Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Ministry Update December 30, 2018

There were several mockers while I witnessed Christmas Eve in front of Hobby Lobby. One guy mouthed off the whole time he turned the corner at the stoplight. Others mouthed off as they drove by or honked their horn with disapproval. Frankly, this cracked me up a little bit. Wouldn’t you think that Christmas eve, the day before we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ would be the perfect time to tell about His birth, sinless life, sacrificial death and salvation that only He provides? Obviously, not everyone agreed with my thinking. But the mocker that topped them all was the young man with a carload of young people asking me “Do you have marijuana to sell?” 

Really? On Christmas eve you are looking to get high? Or maybe he was just messing with me since I was open-air preaching. Either way, I pointed out to him that marijuana will bring you no joy. Drugs bring you no joy. Alcohol brings you no joy. Oh, you can find pleasure in this world, but you can’t find true, lasting joy in any of these things. Joy is found in Jesus Christ the Lord. I had the chance to share these truths with the young mockers before the light changed. I also pleaded with them to stop mocking God and repent and trust Jesus.

Praise God, there were also some real encouragers. One lady said “Amen” when she saw the sign (the same one I used last week) and that I was getting ready to share about the birth of Christ. Another lady yelled “God bless you” as she was sitting at the light. A third lady honked and waved enthusiastically before she drove away. Other encouragers honked and said encouraging words as they passed by. May God convict the unrepentant sinners and may He encourage the fellow believers. Above all, may God be glorified.

Even Slower Night

Friday night was even slower than the week before. My wife and I witnessed downtown and I literally handed out one tract. It was around 29 degrees and felt like 20 degrees with the windchill. I’m sure that kept some people away and I also suspect that some of the college students that live downtown were still away on Christmas break. I brought a short message and two different people stopped to listen for a while. May God be pleased by the precious name of Jesus being lifted up in the open-air.

(These updates are provided to encourage Christians to share the glorious Gospel with this lost and dying world)