Looking for a bit of good news? The Gospel of Matthew is full of it. In fact, the word “Gospel” literally translates to “good news.” According to the Blackaby’s devotional Encounters with God: The Gospel of Matthew, “Matthew was writing to tell the good news of Jesus’ miraculous and miracle-filled life, His life-giving messages, His sacrificial and atoning death, and His hope-inspiring and divine resurrection from the dead.”

What have you done lately to share God’s love and good news? Prayed with a coworker? Testified to a nonbeliever? Sang at church? If you’re not sure how to share the Gospel, here are three tips to get you started:

1. Pray: God loves to hear the prayers of his children, so ask him to give you the opportunity to pray with others and the bravery to reach out to those in need. Matthew 15:18 says, “What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart.” If you want to make a genuine connection with someone, one of the most honest ways you can show them God’s love is to pray with them and for them.

2. Relate: The Gospel of Matthew is the first book in the New Testament, so it plays a key role in transitioning between the Old and New Testaments. Matthew bridges this gap by structuring the Gospel so that it appeals to both Jews and Christians. In the same way, in order to reach out to others and show them love, sometimes we too need to put ourselves in their shoes. Sure, that barista was awfully rude this morning, but maybe he just lost a loved one. Yes, that lady cut you off on the freeway, but maybe she was on her way to the hospital. However easy it may be for us to blame others, God commands us to empathize: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” —Matthew 22:39.

3. Listen: As depicted throughout the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus spent a majority of his time communing with people as a way of showing them love and compassion. One of the simplest ways to share God’s love is just to give your time and attention to someone. You don’t have to preach or argue—just sit back, be quiet, and listen.

Above all things, trust that God is always with you, especially when reaching out to others. Matthew concludes his Gospel by commanding Jesus’ followers to become disciples of Christ and share his good news. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” —Matthew 28:19–20

Learn more about how to share God’s good news by downloading Encounters with God: The Gospel of Matthew, now on sale for only $7.49!

For centuries, scholars and theologians alike have been arguing over who wrote the Gospel of John. Was it John the Apostle? Was it Lazarus? Was it some unknown priest or disciple? No one knows for sure, but there is one primary clue about the Gospel’s authorship that answers a more meaningful question: What does it mean to be a true disciple of Christ?

Who Wrote the Gospel of John?

Instead of blatantly revealing the author, the Gospel of John gives a simple hint to the author’s identity. In John 13:23, the author identifies himself as the “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” The “Beloved Disciple” is mentioned a total of five times throughout the Gospel of John, although no further clues are given in regard to the author’s identity. By keeping the author a mystery and simply labeling him a “disciple,” the Gospel of John emphasizes selflessness and discipleship as opposed to personal glory. And this tactic has proven to be very effective in fulfilling the book’s overall mission.

For example, if someone were to ask, “What was the first Bible verse you memorized?,” chances are pretty good you’d say John 3:16. According to the Blackaby’s devotional Encounters with God: The Gospel of John, no Scripture has been more memorized or more instrumental in converting people to Christianity; clearly, the book’s uncertain authorship does nothing to detract from its effectiveness.

How to Be a True Disciple

So what does this teach us? That in putting God first and not claiming ownership or striving for personal recognition, we can become true vehicles for God’s mission. In short, when we put God’s glory before our own, we too become beloved disciples of Christ.

The Gospel of John is one of the most popular books in the Bible. Get more out of the Gospel of John by downloading Blackaby’s devotional Encounters with God: The Gospel of John today!

Luke, the New Testament’s longest book, is full of profound insight and dramatic encounters in the life of Jesus. Full of many of the Gospels’ best-loved stories and parables, Luke’s narrative is powerful and uplifting.

Thinking of leading a study through Luke’s Gospel? Looking for a powerful study to do on your own? Check out Encounters with God: The Gospel of Luke. This informative study from bestselling author Henry Blackaby is on sale right now for only $7.49.

You’ll get seven in-depth lessons, including:

• God Works through Ordinary Lives 
• Jesus Calls Ordinary People to Follow Him 
• Jesus Heals and Delivered All Who Came to Him 
• Jesus Has Compassion on Sinners and Outcasts 
• Jesus Emphasizes Love and Forgiveness to All 
• Jesus Seeks Out All Who Are Lost 
• Jesus Teaches Faithfulness and Watchfulness
  

Each lesson has five segments, using BASIC as an acronym. BASIC, here, doesn’t mean elementary or simple; it means foundational. These studies are focused on key aspects of what it means to be a Christ follower in today’s world. BASIC stands for:

B = Bible Focus. This segment presents the central passage for the lesson and a general explanation that covers the central theme or concern.

