The clearest explanation of the sacrifice Jesus made for us

Creek StoriesWe had previously shared the video testimony of Ashley Murphy, a member of Soteria Church who came to faith in Christ through reading The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus. Many others in this church have also come to faith through this book. Dave and Kelly Bell are two of these.

Here are quotes from their testimonies:

“The book, Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, I kid you not, is the clearest explanation of the sacrifice Jesus made for us and how we were separated from God prior to that… Reading that book established the understanding for me that Jesus is the bridge between us and our new connection with God.” — David Bell

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Dad, are we Jews or are we Christians?

By This Name in HebrewA Jewish parent shared this question of identity with a GoodSeed staff worker one afternoon during a meeting in the ancient city of Jerusalem. His teenage children had posed the question to him after being repeatedly harassed at their local school for their beliefs. Finally they confronted their father, frustrated with these attacks on their identity. “Dad, are we Jews or are we Christians? What are we and what’s the difference between the two?” they asked.

He reassured them, “You’re both. You’re Jews who believe that the Messiah has come, just as He promised.”

As a ministry looking to support the Christian faith in Israel, the Bible Society in Israel (BSI) began looking for a resource that would explain the harmony between the Old Testament and the New.

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Free Bible Study: The Hebrew Tabernacle—A Model of Messiah

Detailed view of the Ark of the covenantJust as Jesus used parables to illustrate and bring to life his teachings, so God frequently used visual aids in the Old Testament to better illuminate our understanding of many spiritual truths.

That is certainly true of the Hebrew Tabernacle—an amazing picture of God’s plan of redemption for mankind.

We have two visual aid resources and a set of free lessons that help explain the purpose and meaning of the Tabernacle.

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Peace in the family at the cost of peace in her heart

familySometimes the journey of walking with the Lord is not always a straight or smooth path. And when the difficult choices affect our children and other family members, we often find ourselves agonizing over the best way forward. Marthe,* a Creole woman in Haiti, shared a part of her journey with us.

Marthe had come to understand the gospel many years previously. But she had little support for her faith. Her husband belonged to a Christian cult; her parents and other relatives were entrenched in a different belief system that was not welcoming toward the biblical worldview.

Each choice she tried to make in following the Lord brought criticism and a great deal of pressure from those she loved. After a while, it seemed easier for her to simply keep the peace and “not stir the waters to change things.” So, for several years, Marthe shoved her Christian beliefs to one side to remove the conflict from her life. But while her relationships within her family eased, her heart was not at peace.

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Over 1000 attend “No Ordinary Story” production

No Ordinary Story Easter 2016The lights dim, train cars rumble, followed by the sound of a whistle blowing. Then the shout of “All aboard!” calls out and a performance of No Ordinary Story is underway.

The auditorium is packed out as 35 choir members find their places on the stage. From the beginning songs, “Train Ride” and “Let Me Tell You What the Bible Says,” to the climax of “Praise the Risen Lord” and “Trust Him,” the audience remains engaged. As the final notes fade away, they break into applause and some are soon on their feet in a standing ovation.

For the choir, director, cast and church leadership, this doesn’t just mean a successful performance. What is far more important is that the gospel has gone forth in clarity, to many people who have never heard it before.

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Why talk about prophecy when sharing the gospel? — Insight #7

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 obstacles in sharing the gospel is getting the reader to trust in the truthfulness and reliability of Scripture. If he or she doesn’t believe in what the Bible is saying, then that person will likely reject the gospel. So how do we enable someone to gain confidence in the Word of God?

God has seen fit to put into his Word a powerful, self-authenticating feature that shows his Word not only to be true, but accurate. It’s what we know as prophecy.

Prophecy is a unique, self-authenticating feature of the Bible
Simply put, prophecy is a prediction about a future event. And the Bible is replete with it—nearly 27% of Scripture is prophetic. No other ancient book provides so many prophecies about future world events. Many of the prophecies in the Bible have been precisely fulfilled hundreds, even thousands, of years after they were initially given. Each fulfilled prophecy adds credence to the fact that the Bible is a reliable text. By This Name highlights a number of fulfilled prophecies to help the reader build trust in Scripture.

