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Europe: 5 signs of Christian revival

by Geoff 8 December 2022 No Comments

Europe: 5 signs of Christian revival

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Post-Christian. Secular. A prodigal continent. These are some of the words often used to describe Christianity in Europe. Yet, a growing number of voices believe God is not done with Europe.

“Renewed spiritual hunger, new stirring of prayer, fresh expressions of the church, and migrant churches restoring faith” are signs of hope in our continent today, writes former YWAM Europe director Jeff Fountain.

It would certainly not be the first time that God changes the narrative of a continent. Only decades ago, Protestants described Latin America as a mission field. Today, it’s become a mission force, and the Brazilian church sends the second most missionaries in the world. In 1900, Africa was home to about nine million Christians. Who could ever have imagined that by the 2020s there would be half a billion Christians on the continent?

But the missional challenges for Christians in Europe are overwhelming. The old continent has a complex and unique history with the Christian faith. “No other continent has been exposed to Christianity for such a prolonged period and in such an extensive way,” wrote Jim Memory, the Lausanne Europe co-regional director, in the Europe 2021 Missiological Report. “Yet just as Europe was the first continent to be Christianised, it was also the first to be de-Christianised.”

Even so, in our day, an extraordinary re-evangelisation of Europe is taking place. Here are five ways we are seeing God move throughout the continent:

1. Diaspora churches
Latin-American migrants have planted thousands of churches in Spain, Portugal and beyond over the last thirty years. It is difficult to find a major European city that does not have a large Spanish speaking and/or Brazilian congregation. Similarly, Chinese churches can be found almost everywhere. African-initiated Pentecostal churches number in the thousands in Britain alone.

2. Church planting
Church planting has been also accelerating in Europe through various networks, denominations, and mission agencies. In France, for example, the National Council of French Evangelicals (CNEF) has set a goal of establishing an evangelical church for every 10,000 people. The church planting movement in France saw, on average, one church be planted every seven days over the last few years. “We want to move the church in Europe from decline and plateauing into growth,” said Øystein Gjerme, leader of M4 Europe, a movement with a vision to see one church planted every day in Europe.3. The prayer movement
The late revival historian J. Edwin Orr wrote that “whenever God is ready to do something new with his people, he always sets them to praying.” For the last two decades, the 24/7 prayer movement has seen the birth of 22,000 prayer rooms in 78 nations, the majority of them in Europe. One house of prayer in Augsburg, Germany, has had continuous prayer, day and night, for 11 years, or 110,000 hours.4. Increased Christian unity
The war in Ukraine has fostered unprecedented collaboration between mission agencies. Networks like the European Leadership Forum, the European Evangelical Alliance, and the Lausanne Movement have strengthened unity and collaboration. In charismatic circles, a historic coalition of 29 denominations and mission agencies in Norway brought together 9,000 young people, the largest Christian cross-denominational gathering in over 20 years, for The Send Norway.

5. The next generation
This May, 13,000 teens and young adults from all over Germany came together for Christival, a conference organized by a nondenominational network with historical roots in the Jesus Movement. Revive Europe brought together 3,000 university students from 68 nations to pray for a revival among their peers. God is raising a new generation of Europeans longing for authentic encounters with Jesus. They are increasingly open to spiritual conversations, prayer, and especially looking for a community to belong to.

Source: Sarah Breuel, Revive Europe

Jowl News # 1283, December 8, 2022

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Uzbekistan: An ancient city experiences revival

by Geoff 17 November 2022 2 Comments

Uzbekistan: An ancient city experiences revival

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Bukhara in Uzbekistan, one of the oldest cities in the world, is experiencing a revival. This is reported by German missiologist Johannes Reimer.

Bukhara was first mentioned in 500 BC. Located on the famous Silk Road, it became a center for trade, culture, science, and religion. Ancient authors called Bukhara “a city full of knowledge.” It was Buddhist under Mongolian rulership until in the 7th century the Nestorians introduced Christianity. The many coins with Christian symbols suggest that Christianity might have been a dominant religion in Bukhara during the 7th and 8th centuries. However, Bukhara’s people gradually converted to Islam in the late 9th century, and in the 14th century Christians were forced out of the country.

Photo: The historic centre of Bukhara is a UNESCO heritage site

Christianity came back to Bukhara in the 20th century. Under Russian and Soviet rule Russian, German, Korean, Armenian and Polish Christians settled in the area, often by force. Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian Apostolic, Lutheran, Mennonite, Baptist and Pentecostal churches established branches in the country and also in Bukhara. First these churches mainly served the immigrants, but from 1985 onwards members of ethnic native Uzbek and Tadzhik groups also came to know Jesus and join the church.

‘The Evangelicals are experiencing extraordinary growth’

In 1991, Uzbekistan became an independent state. Christians experienced heavy state persecution and many Russian and almost all German-speaking Christians left the country. Under the current president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the relationship between the government and the churches has improved, leading to more and more converts from Islam coming in. Today the Evangelicals are experiencing extraordinary growth in Uzbekistan, including Bukhara, where five Evangelical churches attract hundreds of mostly Uzbek and Tadzhik believers for worship each Sunday. The churches actively spread the gospel in the region.

