Dr Paul Allen

Jesus and Nicodemus (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) One of my favorite books on evangelism is Jesus the Evangelist, by Richard Phillips. It is a collection of sermons Phillips preached at his Presbyterian church through the Gospel of John . These sermons focus on John 1 , 3, and 4, and examine the evangelism of Jesus. Perhaps the biggest danger in studying historical narratives is confusing description with prescription. Just because Jesus walked on water, for example, does not mean Mark is telling us to walk on water. This danger is the trap that plagues many books on evangelism. Many evangelistic methods take one example of evangelism from a Gospel or Acts, and build a model upon that singular event as if it was prescriptive. But Phillips threads this needle exceptionally well, by summarizing the text, asking questions of the text, and then showing how those answers can be applied to us today. For example, from Jesus’ exchange with Nicodemus, Phillips gives us theology: “The reason ...

Imagine that a counselee, parishioner, or spiritual friend came to you with the following story. “I’m struggling. I’ve been married five times. Now I’m with another man. I feel like I just have to have a man. I’m desperate and Image via Wikipedia  empty without a man in my life.” If we were ministering in the 80s and influenced by the counseling climate of the day, we might diagnose this woman with a “co-dependency issue.” Ministering in today’s counseling environment, we might determine that she has an “addiction issue.” A Worship Disorder Jesus determined that she had a worship issue. The woman, of course, is “the Samaritan woman” of John 4 . Many people miss the connection between  John 2:23-25 , John 3 , and John 4. The end of John 2 should be like a flashing neon light. “Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.” Jesus knows us universally and internally. He is the div...