In Europe, SGM Lifewords has recently set up the Faith Journeys, Advent Alphabet and Podróże Wiary lists, which will allow people to receive biblical inspirations during the periods of Advent and Easter. Pray that these would be well used and that they would be a useful means of connecting people with the Bible’s life words.
In Australia, the Stafford Baptist church will be holding a “Christmas Lights” evening on 10 nights during December. Around 10,000 people are expected to visit and there are plans to give out gift bags including SGM Lifewords‘ resource A Little Story About Something Big. Pray that the event would serve to connect those who attend with the Bible’s life words and portray the true meaning of the Christmas story.
In Singapore,Lifewords is organising a large shipment of Inspire resources to South Africa to be used by a local pastor there, Pastor Daniel, in his work with the Chinese living in Johannesburg. It is a large population, mostly from mainland China and there are few Christians (less than 1%). Pray for smooth shipping so that the necessary resources are with them by Christmas.
Please pray for a new initiative from SGM Canada to connect Christian students in Canada with primary school students in Kenya. Students will be able to connect through exchanging letters, sharing stories and building relationships. Canadian teachers will also help to provide the Choose Life curriculum to their Kenyan counterparts. Please pray that both groups will move forward as a community of faith and a new generation will emerge that seeks to apply the Bible’s life words to their lives.
In Latin America, Lifewords has been involved producing a booklet to clearly present the Christmas story. Please pray that churches, bookstores, and individuals will appreciate the potential of Christmas time to effectively connect people to the Bible’s life words.
Helio H. da Silva is a professional mechanic working in Sao Paulo, Brazil. By placing Lifewords’ publications in his car repair shop, he is helping to connect people with the Bible’s life words whilst he repairs their cars. Pray for all those who are involved in making connections through the workplace, as Professionals in the Kingdom’s Service partners.
“The story of Christ’s birth is a subversive story of an upside-down kingdom” says the introduction to Advent Conspiracy. “It’s a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love that is still changing the world to this day. So, what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists. And when it’s all over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling that we somehow missed its purpose.”
If you and your church want to take a stand against the empty consumerism of the modern Christmas without coming across as spoilsports, Advent Conspiracy have a load of useful resources. There are sermon notes, posters and flyers, and a whole website of alternative gift ideas at rethinkingchristmas.org.
This month … life words Connect. We asked people from around the SGM Lifewords global family to tell us about the individuals, churches, events, and organisations they were connected with this month, so that we could pray for the impact of the Bible’s life words in these specific situations.
This week we’re focusing on Africa:
Praise God for the cooperation and friendship developing between Lifewords and the Nairobi Pentecostal church. Please pray for all those who are reached through this partnership, both for their personal walks with God, and that they in turn would help to connect those around them with the Bible’s life words.
Praise God for continued partnerships in Tanzania and Uganda. Lifewords recently attended an Evangelical Literature Ministry workshop aimed at increasing the accessibility of Christian literature in Tanzania. Both publishers and distributors were in attendance. Praise God for the provision of such a network! Pray it will be used to connect the Bible’s life words with the people of Tanzania.
In Cote d’Ivoire, Lifewords has received an invitation to partner a Christian bookshop for a promotion in the latter part of his year. Please pray for God’s guidance as this possibility is considered.
Over the summer SGM Lifewords branched into software for the first time with a little programme called DesktopLive!. The programme, which can be downloaded from the Life Changing Words site, automatically updates users desktop backgrounds with a new picture and verse every day.
If you’ve been using DesktopLive!, how have you been finding it? Any tips or suggestions for making it better? What improvements would you like to see? Any feedback you can offer will be really useful as we look at moving on to the next stage of development.
The Visible Story programme depends on a network of people every bit as remarkable as those involved in Pavement Project – missionaries to the rural villages of Indonesia.Graduates of Setia Bible College live and work in the villages, teaching farming techniques, and sharing their faith.
Andreas works on a small rubber farm in the village of Sosok, in Kalimantan. He has been in the village for two years and has built up many good friendships. He dreams of being able to plant a house church. Pray for boldness as he seeks to share the Bible’s transforming stories with his neighbours.
Phillipus is a grass-roots church planter who serves as pastor to eight small village churches, dividing his time between them all. Pray that God will bless his work as he teaches, listens, and shares his life with each of these communities.
Please pray for Gunar Sahari (Lifewords Director in Indonesia) and Programme developer Dan Hardie as they continue to work with SETIA and with the pilot group of graduates to evaluate and refine The Visible Story. Pray for wisdom and insight, and good communication with the more remote rural areas.
The Churches Advertising Network (CAN) have thrown down the gauntlet for their latest campaign, offering £500 for the best 30 second summary of the Christmas story. The competition will be promoted through radio ads which attempt to tell the story in a rapid, sports-commentary style.
The ads are the latest in a series of ad campaigns released to coincide with the major Christian festivals of Easter and Christmas, each designed to get people talking and thinking. Memorable past ideas include a billboard campaign portraying Jesus as Che Guevara, and another with the image of Christ appearing in an empty pint glass. This year’s theme was inspired by research from the Theos think tank that showed that many people do not know the details of the Christmas story.
“We wanted to carry on with this idea of retelling the Christmas story, but in a medium suitable for radio listeners” said CAN creative director Chas Bayfield. “The new radio ads take on the style of a sports commentary and hope to engage in a humorous way with the youth audiences and encourage them to go to church to hear the Christmas story in full.”
Rev Dr Colin Greene, head of theology and mission at SGM Lifewords, reflects on the current financial crisis over on the Metavista blog.
In a wonderfully satirical article written for the July edition of Prospect magazine, Julian Gough likens the global financial crisis of the last few months to the equally calamitous events we read about in the book of Exodus. When Moses walked into the pharaoh’s court with an ultimatum that said the enslaved Israelites were just about to go on a God directed walkabout, the royal court had no idea that their great and revered military and economic empire was just about to lurch into its own version of financial meltdown.
The 
