News

Isn’t The Bible Irrelevant?

by Solas

Isn’t the Bible irrelevant? Outdated? Many people think so, but when we consider some of the most pressing questions of our age, a different picture emerges. What does it mean to be human? How can I live a good life? Can I choose my own identity? On all these questions (and much more!) the ancient text of the Bible contains clear, compelling answers that are not only relevant, but even relatable.

Share

Please share this video widely with friends or family and for more Short Answers videos, visit solas-cpc.org/shortanswers/, subscribe to our YouTube channel or visit us on Twitter Instagram or Facebook.

Support

Short Answers is a viewer-supported video series: if you enjoy them, please help us continue to make them by donating to Solas. Visit our Donate page and choose a free book as a thank-you gift!

Cairngorms Convention 2024

by Solas

Here you’ll find the PDF slide decks for the four talks given by Andy Bannister and Steve Osmond at the Cairngorms Convention in June 2024. There are also a number of links to additional resources based on some of the issues raised during the Q&A.

5-Steps-for-answering-tough-questions_Steve-OsmondDownload
Engaging-the-Apathetic-Disinterested_Steve-OsmondDownload
Cairngorms-CC-Slides-01-How-To-TalkDownload
Cairngorms-CC-Slides-04-Back-to-JesusDownload

Q&A Resources

1What about those who have never heard the gospel?Short Answers video – https://www.solas-cpc.org/what-about-those-who-havent-heard-of-jesus/
3The failures of the churchShort Answers video – Given the legacy of the Church why should I take Christianity seriously?
https://www.solas-cpc.org/shortanswers47/
4Us in Christ, Christ in Us? What  do these things mean?Book: Union with Christ by Rankin Wilbourne
5How can we know where and how to serve?Book: The Call by Os Guiness
6Paul’s greetings in the name of the father and Son only, why? Was he not fully Trinitarian?Article: https://feedingonchrist.org/no-greeting-from-the-holy-spiri/
7How to talk about Church without it sounding like a club?Launch Pad 11: Change Perceptions One Drop At  A Time. https://www.solas-cpc.org/launch-pad-11-change-perceptions-one-drop-at-a-time/
8Friends who are very happy and satisfied. Webinar: Evangelism to the Apathetic with Michael Ots https://www.solas-cpc.org/evangelism-to-the-apathetic/
9Resources for the Old Testament violence question …Book: Is God a Moral Monster? by Paul Copan
10Tips for detecting the hidden assumptions behind a question …Talk: Sharing Faith Without Looking Like An Idiot by Andy Bannister – https://www.solas-cpc.org/sharing-faith-without-looking-like-an-idiot-andy-bannister/
11When should i say something and when should I keep quiet? (Context of a friend at work who has been widowed at 37 with two young daughters).Solas Conference Session on God and Suffering. Gavin Matthews https://youtu.be/mRNBTBT-XOY
12Most challenging question you’ve ever been asked? – and how’d you answer?Suffering Question: Webinar, “Where Is God In All The Suffering?” https://www.solas-cpc.org/where-is-god-in-all-the-suffering/
13.Evangelism for introvertsMind the Gap Article: https://www.solas-cpc.org/the-introvert-gap/
PEP Talk with Mark Mittelberg : https://www.solas-cpc.org/pep-talk-with-mark-mittelberg/
14.Different ways for different people to share the gospelhttps://www.solas-cpc.org/launch-pad-52-ways-to-share-your-faith/

Launch Pad 25: Practice your testimony and pray for an opportunity to share it

by Editor

I love engaging with the big questions about life:  where do we come from? why are we here? what is the good life? what happens when we die? – and showing how the Christian faith has good answers to these questions which are both existentially satisfying and intellectually robust. Along with that, the Bible also commends that we share our own story of how we came to put our faith in Christ, and how he has changed our lives. Evangelism can never be simply academic, it must also be personal, we should be willing to talk about God’s finding us and working in our lives to mould, comfort, challenge, and grow us.

