Feature Article #1

Jesus on "Prayer"

We often hear teachings on the “discipline of prayer,” as if prayer requires a great deal of effort, rules, and practice. Webster defines discipline as (1) training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character; (2) the control gained by enforcing obedience or order; the orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of [...]

admin | December 11th, 2009 | Continued

Feature Article #2

Three Equals One – But How?

Our God is a triune God because the Bible teaches this is the case—three persons but one essence. That the Bible does not contain the word triune or the word trinity does not negate the fact that the Bible teaches three personal distinctions in one divine nature. Let’s take a look…
_ Read Deut. 4:35, 39; [...]

admin | December 11th, 2009 | Continued

Feature Article #3

The Holy Spirit, "He"

It seems that people today are sometimes a little squeamish when it comes to talking about the Holy Spirit. Even Christians begin fidgeting at the mention of His being a person or a personality rather than an ‘it’. We understand that Jesus walked on the earth as a man—He was physically present in our world [...]

admin | December 11th, 2009 | Continued

Feature Article #4

Illuminations – How Do You Worship?

What is the natural response to Jesus’ presence in the room? Let’s make it personal—if He were to walk through the door right now, what would you do? For most of us, if Jesus walked in it would be impossible to continue doing whatever it is we’re doing. No doubt we’d stop mid-word, mid-motion, and [...]

admin | December 11th, 2009 | Continued

Feature Article #5

More, Please. Give Me More!

God sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, and it’s this Spirit-within that has propelled the Church down through the ages. Satan and his demons stand in opposition to the Church and its Holy Spirit and they are the driving force on the side of the world. So, in order for the Church to [...]

admin | December 11th, 2009 | Continued

About this Site

Word Among Us is an explosive teaching ministry that brings the Word of God in its simplest form to the people. Its teaching is contemporary and relevant to today’s life styles while remaining true to the fundamental principles of the scriptures.

Other Recent Articles

How Will You Use What He Has Given You?

February 23rd, 2010 • admin • 0 comments • Related • Filed Under

Toward the end of His ministry, Jesus’ disciples asked Him to tell them about the signs of the end of the age. In answering their question, Jesus told several parables that illustrated what believers should be doing as they awaited His return. He told The Parable of the Ten Virgins to teach believers to be ready for when it will happen and The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats to teach us to be willing to aid His people during the time of the Great Tribulation.

In this study, we want to now examine The Parable of the Talents and see how it fits with the other two.

_Read Matthew 25:14-30. Keep in mind that a “talent” was a monetary unit of those times. It is believed to have a worth of more than one thousand U.S. dollars today.

Now that you’ve read the entire passage, what would you say is the main teaching that Jesus wants us to learn?

_Re-read vv.14-18. List below who received what from the man when he left on his journey.

1.
2.
3.

Now, beside each of the three listed above, record what that person did with what he received.

_Re-read vv.19-21. What did the man who received five talents receive when he returned it and his earnings to the master?

_Re-read vv.22-23. What did the man who received two talents receive from the master when he returned the two plus what he had earned?

_Re-read vv.24-27. What did the man say who had received only one talent and had earned nothing with it?

What did the master call him? Why?

_Re-read vv.28-30. What punishment did the man who earned nothing with his sum of money receive at the hands of his master?

What happened to his money?

What happened to him?

NOTE: The “darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” is a reference to hell — only unsaved persons go there.

Conclusions: In this story, the master gives money to his bond-servants and rewards those who put the money to work to earn more, but punishes the one who doesn’t put the money to work. In our lives, God gives Spiritual gifts to His people. In what ways can we use these gifts to create “returns” that we can give to Him?

How does God reward believers who use their gifts to serve Him?

Do you know what your Spiritual gifts are? Are you using them to glorify God? When he calls, will you answer with “Here I am, Lord. Send me”?

You Still Have Time to Sign Up

February 23rd, 2010 • admin • 0 comments • Related • Filed Under

Gail will begin teaching a new study on Tuesday nights beginning March 2. Through the pen of His servant Paul, God has given us the standard for walking in the footsteps of Jesus, which He outlines in a letter to the church at Philippi. In this ten-week course, you will not only be aided in your personal walk with Christ through practical reminders from the Apostle Paul, but you’ll be improving your study skills at the same time. A section has been added to the course workbook that outlines simplified instructions on how to study the Bible inductively.

Preparation for each class involves one to two hours of outside study, which is laid out for you in your personal workbook. Classes involv interactive lectures that allow for asking questions and discussion. The aim of this course, as it is with all Word Within Easy-to-Learn Inductive Bible Studies, is to be able to apply the Word of God to our everyday lives. We believe that it doesn’t matter how much you know about the Bible, but how much you apply the Bible to your daily walk.

If you would like to join us in this exciting new study, call 918-492-0945 to tell us you plan to attend. It is helpful if we know how many participants to prepare for.