“We went from an ingrown, self-centered Pentecostal church to a congregation serving our community,” says one of the pastors. His growing congregation counts hundreds of people throughout the region. Among them are many deaf people. “Today you will barely find one village in our region without a house church for the deaf,” the pastor says. “People consider the deaf, blind and other people with inborn disabilities as cursed; we instead serve them, teach them to write and to read, teach sign language to them and offer them an integral part in our Sunday worship service. Our teams visit the places, care for them socially and conduct Bible studies. Hundreds have been baptised so far. Through our intensive care for those outcasts, their families have started to open up as well.”

‘You will barely find a village without a house church for the deaf’

Visiting the people in their home areas can turn out to be a very difficult venture. Roads are bad, buses are rare, and many places can be reached only by walking or biking. The Evangelicals in Bukhara seem to use every opportunity. During the pandemic the church organised mask production, compiled basic food packages and, most of all, delivered clean water to the people. The church has its own water purification plant that produces 500 liters of clean water per hour. The water is distributed among the people in the neighbourhood, sold for a modest profit. Where poor people can’t pay, the water is given for free. And everyone is served, Christians, Muslims and atheists. The Christians dream of having such purification plants in every village of the region. The generally available water is bitter and often dangerous. “Clean water is good news to the people, and when it is brought by us Christians, we become good news to them,” one pastor says.

Photo: a deaf community in Uzbekistan

“Caring for the well-being of people in the community always includes prayer for the sick,” another pastor says. “We intentionally go to the Covid-infected people, comfort them and their families, and lay our hands on them in prayer for healing. Many were instantly healed. This too brought people closer to Jesus. Experiencing God’s divine healing also strengthened our young first-generation believers. Today they know what Jesus can do because they have seen Him doing miracles.”

‘Women are the backbone of the movement in Uzbekistan’

One extraordinary development in Bukhara is the role of women in evangelising in the area. In fact, the vast majority of evangelists and small group leaders among the new believers are women. Similar to the deaf people, they are considered in some tribal settings as second-class humans and are excluded from many strata of religious and tribal life. At the same time, many of them have received a high-level education in Soviet times and after the independence. Searching for meaning in life, many of them find answers in Christianity and turn to Jesus. The fact that their husbands are often far away in foreign lands (mostly in Russia) for years as guest workers puts the bulk of the responsibility to care for the family on them. Christian women, as well as the church itself, offer them support and care.

Finding their way to Jesus releases an enormous energy in their lives. As a result, they are testifying about Jesus to other women in their neighbourhood and organising them in Bible studies or even in small businesses to help them survive economically. “Today women are the backbone of the evangelical movement in Uzbekistan,” says the pastor. Most of those women are relatively young – as are the Uzbek and Tadzhik Christians generally. Many 18 to 25 years olds are already leading ministries, and are experienced in evangelism and church planting.

Source: Johannes Reimer

Joel News International # 1280, November 15, 2022

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Thailand: Revival continues with 1588 people baptised

by Geoff 5 October 2022 3 Comments

Thailand: Revival continues with 1588 people baptised

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“The revival in Thailand continues. This is what it looks like when 1,588 people wait to be baptised,” reports Marten Visser, director of missions organisation GlobalRize.

Visser, a former missionary to Thailand, has been sharing regular updates about a spiritual revival in the Asian country in recent years.

Another missionary, Dwight Martin, also baptised many converted Thai. “We now have about 6,000 churches in Thailand,” he said in an interview. “We don’t force anyone to give up their idols or stop going to the temples. We disciple them and then one day the Holy Spirit convicts them that they no longer need those idols and they no longer need to go to the temple.”

Martin explains: “It is a movement of God without outside influence, without interference from the West. There was simply a man who was touched by God’s Spirit with a vision for Thailand. The Lord put me in touch with him and he wanted to plant Thai churches. His movement was just beginning and when I told him about all the villages in Thailand that had not yet been reached with the gospel, it clicked right away. From then on, many new churches were started.”

‘We don’t bring religion, but Jesus’

“When we go to villages we don’t bring religion but Jesus. We simply say: ‘Do you have a problem in your life? Then Jesus can help you.’ We ask them to bring two or three problems to Jesus and believe in Him. They already believe in all kinds of gods, so that makes it easier. For example, there was a well-to-do woman who wanted a new television set. She prayed for it but was freed from her alcohol addiction instead. She told everyone that she was now no longer buying booze and could buy a TV from the remaining money!”

“We bring them Jesus and within 48 hours we begin to disciple them. We revisit them and teach them how to pray. Simple prayers before meals and children’s prayers. Then a week later we come back and tell them who Jesus is, that He is the Creator of heaven and earth. Another week later we tell about the problem of the Fall. But very slowly, step by step. Within six months they are able to tell others about the gospel in this way. It gives them a good foundation. This takes place within house churches, a safe place to raise newborn Christians.”

“One of our church planters, believe it or not, still leads prayers in a Buddhist temple. He himself is not a Buddhist but a church planter! The church planters go to new villages every day to tell people of God’s love. When you do that every day many come to faith. We now have 500 people doing this. The goal is to plant 800 new churches this year.”

Source: Marten Visser, Dwight Martin

A mass baptism in Thailand with missionary Dwight Martin and his team of church planters. As many as 1,435 people were baptised. Click to watch.

