FEBRUARY 2020
Great Days of Opportunity BACK TOTHEBIBLE .CA
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Thank You
From all of us at Back to the Bible Canada, THANK YOU for your support towards our December year-end financial goal of $465,000. WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR YOUR FAITHFUL AND GENEROUS SUPPORT!
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WHAT'S INSIDE FEBRUARY 2020
Great Days of Opportunity page 4 Ben Lowell
Together, We Teach the Bible page 10 Steve Biggerstaff
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DR. JOHN'S DAILY BIBLE READING PLAN
India Needs Our Prayers page 12 Dr. John Neufeld
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INTRODUCING LAUGHAGAIN TV
First World Problems page 16 Phil Callaway
Would You Walk 20 Million Steps? page 18 Joshua Scott
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Great Days of Opportunity
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s has been shared before, we have a dream that through the ministry of Back to the Bible Canada, every Canadian would have to make a decision as to what to do with Jesus! This decision can only be made when one understands who Jesus really is, and that is only accomplished by the study and understanding of His story according to the Bible. If you’ve followed Back to the Bible Canada in the past number of years, you will know that in 2016 we felt compelled to reach out to partner with our brothers and sisters at Back to the Bible India. What a blessing, privilege, and inspiration these past years have been. We have experienced firsthand the passion and dedication of the ministry team in India. Their desire for Back to the Bible India
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to re-establish itself as a vehicle to share the Gospel through the faithful teaching of the Bible has been an inspiration. Now let me share with you some great news for 2020. As in past years, we will partner with Back to the Bible India and other participating denominations and churches to provide a two-day Bible Teaching Conference. This year not only will conferences take place in Delhi and Hyderabad, but we look forward to the addition of Chennai as well! So many of the dedicated pastors in India have little formal Biblical education, so you can imagine the significant importance of these days spent together under the teaching of Dr. John Neufeld and additional qualified Indian pastors and Christian leaders.
of a pastor to attend one of the Bible Teaching Conferences in 2020? The cost of sponsorship is only $55 per pastor. We don’t take your partnership for granted. You are essential to the ministry that takes place through Back to the Bible Canada, so thank you in advance for entrusting this ministry with your financial gifts.
Now allow me to suggest how you can help: 1. Would you consider a gift to sustain the ongoing ministry of Back to the Bible Canada. The ministry in Canada and our efforts beyond our borders only continue as a result of maintaining a fiscally healthy organization. Your gifts go directly to support every ministry resource and medium made available in Canada to anyone searching to know God and His Word. 2. Would you consider an additional gift toward our $75,000 budget in support of our ongoing partnership with Back to the Bible India.
Please pray for our continued Bible teaching and resource efforts in Canada and India. Please pray specifically for the impact the Bible Teaching Conferences will have upon Indian pastors in 2020. As an indication of our desire to minister in partnership with Back to the Bible India, we also want to offer you as our gift, a special Instrumental CD uniquely produced in India entitled Songs of Zion. This CD, directed by violinist and friend of Back to the Bible India, Shalem Christy, contains 7 hymns of the Indian church as well as a song sheet translating the lyrics. We hope it will be a reminder to pray for our brothers and sisters and the Church in India.
BEN LOWELL Ben is the CEO of Back to the Bible Canada
3. Would you consider taking the opportunity to sponsor the cost BACK TOTHEBIBLE.CA
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To register, call Christian Cruises at 1.877.229.6155 or visit backtothebible.ca/cruise Pricing starting at $1,555.04 CAD, based on double occupancy.