Sometimes we hear the testimonies of those who are radically changed by Jesus breaking them out of the prison of drug addiction, gangsterism, or militant scientific atheism, and we can think that perhaps our story is less powerful. Let me encourage you that it is not. It’s in no way less significant when you remember that each and every person who is saved by Christ has the most significant story to tell – they were dead, and now they are alive. That is significant! And that is a story worth telling, and your unique story will appeal someone like you. A good testimony is not one which is dramatic, it just has to be true!

Your story of God’s saving you, and then His work of continual grace in your life is something that you can share with anyone – and it’s a story that cannot be taken from you. No argument can steal it, no objection topple it – it is the story of you meeting your saviour and being rescued from darkness. The fear of death evaporated by life eternal, the guilt of sin overwhelmed by radical grace, the loneliness of the world dimmed as we are bought and brought into a family and woven into Christ as the body, each one of us. You have a story to tell!

We can each tell the story of God’s grace in our life in so many ways. Spend some time thinking about the difference that your faith in Jesus makes in your life even today as you face the world, and then pray for opportunity to tell that story.

Prayer: ‘Lord, give me opportunity to tell my story’

Previously: Launch Pad #24 Join a Short Term Mission Trips

Next: Launch Pad #26 Harness Your Passions

The Free Church Youth Conference

by Editor

I was recently invited to speak at the Free Church Youth Conference at Lendrick Muir
outdoor activity centre. This was my first time at this event, and it was such a pleasure to be
there – what a buzz of excitement and activity with having so many younger people all
together. The topic I was asked to teach on was ‘What About the Bible: Fact of Fairy Tale?’.
This is one of my favourite topics to speak on for two reasons. The first is that it’s a question
that I asked when I was in my teens. I always wondered if the Bible was in fact reliable, or if
it was just some fiction conjured up by the church. I was attracted to Jesus and the Gospel,
but was it all actually true?

One Sunday when I was about 19 years old a pastor at the church at shared a message on
this topic, and shared some of the reasons why we can trust the Bible – it was a pivotal
moment in my faith journey. And so what a privilege it is to me that years later I have the
same opportunity to share about the trustworthiness of the Bible with large groups of
younger folk. I shared at two separate break out sessions, each attracting around 40 people,
and had a time of Q&A at each session. I came away encouraged by the turn out – showing
that this is still a question that concerns people – and by the engagement in the Q&A time,
which really pointed out that this is something important to people and that they want to dig
deeper for themselves and also learn how to share the truth of the Gospel with their friends
and family.

PEP Talk with Matt from Frontiers

by Solas

In many parts of the UK, we can expect to encounter people from Muslim backgrounds in our communities. Sharing the Gospel with them can be a great opportunity, but can be daunting. There are many assumptions we can make, but how can we approach them in a spirit of humility and friendliness? Today’s guest shares with Andy from his experience working with Muslims in the UK and in Pakistan.

For more information on the resources mentioned in this episode, email Matt<at>frontiers.org.uk

With Matt from Frontiers – PEP Talk

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Amazon Music
RSS Feed

Our Guest

For over 20 years, Matt has been with Frontiers, a mission agency dedicated to making disciples and planting churches amongst Muslims. He spent most of his 30s in northern Pakistan, where he had close calls with terrorism, sectarian fighting and a massive earthquake. Now based in the UK, Matt regularly speaks at CUs, churches and conferences on God’s heart for all peoples and how to communicate the gospel to Muslims. He hosts a podcast, called Raw Mission and has just begun volunteering as a prison chaplain.

About PEP Talk

The Persuasive Evangelism Podcast aims to equip listeners to share their faith more effectively in a sceptical world. Each episode, Andy Bannister (Solas) and Kristi Mair (Oak Hill College) chat to a guest who has a great story, a useful resource, or some other expertise that helps equip you to talk persuasively, winsomely, and engagingly with your friends, colleagues and neighbours about Jesus.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Launch Pad 24 : Join A Short-Term Mission Team

by Editor

What could grow your spiritual life, reach the lost, encourage a struggling church, forge lifelong friendships, allow you to see new parts of the world, experience new cultures, encourage your church, equip you for ministry and be the adventure of a lifetime?

The answer is going on a short-term mission trip this summer with an organisation like GLO, who have run them successfully for years. This year they are sending mission teams to Albania, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, Romania, Tanzania, as well as teams within the UK too.