Joel News Edition # 1275, October 05, 2022

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God arranged a surprise meeting for a fanatical Muslim

by Geoff 6 September 2022 No Comments

God arranged a surprise meeting for a fanatical Muslim

Edition # 1270, September 04, 2022
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Egypt: How God arranged a surprise meeting for a fanatical Muslim

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”
– Matthew 5: 43-45

Egypt: How God arranged a surprise meeting for a fanatical Muslim

Yassir and four fanatical Muslim cohorts hid behind a tree on a dark night in the jungle. When a Christian they hated named Zachariah walked by, they jumped out and began to beat him – nearly to death.

After “pleasing” Allah with this attack, Yassir returned home, washed himself, and prayed. “We broke his arm. We broke his leg. He started to bleed,” Yassir says matter-of-factly on a One for Israel testimonial video. “Because he started to scream begging for help, I put my hand over his mouth, so that no noise would come out of his mouth.”

Yassir grew up in a strict Muslim Sudanese family and prepared to join jihad, the fight against “infidel” peoples. His hatred for Jews and Christians began in school. There was only one Christian classmate who was intelligent and talented: Zachariah. “Because I thought as a Muslim I must be better than him, we started to beat him every single day,” Yassir remembers.

Their malevolent hatred festered and grew until Yassir with four other young men agreed to kill him. They knew the path Zachariah took through the jungle on certain nights. They laid in wait for him. “It was like slaughtering a sheep. He was shivering. He was crying. We left him for dead,” Yassir admits. “I felt very proud. You’re actually doing something for Allah. You want to please him.” Zachariah was never seen again.

‘At every mistake I made, the sheik whipped me’

In the meantime, Yassir’s father dropped him in a Koran school, where he was whipped by the sheik. “Every mistake you make, the whip will crack in the middle of your head,” he remembers. “You’re not allowed to cry because in our culture they tell us that men never cry.” But when he was alone in the dark in his bed, it was a different matter. Tears flowed there, unseen by anyone.

He was proud of his ummah, his Islamic people group, and decided to fight for it. “I started to hate everyone who’s not Muslim,” he admits. He began training to join jihad, but deep within his heart, there was fear. Would everything he was doing for Allah be enough to guarantee his entry into Paradise? The Koran establishes that no one can ever know for certain if he will be accepted by Allah into eternity.

‘Suddenly two Coptic Christians showed up’

One day, his dear cousin became gravely ill. Doctors could do nothing. Death was inevitable, they said. Suddenly two Coptic Christians showed up and asked to pray for him. Yassir saw the cross one wore and declined to shake his hand. Still, he let them pray. “The minute they said, ‘Amen,’ the child opened his eyes for the first time in four weeks,” Yassir recalls. “He started to move his hands. He started to speak. He sat up in his bed. He started to walk.”

One of the men talked to Yassir. “The real miracle is that God wants to change your heart,” he said. “Do you believe that Jesus is alive?” he asked. Muslims believe that Jesus was only a prophet but was taken from the cross and spared death, so he lives in Heaven and is going to return one day. What the Christian said to Yassir was in line with Muslim teaching. What he said next was a bit off for Muslims. “Because He’s alive, you can talk to Him.”

‘My family staged a full funeral for me’

Yassir prayed. He began reading the Bible. The power of the Word and the Spirit led him to salvation. His family was upset. To leave Islam is a grave sin. They didn’t just disown Yassir as a son; they staged a full funeral with a casket and a burial site. Islamic tradition dictates that families of “apostates” treat them as dead. Yassir loved his family and was deeply hurt by being disowned at the highest levels, so he cried out to God. The still small voice of the Lord impressed this on Yassir’s heart: You know the grave where your name is written is empty. Guess what? My grave is empty too.

‘Do you remember me? the pastor asked’

Years later, Yassir attended a pastor’s conference in Egypt. There an elderly Sudanese pastor approached him. “Do you remember me?” he asked, after questioning and ascertaining details of Yassir’s background. “My name is Zachariah.”

Yassir stood there dumbstruck, as if he was seeing a ghost that materialized from the distant past. “Suddenly I remembered him from that dark night. I remembered the way he was screaming,” Yassir recounts. Twenty-five years had passed since that terrible incident. “Suddenly I started to see his broken arms and broken legs. I started to see the scars I caused him. I started to be full of shame.” The day of reckoning had arrived. “I was a bad person. I was terrible,” he admits.

Zachariah looked straight into Yassir’s eyes. “Yassir, because you hated me so much, I was always praying for you.” He opened his Bible, and on the first blank page was Yassir’s name. It was his prayer list. “On that day, God confronted me,” Yassir remembers. “I hated him; he prayed for me. To love those who hate you, you need someone named Jesus.”

Source: One For Israel Ministry

Click to watch Yassir’s testimony

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Egypt: How God arranged a surprise meeting for a fanatical Muslim

Christian mission, discipleship, evangelism, Iran, prayer, revival Christian mission, Christian revival, evangelism, mission, prayer, revival

Iran’s Great Awakening

by Geoff 26 August 2022 1 Comment

Iran: Why the underground church takes communion every day

Communion is more than simply remembering that Jesus died for you,
it’s also renewing your covenant with Jesus Himself.

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Iran Alive Ministries has planted a thriving underground church network in Iran. Faithful believers have risked their lives to establish and grow house churches, even in the face of danger.

If a church member is arrested, and in particular a leader, they will face torture and even death because they confess Christ. The entire church community is at risk. If they fold under pressure and give up the names of others associated with the church, there is no guarantee that any of their lives will be spared.

