Dear fellow servant of the Word,
Has the ministry of our called workers changed over the past few decades? Perhaps it has in some ways.
We certainly live in a broken world. That’s not new. It has been broken from the time Adam and Eve coveted the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, refusing to trust God. Abel’s blood, soaking into the earth, testified to just how broken the world was even then. To this broken world God promised a Savior. Throughout the centuries, his words of promise have provided the foundation upon which his church has been built and the glue that holds this broken world together.
In our steady march toward the end of the world, we witness the turmoil that our Savior warned would punctuate the last days. The ravaging wolves have pushed the church off of the foundation of God’s Word. The philosophers of this age have substituted their lethal brand of humanism for the glue of God’s Word. Our society—our world—is falling apart. As a result, called workers are dealing with the brokenness of the world in its most flagrant forms.
As leaders, we regularly field questions that weren’t asked a generation ago. Our brothers and sisters in our congregations look for guidance and strength as they seek to respond in God-pleasing ways to the issues they face. We find ourselves guiding the souls in our care through murky waters surrounded by obvious spiritual dangers.
The 19-minute Bible studies in the Timely Topics, Timeless Truths series are meant to help pastors address some of the questions or situations God’s children are grappling with:
- Intelligent design
- Global warming
- Gender identity
- Filing for bankruptcy
- The impact of close communion on our evangelism efforts
- Near-death experiences
- How we respond to inappropriate use of social media
- The sin of living together
- The growing trend toward a spiritualism which has nothing to do with the true God
- If Christians should get tattoos
- And many others
Just as important as answering the questions that may be troubling our brothers and sisters, these studies help them grow in their understanding of how to apply God’s law and gospel to the ever-changing set of issues that touch their lives.
In these days, it is vitally important that we have knowledgeable and trained leadership in our congregations. Unfortunately, the busyness of our society has eaten away at the time many have spent in the Word. Many congregations are experiencing a shortage of strong leaders and are looking for ways to train those who can be spiritual pillars in the congregation.
NPH is reintroducing the popular Training Christians for Ministry resources. The five courses take an in-depth look at the Old and New Testaments, doctrine, the church and its ministry, and spiritual gifts.
This video-based content was first offered in the 1990’s. But the content is so solid and so detailed—so valuable—that we know it will be a blessing to another generation of church leaders.
To a world broken by sin, God’s Word has always been the solution. How great is our privilege, how important the task of leading God’s people into his Word.
May our Savior bless your work as you build on the foundation laid by the prophets and apostles!
Because He Lives!
Ray Schumacher
Curriculum Product Editor
Northwestern Publishing House
Image Credit: Arek Socha (Used under Creative Commons CC0)