Gospel and Postmodern Culture (Part 3)

Jim Leffel

Hosea 2:5-14:4

Part three of a four-part series connecting the gospel to our culture. God wants us to dialogue with people about the truth and be able to defend our faith in a loving and compelling way. Many people are turned off to Christianity because they think a loving God will not judge people or they wonder how God can judge both a little old lady and Hitler. Satisfying responses are given along with a look at the loving heart of God revealed in the book of Hosea.\r\n

Gospel and Postmodern Culture (Part 2)

Jim Leffel

1 Peter 3:15-16

Part two of a four-part series on how the Gospel can impact postmodern culture. As we live out the Gospel, we need to have honest, compassionate and respectful answers for peoples' honest questions. Compelling arguments are given for how to dialogue with people regarding: 1) the exclusive claims of the Bible; 2) the issue of people having sincere beliefs but on different paths; and 3) the problem of those who have never heard the Gospel. A powerful video testimony by Gary Saalman, a lawyer who examined the evidence for the faith and became a Christian, is shown.\r\n

Evangelism Initiatives

Sherri Fojas

John 7:18

Sherri Fojas provides a practical look into tried and tested evangelism initiatives. While Xenos hosts some outreach events, most of the evangelistic efforts here happen on a home church level. Sherri gives and explains numerous ideas for both "come and see" and "go and be" events. She also discusses misconceptions about evangelism and addresses some common questions people ask about these initiatives.

Leading Home Group Evangelism

Doug Patch

John 7:18

In order to lead our home groups toward consistent and effective evangelism, we must first convince home group members of God's mission for the church, which is to reach the lost and disciple the saved. We ourselves must own this and model this in our daily lives, showing personal commitment in this area. We want to draw attention to the right motives behind evangelism and help equip our people to effectively reach people themselves. Prayer too is a powerful weapon. While we need to emphasize each member having a burden for this, we also want to ensure the structures of our Bible study put non-believing friends and family at ease when they visit. This would include the environment, comfort of the room, meeting times, available food, and avoidance of strictly Christian language.

Invading Secular Space

Dwight Smith

John 7:18

The goal of the church is emphatically to go out and reach people. This stands contrary to the American church which places larger emphasis on making the people inside happy. Believers in Christ, no matter which church they may belong to must take responsibility for those who do not know Christ: in their city, in their country, and in their world. This means that we must partner with other Christians and churches around us for the greater mission. Through personal Bible reading, interdependent leadership, and positive witnessing seen through our relationships, there is hope for evangelism. \r\n

Go Groups: How to Engage non-Christians in Your Community

Gary DeLashmutt

John 7:18

Part of the problem in our churches may be that we are not abundantly sowing. If we never go out and surround ourselves with people who do not know Christ, our evangelism may dry up and wither. We need to invade secular space, to shift the emphasis from gathering people inside the church to dispersing ourselves out into the city. There are two main avenues through which we can create these "Go-Groups," through recreation and volunteering. Provided here are different examples, potential failures, and needed actions to make these groups fruitful.

A Leadership Crisis in the Church

Jim Leffel

Romans 1:16

Christian leadership is all about facilitating and having vision for the work that God is doing. For the church to move forward in God's work, their knowledge of what is going on in culture needs to be understood. Leaders must be able to maintain and spur the church on with the biblical mission, the biblical message, and the biblical means of communication.

God's Heart For People

Dennis McCallum

Jonah 1-4

Jonah was a prophet who initially ran from what God called him to do. After some discipline and repentance, God uses Jonah to show characteristics of His heart: 1) His love goes out to needy and confused people, and 2) God has a lot more compassion than we do. This book can lead the readers to consider if they have answered the call to reconcile the world to Him that God has given all believers.

Praying As Jesus' Representative

Gary DeLashmutt

Colossians 4:2-6

As Jesus' representatives, believers can pray for God's help in representing Him well. Gary DeLashmutt focuses on three types of requests we can make of God based on the prayer in Colossians: 1) create opportunities for me to share about Jesus' love; 2) show me how to demonstrate Jesus' love through my actions; and 3) enable me to express Jesus' love in this conversation.