One group whose leader was arrested was asked how they were doing. They said: “All of us are praying and fasting for our captured brother every day. Every night, we gather together in a secure location to pray and encourage one another. After we have a meal together and break our fast, we worship, pray, and take communion together.”

“Why do you take communion every night?” they were asked. Their answer revealed a deep reality about communion.

“We take communion daily to remember what Jesus has done for us. He loved us so much that He died for us with joy (Hebrews 12:2). And we are called to partake not only in His glory, but also in His suffering (Romans 8:17). When we take communion, we remember the words of Jesus, ‘I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’ (Matthew 26:29)

That word from Jesus greatly encourages us because, as we take communion, we also say: ‘This could be our last communion as well. If it is, we do not worry because we will take the next communion with Jesus in Heaven.’ With a heart of thanksgiving, we remember the fact that He died for us, but we also renew our covenant with Him, professing that we are willing to live and die for Him as well.”

The persecuted church has much to teach us. Communion is more than simply remembering that Jesus died for you, it’s also renewing your covenant with Jesus Himself.

Source: Hormoz Shariat, Iran Alive

Joel News International: # 1269, August 26, 2022

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Mercy Ships and YWAM Ships

by Geoff 17 August 2022 No Comments

Mercy Ships and YWAM Ships

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Joel News Edition # 1268, August 16, 2022
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“Mercy Ships is an extraordinary group of people from around the world who exemplify a unique expression of compassion, making a lasting difference in a world of need, and contributing to an African renaissance.”
– Nelson Mandela

Senegal: Mercy Ships dedicates new hospital ship

The newest hospital ship to join the Mercy Ships fleet, the Global Mercy, has completed its first training mission in Dakar, Senegal, following its inauguration as the ministry’s largest ship, with 6 operating rooms and accommodations for 200 patients.

The President of Senegal and other African dignitaries joined the volunteer doctors, nurses, and staff for the dedication ceremony. (video report)

In Dakar, on board of the Global Mercy, African leaders committed to a ‘Safe Surgery by 2030’ declaration. The document, a commitment to key improvements in surgical, obstetric, and anaesthetic systems across the continent by 2030, was based on input from 29 African nations. Mercy Ships stands ready to support them with a two-ship fleet, doubled capacity for direct surgical care, and doubled capacity for training and building up local surgical systems.

Following the ceremony, 302 African medical professionals boarded the Global Mercy to receive advanced training in anaesthesia, dentistry, essential surgical skills, neonatal resuscitation, nursing, and sterile processing. (video report)

Mercy Ships’ volunteer medical staff follow the long tradition of medical and public health services provided by Christian missionaries in Africa. Even today, church-based hospitals and health care programs provide up to half of all available services in many African countries.

Source: Mercy Ships, GNA

Global: How YWAM moved into medical missions

In 1964, during one of Youth With A Mission’s first summer outreaches to the Bahamas, a hurricane swept through the islands leaving a trail of damage. The seeds were then planted of a vision to use sea-going vessels to bring relief aid and demonstrate the love of God.

“My first awareness of that vision came eight years later,” relates former YWAM Europe director Jeff Fountain. “Two American YWAM’ers turned up in our living room in Auckland, New Zealand, to talk with my dad about plans to buy a national icon, the m/v Maori. This inter-island ferry, with a familiar dark green hull, was a boat many Kiwis had sailed on at some stage in their lives. My eyes widened as I saw the brochures spread out on the floor already printed with an artist’s impression of the ship, repainted in white, anchored in a Pacific Island harbour framed by palm trees. The two visitors wanted my dad, as the first chairman of YWAM New Zealand, to accompany them to Wellington to negotiate the purchase.”

“As a journalist working on the NZ Herald at the time, I realised what a scoop of a story was there in front of me – but was told not to breathe a word. Unfortunately, that sale did not go through, as Loren Cunningham explains in his book ‘Is that really you, God?’ Mistakes were made and YWAM had to face criticism from both the secular and the Christian public. In YWAM we called this episode ‘the death of a vision’.”

When visions die, God can move things His way.

In 1978, Fountain found himself part of YWAM based in the Netherlands, and on a train heading to Venice with five other YWAM leaders. They were on a mission to check out an Italian passenger liner named m/v Victoria that was for sale for the scrap metal price: one million US dollars. The short-term vision was to use the ship for an outreach during the World Cup football. The longer term plan was for the ship to circumnavigate Africa annually, calling in at ports to offer relief aid and engage in evangelism.

Don Stephens took on the leadership of the project. The vessel would take four years – including being towed to Athens for renovation – before being ready to sail. That is how YWAM Mercy Ships finally began in 1982 with the vessel renamed m/v Anastasis – meaning ‘resurrection’ – after a lot of trial and error. The ‘trial’ was literal. While the ship was in Greece, Stephens and two others were charged with proselytism after a young Greek became a believer. They were sentenced to 3.5 years in prison, later suspended under international pressure.

The Anastasis, converted into a hospital ship, was later joined by two smaller ships, m/v Island Mercy and m/v Caribbean Mercy. Shortly after the new millennium began, Mercy Ships became its own independent organization. Today it operates two ships, m/v Africa Mercy (replacing the Anastasis in 2007) and m/v Global Mercy (2021).

