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SECOND SERIES OF
OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE QUIZZES
NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST is pleased to announce the addition of still more Bible quizzes to our Website. In the past several newsletters, we have announced the availability of quizzes to accompany several of our video programs (such as the Evangelism Series, Soul-Saving Series, Worship Series, etc.). In this newsletter, however, we want to announce four new quizzes (easy, moderate, difficult, and extreme) based on the Old Testament. Previously, we posted four O.T. quizzes on our site, and they proved to be quite popular. We therefore felt that the time had come to add four additional quizzes. We invite you to test your O.T. knowledge by taking the quizzes, which can be found on our Website at www.thegospelofchrist.com/quiz.
TGOC TO ADD
NEW SPEAKER |
Are you up for a surprise? Well, we've got one for you. In our next electronic newsletter, we will be announcing a brand new speaker for TGOC's video and audio programs. But for now, his identity will have to remain a mystery (who doesn't like a little mystery in their lives?).
What we can tell you is that he will not be joining Ben Bailey in his presentations. Nor will he be replacing Ben as a speaker for TGOC. Instead, this new speaker will be in addition to Ben. We will be unveiling the new speaker in our next e-newsletter (his first video and audio programs are scheduled to begin airing on August 12).
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Until then, "mum's the word" as far as we are concerned. Don't bother trying to "weasel" the new speaker's name out of us. Don't write us. Don't call us. Don't e-mail us. We're not talking! And you can't make us! You'll just have to wait (undoubtedly on the edge of your seat!) for our next e-newsletter. [Ah, yes. Who doesn't like a little mystery in their lives?] |
TGOC ANNOUNCES
THE NEXT TWO LESSONS
IN ITS NEW
"MORE ABOUT JESUS" SERIES
In our last e-newsletter, we announced the availability of the next two lessons ("Jesus' Statements on the Cross" and "The Convictions of Christ") in our new "More About Jesus" Series of videos. In this newsletter, we are announcing lessons five and six in that series ("Jesus, Friend of Sinners" and "The Mind of Christ").
In his lesson on "Jesus, Friend of Sinners," Ben Bailey begins by discussing two events from the Book of Mark that illustrate the nature of Jesus' friendship with sinners. In Mark 5, Jesus healed a man who had been possessed by a demon. In Mark 2, Jesus ate at the house of Levi, a tax collector. The Pharisees belittled Christ for associating with such people. Yet, as it turns out, one of the greatest compliments ever paid to the Lord was actually offered as a statement of derision by such critics. In Matthew 11:19 they said, "Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!" Jesus was a Friend to those who needed Him the most—those who were lost and dying in sin. Mark 2:17 records Christ as saying, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." Luke 19:10 reminds us that Jesus "came to seek and save those who are lost." That is what made Jesus a Friend of sinners.
The truth is that Jesus wanted sinners to overcome their sin so that they could go to Heaven. In fact, He wanted that so much that He even was willing to die for sinners—so He could pay the debt of justice that they could not pay. It was through Christ's love and friendship that He was able to show sinners how to overcome sin. As Ben points out in his lesson, Christ did this by telling sinners exactly what they needed to hear—the truth of the Word of God. Just as a good physician gives the appropriate type of medicine to his patients who are sick, Christ (the Great Physician) gave His "patients" the divine remedy for the sickness they were experiencing due to their sin. As Ben ends his lesson, he offers up a variety of ways that we, too, can be a friend of sinners. Included in his list are such things as: (a) remembering that we have all sinned, and that we all need God's grace (an attitude that will help us to be more sensitive and understanding to the sins of others); (b) speaking out against sin and ungodliness so that those who are living in sin will understand the urgency of abandoning such a lifestyle; (c) faithfully living the Christian life so as to set a good example; and (d) taking the Gospel to those who are lost.
Ben begins his lesson on "The Mind of Christ" by quoting Philippians 2:5—"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." He then reminds us that Peter taught this same concept as well when he said in 1 Peter 2:21 that we are to "follow in the footsteps of Jesus." One of the main thrusts of Ben's lesson is that Christ had a mind that was set on sacrificing for others, and that we, too, if we hope to have the mind of Christ, must be willing to sacrifice for others. For example, we must sacrifice ourselves by being totally devoted to Christ. As the apostle Paul wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). We also must sacrifice financially. And we must sacrifice our time by doing whatever is necessary to bring others to Jesus. And so on.
Ben goes on to point out that we must empty ourselves of pride, selfish attitudes, and all other things that would prevent us from having the mind of Christ. Instead, we need to be servants—just like Jesus was a servant. Paul wrote of Christ in Philippians 2:7, "He made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men." We also must be humble, just as Jesus was humble. One verse later in Philippians 2, Paul spoke of Christ’s humility when he wrote, "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." And, to truly have the mind of Christ, we must strive to obey God. Jesus was obedient, even to the point of death. We, too, must be willing to die for our faith (Rev. 2:10). Ben ends his lesson on "The Mind of Christ" with a quote from Philippians 4:13 where Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." We today like the apostle Paul, "can do all things through Christ who strengthens us." That is what having "the mind of Christ" is all about.
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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