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Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Why the Bible Should Be Read


Here is an article by Christian apologist Sean McDowell replying to the GQ designation of the Bible as a book that need not be read.  You will find the article at
http://seanmcdowell.org/blog/why-gq-is-wrong-the-bible-is-a-must-read

McDowell's name may be familiar to you because he is the son of Josh McDowell, author of "Evidence That Demands a Verdict."   He has become somewhat of an academic in the same field as that of his father and has held the position of assistant professor in Apologetics and Worldview Studies in Biola University, having obtained a doctorate in the same field and an M.A. in Theology, preceded by a B.A., all with summa cum laude distinction.   These would be his academic credentials, which are not the only matters we look to in Christian studies and spirituality, but in the field of apologetics, they are often hugely helpful, since opposing views often come from academic sources and familiarity with them does not hurt!

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Fear, and How to Deal With It

 CCEF, which is the Christian Counseling & Education Foundation, on its CCEF for Pastors site has offered a number of resources related to anxiety and fear.  The link for several of these is given below:    

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

KING JOSIAH and HIS LIFE AND TIMES: A CONTEXTUAL STUDY

Are you looking for an inspiring book, perhaps one for youth, that dwells in the original context of its story?   Look no further.  The book, "Josiah - Chain Breaker" may be just what you are seeking.

This is a POINT-OF-VIEW book: it is written from the point-of-view of various people of the time, one being the grandfather of a child who had just been sacrificed by his parents to Baal.  These accounts bring the narrative very close to home.

I think that its refreshing, contextual approach might be a great introduction to this king of Judah, and I imagine that teens, for example, might enjoy dramatizing it in monologues.

It is collaboratively written and sells on Amazon Kindle for around two dollars or so.

Great product!   An excerpt from the product description on Amazon is given below:

Product Description

Many people today regard themselves as VICTIMS. Victims of the times, of family failures, victims of poverty, of poor education, of politics, of bad luck, and any other thing we might single out to take the blame off ourselves. Josiah proves us all wrong. Of all the chains that could have kept him trapped - he broke them all. Yes, with God's help he broke the chains in his own life, he broke the chains of his family, his people, his nation, and his religion. He was courageous, deliberate, and God-directed in all he did. Josiah, son of Amon, broke all the chains and cleverly found his way through the maze of life. He is a man, a leader, a king worth learning from.

Josiah - Chain Breaker is a unique example both of creative nonfiction and of true collaborative writing. The historical events (Josiah lived from 640 to 609 BCE) are described from a variety of voices that cumulatively present the person, the settings, the events, the implications, and ongoing significance of the outstanding life of Josiah, king of Judah. These were desperate times for the fledging nation of Judah, its very existence was threatened on many sides. The political turmoil of the day is described. The religious and moral decline is demonstrated. And Josiah's response to the host of difficulties facing him is detailed. His life was heart-led, intellectually driven, and a credit to noble councilors and written wisdom that was studied carefully and adhered to in full. The life of Josiah offers a roadmap for achievement, significance, and victory in life for all who pay attention.

The book includes color photographs of Israel and historical information of the nations and religious practices of the day, and of the family line of Josiah.

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Biblical Counseling Conference Audios: Topic - "Suffering"

The Canadian Biblical Counseling Coalition has very kindly made the complete the videos for its recent 2018, and, as well, for its 2017 conference available.  
The 2018 conference, on the subject of "Suffering," can be heard by you at the following link:

HOPE in SUFFERING audios   


The 2017 conference audios, on the subject of "Purity," may be found at 

PURITY AUDIOS


______________________________________________________________________

This year's conference (2018) was held at Harvest Bible Chapel in Oakville, ON, Canada.

Marriage and Parenting: "When Sinners Say, 'I do,'" "Contentment," and "Parenting in Weakness"


Here is a set of four audios, courtesy of IBCD, The Institute for Biblical Counseling & Discipleship, on Marriage, on Contentment, and on Parenting.  The speaker is Dave Harvey, and you will probably enjoy his talks.  The link to all of these is https://ibcd.org/presenter/dave-harvey/

Here is some information about the presenter, Dave Harvey, a well-known author, taken from the website of The Gospel Coalition https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/profile/dave-harvey/:

Dave Harvey is the author of several books including When Sinners Say I Do: Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage (Shepherd’s Press, 2007), and Letting Go: Rugged Love for Wayward Souls (Zondervan, 2016) with Paul Gilbert. You can follow him on Twitter.




Wednesday, April 4, 2018

BIBLE FOR CHILDREN: a site where well-illustrated Bible stories are available at no cost

I was really amazed when I saw the illustrated story of the prophet Jeremiah's life told on this site.  I have not seen any better!

I think you will wish to visit the link at:
BIBLE FOR CHILDREN
Much more may be said!  One amazing feature of this site is that the stories are offered in many languages -- 153, to be exact!   Here is a list found on the home page:

Now in 153 different languages!

Bibles Stories for Children in Spanish: Lecciones en ESPANOL

Lecciones en Español This site has various illustrated stories based on the Bible for children in the Spanish language.  The link is:

HEARING THE GOSPEL IN MANY LANGUAGES: From Akha to Vietnamese!

THE FAR EAST BROADCASTING COMPANY
Hearing the Gospel in Many Languages
from Akha to Vietnamese

 Here is a link that will allow you to hear the gospel in many of the world's languages, including the less well-known ones.  The Far East Broadcasting Company's offices in various countries can be accessed through this page:

FEBC INTERNATIONAL OFFICES
On this same page, as you scroll down, you will find the links to those less-known languages, such as Akha and others.

If you live in Canada and wish to access Chinese gospel broadcasts here, then this might be a useful link for you:

Monday, April 2, 2018

MANY HELPFUL VIDEOS ABOUT THE BIBLE

I was pleasantly surprised to find a video, the other day, that summarized both the secular and Scriptural background of Philippi, the whereabouts of the apostle who wrote the epistle to the Philippians and the situation in which they then found themselves, along with a short description of the teaching within it -- all with visuals!  I was browsing YouTube in search of another item about Philippians and ran into this Bible Project video.  I'll put a link to it here:  Philippians so that you will be able to see why I was so surprised!
This site definitely has some interesting projects going!   How all of this started is quoted, below:

Timothy Mackie and Jonathan Collins (long-time friends and one-time roommates at Multnomah Bible College) were tossing around ideas on how to help people read through Scripture while avoiding these common pitfalls and misunderstandings. How could complex themes of the Bible be presented in a way that was real and unapologetic, but approachable?
Combining Tim’s deep biblical understanding and Jon’s passion for visual story-telling, they created their first two videos in 2014 and put them online for free.

Every book of the Bible has been the topic of a video on this site.  However, there is more on this site, as well:  many biblical themes have videos, and one video that impressed me was the one on "Bad Words."  It turns out that this video explicates the various words for "sin" in terms of their meanings in the original languages.  Fascinating and instructive, too1

It might be worth your while to take a look at this site!

Here is a link to some of their very interesting Bible videos: