Doubt – between useful and dangerous "Doubt is first of all not in a good light among Bible-oriented Christians. But where one tries to banish him completely from the Christian life, experience shows that this does not have good consequences. That is why we need to talk about doubts!" In doing so, Berthold Schwarz distinguishes between different types of doubt, because there is definitely justified – and even useful – doubt. Above all, he encourages us to create an atmosphere in our environment in which doubts can be expressed honestly and overcome together.
Faith under prere
Doubts about faith are as old as mankind. They become conscious when our trust in God comes under prere. We question God. A certain momentum is developing. If the cycle is not broken, trust fades and our life of faith is seriously jeopardized. Therefore we must learn to deal with it properly. Using some examples from the Bible, Andreas Pletsch shows how doubts of faith arise and how we can deal with them.
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me…"
In the cry of Jesus on the cross lies the goal and purpose of why Christ became man. In these words, which the Lord Jesus cried out at the end of the three hours of darkness on the cross, lies our eternal salvation and all happiness. Today, every person may know: "God is not far from each one of us!" How the suffering of Jesus on the cross can help us so that we do not despair in our circumstances, but trust God, has been examined by Stephan Isenberg.
Trend ies we encounter
The best thing that can happen to you is when you are approached about being a Christian because you stand out as a Christian because of your lifestyle! Mostly, this is linked to questions about your personal Christianity. There are a few questions in this that come up again and again. In this article, staff members of the Barmer Tent Mission have compiled questions that come up again and again – along with hints on how you might respond to them. The point is not to give blanket answers, but to know for yourself what, who and why you believe!
Developing the tried and tested
Many congregations have many years of experience in preparing evangelistic events. Often they take existing concepts out of the drawer and work their way along them. Sometimes with great vigor and dedication. Sometimes rather out of a sense of duty and with little expectation of success. Since every evangelism situation is different depending on target groups, location and church situation, Christoph Veit gives helpful suggestions in this practical article to prepare every evangelism event individually – spiritually and organizationally!
To separate or to open the doors?
Opening doors or closing doors? Invite and win or sanctification and separation? – But does the one really exclude the other? In Nehemiah we find both – depending on the situation. Rudolf Mockel uses the example of Nehemiah to show how we can reconcile the love of man and the love of God.
Mourning and celebrating – how do they fit together??
A remarkable incident occurred in the "month of the flowing streams of water". After the wall of Jerusalem had been built under Nehemiah, the people were very interested in hearing the words of the law. At an open-air conference in front of the water gate, however, many tears initially flowed; the people reacted with great sadness to the words of the law. Nehemiah, Ezra and the Levites therefore directed the eyes of the people to God's action and encouraged "rejoicing in the Lord". – What the oft-quoted words have to tell us against this background has been explored by David Rohlig.
Warn and build – how to put it into practice?
Some warn, others "work" – who will prevail?? So you might ask in many a congregation when things go back and forth. Nehemiah was balanced. He prevented imminent danger and at the same time organized the progress of the work. He imparted vigilance to his people while encouraging them to cooperate. How can this be done today?? – Andreas Lindner names some principles that are timelessly important and applicable.
Where is God in this world? Recommendation for people without or even with God in their concept of life: The author, professor emeritus of mathematics at Oxford University, comments on the current Corona crisis. He imagines himself sitting in a cafe with the reader. The asks him what he thinks of the crisis. … read more
Close is also over I have read few apologetic books in one go – this one does. Since then, I have recommended it more often for the following reasons: Interesting: it is mainly a collection of reviews of publications with theological, evangelistic, congregational-practical, or pastoral implications. Something that interests a practitioner like me. … read more
Thirst for Grace: Why the Gospel is Important for Christians "I was convinced that the gospel had the power and the authority to change people, but it did not change me. … read more
About praying: A Little School of Prayer This book made me realize anew the importance of prayer. You can tell that the author is a prayer warrior, because he not only knows all the obstacles to prayer, but also gives help on how we can overcome them with God's help. … read more
Enough of Half Measures Many Christians seem to struggle with their Christianity-it is more of a burden to them than a liberation, more of a demand than an experience. If our faith is not contagious and we live it out of compulsion, something has gone awry. … read more
The Unknown Jesus We probably all think we know Jesus well, but is that really so? Do we perhaps have an image of him that is not at all true? Philip Yancey takes the reader on an exciting journey to learn about sides of Jesus that you may not have known. … read more
The Great Divorce On the great subject of predestination and man's free will, I was personally drawn to the book by C.S.Lewis "The Great Divorce" very helpful. It makes clear that between our three dimensions and God's eternal timeless dimension these questions are not clearly logically explainable for us … because we are stuck in our temporal thinking. … read more
Fiat lux – Let there be light A group of Christian students experiences the challenges of evangelistic work at their university. In addition, unfortunately, there is a conflict about a perennial topic of the Christian church: how to think about predestination and/or human free will? The struggle for clarity in this question is described in a factually comprehensible and interesting way. … read more
A life without short legs. How parents teach their children not to lie to themselves A child is deadly unhappy and curses his parents because he is not allowed to wear his shorts. In his head play trains of thought, which are in reality lies. The book describes examples and challenges us parents to recognize these lies and resolve them with truth.