Understanding the Gospel and It's Implications

Why did Jesus come? He said that one of the reasons He came was to proclaim the gospel or good news? What is the gospel that He proclaimed?  What are the implications for us in light of the gospel message? What makes someone a "real" Christian? Check out this excellent teaching by Skye Jethani to find out the answers to these questions.

Here is the link to my most popular post ever which answers the question Why Should Seekers Consider the Gospel?

Why Did Jesus Come?

Have we lost sight of what Christmas is all about? What did Jesus say about why He came? This is the Toastmaster speech I did for Project 9, Persuade with Power, on December 23, 2014.

Related Link

Why Did Jesus Come Bible Verses

The Story of the Messiah (5:47)

The story of the Messiah as told in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. What does Messiah mean? Check the link to find out.

Other Videos in the Bible Project Series
The Story of Heaven and Earth (6:42)
Genesis Chapters 1-11 (6:11)
Genesis Chapters 12-50 (5:06)

An Interview with Francis Chan (Video)

Here is an interesting interview by Moira Brown of 100 Huntley Street in Canada with Francis Chan about his life and ministry and how God worked in both to radically change him. Be sure to watch both parts.

Why Believe in God? Video, Slides and Notes

Here are the video, slides and notes from my teaching in Bucharest last Sunday. The teaching is in English with Romanian translation. The text in the video is Romanian but you can click on the slides below to see the English as you watch the teaching. The notes are below the slides in two sizes- A4 (Europe) and Letter (United States). You can also watch the video on YouTube if you prefer. Why Believe in God?

18. De ce să crezi în Dumnezeu? from William Anderson on Vimeo.

18. Why Believe in God? from William Anderson

This is the 19th study in the “Growing Deep in the Gospel” series and is the third one dealing with defending the gospel. In this study we answered the question “Why Believe in God?” by looking at five arguments that show why belief in God is the most reasonable conclusion. Those arguments included the cosmological, teleological, moral law, prophecy, and heart-wired.

18. Why Believe in God Notes (A4) from William Anderson

18. Why Believe in God Notes (Letter sized) from William Anderson

Pastoring Related Posts - February 4

Here are the best ten pastoring related blog posts I came across this past week. If you are serving others or discipling someone you may find some good "food for thought" as well.

1. Where Is Your Identity? (4:13) - Paul Tripp
2. Every Member a Disciple Maker (54:10) - David Platt (need to register)
3. Leader or Pastor? - Keith Giles
4. Raising Up New Leaders - Eric Davis
5. 3 Reasons Why Some Churches Don't Grow - Aaron Armstrong
6. 5 Reasons Some Leaders Finish Poorly - Ed Stetzer
7. We've Confused Leadership with Discipleship - Larry Osborne
8. Cultivating a Passion for Evangelism in Your Church - Mike Riccardi
9. 5 Things to Consider about Your Calling - Casey Cease
10. 5 Things to Learn from International Church Planting - Ed Stetzer

Pastoring Quote - Barry Parker

Pastoral ministry involves three basic priorities as well: knowing God, knowing self and knowing ministry, in that order. All of ministry is about focusing on these three basics and working them out in the context of ministry.

Related Links
Pastoring Related Posts - January 8

Pastoring Related Posts - January 14

Pastoring Related Posts - January 23

Pastoring Related Posts - January 28

How Grace Liberates Our Parenting (19:36)

Some great words of wisdom by Paul Tripp and Elyse Fitzpatrick on how grace radically changes the way we parent and relate to  our children. 

A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels

J. Warner Wallace, an atheist who used his homicide detective skills and knowledge to investigate the claims of the four gospel accounts shares His story of how he became a Christian.

What Happens After I Die? (2:30)

Are you ready for death? A look at the various possibilities of what happens after you die and why it matters to find the truth.

What is Christianity? Jon Oleksiuk (2:14)

If someone asked you to explain what Christianity is what would you say? Check out this video to see the basics of Christianity explained in a little over two minutes.

If God is Good Why is There Evil and Suffering?

The fact of evil and suffering is probably the most used objection given for not believing in God. While for some this may indeed be a real concern it has been my experience in talking to people is that many are using this as an excuse for not believing in God because they don't want to believe in God. Others project evil onto God because then they don't want to deal with their own evil. Whether they realize it or not the reasons they do these things is because they are rebellion against their creator and their hearts are hard. 

