Christian Book Notes

Introduction

Many are familiar with Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron thanks in large part to their television show, The Way of the Master.  You can find out when and where the show is aired here.   Many are also familiar with Ray Comfort’s books as well.  Today’s review is not going to be over a book per se.  Rather, we are going to look into the Basic Training Course offered by Living Waters Ministries.

Contents

For $99, you will receive

• 8 lessons on 4 DVDs
• 4-CD Kit containing the audio portion of the teaching
• 1 – 120-page Study Guide
• 1 – Quick Reference Card to help you remember what to say (you can order more of these to give away to students)
• 300 – “Icebreakers” (tracts) to get you started in witnessing conversations (3 sets of 100)
• Advertising materials for your church
• Printable Certificate of Achievement for those who complete the Basic Training Course

The DVD lessons are to be used for the 8-week course and are based on the television show in addition to teaching points and commentary by both Comfort and Cameron.  The Audio CDs are perfect for a refresher course or for the one who wants to attend your church’s course but is unable.  To my knowledge these are not to be duplicated without written consent but can be purchased separately.

The Study Guide doubles as the leaders guide as well as the student’s guide.  Each lesson offers a step by step guide to the nightly lesson.  Throughout each evening you will share your experiences and have a “point to ponder” where you will be challenged to think critically.  Next, you will watch the video in segments mixed in with some application of the principles being taught.  The work is not finished when you leave the church, however.

When you get home, you will have some preparation work that will lead into the real world application.  The week’s lesson will conclude with a deeper study where the student will engage Scripture on matters of evangelism and the like.  Furthermore, the student will be challenged to live out what is being taught…especially as the teachings grow into

convictions and then into a lifestyle.

Perhaps the funnest part of the course is the use of the different tracts.  Included in the Basic Training kit are the IQ Test, the Million Dollar Bill and the red and blue optical illusion tracts.  You can purchase the various tracts for a very inexpensive price though they do vary.  Check out their expansive selection here.

Review

How do you review an evangelism training course?  By the Bible, of course!  I have gone through a couple evangelism courses since becoming a Christian and most, if not all of them, left me feeling like an Am-way Sales man with a Gospel tract.  It is my estimation that The Way of the Master Basic Training Course (I took this 6 years ago) made evangelism more of a life style than a program.  The beauty of this particular course is that while you do have a “script” so to speak, you are not tied to it.  You will learn basic Biblical principles and general questioning that will lead you directly into a solid gospel presentation.

Furthermore, the gospel tracts are such that you can freely give them away and people will take them because of their novelty.  Personally, I tend to leave the Ticket to Heaven at the gas pump whenever I get gas.  I also like to leave the million and billion dollar bills whenever I leave a decent tip at the restaurant.  Also, you will find that these gospel tracts are biblical in their approach of sharing the gospel in a short and succinct manner.  Basically, you have transgressed the Law of the Holy God who is your Judge and the only way to be saved from His judgement is to repent and ask for forgiveness and put your trust in Christ alone.  You share the gospel (the means by which the elect are saved) and the Holy Spirit convicts of sin.  Christ then draws to Himself those who repent.

Recommendation

If you are looking for a training course for you home or small group, your Sunday School class or your church, you would do well to consider The Way of the Master Basic Training Course.  This is not your run of the mill evangelism program training course.  Rather, taking this course and applying the principles learned will make evangelism a life style.    Furthermore, evangelism is no longer a salesman approach.  For those who are homschooling, this would also make for an excellent course for your older students–it could, I think, slot into a social studies course or something as well.  I cannot think of another short evangelism training course that I would want to lead others through.  I highly recommend using The Way of the Master Basic Training Course.

Gather the Family: Open the Word.  Awaken the Worship.  Franklin: Franklin Springs Media, 2011.  43 minutes (plus 30 minutes bonus footage).  $18.95.  Purchase here.

January is Family Worship Month.  With the movie Courageous having an impact on men (see my thoughts here), now is the time to take that next step and begin taking leadership spiritually and otherwise in your own home.  You can find out more about Family Worship Month at the website dedicated to helping Christians develop family worship.  Furthermore, you can sign the Family Worship Declaration as well.

