Zondervan Blog

Small Group Videos Galore: Watch Over 50 Full Bible Study Sessions for Free

 

Have you ever watched a trailer for a movie, then watched the movie, only to realize the trailer collected all the best parts, or it told you nothing about the movie's real plot? While curriculum trailers aren't exactly like that, sometimes watching a two-minute trailer just won't tell you if you want to spend 4-12 weeks with the topic, or study, or author.

Watching the complete first session of the curriculum will give you a great indicator of what the rest of the sessions will be like. That's why we're making the first sessions of our video-based curriculum available for free on YouTube.

 

Today we have 50-plus full video sessions loaded on the playlist (zndr.vn/curriculumvideos). We will continue to add more until there's video available from every group study that Zondervan publishes.

Now you can watch full curriculum sessions from bestselling authors like...

• Andy Stanley (Watch "Really?" from Your Move)
• Anne Graham Lotz (Watch "He's Coming!" from Expecting to See Jesus)
• Bill Hybels (Watch "The Whisper-led Life" from The Power of a Whisper)
• Craig Groeschel (Watch "The God Kind of Weird" from WEIRD)
• Gary Thomas (Watch "God's Purpose of Marriage" from Sacred Marriage)
• Jim Cymbala (Watch "God's Heart for Us" from When God's People Pray)

 

• John Ortberg (Watch "Discovering the Spirit" from The Me I Want to Be)
  
• Mark Batterson (Watch "Becoming a Circle Maker" from The Circle Maker)
• Lysa TerKeurst (Watch "Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl...In My Heart"
• Margaret Feinberg (Watch "God Rising" from Pursuing God's Love)
• Max Lucado (Watch "When God's Story Becomes Yours" from God's Story, Your Story)
• and others

 

If you like what you see, you can visit Amazon, CBD.com, BN.com or your local retailer and get the DVD and Participant's Guides for yourself and your small group.

 

Tips for Small Group Members

1. Share the videos with your small group via Facebook to discuss what you might want to study.
2. Subscribe to the YouTube playlist (http://zndr.vn/curriculumvideos) because more videos are coming soon.
3. Most of all, enjoy!

 

- Chris Fann, Zondervan Curriculum Marketing

 

(This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's opinions are their own, and are shared for information purposes only. To receive new blogposts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

Re:Word Weekly (1.27.2012) - Women & the Man/Boy Problem, Hubbub over Evolution, More

 

Re:Word is our weekly roundup of useful, enriching and fascinating articles that regard words or the Word. This is where you readers, leaders, writers & creators can bring your hungry minds to roost. You'll probably make some new connections — not unlike the innovative spiders who are quickly redefining "web" in the trees below.

 

Image courtesy of National Geographic. I'm not making light of these conditions, caused by a flood in Sindh, Iran. Learn more in this Facebook post from the Earthian.

 

Stories from the Week

1. How women fuel the man/boy problem, a post on the Her.meneutics blog by Ruthie Dean (via @rickwarren)

 

2. Find out about low literacy in America. A lot of surprises in here. For example,

"Two-thirds of those who admitted having reading difficulties had never told their spouse; 19% had never told anyone."

(Article via @Contents. Contents Magazine is a delightful digital publication "devoted to content strategy, online publishing, and new-school editorial work.")

 

3. The church talks endlessly about family but is silent about our day jobs, says pastor & author Skye Jethani (@skye_jethani, author of The Divine Commodity). Is this why 20-somethings leave the church? Read It's Back to (a Theology of) Work We Go

 

4. For bloggers: 25 Reasons Google Hates Your Blog is a helpful summary on best practices for keywords, internal linking, and other aspects of search engine optimization (via @Problogger ).

 

5. Hubbub over Genesis, creation, and evolution!  A bookseller named Louis blogged about evolution, then received backlash from a well-known champion of creationism. Louis responds with grace and good sense as he sets the record straight in My Views on Evolution - A Reply to My Critics.

 

- Adam Forrest, Zondervan

 

(This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer shares these personal opinions for information purposes only. To receive new blogposts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

Grappling with Dark Spiritual Forces [Excerpt by Klyne Snodgrass]

 

(Excerpt from NIV Application Commentary: Ephesians [eBook] by Klyne Snodgrass.)

 

The Real Enemy

For our struggle is not against flesh & blood, but against the rulers... the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12

Our struggle is not with humans; they are not the enemy... The way we carry on our battles is the most eloquent witness to our faith.

