"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Welcome to 'The Fight of the Centuries!' In this corner, a defending champion of the Reformed position, weighing in at 245 pages, Dr. John Piper and his book, 'The Justification of God.' And in this corner, the challenger, weighing in at 215 pages, Dr. Jonathan Williams and his book, 'Romans 9 and the Story Paul Was Telling.'

"Now we want a good clean fight - no hits below the belt with stupid memes and half-baked ideas. Keep it honorable. Remember that we are brothers in Christ, and we want to do everything to advance the name of our Savior in the world, and may the best ideas win!"

Hey everyone! We're having fun with this! Having finished our verse-by-verse exegesis of Romans 9 on our YouTube channel (see our Playlist, "Romans 9 and the Story Paul Was Telling") we are now ready to engage head on with the Calvinist interpretation of the same verses. We do this by conversing with John Piper's Calvinism in his book, "The Justification of God." I highly respect John Piper and his love for God. I profoundly disagree with his Calvinist perspective.

We have just released it! Round 1 begins! May the best ideas win!

https://www.youtube.com/@WordofGodSpeak-c4v

Hey Everyone! It's been a while! Kathy and I have been in England ministering with a church there. We are now back, and I am happy to announce that Episodes 9-10 of "Romans 9 and the Story Paul Was Telling" will be available this Friday, August 15.

We are in 9:19-23 - some of the hottest verses in the debate with the Calvinist interpretation. Too bad it's so hot! Paul's thought is quite simple. Join us tomorrow on our YouTube channel.

Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/@WordofGodSpeak-c4v

Spread the word! See you there!

Friday, July 18, we release Episode 8 on our series “Romans 9 and the Story Paul Was Telling.”

Its title? Hardened.

Really?

Why does God harden? Why doesn’t he soften hearts?

Why did he harden Pharaoh’s heart?

What did this have to do with Paul’s ministry? How does this story of Pharaoh fit with Paul’s thematic goal in Romans 9? And how does it relate to me?

Hear it, beginning tomorrow, July 18: [https://www.youtube.com/@WordofGodSpeak-c4v]

You will be encouraged!

I am grateful that our Lord uses the humble and weak to do great things. Two years ago, Chennai was a simple shopkeeper in a small village. Then, he learned to tell Bible stories to the lost. He learned to do this through our program "The 6 Cs of God's Story for the World." Today, he is the full-time pastor of this house church of 20 people. Chennai led them all to Christ telling stories instead of preaching sermons. Thanks be to God for his amazing grace! - Jonathan Williams - http://www.WGSministries.org

We have ministry in India. One of our workers started a before school/after school program for impoverished children. He reinforced the basics, taught them English, and taught them Bible stories. Many children came to Christ and their parents were interested, also, in the gospel. Then, the government stepped in and took over the school. Our worker could teach English, but he could not teach bible stories ... until a few days ago. The government leaders came to him and said, "We can no longer afford to teach these children," and they gave the school back to our worker! The parents were elated because they had seen a change in their children from the Bible stories. They asked our worker to take control of it again, which he did. The pictures show happy children once again with school supplies and learning under the guidance of godly Christians. For this, we are grateful! - Jonathan Williams - http://www.WGSministries.org

I am grateful for the opportunity to work with people to get out the gospel in difficult places. Let me give you an example of what I mean by difficult.

Bhora and his wife Beena fell into debt to their Muslim landlord. Bhora had no way to pay back the debt, so the landlord decided he would collect payment by abusing his wife regularly. The law looks the other way, and people in such situations are powerless. The horror of this experience is compounded as we look at her sweet face, her humble husband, and their small children.

These are two of our disciples/storytellers in Pakistan. They are faithful workers, and Beena has shown great ability in telling biblical stories. Our key leader, Shakaib, asked us to help, and we responded by paying their debt. They are now being relocated to a safer work area.

In the photo, on the left you see Bhora and Beena expressing their gratitude for their freedom. In the photo on the right, Beena is telling a story from the Bible to a small gathering. Our hearts are saddened when we hear about such tragic events, yet we are amazed at the grace of God that enables his people to move forward with a smile on their faces as they continue serving Christ.