October 2008

Dear [firstname,fallback=friend],

(If you are having difficulty viewing this e-news, you can view the content online.)

Welcome to the latest Matthias Media enews. Included in this issue are some brand new resources, and a great special on four of our best evangelistic books.

Click on the links to find more information, pricing for larger quantities, or to place an order in either our Australian or US online store.

A Breathtaking Moment Evangelistic Christmas tract Over the last few years, we've produced inexpensive Christmas tracts that can be used in a variety of ways during the Christmas season. They can be included with Christmas cards, handed out at Christmas events, given away to friends and contacts, dropped into letterboxes, and so on. The feedback from these has been very positive, so we've produced another new one for this year called A Breathtaking Moment. You can read the full text of A Breathtaking Moment online at our website. Order copies through our online store now, although stock will not be available until the end of October (early November for North America). Any orders placed now will be processed as soon as the stock arrives from the printer. More information. Prices*: AUS $0.35 (100+ AUS $0.30) USA $0.30 (100+ USA $0.25) (* Call us for pricing on quantities of 500 or more.)

Christmas Cards Cards that send a message We've also been producing Christmas cards for many years to help our customers say a little bit more than just ‘Happy Christmas’ when they send cards to their friends and family members. You can view all our 2008 Christmas card designs at our website now. And you can order them online. Order early, because stock is limited. Some of the cards are available immediately, but the new designs for 2008 will be coming in from the printer later this month. Any orders placed now for those new cards will be processed as soon as the stock arrives. We should also mention that we have produced a special Christmas card this year designed to give to children, and we've priced it just a little cheaper. Please note: Only Cards A-F are available through our US office and online store, and they will be available from early November. More information.

In this month's ‘Thinking About Ministry’ section, we're offering you a free 30-minute seminar, and you don't even have to leave home. This online presentation by Tony Payne, Matthias Media's Publishing Director, provides input on the topic of planning and preparing for an evangelistic mission in your church. Tony talks about some of the key principles of all Christian ministry, applies these principles to the specific ministry topic of mission, and outlines some of the resources available to help with the planning, preparation and running of a church-based mission. He also presents a preview of a new evangelistic resource called The Essential Jesus (we'll also give more details of this in our next enews).

Watch the presentation (please note: .mov file requires Quicktime or similar application installed) or view it via Google video.

(The seminar relates specifically to the Connect09 mission being conducted next year in Sydney, but the material has a generic application to any church-based mission.)

In the October Briefing:

Motherhood and humble pie by Lesley Ramsay.

Generation Ex by Karen Beilharz.

Discipline, grace and the godly family by Jacky Hooper.

A preacher's guide to sermon illustrations by Joshua Bovis.

Plus our other regular sections: Up front, Bookshelf and Bible brief (daily readings on John's letters).

12-month subscription: from AUS $35.00 | USA $29.99 or buy this issue as a PDF AUS $5.00.

Matthias Media develops ministry resources designed to promote and fuel what we call the ‘gospel growth process’. You can learn more about this at our website: AUS | USA. In this section of enews, we highlight one category and refer you to some of our resources available to help in this area. This month, it's ‘outreach’.

Here are four of our best books seeking to persuade a reader about the claims of Jesus Christ on their life (together with a great deal for our ‘special offer of the month’):

	A Fresh Start by John Chapman This classic from John Chapman has been doing the job of persuading people of the truth of the gospel for several decades now. But it is still as relevant and readable as ever. Price: AUS $9.95 | USA $8.50
	The Future of Jesus by Dr Peter Jensen Peter Jensen asks and answers important questions about Jesus and his place in our world. This is a brilliant and readable book for more serious thinkers and readers. Price: AUS $16.95 | USA $13.99
	Simply Christianity by Dr John Dickson This book presents readers with a clear explanation of what real Christianity is: it's Jesus Christ himself, the crucified saviour and risen Lord. Contains the full text of Luke's Gospel. Price: AUS $16.50 | USA $10.99
	The True and Living God by Dr Kim Hawtrey Kim Hawtrey presents a penetrating critique of the bankruptcy of our modern idols—money, career, TV, sport, beauty and family—and points to the only one who deserves our unswerving devotion. Price: AUS $12.95 | USA $10.99

Buy all four books and save!

Yes, that is an intentional pun. Buy these four books, prayerfully give them away, and, God-willing, someone will be saved. But you can also save some money.

Buy all four of these evangelistic books (A Fresh Start, The Future of Jesus, Simply Christianity and The True and Living God) at an extra special price:

Save over 45%!

These four books are normally AUS $56.35. Special offer: AUS $29.95

These four books are normally USA $44.47. Special offer: USA $23.95

Offer expires 31 October 2008.