[This is relevant] for the way Christians respond in arguments over social issues like abortion and homosexuality... If we act in unchristian ways in rejecting sin, what have we become? Violence cannot be used to achieve good. An ancient Jew put it well: "The person trying to do right by violence is like a eunuch desiring to seduce a young woman" (Ecclesiasticus 20:4). Whether absolute pacifism is an option in a sinful world is debatable, but that Christians must be people of peace is not... 

Should Christians fear the 'spiritual forces of evil'?

The threat of danger exists, but this enemy is defeated, is not in control, and is limited in power. [And] the armor God uses to defeat evil is given to us. Why should we fear? We should experience courage for living because the enemy has been defeated...

 

Image: The full armor of God (See Ephesians 6:13-20), from a Bible printed in 1800.

Evil as Booby-trap
[Evil] always looks like something good for us, but it does not ask about God or other people, and it does not ask about long term effects. In the process the boundaries and values by which God orders life are distorted.

The spiritual forces of evil in Ephesians are trap setters, seeking to delude us into shifting the boundaries. Some traps we recognize easily, for we see the paths to destruction worn down by previous captives. Other traps we hardly notice, for we have accepted the revaluing. In most cases our choice is not between obvious evil and something good but between two seemingly good and right options. As Walter Wink points out, Satan watches our inclinations and throws us to the side to which we are leaning... Evil traps us with the good, only slightly out of bounds. Each choice slightly out of bounds redraws the boundaries until nothing remains of God's intent. That is why evil is deceptive and why we need to be alert...

 

The way we carry on our battles is the most eloquent witness to our faith.

How can we defend against evil?
By focusing on evil we destroy ourselves; by focusing on God we find life and protection. God deserves our attention; evil does not. In asking us to put on the armor of God, the text directs our attention away from evil and to God and his purposes... Christians do not need to worry about evil, for they know how to pray. [See Philippians 4:6–7]

Learn More

Be alert, yes, but don't worry or fear. Prayer is the key ingredient in being strong and alert...

Learn more about NIV Application Commentary: Ephesians eBook

 

Question for Discussion: Do you sometimes feel like your real battle is with other people? How would you counsel someone who feels like this?

- Adam Forrest, Zondervan

(Images & some styling above are web-exclusive features not included in the text of NIVAC Ephesians eBook... Image attribution: By Phillip Medhurst (Photos by Harry Kossuth) [Public domain {{PD-1923}}], via Wikimedia CommonsThis post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's personal opinions are shared only for information purposes. To receive new Zondervan Blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

Can Telling the Truth Be Evil? [Excerpt by Lois Tverberg]

 

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(Excerpt from Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewish Words of Jesus Can Change Your Life by Lois Tverberg.)

 

Lashon Hara, aka Evil Tongue

What exactly is an "evil tongue"? [When the apostle Peter speaks of an "evil tongue" in 1 Peter 3:8-10, he's quoting Psalm 34:12–13.]

In Hebrew, lashon hara (lah-SHON ha-RAH) is the name that Judaism gives to all types of gossip, slander, and malicious speech...

 We all can see the wrongness of slander — telling lies about others. But believe it or not, we can also do great damage to others without lying. Lashon hara doesn't just include telling lies about others. In fact, this phrase is more commonly used to describe the practice of telling negative truths about others that are unnecessary and damaging.

 

Any sentence that starts with "She is a great person, but it's annoying when she..." is always going to end in lashon hara.

Lashon hara is recounting to your coworkers about how the boss messed up his presentation. It's pointing out to your wife how poorly the worship leader sings. It's complaining to your sister that your husband forgot your birthday yet again.

Any sentence that starts with "She's a great person, but it's annoying when she..." is always going to end in lashon hara. This habit tears down friendships, demeans others, and undermines trust... ["Sharing negative information is generally only permitted in situations where people may be adversely affected if they make a decision without it. For instance, if a friend is considering going into business with someone you know is dishonest." -From Lois's footnote.]

 

This sign in Jerusalem reads "Please no lashon hara." Image by Ranbar (cropped by Hidro) (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)...], via Wikimedia Commons.

 

If we genuinely care as much about others as ourselves, we will try to protect their reputations as much as we do our own.

We often justify our words with, "Well ... I didn't say anything untrue!" But the Golden Rule states that you shouldn't do to others what you wouldn't want done to you. If you'd be hurt and embarrassed by having your own flaws revealed, you shouldn’t share those of others.

 

Why do we gossip about others? One major reason for lashon hara is our desire to elevate ourselves by tearing others down. Paul has a solution to this problem: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others" (Philippians 2:3–4). If we genuinely care as much about others as ourselves, we will try to protect their reputations as much as we do our own.