Yet ships have continued to be part of YWAM’s story too, with smaller vessels able to negotiate coastlands, rivers and lakes, as well as deep-sea yachts and mobile dental clinics. Today the fleet has grown to 28 vessels operating on all oceans and continents in close relationship with land-based YWAM centres. The YWAM Maritime Academy trains the crew for the 28 vessels.

Source: Jeff Fountain

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Ghana: Jesus Film Riders on a mission

by Geoff 18 July 2022 No Comments

Ghana: Jesus Film Riders on a mission

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Ghana: Jesus Film Riders on a mission
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The ministry recently released a video featuring the Jesus Film Riders.

Five young men in Ghana spend their days riding motorbikes across the country on an important mission. Each of them carries a projection kit to show the JESUS Film in different villages, some of them unreached with the Gospel. They are called the Jesus Film Riders.

All of these young men are college graduates, devoted to sharing Christ. Their mission is not easy. They must ride across rugged terrain, often for hours, to reach remote and isolated villages. Each Jesus Film Rider must be willing to go anywhere, sleep anywhere, and eat anything.

Before they can show the JESUS Film in a new village, a visiting Jesus Film Rider has to establish relationships in the village. Sometimes they are able to provide water filtration units to meet practical needs and open relational doors. Once they have built trust and get permission from a “man of peace” in the village, the Jesus Film Rider is able to share the JESUS Film.

OneWay Africa Field Director, Mawunyo Kuuku Win-Tamakloe says, “They can’t believe that the Jesus they’ve heard of can speak their language. It’s always heartwarming when they find out.” Each film showing ends with a time of prayer and an invitation to follow Christ.

Since OneWay’s Jesus Film Campaign began in 2016, over 225,000 villagers have seen the JESUS Film. And 28,226 have committed their lives to Christ.

However, the ministry doesn’t stop there. After showing the JESUS Film, the rider will continue small group discipleship meetings in the village using tools such as the Bible Plus audio players. Eventually, the small group grows and often establishes a new church. Over several months, the Jesus Film Rider continues to support the village and trains new believers to disciple others. Then he moves on to the next village that needs the Gospel.

See a video featuring the Jesus Film Riders.

Source: Lyndsey Koh, JESUS Film Project

Joel News # 1266, July 12, 2022

SEE

Terrorist saved by JESUS film

The JESUS Film

Ghana: Jesus Film Riders

Radicals can’t stop the Jesus Film

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The Life of Jesus: History’s Great Love Story – Blog
The Life of Jesus: History’s Great Love Story – PDF

Contents of The Life of Jesus

Preface
Introduction
1 Birth and Boyhood
2 Ministry Begins
3 First to Second Passover
4 Second to Third Passover
5 Passover to Pentecost
Conclusion
Discussion Questions
Appendix 1: Chronology Chart
Appendix 2: The Feast Days
Appendix 3: The Gospels
Appendix 4: Alternative Chronology
Appendix 5: The Shroud of Turin
Appendix 6: Publications

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The Life of Jesus – in English and Urdu

by Geoff 2 July 2022 8 Comments

The Life of Jesus – in English and Urdu

History’s Great Love Story

The Life of Jesus: History’s Great Love Story – PDF – English

The Life of Jesus in Urdu with English Headings – PDF

The Life of Jesus Anthology with Urdu – PDF

You can see it in ‘Two-page view’ from the PDF top right corner

Blog: The Life of Jesus: History’s Great Love Story – English

The Life of Jesus in Urdu – Links:

The Life of Jesus in Urdu with English Headings – PDF
The Life of Jesus Anthology – English summary with full Urdu – Links:
The Life of Jesus Anthology with Urdu – PDF – English summary with full Urdu

Blog: The Life of Jesus: History’s Great Love Story – English

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Permissions: You can reproduce any Renewal Journal resource freely, including in print.

The Urdu translation reads right to left. This photo includes the Introduction. The top lines say:
The Life of Jesus
History’s Great Love Story
A Brief Overview

This photo includes the Introduction in Urdu

Nabeel Sharoon, Translator
Share with Pakistani & Indian friends

Nabeel Sharoon in Pakistan has translated my book The Life of Jesus into 5 languages:
Hindi, Indian Punjabi, Urdu, Sindhi, & Pakistani Punjabi. Free PDFs are on this page, including links to the English versions and PDFs.
See The Life of Jesus – in 6 languages for more information about Nabeel Sharoon

Other Translations

Hindi

The Life of Jesus in English and Hindi – Blog
The Life of Jesus in Hindi & English Headings – free PDF

Indian Punjabi

The Life of Jesus in English & Indian Punjabi – Blog
The Life of Jesus in Indian Punjabi & English Headings – PDF

Urdu

The Life of Jesus in English and Urdu – Blog
The Life of Jesus in Urdu & English Headings – PDF

Sindhi

The Life of Jesus in English & Sindhi – Blog
The Life of Jesus in Sindhi & English Headings – PDF

Pakistani Punjabi

The Life of Jesus in Pakistani Punjabi – Blog
The Life of Jesus in Pakistani Punjabi & English Headings– PDF

The Life of Jesus in Hindi, Indian Punjabi, Urdu, Sindhi, & Pakistani Punjabi.