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An Easter poem: Something Inside Came Alive with a Roar

came aliveThe Bible records a story that happened two thousand years ago on the day that Jesus was resurrected. It’s an account of two individuals on the road from Jerusalem to their hometown of Emmaus, and about a stranger they met. Here’s their story.

We left Jerusalem, about midday
Avoiding travellers along the way.
Taking the road alone, dusty and dry,
Trying to escape that prying eye.

We argued as we walked, what could it mean
Of Jesus, and the miracles we’d seen?
Of stories we’d heard, of places we’d been,
How a lamb could atone for one’s own sin.

Half in fear, half in hope,
Rehearsing His life, trying to cope.
First we whispered, then we cried
You see, we were there when Jesus died.

Then a stranger joined us unaware—
His presence fresh, like a gust of air.
We gave no thought, where he was from
And took no interest in how he’d come.

At first he spoke not yet a word,
But listened carefully, as we conferred.
As we discussed the day’s events
And all that Jesus was up against.

The stranger then spoke, as in dismay,
“Why do you dispute along the way?”
Stunned, we said, “Didn’t you see the throng,
The trial, the crucifixion, the terrible wrong?”

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A long journey of the soul

journeyA person’s journey to the Saviour can sometimes seem a long road, especially when we’re so desirous of a quick decision and so aware of the urgency attached to the gospel.

Rose* watched Gracia travel one such journey, spread over the course of many years. Gracia is an immigrant, born in a country dominated by a religion whose main emphasis is salvation through works. Rose and Gracia met at work and over time, formed a friendship.

Rose has used GoodSeed materials for many years, so whenever GoodSeed published a new book, she made it a habit to offer it to her co-workers. Thus Rose gave Gracia both The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, as well as a copy of The Lamb. When Gracia’s daughter took a great liking to The Lamb, Gracia raved about the book and bought additional copies for other family members. But even with all this exposure to the gospel, she held firmly to her own belief system and would not seriously consider another way of thinking.

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Why deal with syncretism when sharing the gospel? — Insight #6

syncretism-add-mixThis 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.

At the very basic level, syncretism happens when someone simply adds what they think the Bible says to what they already believe. Combining these two very different views leads to them adopting a third belief system.

What does syncretism look like? Take Lynn for example. Lynn believes in the Bible. A college friend explained the gospel to her and Lynn accepted what her friend shared. Every day, she reads a portion of Scripture. Every week, she not only attends the religious services in which she was raised but also a new church with which she has connected. She also tries, at every opportunity, to be good, to do good and to have good thoughts. She believes that God will find her acceptable and she can get to heaven because of these good works. She believes that good will come back to her if she does more good. (After all, will she not reap after death what she has sown in this lifetime?) For now, she also relies on horoscopes to foresee the future and to help guide her decision-making.

This description of Lynn is one of syncretism. She has mixed non-biblical ideas with Scripture, resulting in a completely different belief system. People like Lynn are very common in today’s world. They simply layer on bits of biblical truth onto their underlying belief system. There is no true understanding of the gospel message.

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Altos to the left, sops on the right! Gearing up for Easter performances of “No Ordinary Story”

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Monday evening. Seven o’clock. The sanctuary of First Baptist Church is a lively place. Almost 40 people are trying to position themselves on four levels of risers on the stage. The choir director is waving her arms at her singers.

“Altos to the left, sopranos to the right, and tenors and basses in the middle. No… everyone move over a few feet to the left. The screen needs to be visible behind you. There… that looks right. Can everyone see me? Hmm… Allan can’t see from where he sits at the piano. Let’s adjust a few more things.”

Then Allan gives a thumbs up. It looks like everyone is ready to sing. Continue reading “Altos to the left, sops on the right! Gearing up for Easter performances of “No Ordinary Story””