Articles for tag: Bible Teaching

October 20, 2012

Christian Standard

YouTube for YouTeaching: Resources for Bible Teaching (Part 3)

By Joseph C. Grana The venues of media are mind-boggling, mind-numbing, and virtually limitless. At our fingertips is a virtual world filled with lessons and illustrations to assist our preaching and teaching. I have chosen to briefly discuss the use of YouTube, which I find to be educational and entertaining. My students are usually riveted to the relatively short videos available on a myriad of topics. Name a topic””you will find it on YouTube. The quality may not be the best because many presentations are produced at home. The advantage is that the topic is seen as well as heard. And in

October 19, 2012

Christian Standard

My Two-Pronged Strategy: Resources for Bible Teaching (Part 2)

By Bert Crabbe It”s a widely held maxim among students of church growth that churches tend to rise and fall on their preaching. While it”s not the only important thing, it seems evident a church can get a lot of things wrong and still thrive if the preaching is good. Conversely, a church can do everything else right and still fail if the preaching is bad. So how do preachers keep coming up with great ideas? Assuming the preacher is already spending regular time in God”s Word, I think a two-pronged strategy works best. First, read WIDELY. Begin with periodicals.

October 19, 2012

Christian Standard

The Web World I Travel: Resources for Bible Teaching (Part 1)

By Greg Lee I preach . . . so the Internet has become a great friend of mine. Yes, it”s fraught with potential pitfalls. You should avoid wasting time there viewing bad content or downloading a full sermon as a “Saturday Night Special.” But the web at its best is a place I use for the following:   Living in the Present Throw away your shoebox of news clippings set aside as illustrations you might use someday. Isn”t it almost always better to have an example from last Tuesday instead of 1998? No shockers here: cnn.com,news.google.com, people.com, espn.com, and the website for a local

July 9, 2012

Christian Standard

Christian Standard Is Becoming a Monthly!

Nation’s longest-running Protestant weekly magazine strengthens mission, moves to monthly format CINCINNATI ““ July 6, 2012 — After 146 years, Christian Standard magazine, believed to be the nation”s oldest Protestant weekly in continuous publication, will move to a monthly schedule starting in September 2012. The Christian Standard has been continuously published since its first weekly issue rolled off printing presses on April 7, 1866.  It has produced issues every single week for 146 years, except for two weeks in 1937 when a flood put its presses underwater. Most of the time when a publication announces a change, it shuts down

March 12, 2011

Christian Standard

A Dangerous Book

By Pat Magness “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27, King James Version). I don”t recall ever hearing a sermon on this verse. It doesn”t get read at weddings, funerals, ordinations, or baptisms. It probably isn”t on anyone”s top-10 list of best-loved Scripture passages; yet this little verse once turned my life upside down and has affected me ever since. Isn”t it strange how a verse that has always been there, quietly unobtrusive in its place, suddenly

January 25, 2011

Christian Standard

Proclaiming More than Meditating

By Mark A. Taylor After we had settled on the theme for our yearlong emphasis on the Bible, someone suggested a variation that almost made us reconsider. Instead of “The Bible: Lift it up. Live it out,” he proposed “The Bible: Let it in. Live it out.” “Scripture says far more about meditating on God”s Word than defending it,” he said. By the time he wrote, we had already made our decision, commissioned a logo, and finished our plans. Would we have chosen “Let it in” over “Lift it up” if we had thought of it sooner? Maybe. But, really,

January 6, 2011

Christian Standard

What to Call Our Year of the Bible?

By Mark A. Taylor What better time than 2011 to focus on the Bible? This year marks the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible, and in Christian Standard we”ll be lifting up the Bible all year long. This week”s special articles are the first of many about everything from how we got the Bible to how we teach it. Friends and advisers””our contributing editors as well as colleagues here at Standard Publishing””gave us dozens of ideas for the year. But even with all their excellent input, we couldn”t agree on what to call our year of

June 6, 2010

Christian Standard

Five Ingredients Sir Winston Churchill Used in Every Speech

By Max R. Hickerson A glance at The Sir Winston Method by James Humes gives us an insight into what made Churchill a compelling speaker. Churchill”s approach can help every Bible teacher and preacher. The following outline, borrowed from the book, shows us how. 1. A STRONG BEGINNING Refuse to start your message, “It is a pleasure to be here to speak.” Invent your own quotable line. Start with a quotation or a question that provokes thought: “What would you do for a million dollars?”; “What is your favorite adventure story?”; “Which is more important to you, 9/11 or 11/9?” “A

January 20, 2010

Christian Standard

Don”t Let Us Forget

By Mark A. Taylor When I was a young parent, I cared a great deal about the children”s ministry at my church. Every week I asked my kids what they”d learned in their classes. I fretted over the issue of child care vs. Bible teaching for young children. I questioned whether lessons were appropriate for their ages. When I was a Christian education staff member at my church, I gave a great deal of attention to children”s ministry. I struggled to find enough workers, and the right workers. I labored over choices of curriculum. I tried to figure out how

October 14, 2009

Christian Standard

No Laughing Matter

By Mark A. Taylor Have you caught The Jay Leno Show, NBC”s new weeknight offering? It premiered September 14, a few days after this issue went to the printer, so this is no review of its content. But I couldn”t help thinking about the work the church does as I read about the work Leno did this summer to get ready for his new show. An August 21 Wall Street Journal piece pointed out that Leno”s move to 10 pm from 11:30 was a big risk for him as well as the network. Leno is trying something largely abandoned years

June 24, 2009

Christian Standard

The Baptism Bandwagon

By Mark A. Taylor As Jennifer Taylor indicated in her blog May 6, it”s easy to be cynical about bandwagons. But most of us will agree with her that it”s difficult to argue with the results of what may become a trend in Christian churches: spontaneous baptism weekends. So far we”ve heard about a half-dozen churches that have hosted these events. The preacher presents Bible teaching about baptism and then invites anyone in the crowd who hasn”t been baptized to come forward on the spot. The churches don”t make provision for changing rooms and robes. Those who respond are immersed

July 3, 2007

Christian Standard

Partnering to Grow Disciples

By Mark A. Taylor Randy Gariss believes not enough people today””inside or outside the church””look enough like Jesus (READ GARISS’S COLUMN). And he asks, isn”t that the hallmark of a disciple, to look like Jesus? And isn”t the church”s job to make disciples? In this week”s “Reflections,” he suggests we need to rethink our process for leading people to be more like Jesus. He offers three ingredients””knowledge, relationship, and service””in a simple recipe for disciple-making. I like what he says. I particularly resonate with his challenge to the church: Let”s shorten our list of activities, sharpen our focus on just

February 7, 2007

Mark A. Taylor

work from home

Now More Than Ever

As work shifts from offices to phones and kitchen tables, families face new pressures and new freedoms. This reflection urges Christian parents and leaders to keep biblical priorities, resist materialism, and protect godly parenting in any era.

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