This is a message that I gave at CrossPoint Baptist Church in Trussville, Alabama on Sunday, April 19th, 2009.  This is a message that is based out of Acts 8: 26-40 and challenges students to engage their friends with the gospel.  This message stands as a call to each one of us to be intentional to share Jesus with those around us.

 

 Sharing Jesus [15:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In Contend: A Survey of Christian Apologetics on a High School Level, Jason Dollar and Bradley Pinkerton lay out an excellent introduction to the study of Christian apologetics.  This book focuses on placing the study of apologetics centered first and foremost on the glory of God and secondly driving the focus of apologetics to be evangelism.  Dollar and Pinkerton do an excellent job of arguing the person of Jesus with a very well presented argument for the resurrection.  Apologetics are constantly brought back to Jesus, as the living picture of God and the center of our faith.

The seemingly difficult apologetic arguments are presented clearly through real life illustrations that make the presuppositions of the arguments come alive.  Arguments in this volume are primarily made using scripture as the ultimate source which equips and provides students with truths directly from the Bible that they can share with their friends.

Dollar and Pinkerton do an excellent job of raising objections to Christianity and responding to them in a concise and convincing manner.  The authors also provide a simple survey of other worldview systems which provides an excellent introduction for further study.  Contend is an excellent resource for introducing students to the seemingly complex arena of apologetics.  Dollar and Pinkerton help bring this subject to life and to equip students to defend and share their faith with others.

For more information about Contend or to purchase your copy of this excellent resource, click here.

In The Whole in Our Gospel: The Answer that Changed My Life and Might Just Change the World, Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision, makes a call for a holistic gospel which does not just consist of correct theological convictions but also includes having the heart of Jesus for the least of these.  This book was a challenge to the American church to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and taking Jesus at his words with regard to the cost of following Him.  Stearns notes that American Christianity has embraced an unbiblical view of the gospel and the kingdom of God.  The dangerous tendency is to see the gospel and kingdom of God as a far off thing that only matters in eternity, but as Stearns so clearly defends, the gospel should transform the lives of those around us in the world here and now.

This timely challenge is presented clearly through stories of the lives of people who have been impacted positively through the ministry of World Vision and also the struggles that the author has gone through personally in coming to embrace a holistic gospel himself.  Stearns does an effective job of presenting the deep needs that are being faced by people all over this planet and connecting it to the great resources and opportunity that we as Christians have to engage these deep needs.  This book is a challenging call for Christians and the church to stop talking and theorizing about missions and reaching the world and to embody the gospel by reaching out to serve through your time, talent, and treasures to truly love your neighbor, even your neighbor on the other side of the globe.  Reading this book will change your perspective and cause you to reevaluate if there is truly a hole in your gospel.