gospel

Tactics – Book Recommendation

moremarsh1 Comment

There are a lot of great resources and books out there on Evangelism. But recently, I was incredibly encouraged reading the book Tactics by Greg Koukl. This is a resource every Christian should read, and I pray they are encouraged by the simplicity of sharing the gospel with others.

What I particularly enjoyed about this book was the way Koukl talked about sharing the gospel. Very quickly, he removed the pressure of sharing the gospel yet made a compelling argument to simply “put a rock in someone’s shoe.” The premise of his tactic in sharing the gospel is simply to ask good questions and get people thinking more deeply about spiritual things than they have previously.

“When I talk with people about spiritual matters, I’m not looking to close the deal with them. I’m just looking to do a little gardening in their lives. That’s all. I want to get them thinking. If I can do that, then I’m satisfied, since I know they are ultimately in God’s hands.”

Koukl, Loc 211

It can be easy to quickly get overwhelmed with the idea of sharing the gospel, especially if you have never done this before. Maybe you have been following Jesus for a while and yet you have not shared the gospel before. Maybe there is some fear you are holding on to that is preventing you from sharing with your family or co-workers or friends. That is normal but it is also a scheme of the enemy. What I love about this book is the encouragement that Koukl gives to believers to simply have a conversation. He reminds Christians that “if anyone in the discussion gets mad, you lose” (Loc 461). His goal is never to “win someone to Christ” but rather to engage in conversation.

Koukl also gives a few really simple and basic questions for Christians to ask when they are talking to others about the claims of Christ or the beliefs of Christians. Questions are a really valuable tool to use because they provide extra time and clarity in your conversation. One great question to ask is, “What do you mean by that?” This allows the other person to provide clarity in their argument and helps you understand where they are coming from. The second is, “How did you come to that conclusion?” This will help you understand why they believe what they believe and allows them to evaluate this as well.

It is clear that Koukl has a lot of wisdom and knowledge in how to have helpful discussions with non-believers and he offers a myriad of questions and tactics to practice as you share the gospel. I have tried to highlight a few of my key takeaways from this book here, but again, I highly recommend this book to all believers. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the simplicity of his tactics, the ease of sharing, and the overall tone of his book. And I pray that this book encourages you to step out and share the gospel, not from a place of shame or disappointment for not doing this in the past, but rather from a heart of excitement and eagerness for others to truly hear about the grace and love of Jesus! “At the end of the day, a person’s deep-seated rebellion against God is a problem only a supernatural solution can fix” (Loc 3114).

Buy it HERE on Amazon!

Hope in the Darkness.

moremarsh1 Comment

Frozen 2 may be one of my all time favorite movies. Cinderella (the real-life version) and Princess Bride definitely make my top three, but I think Frozen 2 is in my top 10 at least!

One of my favorite aspects of this movie is when Anna is in the cave, all alone. (Spoiler alert! But honestly, if you haven’t seen it by now, then you kind of deserve for this to be spoiled for you.) Elsa just pushed her away, both literally and figuratively, and then she froze. This causes Olaf to also evaporate and it seems like there is no hope left for her. It seems as if both Elsa and Olaf, her two favorite people, are gone forever.

Then she sings a song. And this song is why I love this move so much. It’s one of the few times you truly see a Disney character mourn, and mourn well. She sings a song called, ‘The Next Right Thing” and if you haven’t heard it, stop and listen to it now.

Here are the first few lyrics. Read through these slowly if you can.

“I’ve seen dark before, but not like this
This is cold, this is empty, this is numb
The life I knew is over, the lights are out
Hello, darkness, I’m ready to succumb
I follow you around, I always have
But you’ve gone to a place I cannot find
This grief has a gravity, it pulls me down
But a tiny voice whispers in my mind
You are lost, hope is gone
But you must go on.”

The Next Right Thing, Frozen 2

You see, Anna felt like there was no more hope, like everything in her life was over. She talks about this empty, dark, lonely feeling that many of us have truly experienced. And for many of us, this year has felt like this song… dark, heavy, weighty, difficult, lonely. She talks about how grief and sadness are pulling her down, so much that it’s hard to go on.

And then she says these words: “Hope is gone.” That is a strong statement. And this is a statement that may seem true according to the world.

But you see, as Christians, hope is not gone. We have hope, even in the darkness.

The season of Advent is a season of celebrating the coming of Jesus. This coming is promised from as early as Genesis 3:15. We are told that a Savior will come who will conquer Satan, sin, and death forever!

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

Genesis 3:15 (ESV)

But His coming didn’t happen for years and years and years.

God continued to give His people promises through people like Abraham, Moses, and David. These were promises that God had not forgotten His people and that He had a plan. Prophets reminded the people that Jesus was coming, yet the people continued to live in darkness. They turned to their own ways and ignored or forgot the sure promises of God.

Then, God was silent……….. for four hundred years. I would imagine they felt just like Anna did, without hope.

But then!!! God speaks. And He speaks by sending His very own Son, born as a human, in a small town in the Middle East. This Son’s name is Jesus and He is God with us. He is the fulfillment of every promise and prophecy spoken about from the beginning. He is the one who came to bring hope in the midst of darkness!

As you celebrate Advent this year with your friends and family, I pray that you will see that Jesus bring us hope even in the midst of darkness. Yes, there are hard things, difficulties, deaths, and times of hopelessness in our lives and in our world. We live in a really broken place full of disappointment and disaster. But, our hope is not gone. It has not left. And God has not forgotten His people.

Be reminded of that this season, and be filled with hope! Our God has come to dwell with us and redeem us from everything broken in our world. And one day, He will return to make everything right again and dwell with us forever! Look forward with HOPE this year, trusting in the sure promises of God!

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:3-4 (ESV)