Hymns Are Offensive

Ministry Update March 13, 2016

Hymns Are Offensive

We started last Friday night off like we always do singing hymns. You could tell it was going to be wild when people yelled out of their car windows while we were singing hymns. How crazy is that? We tend to think that anything goes in America anymore and for the most part this is true, but not when it comes to Christianity. Even hymns are offensive. 

The Bible says that the preaching of the cross is offensive to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18), but hymns are offensive? The worst part is people have no sense of decency anymore. Aaron, Erica, Diana and Elise and I were joined by a couple of kids from their church singing hymns and several people yelled obscenities at us while we were merely singing, right in front of the kids, right here in Springfield, MO; right here in the Bible Belt. You will never convince me that we don’t live in a wicked and perverse nation.

After we sang hymns, I brought a message about A Chance At Life. Since my message was about abortion, Erica kindly took the kids to Mudhouse while I preached. Speaking about the evil of abortion stirred some people up too. One guy came up and stood right in front of me shushing me. I told him that he couldn’t stop the Gospel and that I would not be silenced!

While I was bringing a message a guy came over and sat down and listened. After I finished up, he also sat through Aaron’s message about the need for repentance and salvation found through Jesus Christ alone –through repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). After Aaron finished up preaching, I walked over to the guy and asked him if he had any questions and he said no. He said that he couldn’t argue with anything that we were saying, but he thought maybe we could talk more about God’s love.

Then Aaron went over and talked to him while the rest of us sang hymns to end the night. The young man didn’t give either of his name, but said that he’s been away from Springfield for a couple of years, but he remembered talking to Aaron last time he was in town. So Aaron invited him to his church. We hope and pray that he goes on Sunday and he asked if we had any small Bibles. I told him that I had some Gideon’s New Testaments and gave him one that has the Psalms and Proverbs too. It’s always great when someone asks for a Bible.

Unscheduled Stop

My daughter Summer and I witnessed at MU on Wednesday March 9, 2016. When we first got there some students were raising money for a local women’s violence shelter. We didn’t want to interrupt them so we just handed out tracts at the speaker’s corner. After about a half an hour, the students quit yelling out and were quietly trying to raise funds. So my daughter kept handing out tracts and I brought a message. I had a couple of hecklers, but right when I finished up a student who had been sitting there walked by me, so I handed him a tract and he thanked me. I really think he was thanking me for being there.

Summer handed out 100 tracts. The best part was that one guy walked by her and he wouldn’t take a tract, but he asked her what she was handing out. She told him it was a Gospel tract. Summer asked him if he was a sinner and he said yes. She asked him if he ever lied and he said yes. She asked him what that made him and he admitted a liar (Revelation 21:8). Then she asked him if he ever lusted and he said yes (Matthew 5:27-28).

You need to understand that she’s handed out tracts many times in the past, but she’s never really talked to people like this. I thought it was a good start and maybe, just maybe God will convict this young man over his sins and direct him to a true believer to share the Gospel with him. May God convict and convert this young man and many other students. I also pointed out to my daughter that 100 more students received tracts because she came with me. May God bless and multiply the tracts that were handed out.

Planned Parenthood Was Closed

On Tuesday Aaron and I went to Planned Parenthood. We sang several hymns even though they were closed. Even the UPS driver didn’t realize that they were closed. We don’t know how long they’ve been closed on Tuesdays, but we are thankful that they are closed on Tuesdays and Sundays.

Even though the workers weren’t there, several people at the shopping center to the East of PP heard the singing and people at the Cashew Station restaurant to the West heard us too. In fact, when we were leaving a woman pulling out of Cashew Station stopped her car and let us walk in front of her and she gave us a thumbs up. So we smiled and waved at her. We don’t think it was a waste of time.

(These updates are posted to encourage Christians to share your faith in Jesus Christ with others)