Only God is able to penetrate the minds of the young and old

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100 Years Old

Editor’s note: How can we share the gospel with an elderly person, especially one who suffers from dementia or another condition that limits the clarity of the mind? Doug Nichols, Founder and International Director Emeritus of Action International Ministries, has found a good way to share the gospel with such senior citizens. He and his wife Margaret read aloud “The Lamb” and managed to share a clear gospel with a group of elderly folks. Now that’s inspiring! Read on as Doug shares the story:

Doug and Margaret Nichols
Doug and Margaret Nichols

My 100 year-old father-in-law resides in a home-care facility with five other residents (Dad calls them “inmates!”). Even though the facility owners are Christians, we have been praying about how to share the gospel and minister to these elderly residents. Many have Alzheimer’s, dementia, or are otherwise slow in their thinking. Recently, my wife Margaret began reading the children’s picture book, The Lamb to six residents after lunch. They could hardly wait for each session. It was excellent!

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“The Lamb” vs “The Stranger”. What should I teach as a follow-up to VBS?

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lamb-camp

Question:
Hi! I’m really thankful for The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus and how God is allowing us at our local church to make disciples. But I have a question: we are planning to do a VBS in June, and I’d like to offer follow-up classes for kids that are interested, and I’m wondering what material would be best? The ages would be 4th-6th graders (10-12 year olds) who are unchurched, with the exception of children from our weekly kids’ club, and I think the Lamb is just too “young” for them, but I’m afraid The Stranger would be too advanced for them. What would you suggest for that upper elementary/early junior high age?

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Four visits to the manicurist. Four books on the good news.

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Photo credit: Hoa Dang on flickrWith willingness and a keenness to share the gospel whenever the opportunity arises, one can never tell how God will use a person to give away the Good News. Here are four consecutive visits to the manicurist that resulted in the good news being shared.

First visit
Last December, while Christina* was getting her nails done and having a chat at the salon, Christina’s manicurist wondered aloud what she should get for her seven-year-old son as a Christmas present. Ever alert for an opportunity, Christina asked if her son liked to read. The manicurist said yes and Christina went to her van and from her “Be Ready” box, pulled out a copy of The Lamb. She presented it to her manicurist as a gift for her son. On a subsequent visit, the manicurist reported that her son loved the book and got his father to read him the story every night.

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How do we share the gospel on a mission trip?

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Garden of Eden

One of the biggest questions when planning a short-term missions trip is “How do we share a clear gospel that our audience can understand?” When you think of the village or people group you are going to meet, can you picture what you would need to teach them so that they understand the gospel clearly? What if the people do not have any Bible knowledge or know nothing about the God of the Bible? How do you explain the good news?

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Children with a passion for the gospel

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Photo Credit: Andrew Mitchell on flickr

(This post is part of our “Give away the gospel” series.)

We received a note from a parent on how her two children have a passion for sharing the gospel with their friends.

Our 4th grade daughter decided that she wanted to give The Lamb as a part of her Valentine’s to her classmates. We are not allowed to distribute these at our public school, so she plans to mail them. Our 7th grade son takes [copies of] The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus wherever he goes to give to his friends. There is no greater joy than when your own children walk in the truth!
—Caitlin*

We think we can learn so much about giving the Gospel from them. They use every opportunity to share the good news to people in their lives, even Valentine’s Day. Maybe we can pause to think how we can share the good news with those in our lives.

(*Names changed as per GoodSeed policy.)

 

Photo Credit: “I Love Apples” by Andrew Mitchell is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Captivating the children and adults. A story from Luxembourg

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“Luxembourg Neumünster und Johanneskirche” by Wolfgang Staudt on Flickr

A story from our staff member in Luxembourg. He had the opportunity to speak with two pastors, both of whom had taken to using the Luxembourgish translation of The Lamb in their churches. Pastor Pol* and Pastor Pier* had taken to distributing copies of “D’Lämmchen” to their congregations and had received very positive feedback from them. In all, over the Christmas season, 11 boxes of D’Lämmchen were distributed! Pastor Pier is now considering following up by guiding his congregation through a study of the German version of “The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus”.

Pastor Pier shared the following story:

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What’s good follow-up material for “The Lamb”?

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The Lamb, DVD edition and audio edition

We received a question from a father who had just read The Lamb to his eight-year-old daughter.

I just wanted to thank you for The Lamb. I have recently read it with my eight-year-old over several weeks and during our conversations she came to
 trust on Jesus as her Savior. Love the book. I had a question about any next 
step overview of the Bible-type resources you might have. Thanks.

Mike*

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Don’t rush Advent–or the gospel

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Candles

“Haste makes waste.”  We’ve all learned that some things just aren’t worth rushing.  Celebrating Advent is one of them.  Sharing the Gospel is another.

Advent is a slow and purposeful celebration. It cannot be hurried or abbreviated.  It is more like a buffet than a drive-through.  Each week’s candle kindles a new truth: hope, love, joy, and peace. The light of one glows onto the next until the final candle, representing the Saviour born in Bethlehem, is illuminated. If we rush through the holidays without taking time to reflect on these truths, Christmas loses its significance.

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Make the gospel story a Christmas tradition

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Christmas bulletin

For many a child, Christmas is the best holiday of the year with Christmas presents, the tree trimmed with decorations and the feasting! They grow up with many happy memories of Christmas. As believers, we especially want our children to remember Christmas as a time when Jesus is the focus. We want to cultivate memories of celebrating God coming to earth to fulfill his promise of a Saviour. We want our children to recognize that Christmas is part of the larger story of the gospel of Jesus.

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Peace on earth right on our doorstep

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starlit nightThe world has truly come to our doorstep. Whether we live in North America, Europe, Australia, or any other country, we likely eat Italian pizzas, Indian curries and Japanese sushi. We shop at late-night corner stores run by hard-working, Middle-Eastern families.  And, many of us work for or interact daily with businesses created by highly talented people who come from all corners of the globe.

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