Photo of the Week

Be at rest, be at rest once more

O my soul, for the Lord has been good

Be at rest, be at rest once more

O my soul, o my soul

Be at rest once more

For the Lord has been good to you.

- from a song by Steve Green

Quote of the Week

"There are two things we cannot do alone. 

One is to be married and the other is to be a Christian."

- Paul Tournier

Photo of the Week

Come, let us search our ways and try;

Have they been just and right?

Is the great rule of equity

Our practice and delight?

Then may we raise our modest pray'r

To God, the just and kind;

May humbly cast on him our care,

And hope his grace to find.

- from a hymn by Isaac Watts

Quote of the Week

"The most holy and necessary practice in our spiritual life is the presence of God. That means finding constant pleasure in His divine company, speaking humbly and lovingly with him in all seasons, at every moment, without limiting the conversation in any way."

- Brother Lawrence

Church History: The Challenge of the Present Moment

(Click here for the church history series page)

Lecture audio: The Challenge of the Present Moment

(click here to listen or right-click to download)

Lecture Notes Outline

-        Challenges in “Post-Christian” Societies

o   Christianity amid the World Wars

-  Dietrich Bonhoeffer & Corrie ten Boom

o   Declines in church attendance in Europe & North America

-  A new wave of apologists: G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer

o   Evangelism in a post-Christian context

-  Billy Graham crusades & friendship evangelism

o   Christian Rights and Non-Christian Ideologies

-  Martin Luther King, Jr., and the civil rights movement

o   The Cold War & the Christian resurgence in eastern Europe

o   Assessing the present moment through a historical lens

-        Historical Turning Points in the Present Moment

o   Major milestones in Bible translation and unreached people groups

o   Flourishing of “kingdom movements” around the world

o   Growth of Christianity in Muslim-majority areas

o   Widespread persecution

o   Christianity in China

o   Christianity in America

Photo of the Week

The choicest gifts of the ancient mountains 

 and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills;

the best gifts of the earth and its fullness [...]:

Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, 

on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

- Deuteronomy 33:15-16

Quote of the Week

"Anything God has ever done, he can do now. Anything God has ever done anywhere, he can do here. Anything God has ever done for anyone, he can do for you."

- A. W. Tozer

Photo of the Week

Our eyes salvation see,

Prepared by grace divine;

How wide its splendors are diffused!

How bright its glories shine!

- from a hymn by Philip Doddridge

Quote of the Week

"If you want to learn something that will really help you, learn to see yourself as God sees you and not as you see yourself in the distorted mirror of your own self-importance."

- Thomas a Kempis

A Prayer from Charles Spurgeon

O Lord Jesus, we would bow at Thy feet, conscious of our utter inability to do anything without Thee, and in every favor which we are privileged to receive, we would adore Thy blessed name and acknowledge Thine unexhausted love. Amen.

Church History - Global Expansion of Christianity in the Twentieth Century

(Click here for the church history series page)

Lecture audio: Global Expansion in the 20th Century

(click here to listen or right-click to download)

Lecture Notes Outline

-        Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements

o   William Seymour & the Azusa Street Revival

o   Emphasis on ecstatic manifestations and gifts of the Spirit

o   The Charismatic Renewal movement

-        Ecumenism

o   Differing views on ecumenism from liberal and orthodox theologians

o   World Council of Churches

o   Catholic reforms in Vatican II

-        Global Expansion of Christianity

o   Rapid growth of churches in Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia

o   Rise of mission agencies focused on specific aspects: Bible translation, medical relief, humanitarian aid, theological training, unreached people groups, etc.

o   Mission dynamics shifting

§  From cross-cultural missionaries to indigenous mission movements

§  From majority-world countries as “receivers” to “senders”