Obviously something that good comes at a cost and the price to pay here is a week of your holiday and around £100 towards costs. However, it is a week that could change lives forever—including your own!

Some folks have never considered investing a week in a mission-trip, others did them when they were young and then gave up, some think that short-term trips don’t do lasting good. Stephen from GLO Europe wants to challenge such thinking. He reports that:

  • Host churches all over the world say that visiting teams are a huge encouragement to them. One pastor wrote: “Thank you so much for your ministry and all the help you gave us. We saw the heavens open and the Lord’s hand working beyond natural expectations.”
  • Teams are multi-generational and not just made up of young people.
  • Groups from one church can serve together. One youth group from Glasgow went to the Czech Republic. “There is also no doubt that the experience of serving in a cross-cultural context had a profound effect on the young people” said their leader.
  • Thousands of gospels and tracts in tens of languages are given out all over the continent!

Student ministry, literature distribution, children’s clubs, street-work, church-based programmes, arts, parties, youth clubs, open-air work, drama, quizzes, church services, practical help are just some things that short-term mission teams get up to.

There is however one significant danger in short-term ministry trips. Some people find that the experience is so transformative that they sign up to become long-term missionaries! So don’t just think about what you might be able to get in your holidays, but what you might be able to give.

Pray: Lord, my time is yours. How do you want me to spend it?

Previously: Launch Pad #23 Start or Join a Christian Workplace Group

Next: Launch Pad #25 Practice Your Testimony and Pray for an Opportunity to Share It.

Evangelism in Pitlochry Festival Theatre!

by Editor

We often talk about doing evangelism by ‘taking the gospel outside the four walls of the church’ and into public spaces where people feel comfortable coming to listen, engage and ask questions about the Christian faith. Over the years these have taken us to cafe’s, pubs, restaurants, hotels, offices, MoD bases, schools, golf-clubs, and outdoor centres! Pitlochry Baptist Church hired the fantastic Festival Theatre in their town and invited Andy Bannister to come and speak. It really was quite the venue! Hear the full story in the video link above,

Confident Christianity Evening PBC May 2024

by Solas

Thank you for joining us for the Confident Christianity evening at Perth Baptist Church. Please find on this page a few resources and recommendations which follow on from the talks and Q&A topics which came up on the night.

The Art of Conversation SlidesDownload
Perth-CCC-Andy-Gavin-Session-2-SlidesDownload

Additional Resources

Book: How to Talk About Jesus Without Looking Like An Idiot by Andy Bannister

Steve’s opening talk was based on this book. It is available for purchase here,  or if you sign up to support Solas for £3/month we can send you a copy as a thankyou. Click here.

Book: Have You Ever Wondered? eds. Andy Bannister and Gavin Matthews

The second session which Gavin and Andy presented was based on this book. It is available for purchase here, or if you sign up to support Solas for £3/month or more we can send you two copies as a thank you, one to read, and one to give away!

Q and A topics:

Hell and the judgement of God:
Solas Short Answers video Why would a God of love send people to Hell?

Sharing the gospel with those who have never wondered, and are apathetic:

Solas article: Apatheism: When the gospel meets indifference by Kyle Breshears

Veganism:
Book: Serve God, Save the Planet by Matthew Sleeth

The Uniqueness of Jesus:
Solas Webinar: Do all religions lead to God?

Solas Podcast: PEP Talk with Rahil Patel

Kindles and E-book availability:
For those looking for a digital (epub) version of Have You Ever Wondered? click here
Instructions on loading it onto a Kindle (etc) are here.

Conversations that don’t lead to anger:
Book: Questioning Evangelism by Randy Newman

Thanks again for joining us on Friday. Keep an eye out for our prayer letter “Insight”, in which you will also see information about future events.

Will Animals Go To Heaven?

by Solas

“Do animals go to heaven?” That was a question Andy Bannister’s daughter asked after the death of a pet. And it’s a brilliant question: is Christianity only concerned with human beings? Or does it have something to say about the natural world and animals in particular?

Share

Please share this video widely with friends or family and for more Short Answers videos, visit solas-cpc.org/shortanswers/, subscribe to our YouTube channel or visit us on Twitter Instagram or Facebook.