 

Question for Discussion: When is it permissible to share information that would hurt someone's reputation? Leave your thoughts in a comment on this post.

 

Learn More

Learn more about Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus.
Follow Lois Tverberg on Twitter (@LoisTverberg)

- Adam Forrest, Zondervan

(Images & some styling above are web-exclusive features not included in the text of Walking in the Dust... This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's personal opinions are shared only for information purposes. To receive new Zondervan Blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

King Jesus, His Gospel, and Us: Recap of N.T. Wright's January Series Message

 

Yesterday the venerable N.T. Wright concluded the 2012 January Series of Calvin College with a message on Christ's kingship, and its import for the daily life of his followers. I couldn't attend the event, but Press reporter Matt Vande Bunte offers a pithy recap of Wright's presentation.

Image via MLive Media Group. View Original

In one of his more provocative points, Wright suggests that Christians inadvertently water down the gospel if they fixate on the death-and-resurrection part of the story. Here Vande Bunte quotes Wright:

 *While some [secular thinkers] downplay Christ's divinity [by imagining] Jesus as a great social worker "being kind to old ladies, small dogs and little children," orthodox Christianity "has not wanted Jesus to have a political message." Christians have turned off parts of the gospel, like turning down the volume on a song. But the biblical gospels must be listened to in symphony, "like a musical score that demands to be played."

*Heard in full sound, the gospels tell about the establishment of a theocracy, and portray what theocracy looks like with Jesus as king. The body of the texts – the parts between Jesus' birth and death – present "an entire agenda for renewed humanity. When God wants to reign, he doesn't send in the tanks. He sends in the meek, the broken-hearted, the crushed in spirit. We've all got it horribly wrong in all sorts of ways."

In other words, Wright says that to limit our gospel proclamation to the death-and-resurrection story would be like fast-forwarding through Handel's Messiah to the Hallelujah Chorus, then playing that part over, and over, and over again. As we limit our study and consumption of the gospel in this way, we truncate the gospel's power in our lives and in our world.

Wright's call to a more full, symphonic view of the gospel reminds me of Scot McKnight's latest book, The King Jesus Gospel, to which Wright actually contributed a foreword. You can read Wright's foreword in this excerpt of The King Jesus Gospel.

If you read Matt Van Bunte's full report of Wright's January Series appearance, I would be very interested in hearing your reaction to Wright's message. Leave your comments on this post.

 

Also of Interest

Learn More

1. Watch Session One from Wright's Surprised by Hope DVD Study. Discussed: The source of Christian hope; Jesus as king; the church as people of hope.

2. Watch N.T. Wright's presentation How God Became King at Moody Bible Institute in November 2011.

3. Interested in Scot McKnight's The King Jesus Gospel? Read this unconventional yet appropriate review,  Interview with a Christian Vampire. (Full disclosure: I wrote the review.)

4. Update 1/26/12 - Find comprehensive coverage & commentary on Wright's appearance in So, who's up for a little theocracy?, a fine blog post by Ben Irwin (@benirwin).

- Adam Forrest, Zondervan

 

(This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's opinions are their own, and are shared for information purposes only. To receive new blogposts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

A Prayer for the Grace to Serve [From "Common Prayer Pocket Edition"]

 

(Excerpt from Common Prayer Pocket Edition by Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove.)

A Prayer for the Grace to Serve

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It was your joy to serve.
Thank you for your service.
Show me where you want me to serve,
give me the ability to serve,
let me serve.
And make my heart pure toward everyone.

 

It was your joy to sacrifice.
Thank you for your sacrifice.
Show me what you want me to sacrifice,
give me the ability to sacrifice,
let me sacrifice.
And make my heart pure toward everyone.

 

It was your joy to suffer.
Thank you for your suffering.
Show me how you want me to suffer,
give me the ability to suffer,
let me suffer.
And make my heart pure toward everyone.

 

 Image: The San Damiano Cross. From Common Prayer Pocket Edition.

Learn more about Common Prayer Pocket Edition. "It's like the backup vocals" of  Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, write authors Claiborne & Wilson-Hartgrove.

I love Common Prayer and Common Prayer Pocket Edition. To me they feel ancient and refreshing — crack one open, and it's like finding cool, clean water in an old cistern.
- Adam Forrest, Zondervan

Visit the Common Prayer website at www.commonprayer.net

(This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's personal opinions are shared only for information purposes. To receive new Zondervan Blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

The Legend of the Circle Maker & History-making Prayer [Excerpt by Mark Batterson]

 

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(Excerpt from The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears by Mark Batterson.)