A = Application for Today. This portion has a story or illustration related to modern times, with questions that link the Bible text to today’s issues, problems, and concerns.

S = Supplementary Scriptures to Consider. Other Bible verses related to the general theme of the lesson.

I = Introspection and Implications. This part asks questions that lead to deeper reflection about one’s personal faith journey and life experiences.

C = Communicating the Good News. You finish with challenging questions aimed at ways in which the truth of the lesson might be lived out and shared with others (either to win the lost or to build up the church).

Download Encounters with God: The Gospel of Luke today, and explore this powerful Gospel.

According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus was a man of action. Not only this, he was an emotional creature—someone who, while casting out demons with supernatural powers and raising the dead, was also expressing the same human emotions we grapple with every day. Emotions like compassion, love, sorrow, anger, shock, and wonder.

In merging these two characteristics, Mark establishes a clear image of Jesus as a powerful leader throughout the entire Gospel. Why is this so unique? Because Jesus lived in a time when Roman rule based its power on being ruthless and untouchable, yet Jesus challenged the Romans by presenting himself as a man who actively sought out his people by taking part in their daily lives and connecting with them emotionally.

According to the Blackabys’ devotional book, Encounters with God: The Gospel of Mark, “Mark is the Gospel writer who describes most the emotions of Jesus. Jesus is not an unfeeling, uncaring, untouchable Savior and Lord—He is the opposite of the uninvolved Roman deities . . . Jesus not only teaches, but He touches even those considered ritually or religiously unclean.”

So how is this applicable to the modern Christian? For starters, harnessing these same characteristics is invaluable for any small group leader. Here are three tips for small group leaders, adapted from Encounters with God:

1. Take action—it’s YOUR job to get the discussion started, so ask questions, develop talking points, and be confident enough to facilitate the conversation.

2. Get invested in the lives of others—involve every person in the group by actively addressing them and asking questions.

3. Be emotionally available—encourage an open, candid discussion. If you’re experiencing struggles in your own life, then share them; this may encourage others in your group to be more transparent and provides the opportunity to forge genuine relationships.

The Jesus portrayed in the Gospel of Mark embodied these characteristics as both a man of action and a counselor with emotional depth. That’s why the book of Mark is considered the most accessible Gospel by many Christians. So make yourself accessible and open up to your peers, and don’t be afraid to put your heart on the line.

Notice someone seems a little down at work? Take action: ask them what’s wrong. Dealing with some family issues? Open yourself up to a friend or counselor. In doing this, you have the opportunity to become a true leader and advocate for Christ’s mission and values.

Want to learn more? Check out the companion books to Encounters with God: The Gospel of Mark:

• Encounters with God: The Gospel of Matthew
• Encounters with God: The Gospel of Luke
• Encounters with God: The Gospel of John

Best-selling authors and relationship experts Bill and Pam Farrel have teamed up with Faithlife to host a book group centered on their new devotional, A Couple’s Journey with God. To better connect the book group with the authors, we sat down and interviewed Bill and Pam.

Until May 14, several of their best-selling books are on sale, including their newest book, 10 Questions Kids Ask about Sex.

Q: Your latest book discusses questions kids ask about sex. What was the toughest question to answer?

We need to communicate that God has a plan for sexuality:

1. Sex between a man and a woman IN MARRIAGE is God’s design because it protects the individual. Young people need to read 1 Thess. 4:3–8 to see why premarital sex (all sex of any kind) outside marriage is not God’s will.

2. Sex reflects Christ’s relationship with the church, according to Eph. 5:31–32.

3. Sex is a gift to couples in marriage, so God gave it priority by creating marriage to protect it. The Bible starts with a wedding (between the first man and the first woman) in Genesis 1 and 2, and ends with a wedding (of Christ and church) in Revelation. This makes marriage a pretty high priority to God.

Q: Is it true you have a formula in Red-Hot Monogamy that calculates how much time it takes for a couple to create a love that lasts a lifetime?

Yes, we explain how much T.I.M.E. it takes to keep a red-hot love life with a simple acrostic:

1. Ten to twenty minutes a day of talk time to stay emotionally connected.

2. Invest in a weekly date night to keep fanning the flame.

3. Monthly all-day getaway to be sure that your  needs for romance and sex are met.

4. Escape yearly—or better yet, twice a year: once for a marriage conference, and once for some rest and romance, like on your anniversary.