Introduction

Family Worship has been gaining steam in recent years and for that I am grateful.  I have reviewed numerous resources here that would make great aids to family worship.  Now, we have a video that will be a great aid to starting a culture of family worship in your own church and home.  Gather the Family is a practical video guide to showing how to start family worship.  You can learn more about this movement at Family Worship Resources.

You can read another review by a guy who reviews documentaries here.

Summary

This documentary, hosted by Adam Black, introduces the concept of family worship in a wide-variety of settings.  With R.C. Sproul Jr., Mark Holden, and Kevin Swanson offering their comments, the theological foundation for family worship is well established.  Interspersed through out the documentary are seven different families, at various places in life, who all practice family worship.  You will find a family with an infant, a single-parent family, a large family of children (all 6 and under!) a former Major League Baseball player.

Throughout the video you will find that there are various methods and styles of family worship.  Each method or style, however, has three particular features in common.  They are prayer, Scripture reading, and singing.  Not always in that order.  The 30 minutes of bonus footage offers more commentary as well as a deeper look at one family’s method of family worship.

Review

Let me begin by stating that this documentary is extraordinarily well done.  Watching it just once you will be challenged and encouraged to begin (or continue) family worship in your home.  Regardless of where you are as a family, you can begin family worship and this video will show you how.  If there is a father in the home, he will be challenged to be the leader in this endeavor.

The narrator does a great job of introducing and concluding the clips of the different families.  The reality that family worship is pouring a solid biblical foundation into the lives of the children as well as being a major aid to the parents is prevalent throughout the DVD.  Ultimately, the argument is made, and I believe sustained, that family worship is essential to transforming one’s life as well as the the surrounding culture.

There is one criticism I personally had with the documentary.  While I heard mention of the gospel as being part and parcel of family worship, I personally believe the gospel to be the main reason in which we should do family worship.  As Christian parents, we are the front-line in the spiritual war over the souls of our children.  Family worship gives us the opportunity to be intentional with that gospel message each and every day.  Even after becoming a believer (Lord willing) we all still need the gospel.

One other comment I would like to add is that when practicing family worship, we make sure that we do not inadvertently misplace our faith.  While we are to be biblically saturated and our worship is to be founded on the Word of God, we must be careful that we do not worship the Bible (as Muslims do the Koran).   Those involved in this documentary did not say this or even give lead to this.  It is simply something I have noticed in others as they discuss their own family’s worship practices in the home.  All I am saying is be careful that your worship is Christ centered and founded on the Scriptures and that it does not drift toward worship of the Bible.

In the end, Gather the Family does a superb job of equipping all families to gather around the Bible at some point in their day to worship God.  I appreciated the wide range of families they showed who engage daily in family worship.  The numerous instances of family worship will show that while it is easy to start and continue family worship, it is also the hardest thing you will ever do!

Family Worship Resources

As I said above, I am really excited about this resource.  I would like to spend some time here highlighting their website.  Family Worship Resources is, in my estimation, going to become your one-stop shop for all things family worship.  First, they have a community where you can upload videos of your family doing family worship.  You can also find a link to Kevin Swanson interviewing Donald S. Whitney on the practice of family worship.  There are numerous resources available as well through the website.

As this movement gains traction, I expect this website to grow in both content and practical resources.

Recommendation

If you are a pastor, this resource needs to be in your library.  This resource will be instrumental in recovering the lost discipline of family worship.  Youth pastors and children’s ministers ought to become familiar with this DVD as often times they are the inroads into the family.  Gather the Family would make a great premarital counseling session as well.  In essence, I highly, highly recommend this resource to everyone!

Introduction

This is not a book review per se.  I have watched the movie below and I ask that you watch it as well.  Sadly, the rhetoric that has been all over the Internet has shown the hatred so many have for Christians as well as those who are truly pro-life (as opposed to be only pro-life “personally”).  I am not asking for heated rhetoric and will not tolerate any here.  I do ask those who are Christian who do view this movie to share the movie with your friends through your various social media connections.  If you decide to engage in conversation regarding this 33 minute documentary, I ask that you remain respectful of other opinions and when/if fighting for the gospel, please remember the grace and mercy shown to you by Christ when you were an unrepentant sinner.  You can also check out their efforts for those who are Pro-Choice here.

Quotes

Many have weighed in on this movie.  Below are few choice quotes from those who have seen the movie.

