What is a W.A.T.W type? I’ll get to that in a moment.

Christmas is probably the most universally celebrated holiday of any on the calendar. For almost an entire month, there is a party atmosphere everywhere with all kinds of traditions around lights and trees and decorations and special food and songs a seemingly endless array of gifts.

While we as believers know why this celebration is so special (“there is born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”), but most in our culture give nothing more than a superficial nod to some little cuddly baby born in a manger.

What can be done to bring more attention to the centerpiece of this celebration? Be more like W.A.T.W. What?

Jason Carlson (Christian Ministries International) Sometimes in our apologetic conversations, whether with cultists or skeptics, we will be confronted with a question or challenge that we simply don’t have an answer for. What should we do in those situations? Avoid the temptation to make up an answer. Not only is this dishonest, but it’s not really helping the person you’re witnessing to.

In a word, the evangelistic message is the gospel of Christ and Him crucified, the message of man’s sin and God’s grace, of human guilt and divine forgiveness, of new birth and new life through the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a message made up of four essential ingredients.

1. The gospel is a message about God. It tells us who He is, what His character is, what His standards are, and what He requires of us, His creatures. It tells us that we owe our very existence to Him; that for good or ill, we are always in His hands and under His eye; and that He made us to worship and serve Him, to show forth His praise and to live for His glory. These truths are the foundation of theistic religion; and until they are grasped, the rest of the gospel message will seem neither cogent nor relevant. It is here with the assertion of man’s complete and constant dependence on his Creator that the Christian story starts.

Paul’s trip to Athens is a goldmine for giving us a biblical approach to witnessing. We’re used to looking at Acts 17 and considering his approach in the marketplace and the synagogue, and to analyzing how in his Areopagus speech he both connects with and confronts the lies of the Athenians’ culture and worldview.

But what transformed my evangelism was verses 24–27. Look at what the apostle says about God and about people:

Jason Carlson (Christian Ministries International)

Sometimes in our apologetic conversations, whether with cultists or skeptics, we will be confronted with a question or challenge that we simply don’t have an answer for. What should we do in those situations?

Avoid the temptation to make up an answer. Not only is this dishonest, but it’s not really helping the person you’re witnessing to.

Summertime always seems to be a greater opportunity to engage in gospel conversations. There’s more light. There are more people out and about. There are more relaxed environments. People seem happier and more relational.

18 Prayers for Unbelievers by Tim Challies - November 15, 2016

A friend asked the question: How do I pray for unbelievers? How do I pray effectively? I trust that every Christian regularly prays for family or friends or colleagues or neighbors who do not yet know the Lord. And while we can and must pray for matters related to their lives and circumstances, the emphasis of our prayers must always be for their salvation. Here are some ways the Bible can guide our prayers.

The Apostle Paul famously said that his “heart’s desire” and his “prayer to God” is that his fellow Jews “may be saved” (Rom. 10:1). The problem was that these “kinsmen according to the flesh” were lost—bound for an eternity without God—which filled Paul’s heart with “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” (Rom. 9:2-3).

Because we are sinners, we can take a true doctrine (God’s absolute sovereignty) and make it incompatible with an appropriate emotion (unceasing anguish for the lost). In a sermon from several years ago, John Piper explained three ways we can experience a disconnect between the biblical doctrine and the appropriate emotional state:

What If They Ask Me a Question I Can’t Answer?

We are living in a time when fewer people have a basic understanding of faith, so we need to be prepared for questions, criticisms, and general skepticism about Christianity.

Don’t be surprised if you hear things like: “Doesn't Christianity crush diversity?" "How can you take the Bible literally?" "Doesn't religion cause violence?" "Doesn't Christianity denigrate women?" "Isn't the Bible homophobic?" "Hasn't science disproved Christianity?" "How could a loving God allow suffering?" "How can you say there's only one true faith?" "How can you say God even exists?" and others.