The Story of Jesus: History’s Great Love Story – Blog in English
The Life of Jesus in English and Hindi – Blog
The Life of Jesus in Hindi & English Headings – PDF
The Life of Jesus in Indian Punjabi – Blog
The Life Of Jesus in Indian Punjabi & English Headings – PDF
The Life of Jesus in English and Urdu – Blog
The Life of Jesus in Urdu & English Headings – PDF
The Life of Jesus in English & Sindhi – Blog
The Life of Jesus in Sindhi & English Headings – PDF
The Life of Jesus in Pakistani Punjabi – Blog
The Life of Jesus in Pakistani Punjabi & English Headings– PDF

The Life of Jesus in 6 languages – Blog

You can freely reproduce, translate, and print these PDF books

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Geoff Waugh – founding editor of the Renewal Journal

This book is available in from WestBow Press, a division of Zondervan with this cover:

The Life of Jesus – Blog
WestBow Press version – The Life of Jesus
The Life of Jesus – WestBow Press – PDF
Amazon link – paperback, hardcover, Kindle

Also available as:

PDF eBook: The Amazing Life of Jesus

The Amazing Life of Jesus:

* This is a very informative, amazing, and powerful book. Thanks to the author for investing hours of research, expressed with his masterful command of language. ~ Alex Johnson (5-stars)
* Be enriched. A most helpful telling of the life of Jesus using the biblical text and adding some background and charts. Anyone using this book will be enriched. ~ Rev Dr John Olley (Amazon 5-stars)
* Geoff Waugh has written a very helpful devotional book about the Saviour of the world who is also the loving presence in believers. Having known Geoff for over sixty years I can testify that every word written proceeds from his own heart of love for Jesus and for all God’s children. Geoff has avoided trying to manufacture some theory or new twist to make the book more colourful. He has used Scripture as his main source and has been faithful to both the divinity and humanity of Jesus as expressed in the Gospels. His use of chronology for headings and the many sub-headings makes the book simpler to absorb, even for an enquirer or new believer. It reminds me a little of Leon Morris’s beautiful book The Lord from Heaven. I warmly commend this book. ~ Rev Dr Tony Cupit, Former Director of the Baptist World Alliance.
* The book is beautifully written and I have learned and understood a lot. I am recommending this book. ~ Kattie Mayson (Amazon 5-stars)
* I read your book last night. This is a great book. Thanks for writing this for all of us. ~ Nabeel Sharoon (Pakistan)

Facebook Links:
https://www.facebook.com/LifeofJesus.GeoffWaugh
https://www.facebook.com/HistorysGreatLoveStory

The Life of Jesus provides a brief overview of history’s great love story. It gives a summary of the birth and boyhood of Jesus and describes his ministry through three Passover Festivals.
The book includes a detailed chart of a chronology of Jesus’ life and ministry and examines why such a popular, loving, and compassionate young leader would encounter intense hostility and opposition causing his crucifixion.
The mystery and wonder deepen because his resurrection transformed his followers and millions of lives. We date our diaries and calendars from the time of his birth.

Preface [see below]
Introduction [see below]
1 Birth and Boyhood
2 Ministry Begins
3 First to Second Passover
4 Second to Third Passover
5 Passover to Pentecost
Conclusion
Discussion Questions [see below]
Appendix 1: Chronology Chart
Appendix 2: The Feast Days
Appendix 3: The Gospels
Appendix 4: Alternative Chronology
Appendix 5: The Shroud of Turin
Appendix 6: Publications

Model of Jerusalem in Jesus’ time

Preface

Why would such a good man who loved so profoundly and helped so many people be killed? Why did he provoke opposition?

If God walked among us in the person of his Son, why would people want to kill him? Why did so many vehemently oppose him?

That puzzled me as a boy. It still does.

The greatest love story the world has ever seen led to the excruciating death of crucifixion.

Many people have given their lives for other people as soldiers do in war. They die for others, defending home and country. But Jesus’ death was different. God’s Son chose to die for us because of his immense love for us. He took our place. His death gives us life. He is the perfect, sinless, eternal sacrifice for us. His blood cleanses us from all our sin as we trust in him. We are forgiven.

But why did so many good people, good religious people, hate him? That puzzled and fascinated me, so I explore that mystery in this book. I wanted to write a summary overview that people of all ages could read.

I always believed in Jesus. Even as a small boy I loved to hear and then read stories about him. He was so unique, so different. I believed his story as a boy and trusted in him. I still do and I hope you do too.

Jesus did what was good. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, set people free from addictions and evil, performed miracles, and even raised dead people. Huge crowds followed him and wanted him to be their king.

Now billions follow him, captivated by his love, the greatest love story of all. You can do that also. I invite you to simply pray something like this: Thank you Lord for all you’ve done. Forgive me for any wrong in my life. I trust in you and give my life to you.

Introduction

The year on our calendar or diary reminds us of when Jesus was born, approximately. We count the years from his arrival. So when you look at your diary or calendar you can be reminded again of Jesus.

They called him Yeshua (Joshua/Jesus) of Nazareth, the same name as Moses’ famous general who led God’s people into their Promised Land. Yeshua means God saves, or God is salvation.

That name comes to us in English through many translations from Yeshua or Y’shua in Hebrew and Aramaic, then translated into Iesous in Greek, then to IESVS in Latin and later as IESUS as printed in the first edition of the King James Bible in 1611. Later that century ‘J’ replaced the ‘I’ so the English name became Jesu (vocative) and Jesus (nominative) but eventually just Jesus in English. Other languages have translations such as Jesu, Yesu, and Isa.

