THREE MORE NEW SOUL-SAVING
LESSONS NOW AVAILABLE ON
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST WEBSITE
In our last e-newsletter, we announced the fifth, sixth, and seventh lessons in our new "Soul-Saving Series" of videos. At the time of that announcement, seven of the eight lessons in the series were available for viewing. They were as follows:
What Must I Do to be Saved?
The Eternal Love of God
"What Are the Differences Between the Churches of Christ and Modern Religious Groups?" [Part I]
"What Are the Differences Between the Churches of Christ and Modern Religious Groups?" [Part II]
"How to Overcome a Sinful Past"
"Standing in the Truth"
"Out of Denominationalism"
In this edition of our newsletter, we are pleased to announce the addition to our first "Soul-Saving Series" of videos the eighth and final lesson, "The Thief on the Cross." With the posting of this last lesson, the first "Soul-Saving Series" is complete.
At the same time, however, we also are pleased to announce via this newsletter the availability of the first two lessons in our second "Soul-Saving Series" of videos. As of today, you will find the following lessons available on our Website (www.thegospelofchrist.com) in video, audio, and written transcript formats:
"The Thief on the Cross"
"Knowing Your Enemy—Satan"
"Are You Ready to Die?"
In his lesson on "The Thief on the Cross," Ben Bailey presents an in-depth examination of the salvation of one of the two thieves who was crucified along with Christ at Calvary. The text of Luke 23:43 makes it quite clear that Jesus offered the man salvation. Christ said to the malefactor, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."
Unfortunately, however, there are some within the religious world of our generation who use the account of the salvation of the thief on the cross to suggest that a person does not have to be baptized in order to be saved (in spite of the clear teaching of such passages as Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, 1 Peter 3:21, and others that teach the necessity of full-body immersion for salvation). The argument that is offered, based on the account of the thief on the cross, goes something like this. The thief was not baptized. The thief was saved. Therefore I do not have to be baptized.
In his study, Ben examines a number of important facets related to the salvation of the thief on the cross. This instance, of course, was not the first time that Jesus had forgiven someone of their sins during His tenure on Earth. In Mark 2:5 He said to a paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." But, as Ben correctly points out, the thief’s conversion is not a proper example of New Testament salvation (any more than the case of the paralytic would be) since the thief (like the paralytic) lived under the Old Law. During the course of Ben's discussion, he examines and refutes various false assumptions regarding the thief's conversion, while at the same time examining in detail the New Testament's instructions on what a person must do to be saved from sin. We think you will find this lesson to be extremely edifying in a number of ways. We invite you to view it at your earliest convenience.
Our second "Soul-Saving Series" begins with a lesson about the one who introduced sin into the world in the first place. Titled, "Knowing Your Enemy—Satan," this presentation begins with an introduction of Satan as mankind's archenemy. He is depicted in Scripture as a liar, a murderer, and mankind's ultimate nemesis. Ben, throughout his discussion on the devil, continually stresses how important it is for us to understand how Satan works, what tools and devices he uses against us, and how he may even present himself as "an angel of light." The second half of Ben's lesson on "the great serpent of old" (Rev. 20:2) offers practical biblical suggestions on how to defeat Satan on a daily basis so as to win the battle against temptation and sin. There is a rich vein of material in this study. Take a look at it and see if you don't agree.
The next offering in our second "Soul-Saving Series" is titled "Are You Ready to Die?" The title alone probably gives you a good indication of what this lesson is about. Ben begins his discussion of this important topic by asking:
"Are you ready to die? God forbid that this should happen, but if you were in a car accident and your life was taken, would you be ready to leave this life and stand before the judgment bar of God? Have you lived your life in such a way that you can know with certainty that if your life ended right now, you are ready to be with the Father? Or, are there things in your life that you know you have not taken care of—things that you know would keep you from spending eternity with God?"
Ben then proceeds to discuss such things as the cause of death in the world (sin), the inevitability of death for all mankind, and whether our deaths will end in sorrow or rejoicing. Then, in what at first might seem like a paradoxical way to approach the subject of death, Ben turns his attention to "the benefits of death." We do not want to "steal his thunder" here in this brief description, so instead of listing the benefits that Ben mentions, we simply will direct you to the presentation and let you discover those benefits for yourself. You likely will be surprised by what you find. Why not take a look and see what those benefits are—and if they will accrue to you upon your death.
We believe that you will be edified and encouraged by each of these three new lessons in our two Soul-Saving Series. As always, they are available in video, audio, and written transcript formats.
WE HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU...
No, really, we do. In fact, we've got more than a thousand of them! But wait. You don't have to answer all of them at the same time. And better still, you actually get to "pick and choose" the questions you want to answer! [Don't you wish you could have done that when taking tests in school?]
We're talking, of course, about the study questions that accompany the written transcripts of our video and audio presentations. When you visit the "Transcripts" section of our Website, you will find approximately 200 transcripts that have been specially prepared to accompany the video and/or lessons that also are available on our Website. At the end of each transcript you will find a single page of study questions. The number of questions varies with each transcript (according to the length of the questions themselves), but usually numbers somewhere between 14 and 21. All of the questions have been crafted from the content of the material in the lesson under consideration. The questions actually are intended to serve several different purposes. First, they are intended to reinforce in a person's mind the material discussed in the lesson under consideration. Second, they are designed to create additional discussion about the topic being examined. Third, they are meant to provoke further interest and study of that particular topic. Fourth, they are perfect for use in classroom or private-study situations. And so on.
Since this is our first e-newsletter of 2007, we hope you will pardon us if we make a reference to those famed "New Year's resolutions" that so many people tend to make (and, yes, break!). If one of your New Year's resolutions was to do more Bible study in 2007, these study questions might turn out to be the "preventative medicine" you need to keep you from breaking that particular resolution (sorry, but we can't help you with your diet resolution). Plus, there is an added benefit to using these study questions. In most cases, it would prove quite a challenge to try to answer the questions without having first viewed the video, listened to the audio, or read the transcript that the questions were designed to accompany. So, if you look at the video, listen to the audio, or read the transcript, think of all the Bible knowledge you will gain in the process (the next time you're invited to play the game, "Bible Trivia," you'll definitely be the star of the show!). But, on a more serious note, we do want to invite you to check out the study questions that accompany our written transcripts. We think you will find them to be a handy and convenient source of invaluable information that can help you in your study of God's Word.
WHOA!
TAKE A LOOK AT OUR
STATS
FOR 2006!
It's official: 2006 is now history. And 2007—with all of its potential and possibilities—is upon us. The beginning of a new year usually provides us with the perfect occasion to pause and reflect on the old year that has just faded into our collective memories. And the first few days of 2007 are no different. We at THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST would like to share with you some statistics in which we thought you might have an interest. There is no doubt about it—2006 has been a banner year for us! "The proof," as the old saying suggests, "is in the pudding." Take a look at what we found in our "pudding" at the end of 2006.
TGOC STATS |
2005 |
2006 |
Page hits |
917,284 |
1,627,081 |
Total # of countries |
102 |
134 |
Bandwidth used |
65.27 Gb |
407.24 Gb |
Media Requests |
322 |
1677 |
In addition, in 2006 we sent media to 46 of the 50 states (as well as the District of Columbia) and 15 foreign countries (we can send to APO addresses without any cost to the recipient, but we require that postage costs to foreign addresses be paid in advance by those placing the order).
All of this represents real and tangible progress in our mission to take "the whole Gospel to the whole world." It also gives us a number of important goals to meet (or beat!) this year. Stay tuned. We'll keep you updated on our progress.
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