SR Tip #1

Call it what you will – “witnessing,” “disciple making,” “soul winning,” “leading someone to Christ,” “Sharing Jesus.” Regardless of the term used, at the core of these words and phrases is a common element: spiritual reproduction (i.e., the divine addition of a believer[s] to God’s family through the testimony of another believer in God’s family). Indeed, there were times in the New Testament when God used current believers to witness and testify so that even more believers were added: Acts 2:47, Acts 6:7, Acts 8:35-40, Acts 10:44-45, Acts 11:24, Acts 16:31, 2 Cor. 5:11,20.

Acts isn’t the only book that records these encounters. Some of the best examples of spiritual reproduction are seen in the first chapter of John’s gospel, such as Andrew to Peter and Philip to Nathaniel. And there are at least seven observations about spiritual reproduction we can draw from John 1:35-51 that will help us in our own desire to be the best ambassador possible for Jesus.

Here’s the first of the observations (the remaining six will follow in the coming days), with the prayer that these tips will increase our effectiveness as his “witnesses” (Acts 1:8).  HINT: Read John 1:35-51 before watching the videos.

MIA

It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to realize I’ve been “missing in action,” at least from a blogging perspective. For those who have wondered what’s the reason behind my extended absence from the blogosphere, I offer the following pictures as evidence:

         
*New backyard landscaping to help with water flow . . .

       
*New tile floor in upstairs bathroom . . .

               
*New tile shower in downstairs bathroom . . . (with help from Tom Lamb)

*And a new roof over the patio! Whew!!

Yep, this was the summer of home projects, which brought a whole new meaning to the term “stay-cation.”