The Timothy Project

February 23rd, 2010 • admin • 0 comments • Related • Filed Under

Timothy and Phoebe are recent graduates of theological Bible schools, reunited after four years as they return home to begin their work for the Lord. They pastor a small church in home village and are in need of means to support themselves and young son. They need funds to purchase a rice field and motor bike. The rice field will provide food for the family, as well as generate income that will enable them to become self-supporting missionaries. The motor bike will transport them from village to village as they proclaim the Gospel of Christ and plant churches.

Here are their stories:

Timothy Yarhtunhla’s Testimony
I was born on the 10th of February, 1987 and was raised in a Christian home in a small village. My mother divorced my father and this made my life so difficult that I had to stay with another family. I heard the true Gospel for the first time when Philip Lian came to our village as a missionary to my people group.

As Philip shared the Gospel, I was convicted of my sins and my ways of trying to be saved which was depending on my good works. As he keep sharing, I was repenting of my sins. Tears were shed and I could not help myself but placed my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

After this, I took baptism and started sharing my new-found Jesus with friends. As my spiritual mentor Philip suggested, I left my wife and one-year-old baby to pursue theological studies at Biblical School of Theology for four years. I miss them while I was away at school. In 2009, I graduated with B.Th and now I pastor the church at Bethel village and lead this small church to reach the animists (nature worshippers) with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My prayer and vision is to see my people group come to know the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Phoebe Na Soe’s Testimony
I was born on the 13th of June in 1985 and was raised in a Christian family. I had gone to Sunday school and tried to be the best in all things. In 2002, Philip Lian came to our village and started the church.

Through Philip’s teaching, I realized that I was not saved at all. I decided to attend the three-month training Philip brought us. It was during this training that I gave myself to the Lord and took baptism as a testimony of my faith in Christ.

Since my husband Timothy had gone to Bible School, we decided that I should study at Bible school also. I had to leave my one-year-old baby to pursue theological study and I could not afford to return home to visit while away at school. I studied for two years at Grace Theological College and two years at Yangon Grace Bible School, graduating from Yangon Grace Bible School with B.Th in January 2010.

I am now helping my husband Timothy in his pastoral work. My vision and prayer is to find a way I can help children in remote areas and also help my husband become an effective servant of God.

If you would like to help Timothy and Phoebe achieve their goals, make out your check to Word Among Us Ministries and mail it to:

P.O. Box 33158
Tulsa, OK 74153

Indicate “Timothy Project” on the memo line. Your donation is tax-deductible.

Illuminations, Memories of South Asia

February 23rd, 2010 • admin • 0 comments • Related • Filed Under

Upon our return from Southeast Asia, I was asked the question, “What was the most memorable part of your trip?” The question was followed by a period of dead silence—not because I had no memorable experience to relate, but because it was virtually impossible to select just one. The trip was, no doubt, the hardest I’ve ever made, yet it was certainly the most memorable.

Our accommodations this trip were not as comfortable as they have been on prior visits, and we did our fair share of grumbling—at least among ourselves. But amazingly, once back in the sanctuary of our own homes, I cannot remember what even half of the grumbling was about! The memory of the tough moments fade completely in the glow of the good God accomplished while we were there.

At the top of my list of memorable moments has to be our meeting Mintaung, a new Christian who was the first (and to his knowledge the only) one in his tribe of seventy-thousand to convert to Christianity. Because he found himself all alone in his faith, Mintaung was desperate for help in reading and studying the Bible. When our host happened to meet Mintaung a few weeks prior to our visit and learned of his plight, he invited him to attend the seminar we would be bringing to town.

Mintaung accepted the invitation and was among the very best students in attendance. With what he learned at the week-long seminar, Mintaung will be able to share with others in his tribe when he returns home. Through him, our teaching on inductive Bible study has now reached another previously unreached people group!

Also at the top of my “most memorable” list would be the worship that preceded the teaching each day. The singing may have been in a language foreign to our ears, but the devotion on their faces was something my heart easily understood. Long before the teaching was scheduled to start, the young people would congregate on their own and begin to sing. I soon learned to creep off to the sanctuary early and enjoy some extra minutes of praise and worship.

What was the best food I ate on the trip? That would have to be the pizza we devoured at the restaurant on stilts in the middle of the lake. The recipe, the cheese, the pepperoni and the design for the brick oven that baked the pizza were all imported from Italy; the tomatoes, basil and other seasonings were grown in local gardens floating (yes floating) on top of the lake itself! Italian pizza—a universal delight!

The most touching moment? That would be when the hotel night clerk raced to our room and rapped frantically on the door. “Fire balloon! Fire balloon!” he squealed in delight, tugging at our sleeves to follow him down the hall and out into the night. Just like a kid on Christmas morn! Outside we discovered local residents igniting a crudely fashioned gas balloon festooned with oodles of fireworks. As the balloon soared upwards, we stood with others and watched until the last of the fireworks exploded into the distance and the balloon disappeared out of sight. How touching that something so simple could be so entertaining!

Most mystifying event??? Long before daybreak of the first day, we were awakened by the clanging of a hand bell that grew progressively louder as it approached from afar. A male voice chanted a mysterious tongue that echoed off the buildings that lined both sides of the street. We later learned that this was a Buddhist monk out soliciting food for his daily portion — a chore he would repeat every day if he wanted to eat. With a vow not to engage in work of any kind, Buddhists monks are impeded from preparing their own food and must rely on the benevolence of others in order to be fed.

