Category Archives: Gospel

Life Changing Moment @ Catalyst ’09

If you went to Catalyst Conference this year or know someone who did, you heard about the “Jimmy story”.
Jimmy Wambua reading the letter of his Compassion sponsor at Catalyst.
Jimmy was a sponsored child through Compassion International years ago, and he is now studying at Moody Bible Institute. He plans to be a missionary and wants to be a blessing to people in his country in the same way that he was blessed through Compassion.

Jimmy told his story on the main stage at Catalyst. I sat there and listened to the details of how he lost his family members one by one, many to starvation. His mother found out about Compassion, and eventually, Jimmy was sponsored by a man from Canada. He pulled out a letter from the man and read it to the crowd. He talked about how that letter pointed to Christ and that eventually it was one of the components God used to draw him to salvation. Jimmy was grateful to that man. His simple monthly gift changed Jimmy’s life forever.

Up until this point, Jimmy never met his sponsor. The guys at Catalyst changed all that… The video below is the surprise moment that emotionally and spiritually ROCKED everyone in the auditorium. All of the CPC staff guys were crying like babies – me included.

Why was it so emotional and powerful? Because it pointed to Jesus. It was a picture of heaven. So many people have gone before us and paved the way for our spiritual blessings, and we may never meet them on this side of glory.

This moment was a reminder to me that “I stand on the shoulders of giants”. I am extremely grateful for those giants – both the living and the dead. They’ve made me the man I am today. They were faithful to the gospel and they challenge me to do the same.

Watch the video. You’ll see Jimmy grasp the giant’s shoulders he’s been standing on for years. (Jimmy starts his story at around 3 1/2 minutes into the video)

David Platt’s Message From The SBC Pastor’s Conference 2009

SBCEach year at the SBC annual meeting, there is a Pastor’s Conference designed to strengthen and encourage those who are in shepherding roles in local churches. I tremendously appreciate our denomination for bringing gifted men of God to the pulpit of the Pastor’s Conference. In fact, some of the most renowned preachers in the world have been keynotes at this event.

This year’s Pastor’s Conference had some fresh, new faces that represented the up-and-coming generation of SBC pastors. While I am a Southern Baptist – both in theology and in mission – I have had my concerns with the future of our denomination. But at this year’s annual meeting it became clear to me that God is not sleeping, and He is definitely raising up a new generation of passionate preachers, teachers, and missionaries.

DavidPlattDavid Platt, the senior pastor at The Church at Brook Hills is one of the leaders of this younger generation of gifted SBC pastors. He is only 30 years old, but he is wise beyond his years and commands attention – even from those twice his age. He was privileged to preach at one of the main sessions at the conference, and he left a profound impact on those in attendance.

What I appreciate about David Platt is his combination of confidence and humility in his preaching. He is convinced of the reliability of the text and not his ability as an orator. Sadly, the opposite is true with many pastors, but that is a different discussion for a different day. Back to the message he preached at the conference…

With the foundation of Hebrews 13:11, he began with a question that struck at the core of every pastor in the room: “Are we going to die in our religion or are we going to die in our devotion?” He then followed with a great explanation of the text and a fantastic charge on missions and evangelism.

I pray that, if you choose to watch this, you will ask that of yourselves as well.

UPDATE 07.10.09
I was requested by SBC Tapes to remove the video of David Platt’s PC sermon. Apparently, they have the copyright privileges to all of the videos from the SBC Annual Meeting. As soon as they have the copyrighted version finished and up on the web, I’ll add a link to the page. It’s worth watching.

Gospel Translations: A Resource That’s Making A Difference

logoEver meet someone from another country and wish you could give them Christian resources in their native tongue? Something that they could read and comprehend better than they could in English? Something that could make the gospel come alive in the language they think and dream in?

Look no further – Gospel Translations is here.

So what exactly is Gospel Translations?

It is a theologically sound, informative web-driven tool that has resources for sharing the Gospel, strengthening your walk with Christ, learning Biblical theology, and dozens of other topics. FREE OF CHARGE!

On their website, the founders of this organization say,

Gospel Translations is dedicated to making gospel-centered books and articles available to Christians all around the world for free. These books and articles are made available to us by Christian publishers, and are translated by teams of volunteers spread out all over the world.

The organization is still pretty new, but their heart is in the right place. Another quote from their website:

We’re still just getting started, but we hope what we have to offer so far helps to teach you about our great Savior, Jesus Christ, whose death on the cross has paid for all our sins and reconciled us to God.

Needless to say, it is one of the best kingdom-minded ideas I’ve seen in a long time. Here is a video that explains their services further:

This site can be especially helpful if you are planning a missions venture or actually preparing to be a missionary. But don’t write it off as just that.

There are millions of international citizens of the USA. We encounter people everyday that call another country their home. This website can be a huge bridge for the gospel with these people. I strongly encourage you to use it.

Next ConferenceYou can read the NEXT Conference webzine for a more detailed review of Gospel Translations here.

Visit the Gospel Translations website by clicking here.