It was the first century BC, and a devastating drought threatened to destroy a generation — the generation before Jesus. The last of the Jewish prophets had died off nearly four centuries before. Miracles were such a distant memory that they seemed like a false memory. And God was nowhere to be heard. But there was one man, an eccentric sage who lived outside the walls of Jerusalem, who dared to pray anyway. His name was Honi. And even if the people could no longer hear God, he believed that God could still hear them...

With a six-foot staff in his hand, Honi began to turn like a math compass. His circular movement was rhythmical and methodical. Ninety degrees. One hundred eighty degrees. Two hundred seventy degrees. Three hundred sixty degrees. He never looked up as the crowd looked on. After what seemed like hours but had only been seconds, Honi stood inside the circle he had drawn. Then he dropped to his knees and raised his hands to heaven. With the authority of the prophet Elijah, who called down fire from heaven, Honi called down rain:

"Lord of the universe, I swear before Your great name that I will not move from this circle until You have shown mercy upon Your children."

 

History belongs to the intercessors. -Walter Wink

The words sent a shudder down the spines of all who were within earshot that day. It wasn't just the volume of his voice; it was the authority of his tone. Not a hint of doubt. This prayer didn't originate in the vocal chords. Like water from an artesian well, the words flowed from the depth of his soul. His prayer was resolute yet humble, confident yet meek, expectant yet unassuming.

Then it happened.

As his prayer ascended to the heavens, raindrops descended to the earth. An audible gasp swept across the thousands of congregants who had encircled Honi...

 

It began to rain calmly, peacefully. Each raindrop was a tangible token of God's grace. And they didn't just soak the skin; they soaked the spirit with faith. It had been difficult to believe the day before the day. The day after the day, it was impossible not to believe.

Eventually, the dirt turned into mud and back into dirt again. After quenching their thirst, the crowd dispersed. And the rainmaker returned to his humble hovel on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Life returned to normal, but the legend of the circle maker had been born...

 

Image by Chris Sampson (051111-050 CPS Uploaded by Ultra7) [CC-BY-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

 

[History-making Prayer]

[Honi] knelt down in the circle he had drawn. And that's all it takes to change the course of His-story. In the words of theologian Walter Wink, "History belongs to the intercessors." ...

 

Never underestimate the power of one prayer circle... When you draw a circle and drop to your knees [it] changes the forecast of your life. It's always cloudy with a chance of quail.

 

You can't fell a fifty-foot wall, but you can march around Jericho... You can't make it rain, but you can draw a circle in the sand.

 

When you draw a circle and drop to your knees... it's always cloudy with a chance of quail.

Don't let what you cannot do keep you from doing what you can. Draw the circle. Don't let who you are not keep you from being who you are. You are a circle maker.

 

Don't attempt this by yourself. Israel had an army. You need to invite others into your prayer circle. Together you will form a prayer circle. And when two or three agree in prayer, double circling their God-ordained dreams, all bets are off.

 

 

Learn More

Learn more about The Circle Maker.

 

Follow Mark Batterson on Twitter (@MarkBatterson)

 

(*Images above are web-exclusive features and are not included in the text of The Circle Maker... This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's personal opinions are shared only for information purposes. To receive new Zondervan Blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

 

When We Don't Have the Answers [Excerpt by Lois Tverberg]

 

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(Excerpt from Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewish Words of jesus Can Change Your Life by Lois Tverberg.)

 

Disciples Who Don't Always Know

God doesn't answer our every doubt or explain everything to our satisfaction. How can we deal with our inability to know the answers?

 

The book of Job reveals some profound Hebraic wisdom. There too we encounter God’s reluctance to fully divulge himself. Grieved and in agony, Job implores God to explain why he allows the innocent to suffer. After thirty-seven chapters of arguments between Job and his friends, God finally sweeps onto the scene. But when God speaks, he never answers Job's heart-wrenching queries. Rather, he flips the tables and interrogates Job. Job humbly retracts his questions, and God never discloses the answer to the question of the ages.

 

There is wisdom in the humility to be able to say 'I don't know' sometimes, and to let God alone know all things.

But God actually does reveal something to Job through his frustrating "non-answer," when he challenges Job to explain the intricacies of nature and describe how he planted the foundations of the earth. When Job realizes that an infinite chasm separates human and divine intellect, he is utterly humbled. Einstein could explain relativity to an amoeba more easily than God could answer Job. What Job sought to know was utterly beyond his ability to grasp.

