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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Evangelism (11/01/07)
“Euongelion” is the ancient Greek spelling for the word “evangelism.” I am not going to give you a deep theological discussion about what the word means. The meaning is simple. It means disseminating the good news about Jesus saving us from sin by dying on the cross and rising again.

Jesus refers to himself as “the bread of life.” Jesus says that man can not live on ordinary bread only. People need the word of God. We need his word to be the sustenance for our soul.

Other people need his word, too. People all around us need the bread of life. They need the good news. They need evangelism.

Very few Christians are sharing the gospel. Very few people are being changed by the good news. Many Christians are uninspired by the word “evangelism.”

I want to make this word fun and inspirational for you. When studying ancient Greek, I discovered that if you transliterate the word “Euongelion” it will sound like you are saying “you want jelly on.” I used this phonetic pneumonic to remind me of what the word meant. I formed it into a question and I would ask the question to connect the Greek word to its meaning. “Do you want jelly on it?”

It is a useful way to remember how "euongelion" is pronounced and what "evangelism" means. It means that we serve up God’s word with jelly on it.

Jesus is the bread of life. He is able to give life. He is the word of God that became flesh. I can present his message as information but then I am not truly and completely disseminating that message. I can deliver the bread to your door and hand it to you but you will be very unlikely to partake of that bread if you don’t know me, if you don’t see the word lived out by me, if you don’t see that I care about you as a person, or if that bread is stale.

I read a long time ago an adage that applies here. “People don’t tend to care how much you know until they see how much you care.” It won’t matter to them that you know the Greek pronunciation of the word that means evangelism unless they see you are an evangelist. A person who delivers that message in its complete form is delivering the message of God with “jelly on it.” The jelly is only a euphemism for what living bread would be like in comparison to stale bread.

Sure there are people who would eat bread or toast without putting anything on it. But most people need to have the toast with the jelly on it. The love of God is not just information that needs to be presented to people. It should be presented in its most complete form and that is also the most palatable form. They need the message served with all of the evidence of its potential to change the life of a person.

It should be clear that the one presenting the message has been changed by the message and that they care about others. The message is about the love of God. We must show love to present the message in pure form.

The message should be served fresh. Don’t just go through the motions, nor only have a message about how God can change a life and how he changed your life 40 years ago. Have fresh evidence as to how he has been changing your life these days. It speaks volumes if you are being changed by God continually.

When I was younger, I had the chance to interview Bruce Carroll, a Christian Country singer. I was around him for a few days while he was in town. The chorus of one of his songs says “I’d rather see a sermon then hear one any day.” He was a sermon to my wife and me. I want to be a sermon to the people who are around me. I want to serve the bread of life with jelly on it. Living and giving the bread of life. I would say that is really evangelism. That is “Euongelion”.

Our world needs some good news. They need evangelism. They need you and me to present this bread of life with the jelly on it. Evangelism = Euongelion = You Want Jelly On = do you want jelly on it?

Yes, give them the good news with jelly on it.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Debbie Wistrom
11/08/07
So interesting, and so much work. I enjoyed this and it gave much bread for thought. Thanks for the submission.
LauraLee Shaw
11/08/07
This is very good, and the creativity of your teaching makes it memorable.

Can I make a suggestion? In my opinion, one should always capitalize God's name, along with pronouns of His name, as well as nicknames. I also personally think the word "Truth" or "Gospel" should be capitalized if it is a replacement for the word "Bible." I know that many theologians don't agree, but to me, it just adds the jelly on to the Bread of Life. :)

I will be passing this new word and meaning on to many. Thank you for teaching.
c clemons
11/13/07
I like it. You're the one that makes learning about the gospel fun and interesting. Keep up the good work!
Laury Hubrich
11/13/07
I think I'll always remember this teaching, do you want jelly on it? Very nice. It really does sum up our relationship with the Lord that we should be sharing. It's not just plain bread and butter but it's sweet like jelly. Very nice.
Laury