MORE NEW TESTAMENT
BIBLE QUIZZES NOW ONLINE
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST is pleased to announce the addition of more new Bible quizzes to our Website. This new round of quizzes (which follows the addition just two weeks ago of the first quizzes to accompany our online video and audio programs) adds to the number of quizzes we already have in place on the New Testament. Four new quizzes are available (one each in the easy, moderate, difficult, and extreme categories). We invite you to take some of these quizzes (
www.thegospelofchrist.com/quiz ) to test (or increase!) your Bible knowledge.
TGOC ANNOUNCES
THE NEXT TWO LESSONS IN ITS
NEW MOTIVATIONAL SERIES
In our previous e-newsletter, we announced the availability of the first two lessons ("The Blessed Life and "Excuses") in our new Motivational Series of videos. Today, we are announcing the next two videos in that series:
"Relighting Our Passion for Jesus"
"The Power of Persistent Prayer"
In his lesson on "Relighting Our Passion for Jesus," Ben Bailey begins by bringing to the viewers' attention Jesus' comments to the church in Ephesus (Revelation 2:4) when He said, "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love." This congregation had lost its passion for God and for holy things. As Ben went on to note,
- "The same thing can happen to us if we are not careful. If we do not watch out, we, too, can lose our passion for God and for holy things, and we can lose our zeal and our drive to serve the Lord. If that happens, what do we do to relight our spiritual passion for Jesus? If our flame goes out, and if we no longer have the zeal and the passion that we once did, how do we get back to having a fire for God and a zeal for holy things?"
Ben uses those questions as a springboard to examine Paul's comments in Philippians 3:12-15 which, Ben suggests, provide a four-fold pattern for "relighting our spiritual passion for Jesus." First, we must have a holy dissatisfaction with ourselves. Second, we must have a have a wholehearted devotion to the Lord. Third, we must have an upward direction in life. And fourth, we must have an inward determination.
Ben spends the bulk of the lesson examining each of these four areas and explaining how it is possible to rekindle our "inner fire" for Christ and His church. The concepts that Ben discusses can provide a sort of "spiritual shot in the arm" for any Christian who may struggle with a deflated or diminished faith from time to time.
In the next lesson, "The Power of Persistent Prayer," Ben begins with Christ's admonition from Luke 18:1—"Men ought to pray always, and never lose heart." He then asks the following series of questions:
- "How often do we really use prayer? Do we see prayer as a powerful tool that is able to help us through this life? Do we use the power of prayer in the everyday struggles that we face? We talk about prayer. And we believe that we really do understand what the Bible says about prayer. But do we really use prayer as God wants us to?"
The remainder of the lesson is devoted to answering those questions. Ben points out that we are to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). He also reminds us that "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (Jas. 5:16). From there, Ben goes on to discuss what he refers to as "prerequisites of prayer." Included in his list are such things as knowing how to pray, praying with the firm belief that God will hear and respond to our prayers, praying according to the will of God, praying with humility, praying with "the spirit and the understanding," and making sure that we are right with God when we pray.
Ben then offers some practical tips on how to pray more effectively. He reminds his viewers that prayer is a personal thing between an individual and his or her God. He also comments on how prayer should be continual, how it should be habitual, and how we should follow the Bible's "prescription for proper prayer." As Ben brings his discussion on prayer to a close, he mentions several false attitudes about prayer (such as the idea that "praying by itself" is enough to save the lost, the concept that prayer alone will provide all of the physical necessities that we need in this life, or that an alien sinner can pray for and receive salvation).
We invite you to preview each of these new lessons in our Motivational Series. You will find them available on our Website in video, audio, and written transcript formats.
|
