All I Have is Christ - An Animation

"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21 (NKJ)

Graphics with John 15:5 - English and Romanian

Here are graphics I've made based on John 15:5 but never posted to my blog. They are 1280 x 960.  You can download them here: English  Romanian If you click on the photo Blogger will open it and you can right click and download it as well.

What is the Gospel? Trevin Wax

"The gospel is the royal announcement that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lived a perfect life in our place, died a substitutionary death on the cross for the sins of the world, rose triumphantly from the grave to launch God’s new creation, and is now exalted as King of the world. This announcement calls for a response: repentance (mourning over and turning from our sin, trading our agendas for the kingdom agenda of Jesus Christ) and faith (trusting in Christ alone for salvation)." -- Trevin Wax

6 Simple Ways to be Missional

On the Resurgence Blog Tim Chester shared the following ways to be missional, how to bring Jesus to others as we live our lives in obedience to Jesus' command to go and make disciples in Matthew 28: 18-20.

1. EAT WITH OTHER PEOPLE

We all eat three meals a day. That’s 21 opportunities for church and mission each week without adding anything new to your schedule. And meals are a powerful expression of welcome and community. 

2. WORK IN PUBLIC PLACES

Hold meetings, prepare talks, and read in public spaces like cafés, pubs, and parks. It will naturally help you engage with the culture. For example, whose questions do you want to address in your Bible studies, those of professional exegetes or those of the culture?

3. BE A REGULAR

Adopt a local café, pub, park,
and shop so you regularly visit and become known as a local. Imagine if everyone in your gospel community did this!

4. LEAVE THE HOUSE IN THE EVENINGS

It’s so easy after a long day on a dark evening to slump in front of the television or surf the Internet. Get out! Visit a friend. Take a cake to a neighbor. Attend a local group. Go to the cinema. Hang out in a café. Go for a walk with a friend. It doesn’t matter where as long as you go with gospel intentionality.

5. SERVE YOUR NEIGHBORS

Weed a neighbor’s garden. Help someone move. Put up a shelf. Volunteer with a local group. It could be one evening a week or one day a month. Try to do it with other members of your gospel community so it becomes a common project. Then people will see your love for one another and it will be easier to talk about Jesus.

6. SHARE YOUR PASSION

What do you enjoy? Find a local group that shares your passion. Be missional and have fun
at the same time!

Here is a link to an excellent free e-booklet (pdf) resource on additional ways to be missional: Simple Ways to be Missional

Related Blog Posts:

1. Mission is Where You Live

Francis Chan - Passion 2012

This is an amazing message by Francis Chan at this year's Passion conference. I really appreciate how Francis shares from the heart a message that all Christians should take to heart.

The Evidence for Jesus's Resurrection

William Lane Craig lectures on the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. The introduction is 6 minutes long then Craig spends 35 minutes on the resurrection and finishes by answering questions from the audience for 52 minutes.

What is the Gospel? By Dr. Darrell Bock

Darrell Bock on how the gospel is about more than getting our sins forgiven.

Some related links about what Darrell Bock has to say about the gospel:

1. A Quick Thought About Another Good Book: The King Jesus Gospel by Scot McKnight
2. Hinge Books in the Story of Redemption: Darrell Bock on Luke-Acts
3. Darrell Bock on the Non-Pauline gospel of the Speeches in Acts
4. Darrell Bock on the Gospel in the Speeches of Acts
5. Life of Christ - BiblicalTraining.org (audio teaching series)
   

Here is a quote from his book Recovering the Real Lost Gospel:

"The gospel represents the Jesus community's core email to the world. Yet when I hear some people preach the gospel today, I am not sure I hear its presentation as good news. Sometimes, I hear a therapeutic call - that God will make us feel better or prosper more. Other times, I hear so much about Jesus paying for sin that the gospel seems limited to transacting debt removal, a kind of spiritual root canal. Still other times, I hear a presentation that makes the gospel seem more about avoiding something from God versus experiencing something with Him. Other presentations make me think Jesus came to change politics in the world. Such political presentations make me wonder why God did not send Jesus to Rome rather than Jerusalem. None of these is the gospel I see in the Scripture, though some are closer than others."