Resources by Topic: Christians, Past and Present

Last Friday, May 19, author and retired pastor Tim Keller entered into the presence of His Lord and Savior. I have always appreciated his thoughtful, biblical,  and Christ-centered insights, and have often recommended his books, messages, and online videos.

My dear friend George Verwer, founder of Operation Mobilization (OM) and advocate for worldwide missions, is with Jesus. I have never known anyone like George; he is—I speak in the present tense because he is fully alive—one of a kind. His love for lost souls, his devotion to Jesus, and his passion for the Gospel marked me and countless others.

In this video clip from an event Randy Alcorn and George Verwer did together in 2013, George shares about needs around the world, and passionately implores God’s people to get a vision for giving to get the gospel to the unreached.

Several years ago I shared on my blog about Christopher Yuan’s story of God’s grace, and his deliverance from homosexual sin. He posted on Twitter on February 15: “Today marks 22 years since I walked out of prison and my parents drove me to the halfway house in Chicago. Praise God for His faithfulness!”

There are few people who I admire more than Joni Eareckson Tada. This recent article by her is so beautifully written, and just so Joni.

Alex Harris is a wonderful brother, and a true servant leader. Recently I saw one of his tweet threads, talking about his grandmother Lily, mother to his amazing mom, Sono Harris.

Garrett Kell is an author and the pastor of Del Ray Baptist in Alexandria, Virginia, and also posts great things on Twitter. I’m grateful for his life and ministry and encouragement. I hadn’t read Garrett’s testimony before, but one of our staff shared it with me. It’s powerful. I think you’ll be touched just like I was.

Josef Tson, once the best-known pastor in Romania, openly preached the gospel at a time when the Christian faith had become virtually illegal. Josef said, “During the time I was expecting to be crushed by the Romanian secret police interrogators, God became more real to me than ever before or after in my life.”

Gilbert Gleason writes, “Bert and Colleen serve as the right kind of examples for ‘average’ followers of Jesus, proving that, for most of us, substantial, supernatural impact is achieved through simple daily faithfulness, listening to Jesus and loving people in His name.”

In this clip Randy speaks about what Jesus meant when He said “Blessed are...” in the beatitudes and how the original audience would have understood those statements.

“Charles Spurgeon loved Christmas. In fact, he once said, 'I like Christmas; I wish it came six times a year.' He liked the generosity of 'those who give to the poor,' and as for the cheer of the season exclaimed 'I would not stop a smile. God forbid me!'”

Have you ever come across something, or been given something, whether a photo or recording or something written, that has taken you back in time, and stirred up something in you that was either forgotten or dormant, just waiting to be remembered? That happened to me recently when my long-time friend Alan Hlavka came across this while rereading a journal entry he’d written nearly 34 years ago.

This Wednesday, November 3, for one night only, the movie “The Most Reluctant Convert: The Untold Story of C. S. Lewis” will be in cinemas nationwide.

Randy Alcorn was interviewed on The Thinking Out Loud Podcast with Kevin and Kyle about his book If God is Good. In this audio clip, Randy talks about what we learn from the prophets and apostles about the prosperity gospel.