 

God answers Job out of the whirlwind. Image by William Blake [Public Domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

 

God's answer to Job should make all the more sense in light of what we've discovered about the universe. In Isaiah 55:9, God proclaimed, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." To the ancients, the heavens appeared to be a great canopy, perhaps five or ten miles up. But now we realize that the stars are billions of light-years away. It should be all the more apparent that if God revealed even a portion of his wisdom, its sheer magnitude would overwhelm us. We forget that God designed everything from neutrons to galaxies, and that we are just specks in comparison to his unfathomable magnitude. Whole libraries have been written to describe the workings of just one human cell. There is wisdom in the humility to be able to say "I don't know" sometimes, and to let God alone know all things...

 

Neither Job nor his friends knew God's thoughts, but Job at least understood God's great compassion for the hurting. Perhaps God would rather hear us voice angry doubts that show concern for others' pain than to knit ourselves a comfortable theology that shows no love.

 

We honor God more by trying to love as he loves than by trying to know all that he knows.

As Christians, we struggle with how many people suffer in the world unjustly. But we know that in Christ, God willingly suffered as an innocent person to gain forgiveness for our sins. We can always put our trust in God's empathy and goodness, even if we don't know all of his thoughts. Since we are small and finite, we honor God more by trying to love as he loves than by trying to know all that he knows.

 

Learn More

Learn more about Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus.

 

Follow Lois Tverberg on Twitter (@LoisTverberg)

 

(*Images above are web-exclusive features and are not included in the text of Walking in the Dust... This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's personal opinions are shared only for information purposes. To receive new Zondervan Blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

 

Re:Word Weekly (1.20.12) - The Answer to Anxiety, MLK on Failure, Myths about Arab Spring

 

Re:Word is our weekly collection of articles regarding words or the Word. We re-tell these stories because they're exciting, surprising, useful, or nourishing. As you explore, we hope you discover a few new and fascinating author friends.

Deborah Kerr, Stanley Donen & Robert Mitchum discuss interests between scenes of "The Grass is Greener (1960)."

 

1. How Martin Luther King spoke to me as a failed man by Trent Gilliss of On Being. Includes stirring audio from MLK's speech "Is Your Heart Right?"

2. What's the answer to anxiety? by Ann Voskamp (author of One Thousand Gifts)

3. Quotes from famous writers on writing (via Scot McKnight, author of  The King Jesus Gospel).

4. 5 myths about Arab Spring, according to author Rezla Aslan, in this summary and commentary by Mike Wittmer (author of Don't Stop Believing).

5. Teachers & students: Apple announces interactive iBooks textbooks. Then someone asked Zondervan on Twitter, "Textbooks come alive on iPad ... Now, how can we help the Bible come alive on iPad?" We answered, "Have you seen the new NIV Study Bible App? [video]"

6. Is Christianity just a crutch? A thoughtful and well-researched article by David Wenham (via Ravi Zacharias, author of Has Christianity Failed You?).

7. A letter to husbands about how small acts can make a big difference, by Lysa TerKeurst (author of Made to Crave Action Plan).

 

- Adam Forrest, Zondervan

 

(This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer shares these personal opinions for information purposes only. To receive new blogposts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

Winter of the Soul: 5 Insights for Traversing Tough Seasons

 

On the dark seasons of our hearts:

1. Winter shames those in it. It feels like personal failure, something we've caused, or missed, or faltered in. We chide ourselves for being there. We're sure it’s our fault. We wonder if we're crazy, lazy, stupid.   2. And then God gave me insight: this was winter. It would end, in time, but not by my own doing. My responsibility was simply to know the season, and match my actions and inactions to it.   3.  [My responsibility in winter] was to learn the slow hard discipline of waiting. It was my season to believe in spite of—to believe in the absence of evidence or emotion, when there's nothing, no bud, no color, no light, no birdsong, to validate belief. It was my time to walk without sight.   4. Winter grows pure faith. It grows almost nothing, but it grows biblical faith like no other season can. It combines the unique conditions that nurture the certainty of things hoped for and the assurance of things unseen.   5. Do not forget in the night what God has shown you in the day.

 

Learn More

These quotes are from Spiritual Rhythm: Being with Jesus Every Season of Your Soul by Mark Buchanan (markbuchanan.net).

Learn more about Spiritual Rhythm.

 

- Adam Forrest, Zondervan

 

(This post does not represent the official view of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's opinions are their own, and are shared for information purposes only. To receive new Zondervan Blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)