Very good discussion on friendship evangelism

Worth while going down through the comments on this one.

Reformissionary

Carson explaining the existence of God

Asking this question puts us in the wrong position. Someone comes in to the knowledge of God, through repentance and faith, not through mere conclusion from evidence.

Bible study: Evangelism, Are We All Involved

I hope that this study that I have written, based on the video by Kel Richards and Phillip Jensen, is a useful evangelism training resource. It is available here for download and printing for use in personal study and study groups. If you follow the video to Vimeo, you can also download the complete video there as an mp4, and with a bit of cunning, turn it in to a DVD.

OK, so the plan is; pray; watch the video; pray; go through the study guide and discuss implications and applications of texts and ideas; pray; go live a life of an evangelist

Here is the study guide: Evangelism: are we all involved. pdf

And here is the video:

Finally happy using Google reader for my blog reading. Believe it or not, I have never settled on an rss reader, preferring email subscriptions and visiting blogs.

Bible study prep

writing bible study based on/extending Phillip Jansen and Kel Richard’s interview, Evangelism: are we all involved? I hope to publish it here for others to benefit too.

Critique the beliefs of others

I thought this was well put. It is part of the article by MP Jensen I have just read.

…It is quite appropriate for us to question others as to what they believe and as to whether that stacks up to the criteria of truth—is it internally coherent and does it stack up with reality. Likewise, is that belief really working in life? Does it produce what it promises? For example, how do they know that reincarnation is true? Can they really trust themselves to be the ultimate arbiters of morality? How can they say that all religions are basically the same without violating them all? Is there really no truth? Has science really proved religion wrong? Where exactly? Where in the Bible does it condone slavery?

Sometimes we are too polite and refrain from offering contradictions. It is worth calling people’s bluff on their assertions about Christianity and religious truth in general. Often their ignorance is exposed! Get them to do some apologetics for a change… Francis Schaeffer spoke of creating a “climate of uncertainty” for the unbeliever.

Reading 16 Verbs for 21st C. Apologetics. Thanks for the ref Al.

Have you got power to Witness?

Yes, I have indeed felt powerless many times. Enjoy this article by By Phillip Jensen from http://phillipjensen.com

Have you ever felt powerless?  Have you ever felt weak in the presence of others?  Do you feel overwhelmed by the non-Christian world around you?  Do you feel that your testimony to Christ is too weak and feeble to mention and that the criticisms of Christianity are too loud, vocal and confident to withstand?  Are you afraid that by speaking up for Christ you will lose your job or your friends or the respect of your neighbours or family?

Witnessing is a distressing activity.  Most Christians find it difficult.  We prefer to keep our light hidden under the bushel.  We don’t feel like a city on the hill.  Even when we are with Christians we can feel spiritually inferior.  When we consider mentioning the name of Jesus to unbelievers we can feel tongue tied and afraid.

Witnessing is not always eye-witnessing.  It is the activity of testifying to the truth.  It can be the truth that we have seen with our eyes or it can be to the truth that we know.  Jesus told Pilate that he came “to bear witness to the truth”.

Witnessing is always difficult because it is “testifying to the truth in the face of opposition”.  The only times we are called as witnesses is when there is some doubt or disagreement about the evidence.  It is only over things that are contested that there is any need for a witness to testify.  So witnessing happens in the context of conflict and “trial”.  Christian testimony always confronts the world.

Jesus’ promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit to witness in John 15:26 occurs in the context of persecution.  Jesus predicts his rejection and the coming persecution of the disciples (John 15:18-16:4).  The Spirit’s role in the world, as opposed to his work in the Apostles, is to “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgement” (16:8).  This is not a separate or different work.  It is the work of the Spirit of Truth bearing witness to Jesus.  Each of the Spirit’s convictions of the world (sin, righteousness and judgement) is about Jesus (16:9-10).

It is for this reason that the disciples were assured of the coming of the Holy Spirit.  He is the witness to Jesus.  The apostles are also witnesses because they were with Jesus from the beginning.  The Spirit enables them to witness – to testify to the truth in the face of opposition.  In the gospel of Mark, Jesus warned the disciples of the coming time of persecution and reassured them of the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
“But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them.  And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 13:9-11)

This is the background to the promise of the risen Jesus.  The Holy Spirit would empower the apostles not so much to do wonders and signs but to be his witnesses – to testify to him in the face of the world’s opposition.  So in Luke 24 we read “that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:47-48)  And again the promise is given just before Jesus ascends “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

This is the power that enables witnesses to endure the opposition and hostility inevitable to everybody who speaks up for the truth that is in Jesus (2 Timothy 3:10-13).  But it also means that the powerful word of the Gospel comes to the elect with conviction and conversion.  “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 see also 1 Corinthians 1:24, 2:4-5, 2:10-16, 2 Corinthians 10:1-4, 1 Timothy 1:7-8)

This is what enables us to minister the gospel in our weakness.  For when the Apostles were released from gaol they prayed that God would fulfil his promise of Psalm 2 and the place in which they were, was shaken and “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness”.  Indeed a few verses later we read “with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 4:31, 33).

Such is the work of the Holy Spirit in witnessing to Jesus through us, that we are able to minister the gospel in our weakness.  Even Paul came in “weakness and in fear and much trembling” (1 Corinthians 2:3).  Indeed he said that coming like this was good because the gospel is a treasure in clay jars “to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).  The power of the evangelist must never obscure the power of the Gospel.

It is dreadful to feel powerless – but we must not follow how we feel.  We must trust Jesus’ promise that the Spirit will empower his witnesses to endure suffering and convict the world of the truth that is in Jesus.  It is why Paul asked people to pray that he may have boldness to speak (Ephesians 6:19).  Rather than feel powerless and do nothing we should pray for boldness and speak up.

Australia, your Idol for 2009 is….

OK, the Australian Idol voting lines are now closed, including SMS (sadly, I didn’t get any SMS votes.) So now it is time to announce this year’s winner. After much consideration and careful thought, i am pleased (displeased) to announce that the Australian Idol of the year is……… Approval!

It’s so exciting that Approval has won. It comes as no surprise really. He is gregarious and relentlessly impresses others with his charm. He was the hot favorite, being continually served by millions of Australians who love him above all else. When Approval heard the news in the dressing room that He had won, the first thing he did was to write the news on his Facebook profile. He has expressed how sad he feels that Pleasure and Possessions didn’t win, but said that they will all remain special friends, and that this competition has helped them grow closer together.

OK, well on a serious note, I thought that this comment from Al was on target:

I reckon that most of us are incredibly insecure which means that our default idol is others approval which is why we spend so much time losing weight, spending money on clothes, earning money, building houses, lying, being perfectionistic. Often it’s the approval of a parent or spouse or church or peers. But we so desperately need to be OK about who we are that we will do anything to have others tell us that we are.

So, approval is a dominant idol to consider, both for a warning in our own lives, and when we are seeking a way to show just how different Jesus is that anything else that people are serving.

Also, if your in Northern Tas, remember …

Also, if you’re in Northern Tas, remember that 11th Hour is on this coming Thursday (5th Nov) @7pm