Jesus Knows Sign Language

Rev. Marshall Lawrence explains how Christians can reach out to deaf people with the love and compassion of Christ. “Only 2% [of those who are deaf] know Christ as Savior.”

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Silent Blessings Deaf Ministries: Raising and Reaching the DeafAudio | Transcript

This testimony by Marshall Lawrence to the state of deaf outreach was a convicting reminder that there are tremendous ministry opportunities in our own backyard. The statistics that Marshall gives about the number of Christian fathers who do not bother themselves to learn their children’s native language are not just staggering, they’re inexcusable. I wept over this, for those children who are growing up without fathers and for those fathers who are losing their children. I wept, too, for the child that had to discover that Jesus knows sign language. Every child needs to be taught the greatness of our God. She should know that the God who created her can understand her, knows her language, knows her thoughts and her heart, that He loves her and died to be with her.

… most deaf people today will be born, will grow up, will live, and will die without ever once having seen the gospel presented to them clearly in their own language…Marshall Lawrence

We should should not pity the deaf that they cannot hear as we do; most of them do not have a problem with it. We ought to feel compassion for the deaf because a majority of them do not know Christ as their Lord and Savior, and are missing the unsurpassed joy of living life in obedience to Him and for His glory. My prayer is that no matter where God finds me, or where He finds you, that you will have His compassionate heart for the lost, that you and I will be His hands, and if the hearer is deaf, that those hands would be ready to sign the Word of God to those who cannot hear them in our language. Jesus knows sign language, but do His disciples?

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K.P. Yohannan – To Live Is Christ

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Gospel for Asia: To Live is Christ!Audio | Video

This is an exceedingly convicting sermon by K.P. Yohannan entitled, “To Live Is Christ.” It brings me back to my adage:

If 99% of Christians knew what God expected of them, they wouldn’t even bother trying.

I’ve said this before, and while I suspect that it is true, I nonetheless wish it were not. As K.P. mentions in this sermon:

What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.Matthew 18:12-14 (ESV)

I think that this is particularly interesting when you consider what so-called “marginal Christians.” You cannot go astray if you are not first a part of His fold.

I hope God will use this sermon to stir your heart for the lost as it did mine. We cannot not simply talk, we must do.

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Francis Chan – Prayer as a Way of Walking in Love: A Personal Journey


Desiring God 2011 Conference for Pastors: “Prayer as a Way of Walking in Love: A Personal Journey” (MP3)

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In the process of talking about how pastors ought to be men that inspire others toward godliness and communion with God through their own example, Francis Chan is himself an example….

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What Gospel-Centered Really Means

A Conversation: Tim Keller, John Piper, and Don Carson

This is a compelling conversation between Tim Keller, John Piper, and Don Carson at a Gospel Coalition leadership meeting in 1998. It touches on a range of topics, but drives to the center of what leading a gospel-centered ministry really means.

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