• “I confess, I have committed 7 murders! GOD forgive me, I will never NEVER AGAIN trivialize abortion. NEVER again will I agree with the lie.”
• “From someone that been Pro-choice this video changed my view on life completely.” Jerry
• “Today I watched the movie for the second time and the gravity of what I did 14 years ago brought me to sobs.” Penny Hunter
• “I’ve had multiple abortions and I’ve heard abortion compared to the Holocaust before. But, I’ve never understood why…This video has been popping up all over Facebook. I finally clicked on the link. I am a history buff with a passion for WW2. My attention was immediately grabbed. As soon as the switch to abortion began I wanted to stop watching, but I couldn’t. Part of me needed to keep watching. I don’t know what to do with this information, but I think it is changing the way I view these things. I might need to watch it again. That’s something I never thought I’d say.” Candice
• “This movie has changed my heart! I stopped after the movie and just repented [to] God for my forgiveness.” Jamee

“180” has been commended by John Piper, Kay Arthur, Joni Eareckson Tada, Kirk Cameron, Francis Chan, and a host of other high profile leaders. Mark Hall (Casting Crown’s lead singer) said, “This short documentary has totally rocked my world this week. PLEASE check it out…I dare you to watch 180.”

My Thoughts

My initial thought is that this is a compelling documentary.  The parallels made throughout the movie are valid and true.  There is no other issue that I can think of that ratchets up the rhetoric as does the issue of abortion.  Ray Comfort, of Way of the Master fame, is in his element doing street interviews and evangelism.  Watching this video will certainly equip the Christian and those who are pro-life to have a calm and calculated conversation with those who are pro-choice (see, pro-abortion).

My critic’s thought is that we do not know how many men and women Ray interviewed to put together this documentary.  That is important to remember because I do not want people to go away thinking that 180 is the silver bullet in the abortion debate.  Rather, it is a logical conversation that shows the inconsistencies in our thoughts and if you (or I) were to take a hard look at our own thought life, we would find that we, too, have inconsistencies.  Ultimately, this is a gospel issue and Ray painstakingly shows that throughout this video as it builds to its crescendo.

I recommend that regardless of where you fall on the issue of abortion, you watch this video.  Pastors, think about showing it to your congregation.  Youth pastors, you will definitely want to show it to your youth after showing it to their parents.

More Information

If you want more information you can visit the webpage, 180Movie.com, where there is a host of information as well as a forum for conversation.  You can like the Fan Page on Facebook.  You can follow on Twitter as well.

Max Lucado’s Hermie & Friends: A Bug Collection Volume 3.  Nashville: Tommy Nelson, 2010.  $19.99.  Purchase at Amazon for $17.99 or less.

Introduction

Hermie and Wormie have become to beloved characters in the world of Christian cartoons for children.  Max Lucado is the man behind the stories, but the voices of the characters may be more well known.  Originally, Don Knotts was the voice of Wormie, the best friend to Hermie, voiced by Tim Conway.  Today, John Causby is the voice of Wormie.  Melissa Disney, who has voiced numerous characters also has a significant amount of characters n this collection.

Summary

This DVD set includes three videos about 30 minutes in length each.  The first video is “Milo the Mantis who Wouldn’t Pray.”  This cartoon teaches children that God does hear your prayers and the prayers of others.  Granted, He does not answer your prayers the way you think He should, but He does answer them.

The second video is entitled “Buzby and Grumble Bees.”  Buzby, the spelling bee, finds his friends helping him to teach his niece and nephew the importance of behaving properly.  What if everyone misbehaved the way they do?  They will soon find out.

“Hailey and Bailey’s Silly Fight” is the third DVD in the collection.  In this movie, the children will be taught the importance of getting along with one another.  Fighting over silliness could ruin the good things they want to do for others.

Review/Recommendation

My children really enjoy these DVDs.  They run around singing the “Bee-have in the Bee-hive” song all the time.  When asked which short video  they would like to watch, they usually ask for Hermie.  These DVDs are great to settle the kids down and to teach them eternal truths.  Still, you need to circumvent the moralistic nature portrayed by most Christian resources for children.  You can purchase these on Amazon for less than 50% off if you include the shipping and handling charges.  You will not regret allowing your children to watch these DVDs over and over again.