30% off the Marriage, Sex, and Questions Kids Ask book bundle:

Save 30% on three of Pam and Bill’s most popular ebooks on Vyrso.com. The bundle includes the author’s latest release: 10 Questions Kids Ask about Sex. This sale ends May 14. Get the bundle now!

• Red-Hot Monogamy: Making Your Marriage Sizzle
• 10 Questions Kids Ask about Sex
• 52 Ways to Wow Your Husband: How to Put a Smile on His Face

Click here to get all three books now! Sale ends May 14.

Want more from Bill and Pam? Join the Faithlife book group!

Leadership can be intimidating. There are always ways that we can grow as leaders, but sometimes we aren’t sure exactly how to grow and improve. Luckily, there are plenty of experienced leaders we can learn from. Here are eight tips on becoming a better leader, from some of Vyrso’s most popular authors:

1. “Leaders who follow the example and teachings of Jesus will lead first as servants.” –C. Gene Wilkes, Jesus on Leadership

2. “All effective leadership in the church begins with God’s call, God’s people, and a vision of God’s reign.” –Lovett H. Weems Jr., Church Leadership: Revised Edition

3. “If you really want to become the kind of leader that people want to follow, you will have to settle the issue of servant-hood.” –John C. Maxwell, Real Leadership: The 101 Collection

4. “When the right leader is prepared, then God can use him or her for His purposes. Our job is to prepare; His job is to use us where and when He needs us.” —Hans Finzel, The Top Ten Leadership Commandments 

5. “One of the best weapons leaders have to combat a tendency toward arrogance is to keep in mind a clear picture of Jesus kneeling to wash the feet of his disciples.” —Bob Briner, The Leadership Lessons of Jesus

6. “Secure leaders will not be threatened by attracting capable followers to the organization. They understand that the value their employees add propels them forward in difficult circumstances.”
—Ron Hunter Jr., Toy Box Leadership: Leadership Lessons from the Toys You Loved as a Child

7. “Leadership begins with the heart, not the head. It flourishes with a meaningful relationship, not more regulations.” —John C. Maxwell, Leadership 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know

8. “Leading out of security, rather than insecurity, is essential to leaving a positive leadership legacy.” —Jeff Lorg, The Character of Leadership: Nine Qualities that Define Great Leaders

Check out some of these titles today, and begin your journey to more effective leadership.

In the time when Jesus walked through the Middle East, the custom of washing feet was common. Bowls of water and towels were the welcome mats of those days. Servants would render this simple and humble service—washing people’s dirty feet. But if there was no servant present, the host would often take on the foot washing.

As Jesus and his followers gathered for what would become known as the Last Supper (John 13:1–17), there was no one present to wash feet. One by one the disciples walked past the bowl and towel—no one offered to take on this role. Even though they had already experienced Jesus’ humble and servant-like leadership style, it didn’t occur to any of them to wash their fellow guests’ feet—not even their savior’s feet.

Instead, they remained with their dirty and sweaty feet, even during dinner. In the middle of the meal, Jesus got up from the table, got down on the ground, and washed their feet. The one who had created them was scrubbing their filthy feet. God’s own son, whom they should have been serving, was cleaning off their sweat and dirt.

Jesus was making a huge statement to his disciples, by getting down on his hands and knees, and washing the dirt from their feet. He showed that those who follow the crucified and risen Savior are called to offer humble service in the name of the one who bore the nails for them. Serving is foundational to our calling. To lead like Jesus is to take up the cross daily, to dip our hands in the water, wash the dirty feet, and serve as he did.

“The hands that washed the disciples’ feet would soon be nailed to a cross. This ultimate act of service and love cost Jesus his life. Our Lord was willing to get his hands dirty and bloody to show us what a true leader looks like.” —Kevin G. Harney, Leadership from the Inside Out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church Leader

Service isn’t always the most enjoyable or easy. It’s easier to keep our hands clean than to let them build up with calluses and dirt. Service is a very important aspect of leadership. As Jesus said after washing his disciples’ feet, “Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:15–17).