Support

Short Answers is a viewer-supported video series: if you enjoy them, please help us continue to make them by donating to Solas. Visit our Donate page and choose a free book as a thank-you gift!

E21 Webinar: A Christ-Like Response to Islam

by Andy Bannister

I really enjoyed giving this webinar for the E21 Network on Thursday 6 June 2024 — below you’ll find my slides from the session as well as some other great resources!

At Solas we love working with churches across the country, to help them …

Next up, here are the slides and my notes from my first session, A Christ-Like Response to Islam.

Download my slides as a PDF

Next, that webinar was based on one chapter from my book Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?. That book is a really accessible exploration of some of the key differences between Christianity and Islam. It then uses those differences to point to Jesus and the gospel. It’ll help you be better equipped for conversations with Muslims. Normally GBP£9.29, you can get an open source ebook (EPUB format) version of the book for just GBP£4 (or USD$5) from here:

Buy Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

Other Resources You Might Enjoy

  1. Nabeel Qureshi’s book, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, a powerful testimony of a Muslim finding Christ.

  2. Nick Chatrath’s book, Reaching Muslims: A One-Stop Guide for Christians is a brilliant little book designed to help you gain confidence in sharing your faith with Muslims.

  3. Mark Durie’s book, Liberty to the Captives, very helpful for discipling former Muslims.

  4. For an overview of the Qur’an and its theology, I can recommend two books. First, Answering Islam: The Crescent in the Light of the Cross, written by Norman Geisler and Abdul Saleeb. And  then, second, the Muslim author Fazlur Rahman’s helpful Major Themes of the Qur’an.

  5. The Qur’an Tools website at Melbourne School of Theology is really helpful for searching the Qur’an, or digging into the Arabic without being an Arabic speaker. Find it here.

  6. Our new Launch Pad series for 2024: every week, we’re sharing a short tip or idea to help you share Jesus with your friends.

  7. Short Answers is our popular video series, with over 180 short videos tackling almost every question somebody might imagine about Christian faith. They’re great for sharing with friends who have questions, or watching to help you gain confidence yourself.

Launch Pad 23: Start or Join a Christian Workplace Group

by Editor

The place where Christians interact most with people who do not share their faith is at work. It’s not just that most of us spend large proportion of our waking hours with colleagues, it’s also that as we work alongside people—sharing challenges, joys and frustrations—that we can forge deep connections with others. For most people, the office, school staff-room, or shop-floor is their ‘frontline’ where their faith intersects the world. And it is often challenging.

Thousands of Christians are finding renewed courage and opportunity to share their faith in their workplaces, by joining together with other Christians there. The growth of Christian Workplace Groups is an exciting international phenomenon and in the UK they are springing up in hospitals, water companies, aircraft manufacturers, government departments,  the Army, finance, logistics, publishing, brewing and insurance companies, and hundreds of other places. In London alone there are now 694 registered Christian Workplace Groups!

These groups vary enormously. Some meet just to pray and encourage each other in their individual faith, lives and witness. Other groups offer to pray for people in their firm. Some groups hold outreach events in the workplace, or an adjacent café. There is no formula for what has to be done, but there is the universal testimony that the Christian life and faith is lived more effectively together.

Virtually every group was started by someone who said, “That couldn’t happen here” and “I could never do that”, yet somehow by the grace of God it has, and they did.

The charity “Transform Work” was set up to assist Christian Workplace Groups and has loads of information about how to go about setting up and running one. They have experience in everything from how get a group running, how to work cooperatively with HR departments and navigate the world of Diversity and Inclusion bodies and policies. They also have inspiring stories of what is achieved when Christians are more visible for Jesus at work, in-person and online.

Their website is a wealth of helpful information. And you can access their free booklet “Starting a Christian Workplace Group” here. Christian mission is much easier if you do it alongside others. Consider how to grow your collective witness in your workplace.

Pray: Lord, please help me to wisely, truthfully and graciously be seen for you at work. Amen

Previously: Launch Pad #22 Get The Word Out!