English translations of the Bible used the name Jesus for Joshua/Jesus of Nazareth, and the name Joshua for others with that same name.[1] So in English, the name Jesus became unique and sacred for Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. The angel Gabriel announced his name before his birth to both Mary his mother and to Joseph who married Mary.[2] Gabriel explained that Yeshua (Joshua/Jesus) had that name because he would save his people from their sins.

The great love story had begun. Jesus came to save us and give us eternal life.

His followers recorded that story of his life and his love in the good news of the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The rest of the New Testament explores the mystery and wonder of that amazing life and love.

Scholars have a bewildering array of theories about the Bible and about who wrote what, and when, and where, and why. I’m content to run with traditional explanations that have been used throughout most of history.

Jesus’ unique and wonderful life, his brutal death for us, and his powerful resurrection, all reveal his and God’s eternal love for us all. You could pause and thank him right now even as you read this.

John’s Gospel emphasizes God’s eternal love revealed in Jesus. It includes the most famous passage in the Bible:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17, NKJV).

That love, powerfully shown on the cross, has transformed billions of lives, restoring believers to an intimate and eternal relationship with God and with others.

Three physical metaphors help me to be constantly aware of, and grateful for, God’s presence with us always:

(1) Light surrounds you. By it you can read this. The sun always shines, even when it’s hidden from us. Light shines around us though we may be unaware of it. God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. We can live in his light.

(2) Blood pumps through your body right now, cleansing and healing. We may be unaware of it until reactions like alarm alert us to our beating heart. Jesus’ blood cleanses from all sin, always. We can trust him for he is with us.

(3) We may breathe without being aware of it, or we can be aware and take deep breaths, as you may have done just now! Breath purifies our lungs and body. God is Spirit and like breath or fresh breeze, he can purify us.

May the light of God’s love breathe life in you right now.

We’ve been made in God’s image to have an eternal, loving relationship with him that even transcends death. We can know and experience God’s unconditional love no matter how far we stray from him. Those who stray most are often the most grateful for his forgiveness and love. We all stray in many ways and we all need forgiveness and we can and should be truly grateful.

God knows and loves us as we are. That makes praying or talking to him easy because he already knows our failures and struggles and welcomes us just as we are. The more honestly we come to him the more he can transform us.

If we have trouble believing we can at least say, “God, if you’re there, help me.”

Some thoughts may get in the way when we pray or want to talk to God. Just give him those thoughts. He already knows all about it and loves us as we are.

If we reject God’s love and mercy by ignoring him and going our own way, we condemn ourselves to eternal darkness away from his light and love.

If we accept his love and forgiveness by believing in him, by trusting him, he gives us life, his eternal life. That makes us new. We are transformed.

Vast numbers of people worldwide of all faiths, and of none, have prayed the prayer in the popular hymn by Charlotte Elliot, ‘Just as I am’ which includes these adapted verses:

Just as I am, without one plea
But that Your blood was shed for me
And that You bid me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fighting and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

God welcomes us and we can all pray that prayer. A title for Jesus, as in that song, is the sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away our sin.

The Life of Jesus is a vast topic with millions of books written about it. I hope my small contribution gives you a helpful overview. I quote from the New Revised Standard Version unless indicated otherwise, and include many footnotes that you can explore to discover more.

Best of all, of course, are the inspired Gospels now in over 700 different languages in Bible translations and a further 3,500 languages have Bible portions, especially the Gospels. Read and respond to those Gospels.

[1] Iesous (Yeshua) is translated as Joshua in these verses: Luke 3:29; Acts 7:45; Hebrews 4:8.

[2] Luke 1:31; Matthew 1:21.

Start of Chapter 1

It began at the beginning, this great love story, for “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”[1]

Why did he do that? For us.

He did it for you. He loved you so much he created you to know and enjoy him now as you read this, and forever. He offers you intimate, infinite love. He created you through the wondrous union of your parents’ ecstasy.

He made the earth for us to inhabit and care for and rule. He made the heavens (plural) for us to inherit, the physical firmament and also the realms of vast, eternal glory prepared especially for us.[2]

He created us free to accept or reject his astounding love. Sadly we went our own way. We all, like sheep, went astray. We all turned to our own way. So God laid on his Servant, his Son, all our iniquity.[3] God saves us through his Son in their great love for us all. You could pause and thank him now as you read this.

In the beginning, Adam and Eve enjoyed intimate, unashamed relationship with God and each other. Then, like us, they believed lies and went their own way, losing Paradise. But God still blessed and sustained them and their descendants who chose to love him and live for him. Sadly only a few did.

Noah and his family loved and obeyed God and he rescued them from the great flood. People ridiculed him for obeying God and building a huge boat on dry ground – not even in a dry dock. The rainbow became the sign of God’s covenant to Noah and his descendants including us.

Abram, a wealthy sheik from the wide fertile Tigris and Euphrates valleys in western Asia, north-west of the Arabian Peninsula (now Iraq), loved and obeyed God. Renamed Abraham (God’s friend) he journeyed to the Promised Land, now called Israel, from the name given to his grandson who wrestled with an angel or with the Lord.[4] Circumcision became the covenant sign for them and for their descendants through whom God would provide his salvation for us all.

Abraham and his descendants walked that verdant Promised Land, as did Jesus and his followers. So did our family for a month in December-January, 1981-82.[5]

[1] Genesis 1:1.

[2] John 14:1-6; 1 Corinthians 2:9.