APRIL 11 - 19, 2021
A spectacular journey of faith! For more information, call Back to the Bible Canada at 1.800.663.2425 PRICING STARTING AT $4,131 CAD BASED ON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY. 6
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HELPING GOD’S PEOPLE MANAGE GOD’S ASSETS BACK TOTHEBIBLE.CA
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Dr. Neufeld's Daily Bible Reading Plan F E B RUA RY 2 0 2 0
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
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Exodus 27-28; Matthew 21:1-22 Exodus 29-30; Matthew 21:23-46 Exodus 31-33; Matthew 22:1-22 Exodus 34-35; Matthew 22:23-46 Exodus 36-38; Matthew 23:1-22 Exodus 39-40; Matthew 23:23-39 Leviticus 1-3; Matthew 24:1-28 Leviticus 4-5; Matthew 24:29-51 Leviticus 6-7; Matthew 25:1-30 Leviticus 8-10; Matthew 25:31-46 Leviticus 11-12; Matthew 26:1-25 Leviticus 13; Matthew 26:26-50 Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:51-75 Leviticus 15-16; Matthew 27:1-26 Leviticus 17-18; Matthew 27:27-50 Leviticus 19-20; Matthew 27:51-66 Leviticus 21-22; Matthew 28 Leviticus 23-24; Mark 1:1-22 Leviticus 25; Mark 1:23-45 Leviticus 26-27; Mark 2 Numbers 1-2; Mark 3:1-19 Numbers 3-4; Mark 3:20-35 Numbers 5-6; Mark 4:1-20 Numbers 7-8; Mark 4:21-41 Numbers 9-11; Mark 5:1-20 Numbers 12-14; Mark 5:21-43 Numbers 15-16; Mark 6:1-29 Numbers 17-19 Mark 6:30-56
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Numbers 20-22; Mark 7:1-13 Numbers 23-25; Mark 7:14-37 Numbers 26-28; Mark 8 Numbers 29-31; Mark 9:1-29 Numbers 32-34; Mark 9:30-50 Numbers 35-36; Mark 10:1-31 Deuteronomy 1-3; Mark 10:32-52 Deuteronomy 4-6; Mark 11:1-18 Deuteronomy 7-9; Mark 11:19-33 Deuteronomy 10-12; Mark 12:1-27 Deuteronomy 13-15; Mark 12:28-44 Deuteronomy 16-18; Mark 13:1-20 Deuteronomy 19-21; Mark 13:21-37 Deuteronomy 22-24; Mark 14:1-26 Deuteronomy 25-27; Mark 14:27-53 Deuteronomy 28-29; Mark 14:54-72 Deuteronomy 30-31; Mark 15:1-25 Deuteronomy 32-34; Mark 15:26-47 Joshua 1-3; Mark 16 Joshua 4-6; Luke 1:1-20 Joshua 7-9; Luke 1:21-38 Joshua 10-12; Luke 1:39-56 Joshua 13-15; Luke 1:57-80 Joshua 16-18; Luke 2:1-24 Joshua 19-21; Luke 2:25-52 Joshua 22-24; Luke 3 Judges 1-3; Luke 4:1-30 Judges 4-6; Luke 4:31-44 Judges 7-8; Luke 5:1-16 Judges 9-10; Luke 5:17-39 Judges 11-12; Luke 6:1-26
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Judges 13-15; Luke 6:27-49 Judges 16-18; Luke 7:1-30 Judges 19-21; Luke 7:31-50 Ruth 1-4; Luke 8:1-25 1 Samuel 1-3; Luke 8:26-56
INTRODUCING
1 Samuel 4-6; Luke 9:1-17 1 Samuel 7-9; Luke 9:18-36 1 Samuel 10-12; Luke 9:37-62 1 Samuel 13-14; Luke 10:1-24 1 Samuel 15-16; Luke 10:25-42 1 Samuel 17-18; Luke 11:1-28 1 Samuel 19-21; Luke 11:29-54 1 Samuel 22-24; Luke 12:1-31 1 Samuel 25-26; Luke 12:32-59 1 Samuel 27-29; Luke 13:1-22 1 Samuel 30-31; Luke 13:23-35 2 Samuel 1-2; Luke 14:1-24 2 Samuel 3-5; Luke 14:25-35 2 Samuel 6-8; Luke 15:1-10 2 Samuel 9-11; Luke 15:11-32 2 Samuel 12-13; Luke 16 2 Samuel 14-15; Luke 17:1-19 2 Samuel 16-18; Luke 17:20-37 2 Samuel 19-20; Luke 18:1-23 2 Samuel 21-22; Luke 18:24-43 2 Samuel 23-24; Luke 19:1-27 1 Kings 1-2; Luke 19:28-48 1 Kings 3-5; Luke 20:1-26 1 Kings 6-7; Luke 20:27-47 1 Kings 8-9; Luke 21:1-19
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Together, We Teach the Bible A
s we give thanks for five years of Bible teaching with Dr. Neufeld who has continued the Bible teaching legacy here in Canada, we as a ministry have been blessed by Dr. Neufeld’s ability to continue the ministries’ legacy of Bible teaching internationally, along with your support. In the last few years, we have partnered with Back to the Bible India as they host bible teaching conferences for pastors in cities around India. The goal of the conferences is to equip pastors to teach the Bible verse-by-verse in their churches, unpacking the Scriptures for those who hear, while providing real-life application for their congregants. When asked about their vision for 2020, the leaders in India kept bringing up “a thirst for Bible
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teaching in their country”. Their choice of words hit home with me. We all know what it’s like to be thirsty for water, but what about a thirst for the Bible? India has such a small Christian community, with such limited Biblical instruction. The people of India are thirsty for the Word of God! Here is what some pastors had to say after attending the 2019 conferences: “I will endeavour in equipping our church to share the Word of God with our friends, spreading the Gospel of Jesus. I am thankful for Back to the Bible for the valuable teachings they gave us from the Word of God and equipping me in several areas of my spiritual life to be more effective in ministry. This conference has helped
us to realize the importance of a pastors Work in teaching the Word of God in the Church.” “I have been encouraged through the teaching of Dr. John. The foundation of the Church was first laid by the apostles and the prophets. We as preachers should follow them. I’ve learnt to preach the Gospel according to the Word of God.” As we strived to quench that thirst in 2019, we had over 350 pastors attend conferences in two cities, and in 2020 the goal is to increase that number while also adding a third city! And that is just in India! We have been approached by Back to the Bible Sri Lanka, who wish to host a similar set of events in their country with our assistance and partnership. But we cannot do this without you. This year we need to raise $75,000 to make these conferences a reality. Will you partner with us to help raise $75,000 so that we can quench a thirst for God’s Word on the other side of the world? Any amount you are able to give will go towards helping quench this thirst as we strive to do what we do:
they had to say: “…the challenges our cities are facing is the Health & Wealth gospel teachings by the socalled Prosperity Preachers. This is causing confusion and division in churches.” “Having the right kind of interpretation of the Scriptures will establish the correct understanding of biblical truths.” This is the need in their words, and we are equipped to fulfill it. Together, we can quench a thirst like no other.
