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4 Works 49 Membros 2 Críticas

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Obras por Melody Rossi

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Evangelism has fallen on hard times. There are reasons for this. Good Christians do not want to come across as judgmental. There is a widespread reaction to ‘bad evangelism’ where non-Christians were beat over the head with insensitive witnessing attempts. This is particularly true of evangelism to the dying. Are people ever more vulnerable than in the hours and days they rage against the dying of light? Is it manipulative for Christ followers to hoist their ideas of God and salvation on a bedridden soul who can’t escape their pitch? On the other hand, Christians believe that our eternal destiny is bound up with our response to Jesus. If we don’t tell people about Jesus we’ve failed to love well and to hold out the hope of heaven for the dying. So many of us ‘bad evangelists’ vacillate between our discomfort with evangelistic methods and feelings of shame for our failure to ‘evangelize.’

Thankfully Melody Rossi does not advocate manipulative dehumanizing strategies. Nor does she make us feel guilty for not sharing our faith. In Sharing Christ with the Dying: Bringing Hope to Those Near the End of Life she discusses how to make the most of every opportunity to share the hope that is within us. This is no abstract exercise. Having recovered from a near-fatal surgical error herself, she also has walked along side others suffering serious illness, the suffering and the dying. This includes a family friend and her parents (mother, father and step-mom) and discovering ways to share her faith in gentle ways. This book is full of insights from her own experience.

Rossi also has a lot of practical advice. Ministry to the dying is hard. She talks about the need for adequate support networks, reliance on the Holy Spirit, attentiveness and the importance of helping people with their emergency information (i.e. Will, emergency info etc). Loving the dying is hard work, and those who are watching a parent, a child or a loved one dye will find Rossi’s words encouraging. She does not give us a formula for evangelism but shares how she shared with each of her parents the love of Christ in ways that were meaningful to them.

It is refreshing reading an Evangelism book which is not manipulative but also dispenses practical advice on how to love well. If you have loved ones suffering and are unsure how to share your faith, Rossi is a good guide. But she will not give you a formula on how to bring your loved ones to faith. In each case she learned how to respond to what God was doing and tailored her evangelism. I give this book four stars.

Thank you to Bethany House for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
Jamichuk | 1 outra crítica | May 22, 2017 |
No one wants to think about the death of a loved one. Knowing that an individual is not ready spiritually to cross from this life to the next can be a source of turmoil to anyone who believes that salvation through Christ is the only way to reach heaven after death. Melody Rossi knows the difficulty of dealing not only with a loved one's physical illness, but also the spiritual threat to the dying person. By following the leading of the Holy Spirit in multiple ways and covering her loved ones with prayer, Rossi witnessed the spiritual births of her mother, father and step-mother. In Sharing Christ with the Dying, Rossi shares her personal story as well as gives guidance on matters such as: how to show the love of Christ by serving, how to hold on to hope, how to recognize and respond in the moments of spiritual openness, and what to expect spiritually and physically from a dying individual.

Reading Sharing Christ with the Dying by Melody Rossi helped me to understand more about how to talk to my loved ones about spiritual matters. Having walked this journey multiple times, Rossi seemed like a wise, experienced friend who offered compassion, encouragement and Biblical-based reasons to hope. I come from a background with a lot of emphasis on verbal witnessing and somehow I learned it was my responsibility to save a soul. I had the mindset that if I could do everything just right, then my loved ones would turn to Jesus. However, I've come to see that I'll never be perfect and Rossi made a statement that resonated with me, “It is not your responsibility to save that soul. That is the job of the Holy Spirit, and anything done apart from Him will fail (pg 34).” The theme of this book really is about coming alongside what God is already doing and working with Him to lead another person to know Christ. Each unsaved person's journey will be different, but Rossi gives some broad tips that can apply to many situations. Additionally, there is a section of questions for the reader to answer to help him or her identify a path of service and to better understand the backgrounds and needs of the dying person.

I highly recommend Sharing Christ with the Dying by Melody Rossi to anyone who has a dying loved one that does not know Christ. There is so much information that I'm getting ready to read it through again and I know I'll be keeping it to refer back to in the future.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
BeautyintheBinding | 1 outra crítica | Jul 13, 2014 |

Estatísticas

Obras
4
Membros
49
Popularidade
#320,875
Avaliação
½ 4.7
Críticas
2
ISBN
5