[3] Isaiah 53:6. See Isaiah 52:13-53:12, the fourth Servant Song, along with Isaiah 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-7.

[4] Genesis 17:5; 32:28; 35:9-10.

[5] See Exploring Israel in General Books and Biography on renewaljournal.com

Conclusion

The life of Jesus is history’s great love story. The overview in this brief book points you to the great good news of who Jesus is and what he did. That story is told best in the Bible, God’s inspired word.

I hope this brief commentary points you again to that God-breathed living word. It gave me fresh insights as I researched the harmonized story of these gospels.

Many writers discuss the popular five love languages: affirmation, service, gifts, time, and touch. Jesus demonstrated all these in various ways.

He affirmed and admired faith, especially faith in him for healing and help.
He served daily and showed it dramatically by washing his disciples’ feet.
He gave his life for us and ultimately he gives eternal life to all who believe.
His three years of quality time with his followers prepared them to serve.
His touch brought physical and spiritual healing and freedom to multitudes.

I love the way John summed up the reason for writing his Gospel: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31)

That is my prayer for you, my reader. Here is my echoing sonnet, penned over fifty years ago.

Sin stalks the soul, and permeates the whole
Of life lived here where we, while bound by fear,
Hunt far and near for freedom to appear
From pole to pole with our minds in control.
That worthy goal seems mockery. Sin stole
Our freedom dear, left pain and woe to sear
Each life, a mere heartache, or sob, or tear,
Like a lost mole, blind, dirty in its hole.
God’s love stepped in to fight and conquer sin
Through Christ who bled and died and rose as Head
Supreme of all who claim Him Lord. Our fall,
Clamour and din may end in Him. We win
Release from dread, freedom, life from the dead,
Unbound from gall, in answer to His call.

Discussion Questions (for use in groups)

Chapter 1: Birth and Boyhood
1. What is one of your favourite Christmas carols and why?
2. What surprises you most about the Christmas story?
3. What challenges you about the boyhood and youth of Jesus?
What would you like people to pray about for you?

Chapter 2: Ministry Begins
1. Why do you think Jesus’ public ministry began after his baptism?
2. What puzzles you most about Jesus’ ministry? (eg casting out spirits)
3. What challenges you about being a disciple of Jesus?
What prayer would you appreciate receiving?

Chapter 3: First to Second Passovers
1. Why do you think John 3:16 is so popular and well known?
2. Who can you identify with in Jesus’ early ministry (eg Nicodemus, Samaritan woman, disciples, religious leaders)
3. What do you think challenged Jesus’ disciples?
What prayer would encourage you just now?

Chapter 4: Second to Third Passovers
1. What impresses you most about Jesus?
2. What challenges you most about Jesus?
3. What surprises you most about Jesus?
What prayer would help you just now?

Chapter 5: Passover to Pentecost
1. What shocks you most about the crucifixion?
2. What helps or challenges you about Jesus’ death and resurrection?
3. What interests you most about the Holy Spirit?
What prayer support would you like now?

Map in the book

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Reaching an entire village from your desk

by Geoff 1 July 2022 No Comments

Reaching an entire village from your desk

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Reaching an entire village from your desk
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“What if you could reach an entire village with the Gospel… from your desk? This is what happened to our teammate, Amin,” reports German church planter Jürgen Kramer, who ministers in Hamburg among refugees from Syria and Iraq.

During the lockdowns in Hamburg, Amin asked God: “What should I do? I’m at home and not allowed to go out. How do I reach people with the Gospel?” The answer came quickly with a phone call from a Yazidi friend in Northern Iraq. This friend shared how they were struggling against evil spirits. Black magic is unfortunately part of Yazidi culture, and many Yazidi have also been traumatised by ISIS.

“I prayed that God would release them and bring them freedom from these spirits,” Amin said. I urged my friend: ‘Please accept Jesus in your life, and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and be with you forever.’ My friend agreed, and I told him: ‘If you don’t connect with God every day, those evil spirits will be back, and they will be even more powerful.’ After this conversation, my friend in northern Iraq decided he wanted to study the Bible together with me. He also invited a friend and their two sisters. God had answered my prayer.”

‘The two sisters went from house to house to share Jesus’

“For 4 months, we spent 3 hours every day reading and studying the Bible together. We also prayed, and I encouraged them to share Jesus with their friends in the university. During this time, we also decided to fast and pray that the glory of God would go from house to house among the Yazidi people. We would skip one meal each day for 10 days and spend that time in prayer. We would pray that each person in this community would know and experience the true love of God.”

“Two or three months after we completed this Bible study, I started receiving good news from my friends there. The two sisters had been going from house to house to share Jesus in their Yazidi community. I got to know more and more new believers who had learned of Jesus from these two women. When the sisters encountered someone who had questions they couldn’t answer, they would direct them to me, and we would search the Bible together for answers.”

As a result, there is now a vibrant Yazidi house church planted in this community, and more and more Yazidis are coming to know the love of Jesus Christ. This house church has formed a couple of teams that go out and visit villages and camps. “Please join us in praying that this Yazidi church will continue to grow!” Amin asks.

Source: Jürgen Kramer, All Nations Hamburg

Joel News # 1264, June 28, 2022

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Free PDF books by Geoff – updated

by Geoff 28 May 2022 No Comments

Free PDF books by Geoff – updated

Also available in eBook, paperback, hardcover on Amazon

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