We Teach the Bible. I asked the team in India what are the challenges they face as they work to remain faithful to line-byline Bible teaching. Here is what
STEVE BIGGERSTAFF Steve is the COO of Back to the Bible Canada
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India Needs Our Prayers T
he very first time I went to India, I was overwhelmed. I have been in large cities of the world before. I have seen Cairo, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, and others. I knew what great crowds felt like, along with chaotic traffic. But nothing prepared me for the scenes in large Indian cities. It’s hard to put my finger on why I felt so overwhelmed. It may have been that the air pollution was more than I had previously experienced. It might also have been the day I walked by a man suffering from leprosy. In spite of the fact that I had seen poverty before, I had never seen that. It might have been the traffic patterns that I found bewildering. It might have been that at many places when our car came to a stop, poor people tapped on
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the windows, asking for money. It seemed like my mind was struggling to come to terms with information overload. I couldn’t quite take it in. When Ben Lowell, Steve Biggerstaff and I arrived at the offices of Back to the Bible in the city of Hyderabad, I felt saddened. The building bore all the marks of a place that was once vibrant, but now had fallen into neglect. There was still a faithful board and staff, but they had remembered better days. The Back to the Bible program was no longer on the air. Instead, they were doing what they could to make old recordings, as well as older books, available to whoever wanted them. I preached at a Baptist church that Sunday. I was excited. It
parents had forbidden her from attending a Christian church. But as a little girl, she had listened to Christian radio. It brought her to Christ. I was encouraged.
was a very large building, and that Sunday, the place was overflowing with worshippers. And then on one day, among the many cars, motorcycles and other vehicles on the seemingly endless streets, I spotted him. It was a tuk tuk. On the back, in large letters was a sign: “Jesus is Lord.” I gave thanks. I said, Lord, among these endless crowds of people, you have not forgotten to call out your own. I spoke at a pastor’s conference the next week. I remember a room full of pastors. Three young men approached me. One of them had come to Christ out of Hinduism, and then told me how Christian radio had made an impact in his conversion. One pastor’s wife told me she too was raised in Hinduism, and that her
Back to the Bible India functions as an independent organization. Its board of directors are all Indian, as are its staff members. But Back to the Bible Canada has agreed to partner together with them. My voice is the voice of Back to the Bible India. That is, they use my Bible teaching. Back to the Bible India is again being heard across the land. Furthermore, Back to the Bible Canada continues to be invited to India in order to engage in training pastors to be expository Bible Teachers. We are now delighted that entire Indian Denominations invite their pastors to come to our seminars. It’s a wonderful partnership. Back to the Bible Canada, with Back to the Bible India. I am personally still overwhelmed by India. I think I understand it less than when I began. But I am thankful for a wonderful partnership. Please be in prayer for God’s Word to be heard throughout that very important land.
DR. JOHN NEUFELD Dr. John is the Bible Teacher at Back to the Bible Canada.
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We produce in the range of 1400 programs per year which are aired 105,000 times a year in addition to being accessed via podcast, YouTube, our apps and website.
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INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS
What is the India Pastors Conference? Another important partnership initiative includes ongoing pastor training conferences in India, the first two of which were held in February 2017 in the cities of Pune and Hyderabad. Over 300 pastors in the area attended, to be trained in expositional Bible teaching by Dr. John Neufeld. This year, we look forward to partnering again with Back to the Bible India to train pastors to effectively preach the gospel around the world.
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F A I T H .
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B I B L I C A L T R U T H . E N G A G I N G C U LT U R E .
What is indoubt?
Through engaging and thoughtful discussion with leaders around the world, indoubt’s mission is to help young adults strengthen their beliefs and views of life, faith, and culture through a biblical perspective.