Kevin G. Harney has written several books on how to be an effective yet humble leader. Check out some of his resources on Vyrso today:

• Organic Outreach for Ordinary People: Sharing Good News Naturally
• Organic Outreach for Churches: Infusing Evangelistic Passion in Your Local Congregation
• Leadership from the Inside Out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church Leader

Want to draw closer to your spouse and God? Faithlife is hosting a reading group based on best-selling authors Bill and Pam Farrel’s devotional A Couple’s Journey with God. Bill and Pam provide 58 short daily devotionals designed to bring busy couples closer to each other and Christ.

During the 58 days, you’ll be entertained by relatable stories, challenged to deepen your marriage, and encouraged to connect your love to God’s wisdom.

By following the Faithlife book group, you’ll also gain access to exclusive notes, discussion questions, and interviews with the authors. You can join in the conversation by asking your own questions and posting notes. Reading begins April 23, 2013.

To gain access to all of Faithlife’s features, such as Community Notes, purchase the book on Vyrso. Use coupon code JOURNEY at checkout to save 25%.

About the authors: Pam and Bill Farrel have been married for 33 years, worked in ministry for over 25 years, and written over 38 books. They have devoted their lives to helping couples build stronger bonds with each other and with Christ. They want to connect love and wisdom in order to build happy, unbreakable marriages.

Download A Couple’s Journey with God, and join the Faithlife group now! 

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” —John 8:31

We know that we are disciples of Christ, yet sometimes it’s difficult to define exactly what that means, and how it plays into evangelism. In Gospel-Centered Discipleship, Jonathan Dodson writes, “Jesus puts the gospel first, which leads to making and maturing disciples. He does not call people to evangelize first, making discipleship an optional second. Both evangelism and discipleship are gospel motivated.” Disciples are who we are, and evangelism is part of our roles as disciples. Being a disciple should be our identity, with commitment to God and evangelism being our role. Evangelism only lasts while we are here on earth, while our identity as disciples lasts forever. Our lives consist of both leading and following, all while keeping the gospel at the center. Jesus commands us to follow him, yet in the process we’re to bring others to follow him, too.

A disciple of Jesus is someone who learns the Gospel and communicates it to others. We see this in Jesus’ ministry on earth. Jesus proclaimed the same Gospel to his disciples and to crowds of nonbelievers. They weren’t learning how to be leaders; they were being taught the truths of the Gospel, which in turn filled them with a passion to lead for Christ’s sake.

“Disciples are gospel people who introduce and reintroduce themselves and others to the person and power of Jesus over and over again. A disciple of Jesus never stops learning the gospel, relating in the gospel, and communicating the gospel.” –Jonathan K. Dodson, Gospel-Centered Discipleship

As disciples, we should be constantly learning. We’ll never leave our role as students and become solely teachers of the gospel. And through our teaching, God brings us through experiences that challenge us and convict us to become even more knowledgeable. It’s a constant process of growing and refining, while leading up other disciples in the process.

Want to learn more about discipleship? Check out these resources on Vyrso:

• Gospel-Centered Discipleship
• Transformational Discipleship: How People Really Grow
• Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World
• Breaking the Discipleship Code: Becoming a Missional Follower of Jesus

“While Christians are to be in the world, they are to live not in conformity to the standards of the world, but rather in obedience to the Father’s word, just as Jesus did. We are to be in the world, but not of the world. Our calling is to give ourselves to being made holy by the truth of God’s Word, by the wisdom of his laws, and by the power of his Spirit.” –Jerram Barrs, Learning Evangelism from Jesus

We are called to be in this world and not of it. Yet, Jesus doesn’t call us to withdraw and condemn unbelievers and our culture. He asks us to stop condemning the world and unbelievers, and to imitate him and to give our lives gladly to love and to serve non-Christians. As outlined in Jesus’ prayer in John 17, “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” Our goal should be to share with others the love which Jesus has shown to us.

This won’t be accomplished through judging others, or telling them how they should live their lives. We need to keep in mind that we’re no more deserving of God’s love than anyone else. And because of this, his desire is that we be like him, and that we commit ourselves to developing intimate relationships with non-Christians.

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.” –Colossians 3:12–15

Jesus came into this world full of rebellion against God, and made it his goal to reach the world with love. He didn’t come in and start comparing himself to others, or condemning them for the types of lives they were living. Rather, he became friends with those around him, and loved them for who they were.

If you’d like to equip yourself to evangelize like Jesus did, check out some of Vyrso’s ebooks on learning evangelism from Jesus:

• Jesus: the only way to God
• Learning Evangelism from Jesus
• Jesus Is: Find a New Way to Be Human
• The Mark of Jesus: Loving in a Way the World Can See