“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.“ Acts 1:8 Witness. When we hear that word, we think of evangelism. Sharing our faith. Proclaiming the gospel. We think of a …
I recently read a blog post from a number of years ago that was entitled “Why You Should Consider Canceling Your Short-Term Mission Trips.” In the post, the author began by quoting Robert Lupton from his book Toxic Charity, “Contrary to popular belief, most missions trips and service projects do not: empower those being served, …
Have you ever considered the miracles Jesus performed and the potential purpose for these events? A friend asked me this week if Sonlife had a study specifically on the miracles of Jesus, and though our Harmony Study does cover these events, it doesn’t specifically look at them as a group. How many miracles did Jesus …
John 14 concludes with Jesus and the disciples leaving the Upper Room, so Jesus’ teaching and prayer in John 15-17 happens somewhere between the Upper Room and the Kidron Valley opposite the Mount of Olives. On the walk down toward the valley, before crossing over and entering the olive grove in the Garden of Gethsemane …
Have you ever thought about how Jesus strategically used His teaching to prepare His disciples for the harvest work He had invited them to join Him in? Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each record large portions of teaching that the disciples were exposed to, and besides considering the themes and audience present for Jesus’ teaching, …
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 NIV How are you doing with rest these days? There’s this interesting …
I’ll never forget the moment when I was struck with the fact that Jesus intentionally used short-term, cross-cultural mission trips as part of his disciple-making process. It was the spring of 2013, I was sitting on a bench made from rough-cut logs on a beautiful day at the property of the Latin America Multiplication Center …
“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.‘” John 20:21 This past weekend, we moved our daughter into her new dorm at the University of Florida. The weekend before that, we drove another daughter up to Long Island University for her final year as a musical …
If Jesus’ disciples were to fulfill the Great Commission to “make disciples of all nations” and be His witnesses “in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth,” they needed to be equipped to minister cross-culturally. How would this differ from the equipping they would receive in the Jewish towns throughout the Galilee …
Jesus-style equipping was purposeful, practical, and portable. Immediately after He challenged the disciples to become “fishers of people,” He took them on people-fishing expeditions. They were learning in the laboratory of real life how to bring the good news to both the religious and irreligious, to people with varying backgrounds with a multitude of needs …