These are just a few of the memorable experiences of our January 2010 trip to teach pastors in Southeast Asia how to study the Bible inductively. We have numerous others, but the best was just getting to watch God’s hand at work among a people so eager to serve Him.

How Easily We Forget!

February 23rd, 2010 • admin • 0 comments • Related • Filed Under

God sometimes uses others to jog our memories as to why we are here. This may be basic Bible 101, but we have an enemy out there whose one purpose is to lure us off course. And when he gets to us, we tend to forget that we were saved not for our own sake, but so we can be instrumental in bringing others to Christ. That’s the basic truth about why we are here.

There’s no end of stories about people who’ve come to know Jesus because of how someone else lived. One girl—we’ll call her Annie—gave her life to Jesus because of a roommate whose lifestyle was different from others she’d seen who called themselves Christian. “Roomie” was someone who let Jesus’ Light shine forth in her life, not someone judgmental and critical of others. She clearly knew her purpose—she knew why she was here on earth. Watching her, Annie decided she wanted to be a Christian too and so she gave her life to Jesus. Two and a half months later, Annie was killed in a car accident. How fortunate for her that she’d met Christ through “Roomie” such a short time before!

Then there’s the story about the young man who was delivered from an alternative lifestyle and now devotes his life to writing and singing praise and worship music. Because of the radical change in his lifestyle, others have made the leap as well. And what about the countless addicts, convicts, homeless, rich, those with foreign gods—all of whom came to know the Lord because of someone in their life who practiced their salvation and remembered why they were here!

The Bible teaches a truth that has never changed: The reason for Christ’s coming to Earth was to “seek and to save the lost.” He has given us the command to do likewise. Believers are to make His name known in all the world. We are to expose everyone, everywhere and all the time to God’s amazing grace. We mustn’t be sidetracked from our objective, but remember why we are here.

Word Within – Southeast Asia Missions Update 2010

February 1st, 2010 • admin • 0 comments • Related • Filed Under

There’s plenty of good news coming out of our most recent trip to Southeast Asia.  Thanks to the efforts of our contacts there, we had an opportunity to take the teaching inland to a different part of the country, thus reaching an entirely new audience on this latest trip.  God even brought two previously unreached people groups to our doorstep.

Teaching in Southeast Asia

Teaching in Southeast Asia

One young man (representing an indigenous people group of around seventy thousand) told us that he believed he was the first of his people to become a Christian.  It was by the grace of God, he felt, that he had crossed paths with our host.  He shared with him his hunger for more knowledge of the Bible, and since there were no other Christians in his ‘tribe,’ he’d found it necessary to seek fellowship elsewhere.  Our seminar host immediately invited him to the teaching we brought to the area in January.

He was a most excellent student!

In all, there were some fifty pastors and key church leaders present at the teaching that was held from January 3rd to the 10th.  They told us they had never before heard any teaching on inductive Bible study like what we brought them at the seminar.  Some had participated in inductive Bible study training before but related that the teaching had not made sense to them until they attended our seminar.

This latest audience consisted of both male and female participants from a wide spectrum of ages.  We were particularly impressed by the presence of a few older women in attendance.  This was the only time in the four seminars we’ve taken overseas that older women have participated.  During the frequent break-out sessions, we found them quite naturally leading small groups of younger women through the process of inductive study.  It was exciting for us to witness their progress.

As a whole, no other group we’ve taught—either at home or abroad—has responded as enthusiastically or productively as this one.  In the evaluation that followed, participants related excitement over taking what they had learned back to their communities.  They were anxious to share with other believers the importance of studying the Bible and knowing for themselves what it says.  All in all, we’d call this seminar a huge success.

Jesus is Coming to Save Israel

December 11th, 2009 • admin • 0 comments • Related • Filed Under

In the book of Romans, Paul declares that God has not rejected His people (Romans 11:1). In other words, God is not through with the Jews. In Paul’s day, there was a “remnant according to God’s gracious choice” (v.5); and there is one still today.

Paul claims that after “the fullness of the Gentiles has come in…all Israel will be saved” (vv.25ff) and he talks about a hardening of Israel’s heart that takes place until that day comes. In other words, Israel as a nation will reject Jesus as the promised Messiah until God’s dealings with the Gentiles is brought to fruition. When that happens, the remnant of Jews that remains will then be saved.

When Christ returns, He will first deliver Israel from her earthly enemies (Jeremiah 30:7; Zechariah 14:1-3). It doesn’t end with deliverance, however; Jesus will then gather up all Israel (bringing the house of Judah and the house of Israel together once again) and make a new covenant with them (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

God’s promises to His people the Jews do not imply that all Israelites who ever lived will be saved. The Jew who dies without Jesus is lost just as any Gentile would be. But just as God has done throughout history as recorded in the Bible, He continues to woo the Jews to Him. Following the Great Tribulation, when Jesus comes again, the remnant of Jews will look upon Christ and believe (Zechariah 12:10; Revelation 1:7). Thus, all Israel that remains will be saved.

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