SCATTERING SEEDS OF HOPE:
Evangelism for the discouraged and
ineffective
By Jeremy Marshall & Mary Davis
10 Publishing. 113 pages. £6.99
ISBN 978 1 915 705 518
MEETING JESUS:
Introducing the answer to our biggest
questions
By Jeremy Marshall
10 Publishing. 57 pages. £4.99
ISBN 978 1 914 966 781
If you are not familiar with the recent Passion for Life training videos, especially the ones featuring Jeremy Marshall, Scattering Seeds of Hope will bring you up to speed and then some.
Written by Jeremy Marshall and Mary Davis, it is both theologically sound and practically helpful, but in a very down-to-earth sort of way. The latter importantly making it feel both doable and achievable.
It is a book aimed at those who find themselves discouraged, ineffective and perhaps a bit scared when it comes to engaging in personal evangelism. Since in my experience that is most of us, this book of less than 120 pages is well worth the read.
The two introductory chapters make the point that Christianity was initially a lay movement. So the early Christians learned on the job, that is: ‘Nobody says you have to study the theory of football before you play it’. But also God’s word is powerful and it is not us, but God the Holy Spirit who unlocks the door of people’s live from the inside. We just need to be willing sharers of our lives and the gospel.
What then follows are eight short key chapters looking at the power of stories, questions, weakness, enthusiasm, social media, prayer and the Holy Spirit, God’s word and the miracle of salvation. The point is often driven home by real-life examples, the poignancy of which was all the more underlined in many instances by the fact that Jeremy, who was diagnosed with incurable cancer almost ten years ago now, finally went to be with the Lord to whom he devoted the last few years of his life, faithfully serving as an evangelist.
I leave you with this challenge which I suspect came from Jeremy’s pen: ‘An over-busy life, including a busy church calendar, is often the greatest enemy of personal evangelism.’
Meeting Jesus
The late Jeremy Marshall loved using stories to answer people’s questions. Even the difficult questions of suffering and why our world is in such a mess!
Meeting Jesus, which will take barely an hour to read, focuses in on a person who meets Jesus, whose story can be read in one of the four Gospels. The story of Zacchaeus tops and tales the book, and in between are eight chapters focused on a particular question based around one such encounter. Among others, questions that are addressed include: How can we know God? Why did Jesus die? Is seeing believing?
Ideal for giving to a non-believer, a new believer and even a mature believer who wants to get better at sharing the gospel using stories from the Bible. Probably one of the last, if not the last book Jeremy wrote! Thank you Jeremy!