But there are good answers to the question of evil and suffering if one's heart is open to God. Ultimately the reason, which may seem strange, is because God is love. Here are two excellent short videos that explain if God is good why there is evil and suffering. 

Related Links

Does Evil and Suffering Disprove God's Existence? - Charlie Campbell

The Problem of Evil - William Lane Craig

Dead Come Alive - An Animation (5:21)

Here is the song "Dead Come Alive" using animation to tell the story of the song.

Iran & Israel & Bible Prophecy - 100 Huntley (Parts 6-10)

Mark Hitchcock, author of the book Iran & Israel, Wars and Rumors of Wars continues sharing about  Iran and Israel in light of End Times prophecy.

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Related Links

Iran & Israel & Bible Prophecy - 100 Huntley (Parts 1-5)

Multiply Gatherings - Francis Chan and David Platt

David Platt and Francis Chan held "Gatherings" in Birmingham, Alabama and San Francisco, California in November 2012 to encourage people to become better disciple makers. Above is the video from Birmingham Gathering and below is the link to the San Francisco Gathering. They discuss the same things in both cities so you can choose which one you would like to watch.

In addition to these videos their discipleship ministry, Multiply Movement, has released free materials to use in discipling others. Just yesterday they made available all their materials in one PDF which can be downloaded here: One Big PDF

Related LInks
Multiply Gathering San Francisco

What is the Gospel? Skye Jethani (43:50)

This is an excellent teaching on explaining what the gospel is and I encourage you to take the time to watch it. During this teaching Skye answers five questions:

1. What does the word gospel actually mean?
2. How is the gospel explained in the New Testament?
3. How was the gospel proclaimed or preached in the New Testament?
4. What are the implications of this?
5. How do we respond to this gospel?

So what do you think about what Skye shared about the gospel? What are the strengths and weaknesses of his explanation of the gospel?

Related Links
How to Understand the Gospel Better
What is the Gospel? D. A. Carson
What is the Gospel? Mike Mercer
What is the Gospel? Bryan McWhite
What is the Gospel? Jonathan Pennington
What is the Gospel? Mark Stevens
What is the Gospel? Scot McKnight
What is the Gospel? Trevin Wax
The Heart of the Gospel

Videos
What is the Gospel? Darrell Bock
3-2-1: The Story of God, the World and You

Iran & Israel & Bible Prophecy - 100 Huntley (Parts 1-5)

Mark Hitchcock, author of the book Iran & Israel, Wars and Rumors of Wars shares about how what is going on between Iran and Israel today fits into End Times prophecy.
                
Part 1

 

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4 

Part 5

Related Links

Iran & Israel & Bible Prophecy - 100 Huntley (Parts 6-10)

What is the Gospel? Daniel Strange (9:43)

Daniel Strange suggests that Paul's speech to the Areopagus (Acts 17) is not the good news but rather the bad news. What he says gives those whom he is speaking to a context for understanding the gospel.

The "Unforgiveable" Sin - Jefferson Bethke

"There is nothing wrong with concerning ourselves with discernment or wanting to have a good conscience about certain things, but I realized I usually concentrate on certain sins, in order to cover up the fact I neglect the weightier ones like Jesus talks about."

Related Links
Gospel Quotes - What the Gospel Does to Sin
What is Sin? Tim Keller
Why Do We Need Jesus?
What is Sin? Slides and Notes - English and Romanian
How Does Sin Begin? Slides and Notes - English and Romanian
What are the Consequences to Sin? Slides and Notes - English and Romanian

What is Christianity? Matt Slick (3:37)

See how Matt Slick of the Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry (CARM) answers the question, "What is Christianity?".

Related Links
What is Christianity? Matt Slick
What is Christianity? Christianity Explored  (3:12)
What is Christianity? Christianity Explored (6:09)

What is Christianity? Max Lucado

What is Christianity About? Michael Bird
The Heart of Christianity - Mark Driscoll

Three Ways to Live

Christless Christianity - Dr. Michael Horton (5:03)

What is Christianity? Christianity Explored

The message at the heart of Christianity is pretty simple. On this three-minute video, find out what it's all about. Christianity Explored Website.

Related Links
What is Christianity? Christianity Explored (6:09)

What is Christianity? Max Lucado

What is Christianity About? Michael Bird
The Heart of Christianity - Mark Driscoll

Three Ways to Live

Christless Christianity - Dr. Michael Horton (5:03)