Tag: Evangelism

5 Motivations to Call Others to Repent

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Evangelism, Pastoral, Practical1 Comment

Unashamed

I spent last week in Louisville, Kentucky visiting friends and attending Together for the Gospel. The time with friends and the conference was a blessing.

This years conference was subtitled Unashamed. It’s focus was evangelism. While it is a common tactic to make evangelicals feel guilty for not evangelizing the lost, I appreciated that that was not their tactic. Instead of focusing on guilt, they focused on the power of the gospel to make men alive in Christ.

Some motivations that stuck out to me where the ones Thabiti Anyabwile gave. He specifically provided five of which I have highlighted below.

5 Motivations to Call Others to Repent

(1) Repentance is for the joy of heaven, the church and Christ.

(2) Repentance is calling someone to see worth in God’s sight.

(3) Repentance is a call to gain heaven’s greatest pleasures.

(4) Repentance isn’t emphasis on do’s and don’t’s, but on seeing God as He really is.

(5) Repentance is a call to what God calls beautiful.

Question for Reflection

  1. What other gospel-centered motivations would you add to the list above?

Resource

If you would like to hear Thabiti flesh these points out, you can watch his message here.

Resources for Growing Christians

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Leadership, Pastoral6 Comments

Increase Faith

I recently put a list of resources together for my church members. It is a list to encourage Christian growth.

Books

Gospel

  • Gospel by JD Greear | Designed to introduce you to a gospel-centered perspective.
  • What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert | Short yet informative. Answers the question posed in the title.
  • Stop asking Jesus into your heart by JD Greear | Weird title but great book about salvation, repentance, and growth.
  • The Transforming Power of the Gospel  by Jerry Bridges | How the gospel, not trying harder, changes us.
  • Counterfeit God’s by Timothy Keller | Dealing with idolatry from a gospel-centered perspective.

Christian Living

  • Living the Cross Centered Life by CJ Mahaney | A short yet challenging read about living for Christ.
  • Hard to Believe by John Macarthur | A hard hitting book on following Jesus.
  • Who do you think you are? by Mark Driscoll | Deals with identity.
  • Work Matters by Tom Nelson | He shows us how to connect Sunday to the rest of the week by answering the question: How can we be a Christian the rest of the week, especially at work?
  • Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller | A book that connects Christianity to the work place. It is thought provoking and deep, really good.
  • I Am A Church Member by Thom Rainer | A short informative book discussing what it means to be a church member.
  • What is a Healthy Church Member? by Thabiti Anyabwile | A short informative book from 9 Marks on church membership.

Evangelism and Apologetics

  • Show me how to share the gospel by Larry Moyer | A short informative and practical book on evangelism. Walks you through different gospel presentations.
  • Questioning Evangelism by Randy Newman | Shows you how to do evangelism through everyday conversation by asking the right questions.
  • The Reason for God by Timothy Keller | An apologetic resource helpful when talking to post-modern or modern people.
  • Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer | Deals more with the theology of evangelism, but has some practical advice.
  • The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever | A short informative book on evangelism.

Family and Marriage

  • Shepherding A Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp | How to discipline your kids from a gospel-centered perspective.
  • The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller | An excellent book on marriage. Written for both married couples and singles.
  • The Shepherd Leader at Home by Timothy Witmer | Information on how to lead your family well.

Theology

  • Big Truths for Young Hearts by Bruce Ware | An easy to read and informative systematic theology.
  • God’s Big Picture by Vaughn Roberts | A easy to follow overview of Scripture. It answers the question: What is the story of the Bible?
  • Basic Christianity by John Stott | A classic book on the Christian faith.

Studying the Bible (Interpretation)

  • Living by the book by Howard Hendricks | Provides Bible Study techniques.
  • 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible by Robert Plummer | Answers question about biblical interpretation.

Preachers

  • Timothy Keller – Redeemer Church | New York City
  • John MacArthur – Grace Community Church | California
  • Mark Driscoll – Mars Hill | Seattle
  • John Piper – Retired recently DesiringGod.org
  • Alistair Begg – Truthforlife.org
  • Matt Chandler – The Village Church | Flower Mound, TX
  • Kent Hughes – Preachingtheword.com 

Radio Program/News 

  • The Briefing – It’s a daily podcast of news from a Christian perspective. You can find it on the iTunes Store or through the Podcast app on your iPhone.
  • KCBI 90.9 – Christian radio station out of Dallas, TX.

Blogs

Magazines

  • Table Talk Magazine by Ligonier Ministries | A devotional magazine exploring important Christian topics and Scripture. It is designed to help you grow in your knowledge of God’s Word.

Question for Reflection

  1. What resources would you add?

Resource

Image

On Hell and Evangelism

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Pastoral, Quotes2 Comments

The reason it is hard for us to think of the doctrine of hell is because God has put in our hearts a portion of His own love for people created in His image, even His love for sinners who rebel against Him.

As long as we are in this life, and as long as we see and think about others who need to hear the gospel and trust in Christ for salvation, it should cause us great distress and agony of spirit to think about eternal punishment.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you think of the eternal destiny of unbelievers?

Resources

Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 1152.

Image

The Gospel in One Minute

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Evangelism, Practical2 Comments

Here are a couple of videos explaining the gospel. They are all around a minute.

What Disciple Making Should Look Like

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Evangelism, Pastoral, Practical3 Comments

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you believe the church is your building or the people?
  2. How is your church training its people to engage those in their circle of influence with the gospel?
  3. What do you believe works better an event/program driven church, or a church on mission? Why do you believe what you believe?

Resource

This is Discipling from The Foursquare Church on Vimeo.

Living as a Missionary in Your Community

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Evangelism, Pastoral, Practical5 Comments

Coffee Shop

I have been reading Tim Chester and Steve Timmis’ book Everyday Church this last week. In chapter 2, everyday community, they explain the need to live like missionaries in our own communities. In order to live like a missionary, we must ask the questions missionaries ask.

Questions Missionaries Ask

Where?

  1. Where are the places and activities we can meet people (the missional spaces)?
  2. Where do people experience community?
  3. Are there existing social networks with which we can engage, or do we need to find ways of creating community within a neighborhood?
  4. Where should we be to have missional opportunities?

When?

  1. What are the patterns and timescales of our neighborhood (the missional rhythms)?
  2. When are the times we can connect with people (the missional moments)?
  3. How do people organize their time?
  4. What cultural experiences and celebrations do people value? How might these be used as bridges to the gospel?
  5. When should we be available to have missional opportunities?

What?

  1. What are people’s fears, hopes, and hurts?
  2. What gospel stories are told in the neighborhood?
    • What gives people identity (creation)?
    • How do they account for wrong in the world (fall)?
    • What is their solution (redemption)?
    • What are their hopes (consummation)?
  3. What are the barrier beliefs or assumptions that cause people to dismiss the gospel?
  4. What sins will the gospel first confront and heal?
  5. In what ways are people self-righteous?
  6. What is the good news for people in this neighborhood?
  7. What will church look like for people in this neighborhood?

Conclusion

Reaching our communities with the gospel, means we need to know our neighborhoods, it’s people, and their stories, values, worldview, and culture. Asking these questions will help us to know and understand our communities better. It’s going to take some work, but it is worth it in order to reach our cities, communities, and neighborhoods. So let’s get to work answering these questions and living like missionaries in our own backyards.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you believe it is important we live as missionaries in our own neighborhoods? Why or why not?

Resources

Timmis & Chester, Everyday Church, 42-43.

Images