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TGOC'S WEBSITE PASSES
THE 1,000,000 HIT MARK!
Friday, June 22, was a "banner day" at the Gospel of Christ. It was on that date that our Website passed the 1,000,000 page-hit mark. In 2006, we had 1.6 million page-hits for the entire year. This year (2007) is not yet half over, and we already have passed 1,000,000 page hits. But that's not all. In 2006, the bandwidth usage on our Website was 388 gigabytes for the entire year. So far this year, the figure is already at 260 gigabytes. Also, this year, there have been over 100 countries from around the world visit THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST Website.
Needless to say, we are thrilled by the wonderful increase in both the number of page hits that the Website is receiving, as well as the amount of bandwidth being used by visitors to the site. These figures show us that our site is doing exactly what it was intended to do—take the whole Gospel to the whole world.
Stay tuned, however. Even more exciting news is on its way within the next 2-3 weeks.
MORE BIBLE QUIZZES
FOR TGOC'S EVANGELISM SERIES
NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST is pleased to announce the addition of more Bible quizzes to accompany our video and audio programs. In our April 4th newsletter, we announced the addition of the first four quizzes to accompany the Evangelism Series. We are now announcing the second (and last) group of four quizzes to accompany that series. The quizzes are available on our Website at www.thegospelofchrist.com/quiz.
TGOC ANNOUNCES
THE FIRST TWO LESSONS IN ITS NEW
"MORE ABOUT JESUS" SERIES
In our last e-newsletter, we announced the availability of the last two lessons ("Objections to Baptism" and "Be Faithful Unto Death") in our Evangelism Series of videos. We are now pleased to announce the first two lessons ("Jesus in the Old Testament" and "What Was Jesus Like?") in our newest series, More About Jesus.
In his lesson on "Jesus in the Old Testament," Ben Bailey begins by noting that "if we do not see Jesus in the Old Testament, then we will have missed the whole point of the Old Testament." He then quickly moves to a discussion of how Jesus is evident in the Old Covenant right from its beginning in Genesis 1:26-27 where God said, "Let
Us make man in Our image." As Ben correctly points out, the writer of the Book of Hebrews (1:1-2) noted that it was through Jesus that "all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth."
Ben then notes that just two chapters later in Genesis (3:15), we find the first messianic prophecy on written record. Nine chapters later, in Genesis 12:1-3, we learn about Jesus as the One Who would bless all nations. In Genesis 49:10, we are told that Shiloh (i.e., Christ) would come while Judah still retained the power to enforce her own laws. In Leviticus, we see a type of Christ in the sacrificial lamb—something confirmed in the New Testament when John the Immerser said, "Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn. 1:29). Later, in Isaiah (7:14), we see yet another of the over 300 messianic prophecies when we learn that Jesus would be born of a virgin (an event confirmed by Matthew 1:19-21). In Isaiah 52 and 53 we also see Jesus as the Suffering Servant. And in Psalm 22 we see Him as the Scorned Savior.
Ben ends his comments by observing that "throughout the Old Testament, God had been working to reveal His plan of salvation." Christ, of course, was the fulfillment of that plan, as the New Testament makes abundantly clear.
In his lesson, "What Was Jesus Like?," Ben begins by asking, "Do you know Jesus? Do you know what made Jesus Who He was—what made Him, from day to day, in the face of pain, in the face of agony, and in the face of defeat, keep going? What made Jesus the powerful Man that He was? What could permit Him to go for basically three years and preach the Gospel to people who, at many times, did not accept it? What really 'made Jesus tick' as a Person?"
The remainder of the lesson is an attempt to provide answers to questions like those. As Ben proceeds, he points out that society in general holds four different views of Christ: (1) He was a liar; (2) He was a lunatic; (3) He was merely "a great teacher"; or (4) He was the Son of God. Ben examines each of these viewpoints, and shows why, based on the available historical and biblical evidence, the first three are not acceptable. Ben then asks, "So what
was Jesus like?" By way of answering his own question, Ben proceeds to paint a beautiful portrait of Christ from the Scriptures, showing that He was a Man of prayer, a Man of logic, a powerful Miracle Worker, a sinless Man, a humble Servant, and a Man of right priorities.
As Ben brings his comments on Christ to a close, he says, "I want you to know today that Jesus, in serving man, gave His life for us. Jesus' death on the cross was the greatest act of service that you could ever imagine. It was the greatest sacrifice. He died so that we could have the hope of Heaven." That is what Jesus is like!
Both of these lessons are now available on our Website, where you will find them in video, audio, and written transcript formats. We invite you to take advantage of them and to share them with others.
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