Ministry Update May 15,2106
Hard Preaching
Friday night Kelly, Steven, Aaron, Erica, Diana and Elise and I were getting ready to start the night singing hymns when Cody and Rob walked up to see what we were doing. It turns out that they go to the same church I belong to – Crossway Baptist Church. They sang some hymns with us and hung around while Kelly brought a message about hard preaching. He gave many examples in the Bible where Jesus preached hard, John the Baptist and others preached hard. It was a great message and a timely message in this current day and age where most people are worried about being politically correct. Keep preaching hard brother Kelly!
Blasphemer!
Kelly’s message was very timely because I was using examples from last weekend witnessing at The Kentucky Derby and explained how one guy said we were wrong when the open-air preacher was literally reading Psalm 141. Last weekend we had several people walk by us saying “God is gay.” So I brought a message that God is Not Gay. I also was preaching hard when a guy walked up and wanted to ask a question. He asked that I turn the amplifier off and I did. Then he said you say the Scriptures say this and the Scriptures say that, to which I said yes, that’s what I said. Then he wanted to talk about pictures in caves from 10,000 years ago, so I told him that I was going to go back to preaching and he could stick around and I’d talk afterwards.
He started blaspheming God. Frankly, I was offended that he blasphemed my Great God, so I called him out on it. I asked him why he’s blaspheming the very God that gives him every breath. Then Aaron came over to try reason with the man and he blasphemed God even more, cussed more and threatened Aaron. Folks out of all of that, blaspheming God is very serious. God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He will not be mocked and someday that man will reap the whirlwind of God’s wrath – for all of eternity if he doesn’t repent and put his faith in Jesus (2 Thessalonians 1:8). Does this describe you today? Do you blaspheme the very God, the One True God that gives you every breath that you’ve taken? If so, please repent and trust Jesus. Turn from your sins and turn to Jesus.
Slaying the Lion or Bear of Sin
Then Aaron brought a message about how David slew the bear and the lion before he slew Goliath. He asked the question: have you slain the lion or the bear of your sin?Have you fervently cried out for God to deliver you from your sins? Or do you think to yourself that it’s only one little lamb. What does it matter if sin takes one little lamb? Because Satan is never satisfied. He will keep drawing you farther and farther in. Aaron asked the crowd if they have beaten the lion of pornography or the bear of alcohol or sexual sins. It was a great message and a convicting message. Christian: are you fervently praying that God will help you slay the lion of sin through the power of Jesus Christ? God is Holy and He says that we are to be holy. Are living this way Christian? Have you truly surrendered your life to Jesus Christ our Lord?
Kelly posted this about Friday night: Please pray for these people we encountered while preaching and witnessing downtown this last Friday:
Derek – This young man told me he was saved but does not go to church and does “God” his own way. I asked him if he believed in the Bible and he told me yes. I told him the Bible says we are to gather together (Heb 11.25), why would you do it any other way? After this he kinda stumbled around and said I was judging him and how dare I challenge his views. Please up lift himn prayer.
Julio – he knew enough of the Bible to be dangerous. He made no profession of faith and asked “theological” questions for the most part. Please pray for him.
Aaron – Seemed to have a solid testimony as he was involved in teen challenge and sang in their choir. He told me it saved him from being in trouble when he was growing up. I asked him what happened after that and he told me he now has a “real” world view and does not go to church any more. I ask for prayers that he will turn back to God.
A few encounters Friday night but we had an awesome time singing hymns and preaching. Thanks!
We ended the night singing hymns and one young woman walked up singing too. Then three young women walked up and sat down in front of us, also listening to the hymns. After we finished up, Erica walked over and handed them tracts and had a good discussion with them.
Why Hand Out Tracts?
On Wednesday May 11, 2016 I handed out tracts at Missouri State University. It was finals week, so I just handed out tracts and didn’t open-air preach. A friend had given me some booklets One Second After You Die and The Second Greatest Lie. I handed around 40 of them out in less than 10 minutes. Then I gave out 100 of the 101 of the World’s Funniest One Liners. These were different from the Seek and Save the Lost tracts and million dollar bill tracts that I normally hand out, so they went well. I ran out of the one liner tracts so I finished up handing out Seek and Save the Lost tracts.
I handed one to a guy riding a bicycle and he started riding again and he kept reading the tract. He was looking at the tract and he had a hard time watching where he was going .So why hand out tracts? Because some people read them and more importantly, God’s word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11). One young man walked by toward the end and said that he liked the booklet better than the preachers who scream. I told him that I was one of those preachers and that I believed in all methods of reaching people. The apostle Paul says by all means, save some (1 Corinthians 9:22). He just repeated that he liked the booklet better and that in fact he read the whole thing. So I just said good. Again, why hand out tracts? Because people read them!
(These updates are provided to encourage Christians to share their faith in Jesus with others.)