Next: Launch Pad #24 Join A Short-Term Mission Team

Christians, Muslims and God!

by Editor

Andy Bannister from Solas was recently asked by the CS Lewis Institute in the USA to revisit the theme of his 2021 book, “Do Muslims and Christians Worship The Same God?” as part of their ‘Challenging Questions’ series.

The article, (following the book) do a detiailed textual comparison between the kind of deity described by the Qur’an and that found in the Bible. Andy finds some points of commonality as well as some significant and irreconcileable contradictions between the two portraits and this is useful as it facilitates a respectful dialogue between Christians and Muslims.

Click below to read the article

Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

If you would like to find out how to get a copy of “Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?” click here. 

ICMDA Webinar: Answering Muslim Friends and Colleagues

by Andy Bannister

I really enjoyed giving this webinar for the ICMDA on Thursday 29 May.

Firstly, here are the slides and my notes from my talk.

Download my slides as a PDF

Download my teaching notes as a PDF

Next, my book Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God? is a really accessible exploration of some of the key differences between Christianity and Islam. It then uses those differences to point to Jesus and the gospel. It’ll help you be better equipped for conversations with Muslims. Normally GBP£9.29, you can get an open source ebook (EPUB format) version of the book for just GBP£4 (or USD$5) from here:

Buy Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

Third, our brand new book at Solas, Have You Ever Wondered? is a best-selling evangelistic “give away” book. Designed to gently start conversations with friends and colleagues beginning from the things they already care about (e.g. justice, music, meaning, truth, love, identity), it’s been used by thousands of Christians to start conversations about Jesus with friends. And you can get the ebook — for free! All we ask is that if you enjoy it, you consider then buying a print copy to give to a non-Christian friend.

Get a free eBook version of Have You Ever Wondered? 

Other Resources You Might Enjoy

1) The Qur’an Tools website at Melbourne School of Theology is really helpful for searching the Qur’an, or digging into the Arabic without being an Arabic speaker. Find it here. 

2) Our new Launch Pad series for 2024: every week, we’re sharing a short tip or idea to help you share Jesus with your friends.

3) Short Answers is our popular video series, with over 180 short videos tackling almost every question somebody might imagine about Christian faith. They’re great for sharing with friends who have questions, or watching to help you gain confidence yourself.

Launch Pad 22: Get the Word Out!

by Editor

One of the Solas team spoke at a “Meal-with-a-Message” event put on by a local church. After the meal and the talk there was a Q&A, during which a non-Christian guest asked a series of questions about faith that culminated in him signing up for the church’s Alpha course. At the end of the evening, we asked him whether he’d been brought along by a church member. “No,” he replied, “I saw an advert about tonight’s event in the local newspaper and it sounded really interesting.” He went on to say it was the first time he’d set foot in a church in decades.

It’s great to put on a Meal-with-a-Message, or some other kind of evangelistic event, or a carol service—anything where non-Christians might feel welcome—but we need to let people know it’s happening! As well as preach the Word, we also need to spread the word!

How can we do this? Here are some ideas:

  1. Pray! (For fruit from your event, for creative advertising ideas, for God to draw people in).
  2. If you can, find someone in your church with a flair for publicity and promotion. (When it comes to social media—see #4 below—young people are often especially gifted in this area, so why not get them involved?)
  3. Get the event into the local newspaper—many local newspapers have “What’s On” sections. (You could also offer to send a report and a photograph after the event, or ask if somebody from the newspaper would like to come to the event as a guest and report on it. Local newspapers are often eager for fresh story ideas beyond ‘Football Team Stuck up Tree’ or ‘Local Cat Loses to Neasden FC Again’).
  4. Publicise the event on any local social media groups. Just be sure to abide by any group rules and don’t spam people (If in doubt, ask first for advice about how to advertise your event).
  5. Put up posters in local shops, the community centre, the library etc.
  6. Hand out leaflets on the street.
  7. Distribute leaflets door-to-door.
  8. Encourage church members to invite friends. (A Solas Confident Christianity event might also help boost their confidence in asking people to events).

Pray: Father God, help us as a church not just to be creative with our outreach events, but to be creative in spreading the word about those events. Amen!

Previously: Launch Pad # 21Run a ‘Meal with a Message’ Event

Next: Launch Pad #23 Start or Join a Christian Workplace Group