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Using Relationship Principles For Powerful Evangelism – Part 1

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Somehow I got into a debate online with someone who was complaining about God ordering the death of some people in the Old Testament. We went back and forth until finally I explained that the root reason for God’s judgment was that the people were destroying relationships. They had embraced a destructive culture even to the point of sacrificing infants to their idols. The other person didn’t respond to my comment. What could he say? Usually when we think of apologetics in evangelism we think of presenting evidence related to facts of the Christian faith. But sometimes apologetics relates to values or ideas that listeners already embrace. For example, when Paul evangelized gentiles he did not use the same ideas that he used with Jews. When he spoke to gentiles in Athens, Greece he talked about general ideas about God that many gentiles already had, such as the idea that Continue Reading →

poor broke pockets

Jesus Came To Make Us Good News For The Poor

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It is encouraging to remember that when Jesus came to earth we find comfort for the poor from the very  beginning of his life. In her song to God when she is pregnant with the Messiah, a song we call  the Magnificat, Mary proclaims “he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty” (Luke 1:53, ESV). We also see that at the beginning of his ministry Jesus proclaimed these words “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.” (Luke 4:18 ESV) From these passages we know that the advent of blessings for the poor was an important part of the coming of the Kingdom of God. Jesus never promised to make the poor financially rich, but he did promise something better: to fill their hearts with spiritual wealth. More importantly, he Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

Jesus Gives Power To Overcome Temptation – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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 “For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” Heb 2:18 (ESV) Since Jesus felt the suffering that comes with resisting temptation he is able to help us too. How does he help us? Through the reality that all believers are connected to him like a body to a head. Thus, the same power to resist temptation that Jesus had, he gives to us when we abide in him. Temptation can include temptation to pride instead of humility, or temptation to neglect devotional time, or giving in to any of the deeper weaknesses inside us. When we feel the trouble that comes with temptation, when we feel the pull of our destructive desires, when we want to follow God but feel weak, then we can stop ourselves and put our hearts in front of Jesus. He knows what it is like Continue Reading →

baby

Is Evangelism Hurting Your Discipleship?

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About a year ago I was at a conference that was promoted as a growth conference for Christians. One of the speakers pastored a church that was very successful at evangelism. At one point he said that occasionally someone asks him if his church produces mature believers. He responds by saying he doesn’t know if they are producing mature believers, but that‘s not his focus. I sat stunned for a few moments. It’s not often a pastor of a big church all but admits that he isn’t trying to produce disciples of Christ, but rather focus on evangelism. Doesn’t this lead to many Christians being stuck as spiritual “babies”? Of course this approach flies in the face of the many passages in the New Testament about becoming mature, growing in Christlikeness, or at least growing to the point of the maturity of an elder. God doesn’t want us to remain Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

God Favors The Humble – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6 (ESV) What a huge encouragement to know that we actually receive the favor of God when we are humble! This is one of God’s most prominent traits in the Bible and this verse is actually a quote from the Old Testament in Proverbs 3:34. The worldly approach to success is to promote oneself, defeat others, exalt our abilities, etc. But God wants us to humble ourselves so that it is God who is the supreme worker in our lives. If we cling to pride or boastfulness God actually opposes us. Instead, we should adopt an attitude of the heart that reflects who we are before God, which is the definition of humility. It is okay to describe our abilities but God wants us to do this with humility and only when necessary. And we shouldn’t confuse humility with Continue Reading →