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First World Problems W
hen my daughter was waitressing at a gourmet restaurant, she was shocked at how often people complained. Once the food was served and the patrons had a few minutes to sample it, she was taught to ask
with a smile, “How is everything?” in hopes that everything was alright. But when some of the regular whiners came in, she felt like asking, “Is anything alright?” I’m sure you’ve never complained, but we all know people who have. Here are some ridiculous complaints from actual people: I spend more time looking for a movie to watch than watching one.
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My hand is too chubby to shove into the Pringles chip container, so I have to tilt the container. My husband does everything I ask, but why do I have to ask him? I have more clothes than hangers. I have enough dip for my chips, but if I open another container, I won’t have enough chips for my dip. I was speaking to a group of nurses and during a Q&A time someone asked me, “What are your pet peeves?” What would you say? In hindsight, I wish I had been more eloquent, but I told them I couldn’t think of one thing off hand. Life is too short to focus
nothing to sandwich it with.
on my insignificant little first world problems. What on earth did I have to complain about? I had breakfast that morning. I have a wife who still loves me and finds me handsome. She has gone completely blind. They laughed at
Most of us don’t need another guilt trip, but I often need a reminder that I should be characterized by unending gratitude and enormous generosity. Real joy shows up only when we give thanks for God’s blessings and when we do what we can for others. Just this morning I found five places in the Bible where we’re told to, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” How about you? What are some practical ways that gratitude shines through? Maybe you can thank a waitress today. And if you’re wealthy enough to have more clothes than hangers, rather than buy more hangers, give half those clothes away.
that. People in the first world say, “I’m hungry but I better not eat because I just brushed my teeth.” People in the third world say, “I’m hungry and there’s nothing to eat. You have a toothbrush? Wow.” I heard someone say, “My sandwich is so full that it’s hard to eat.” I’ve been in countries where they have nothing to put in their sandwich. And if they did, they may have
PHIL CALLAWAY Phil Callaway is the host of Laugh Again. His 27th book Laugh Like A Kid Again (Harvest House) will release in June.
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Would You Walk 20 Million Steps? JOSHUA SCOTT Joshua is one of the hosts of indoubt. He also serves as the Young Adults Pastor at Maple Ridge Baptist Church in Maple Ridge, BC.
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he missional life of Paul was quite incredible. Having taken part in three separate missionary journeys, he travelled around 10,000 miles through places like modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Greece. And all this in about 12 years. That’s like travelling from Vancouver to Berlin and back again. If you want an even better picture of that, try setting your next Fitbit goal to 20 million steps. It’s what we’re calling the Paul-Workout-Program. What could motivate a man to go that distance simply to preach the gospel? Well, I hope that question made you cringe a little because I’m pretty sure Paul would be a little disappointed in us for asking.
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The gospel ought to be the best motivation for that kind of effort! But it’s not merely the good news itself that motivates us to share the Word of Christ across the globe; it’s what the gospel produces within us when the Holy Spirit accompanies it: love. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul writes about the ministry of reconciliation that we have all received as believers. God is making His appeal to the world through us, and the appeal is this: “be reconciled to God.” (v. 20) You’re an ambassador of Jesus Christ sent to spread the good news of a reconciled relationship with God to the entire world. But even before laying this down as the reality of our Christian lives, Paul writes
Himself (Matt 22:39). Not long ago, my wife and I were invited by some friends to enjoy a couple days away at a spa resort. Sound fancy? Yep. Now my wife and I were just getting started in married life, and the same was true of our friends. So how could we afford to go away to a fancy spa? Well, we couldn’t, and that’s why they invited us, because there was a 40% sale on the rooms.
about the motivation that he and every Christian ought to carry as we press on in this life of making disciples. “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died…” (2 Cor 5:14) Knowing the marvellous love of Christ who died in the place of wretched sinners, and particularly for a sinner like me, should grip me like no other truth. But Paul says that it doesn’t grip me into laziness, oh no, it grips me into action. If I have truly known the love of a Saviour freely given to the believing heart, then I can do no other but share that love to the world around me who I have been called to love by Christ
We didn’t end up going (because as nice as 40% off is, we’re more of a 60% sale kind of couple), but in some way, that very invitation should illustrate to us the way we should engage with the world concerning Christ. They invited us because they loved us and wanted us to take part in the wonderful blessing of 40% off. Well, what about the free gift of eternal salvation? How about a reconciled relationship with God Himself? The love of Christ controls us, and this love spills over toward our neighbours. It could drive us to travel 10,000 miles around the Middle East or 30 feet to the neighbour’s front door. But no matter where it takes us, it takes us with these words upon our lips: be reconciled to God. BACK TOTHEBIBLE.CA
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