BY CHARLES G. TRUMBULL
Though Charles G. Trumbull's Taking Men Alive was written seventy-five years ago, this selection from it offers us timeless help in answering these questions: What should I be thinking about when I am trying to help a non-Christian become a believer? How can I develop tact in speaking about Christ? What do I say about sinful habits in a non-Christian's lifestyle? How can I help him be interested in my message?....
BY BILL BRIGHT
On a bright, hot day in Oklahoma many years ago, I had concluded a visit with my parents and was driving toward the airport in a rented car. Ahead, I saw a big truck pulling out from a side road, preparing to enter my lane of the highway.
In a flash, I thought, I have the right-of-way — surely, he's going to stop till I've gone past. I was wrong. He pulled right in front of me, and there was no way I could stop or swerve to avoid him...
Four evangelism authors who practice what they preach tell what they’ve learned about bringing others into the Kingdom....
Do you often wonder how God feels about drinking, smoking, music, relationships, chewing tobacco, drugs, kissing, bars, thoughts, speech, and other areas of your life? Many times we are tempted to classify these areas in a category sometimes referred to as “gray areas”. Gray is a combination of two totally opposite and distinct colors: black and white. Since gray falls somewhere between black and white in color, and is neither clearly black nor white, we have a tendency to categorize areas of unclarity as gray. This causes us to be unsure of ourselves in these areas...
Matthew 7:24-27
24. Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on a rock. 25. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.
1. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, not wealth or providing for felt needs.
Matthew 6:19-34
Do my plans reflect that growing in righteousness and contributing to God’s kingdom are of first priority?
2. Labor in the harvest
Matthew 9:36-38
Will my plans help me to become more of a contributor to the needs of the harvest (the lost world)?
If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time. New Year’s resolutions. The beginning of the semester vow to attend all classes. The diet that starts tomorrow. All of these are examples of goals we set for ourselves. Everyone sets goals in one form or the other. Most goals are merely pleasant, ambitious thoughts or dreams. The difference in a goal and a dream is accomplishment. Therefore, we must set goals with an intention and commitment to accomplish them....
SELF-EXISTENCE
God has no origin. He has always existed and always will. Colossians 1:15-17 He is The image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Everything that God is, and all that God is, He is in Himself. All life is in and from God. John 5:26 For as The Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself....
There is a lot of confusion in Christendom today even within the Campus Outreach ministry over the questions, what is the gospel, and what is the proper response to the gospel. It is obvious that confusing the gospel is one of Satan's main ploys to hinder people from entering the kingdom. Therefore, the challenge before us is to present with clarity the message which we have been entrusted.....
BY TIM KELLER
This parable is nearly always called, "The Parable of the Prodigal Son," but not by Jesus. When he begins the story, he says, "A man had two sons" (v.11); the story is a comparison and contrast of both brothers. We have sentimentalized this parable because of our almost complete concentration on the middle of the story regarding the younger brother. We imagine that the hearers' eyes welled with tears as they heard how God will always love and welcome us, no matter what we've done. But if we truly come to understand why Jesus told this parable and what he meant, we will come to see that the listeners were actually thunderstruck, offended, and furious....
Author and Perfecter of our Faith
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2
Bread of Life
"I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35 ....
BY FRANK BARKER
Christianity is the way, God's way to God our way of approaching Him and being accepted by Him. In simple terminology, what is the heart of Christianity and how does one become a Christian? To understand, we have to start with the nature of God...
BY LEROY EIMS
For the past thirty years people have been telling me about God. The taxi driver in Singapore, the university student in Stockholm, the senator in Washington, the businessman in Beirut the, housewife in Auckland, the singer in San Francisco, the millionaire in Texas, and scores of other men and women around the world have shared their views about God as we have sat and talked...
BY PHIL DAVIS
One day one of my eight-year-old sons was in the living room playing while I was reading. He had a wooden yardstick, and he was holding it and jumping over it. I heard the crack but pretended that I didn't in order to see his response. Immediately after the sound of the crack, he scurried out of the room. He stopped in the hall, just out of my sight, so he could survey the extent of the damage and figure out his next move....
BY GEORGE SANCHEZ
Issues: Conflicts can take place in our relationships with one another at every level: between husband and wife, between parents and children, with friends, others at work, and even at church. Because we all experience conflict in one way or another, we must know how to deal with it in a biblical, constructive way. What does the Bible say about conflict? What causes conflict? How should we react to it? Is conflict always destructive, or can it be helpful?.....
BY KATHY E. DAHLEN
Forgiveness can pose some slippery questions.
It is the center point around which our faith revolves. But when we are the ones who need to forgive, forgiveness becomes more difficult. To believe that God forgave me millennia ago, pardoning me in a broad theological sweep with billions of others, seems, for some reason, more reasonable than my granting forgiveness to someone who has wronged me....
BY JOHN NORMAN
Henry was a "social leper" in our church — estranged and untouchable like the lepers of Israel. He came from a lifestyle that repelled most people. His opinion of himself had been devastated by his failures, so he struggled to find some sense of worth. He cried out for love with every action, every word, every little gesture. Desperate for love, he would do virtually anything for even the smallest hint that someone cared....
Dear Pastor,
You know me well. I sit toward the front of the church every Sunday — I'm always there. On the way out I always greet you with a handshake and a smile. You seem glad to see me, too. But you don't know the "real" me very well. Behind my happy smile is a life that is somehow unbalanced. Occasionally, you have asked me how I am doing and I have told you, "I'm fine, how are you ?" (I've learned the easiest way to keep to myself is to refocus the attention back on the other person.) The truth is, I'm not sure you really want an answer. I know you deal with a lot of real pain and real suffering: people losing jobs, their homes, their families, loved ones. Frankly, I'm a little embarrassed to talk to you about where I am spiritually. I'm supposed to be on top of things, after all, I’m a successful businessman.....
1. A little sin leads to more sin.
2. Sin invites the discipline of God.
3. The time spent in my sin is forever wasted.
4. My sin never pleases but always grieves the God who loves me......
BY PAULA RINEHART
When life disappoints us and nothing is turning out the way we’d planned, our faith has a chance to grow up....