In C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, four siblings travel to the English countryside to escape World War II. But when the children stumble through a magical wardrobe into Narnia, they quickly realize they have escaped one war only to be embroiled in a new one. Except this time, there are umbrella-carrying fauns, bickering beavers, a prophecy that the four siblings will rule Narnia, and a wicked witch determined to enslave them all.
Echo: Unbroken Truth. Worth Repeating. Again.
Certain words can create strong reactions in people. Something about the verb “blanch” makes me not hungry anymore. Maybe there’s a new diet idea.
Sadly, this also happens when talking about the most basic teachings of Christianity. Notice, I didn’t say “doctrines.” I don’t want to lose your attention.
Baptism & Spiritual Life
Dr. Iver Olson gave a series of lectures in 1951 on the subject, “Baptism and the Spiritual Life.” From those lectures, we have this little book of the same title. Do not let the length of the book (86 pages) deceive you; it is a helpful study of pertinent biblical texts regarding Baptism.
Gospel-Centered Teaching: Showing Christ in All the Scripture
“My group isn’t outward focused enough! They don’t know much about the Bible! Our discussions always seem so shallow!” Thus, Trevin Wax, author of Gospel-Centered Teaching summarizes the concerns of Bible teachers everywhere. Modern Christianity tends to counteract these concerns by reinventing either the teacher or the curriculum in order to reengage the student. Wax presents a different, thoroughly biblical approach. He argues, “Get the message right, and God will work through a variety of methods. But miss the message, and the best methods in the world won’t bring about transformation” (p.7).
End of the Spear (DVD)
“End of the Spear” is the dramatized account of five missionary families that had a heart to go deep into the Amazon jungle of Ecuador in 1956, in search of the Waodani, a tribe of fierce warriors completely isolated from civilization. When the five missionaries come face to face with the warriors, tragedy strikes, as all five are murdered at the end of a spear. A couple of these missionaries are Nate Saint and Jim Elliot. With the death of these men, their families are left husbandless and fatherless, yet the wives and children stay to share the Gospel with the Waodani.
Josh McDowell’s Handbook on Counseling Youth
Many different resources seek to serve teenagers and the caring adults that interact with them, but few over the last 25 years have delivered that goal as much as Handbook on Counseling Youth by Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler.
Designed as a menu of fifty topics, the Handbook enables pastors, youth leaders, and other believing adults a window into issues that American adolescents deal with on a regular basis.
God at Work
If you ever struggle with the “ordinariness” of life, if you ever struggle with having to do the “mundane” things, if you are ever disappointed because your great hopes and plans and dreams seemingly have not materialized in the necessities of living, then you are encouraged to read Gene Veith’s book on vocation. Dr. Veith clearly and with refreshing simplicity explains Luther’s understanding of the biblical doctrine of vocation, and Veith explains how this doctrine impacts our everyday life.
Effective Bible Teaching
As a young basketball coach, I worked with fifth grade to eighth grade students, focusing on the basics of the game and drilling the fundamentals. As I taught more advanced students, I built on those fundamentals and instructed at a higher level. One joy for many coaches is the acquisition of more knowledge to teach their players. I harvested basketball knowledge everywhere I could find it, even to the point of traveling with a box of three-ring binders full of sketched offenses, defenses, drills, and game plan elements.
The Knowledge of the Holy
“The decline of the knowledge of the Holy has brought on our troubles.” This is just one reason that A. W. Tozer states as to why this topic is important. If we think about it in our own lives, how often do you think about the nature of God? Or meditate on who He is and what His attributes are? Many of our beliefs as well as our worldview depend on these answers. How we view God influences how we respond to Him. We can see this every day in our current culture where many of the issues and controversies we deal with as Christians stem from what people think about who God is.