Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Relationship between singing and evangelism

Of those who witnessed the evangelistic crusades of Billy Graham at their high point, many would later ascribe his success to a combination of gospel preaching and gospel singing. Of these two elements, it seems that the latter was at least as potent—if not more so—than the former. ....

To discover more about how singing and evangelism are connected read the article, Singing the truth in love: The relationship between singing and evangelism from the Briefing...

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Daily Devotions by Pastor Paul Owens

Pastor Paul Owens' daily devotions include:

  • Verse of the week
  • Prayer of the week
  • Daily Bible Reading
  • Prayer of the Day
  • Catechism Connection
  • Benediction
  • Explanation and clarification

Pastor Paul Owens has prepared these devotions for the Word Alone network.

Monday, July 14, 2014

Movie: Amazing Love

Teen friends, Steve, Carrie, Cooper, and Gameboy embark on a weekend camping trip lead by their church youth group leader Stuart (Sean Astin) and his wife Beth (Erin Bethea).  Joining them is an outsider Ashley, a self-involved rich kid, whose attitude causes a major commotion within the group, specifically between her and Carrie. Before it gets too out of hand though, Stuart takes this opportunity to share with the kids the incredibly powerful biblical story of Hosea; a story of immovable faith, impeccable commitment, and impervious love.

This is a good film to introduce a study on the book Hosea.

Reviews of the movie

  


Book: Meditating Faith

The church struggles with media. 
Whether it is a denomination negotiating the 24 hour news cycle or a church evaluating how Facebook or online games are influencing the youth group, media is raising questions and placing demands on communities of faith in ways that could not have been imagined just 20 years ago. Thus the importance of understanding media for the church has never been greater.   In Mediating Faith, church leaders of all kinds will find Pastor Clint Schnekloth an engaging and insightful guide to this new and sometimes wondrous world. In doing so he offers an evaluation and theological response to the trans-media era that highlights its potential to transform our work and world.   Far from frightening, Schnekloth highlights the opportunities and the riches of this fascinating time. 

Chapters include:
Part One: Emerging Media Contexts and Minority Reports
1. Examining Trans-media Effects
2. Listening to the Quasi-luddites’ Legitimate Laments

Part Two: The Meaty Analysis Section
3. The Effects of Catechumenal Preaching
4. The Effects of MMPRPG’s Procedural Rhetoric
5. More Prosaic Media Forms and Formation

Part Three: The Proposal
6. On Pneumatology and Material Culture
7. Beauty, Eschatology, Sociality: The Way Forward



Book: iPray - a simple prayer book for ministry, mercy and multiplication

Learn how to train men and women to use Prayer for the purposes of Ministry, Mercy and Multiplication.
Actual examples from over a decade of ministry- not theory; see what is actually working in hundreds of churches.
Practical resource taken from the experiences of Jim Buckman, mission strategist who helps churches plant new worshipping communities by using the House Church model and training the Priesthood of the Baptized to work under the supervision of their Pastors.
Prayer is key to building relationships with others.
Jim has found that asking the simple question, "How can I pray for you?" to be very effective in building relationships with others, so that we can share the Gospel.
"How can I pray for you?" is the doorway to learning what really matters to others, providing care that actually want and a transparent way to build a faith focused relationship so that you can share the Good News that in Christ, we have one who always Prays for us.