders were shown how to lead a Christianity Explored course.
A recent evangelistic mission in the south-western African nation resulted in 3,000 people expressing either a decision to follow Christ or a desire to find out more. Now the task of meeting up with these people is beginning and we're hugely excited that the Christianity Explored material is going to be part of the process of showing who Jesus really is and why he came to earth... A bookshop in Luanda (the capital of Angola) will soon be stocking the material, a group of Bible-centred guys are getting to grips with their newly acquired leaders' guides and course invitations are being sent out in readiness for the activity to come.
Please do pray for a nation where so many need to hear the gospel. Please do pray for leaders like Anselmo, Emanuel and Dines who will be starting Christianity Explored courses in the coming weeks (the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few - Matthew 9:38). And please do pray for increasing fruit from the Portuguese translation - that those who use the material will see Jesus in the pages of Scripture and join with the centurion in saying "Surely this man was the Son of God" (Mark 15:39).
We've been getting terrific responses to our new outreach resource Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes. To support its practical use in churches, we're pleased to announce the first of a series of training events run by our partners at the South Asia Forum of the Evangelical Alliance.
The course takes place at the Evangelical Alliance in London on Thursday 12 June 9:30am-1pm, lunch is included and the cost is Ā£10. For further information and to book click here.
And take a look at the resources themselves on our website here.
This week we're offering an amazing deal on any of our Live Different titles in ebook format. The Live Different series tackles issues that many of us struggle with in our day to day lives and shows how the gospel transforms the way we view them, bringing real, lasting change.
There are four books to choose from - two written especially for women on contentment and singleness and two for everyone on serving and living in the light of eternity.
This week you can pick up ebooks of any of them for just £2 each using the code ld2705 at the checkout! Click HERE to snap up the deal!
Offer expires at midday on Friday 30th May.
Today sees the launch of the brand new DVD for The World We All Want, presented by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis.
Tim and Steve developed The World We All Want as an outreach course that uses people's idea of the kind of world they would like to live in as a springboard for unpacking from the Bible the wonderful future that is offered to followers of Jesus. Starting in Revelation, going back to Genesis and stopping at various places in between, they show how the kind of world we all long for is exactly what is promised to those who live in relationship with our loving heavenly Father.
The DVD is a great complement to the existing Handbook and Leader's Guide and will be particularly welcome for visual learners and perhaps those less used to studying the Bible.
We're launching the DVD today for £12.74, but blog readers can pick up a copy of the DVD and Handbook for just £10 all in!
Just use the code 'twwawdeal' at the checkout to get the deal. Offer expires Monday 26th May at midday.
Watch the first episode of the DVD for free to get a taster:
Suncream? Check. Swimwear? Check. Sturdy trainers for those early morning walks? Check. Phone charger to enable a constant flow of photos to Instagram? Check ...
Many of us will be packing in the coming weeks. And, if you're anything like me, there may be a list lurking somewhere in your home to help ensure nothing gets forgotten. If you've got yours to hand, it might be worth a glance, because I have a question to pose to us all: Amid the currency and the clothes, what are we each packing to help us keep Jesus at the centre of our rest and refreshment?... continue reading
If you're easily distracted when praying, you (and I) are not alone.
In fact, if you struggle to pray in the first place, that's not unusual either. Tim Chester, in his book You Can Pray, tells us how we can be great pray-ers. And he admits that that's a really bold claim.
'The secret of great praying has nothing to do with human effort or skill,' he explains. 'Lots of people would like to think that it does because they want to make prayer an achievement.' But the secret of great praying is ... Knowing three things about God:
Tim looks at: why prayer is easy (how we pray), why prayer is difficult (why we pray) and the arguments and priorities of prayer (what we pray). Prayer is a child asking their Father for help. And that's not beyond any one of us.
See more HERE and get the ebook of You Can Pray for just £5 until midday Thursday. Simply use the code ycpe0514 at the checkout.
In the development of the Discovering Jesus course, the material was extensively trialled among a wide variety of people and situations. Here is the story of one woman who took part in one of these trial courses:
I was invited to take part in a course called Discovering Jesus Through Asian Eyes. I am from a Muslim family, but there were two other girls from a Hindu background who were also interested in Christianity.
The course answered a lot of questions that the majority of Asians ask about Jesus and faith in God. It was very relaxed and enjoyable as we talked about these questions and looked at passages in the Bible. What amazed me was to discover that believing in Jesus is very different from the rules and beliefs that I had tried to follow.
It became evident that many of my ābeliefsā were based more around culture and man-made rules. For me, having clear words from God from the Bible strengthened my belief that there is a living God.
As each session went by, I realised that I didnāt have to change who I was; my Bengali culture, my relationships, clothing, or the food I liked, to be a follower of Jesus Christ. All I needed to do was claim Jesus as my saviour, I could be the same person for my family and for myself.
I have never felt such peace in God. Now I know the Holy Spirit is guiding me, giving me peace, wisdom, courageāand I just feel so loved. I donāt feel lonely anymore.
This is an extract from the booklet Jesus through Asian eyes now available from The Good Book Company.
“If you are English, you must be a Christian, right? And if you are Pakistani, you can only be a Muslim? If you are Chinese, you must be…?”
It’s common to link different religious beliefs and practices with certain parts of the world. So a person born into a family of a particular culture may accept those religious beliefs and practices as part of their identity—something they did not choose, but which was handed down to them.
In the same way, many people automatically link Christianity with Europe, America, and countries like Australia. They assume that all white people are “Christian”. But the situation is actually much more complex.... continue reading
The Discovering Jesus course includes, many warm testimonies of Asian people who have found faith in Christ. Here is the testimony from Manoj Ratathaiata which opens the booklet. It showcases how the loving, prayerful concern of a Christian couple, the welcome of a church, and the sharing of the gospel in an appropriate way combined to bring the good news into his life.
In 2007 I was living the high life. I was a successful businessman, buying and selling blocks of apartments throughout the country.
However, as I entered the New Year, my good fortunes took a downturn. As the credit crunch set in, my property business began to wobble. But this paled into insignificance as my two-year-old son was suddenly taken severely ill with breathing difficulties.... continue reading
