LINK
This couple has been barred from foster care due to their refusal to compromise their Christian beliefs regarding homosexuality in Britain. Seriously? Now Christian values are making people unfit to raise children?
Wow, this stuff is getting out of hand. How long before we have a similar situation here in the States?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Million Dollar Bill Tract
The other day, while we were at Chuck E Cheese, one of the kids left a Million Dollar Bill on the table while they were off playing. I was watching the table, waiting for our pizza, and some other kid came by and stopped to look at it. He said, "Wow" and got up to leave, so I asked him if he wanted one. He took a Million Dollar Bill and asked for another for his friend. Later, he came back with two other friends to get more.
You've got to be a little bit careful witnessing at work, especially to customers. I deal with people in other states, usually through email or phone calls, but we recently got a new agency and they sent out a couple of representatives to meet us. I always carry around some Million Dollar Bill tracts in my shirt pocket, but don't actively share at work unless someone asks. If anyone comments on the Million Dollar Bill, I give them one and explain to them that it's a Gospel tract.
The other day, my boss brought a couple of new customers around to meet everyone. They commented on my Million Dollar Bills and my boss said, "Yeah, give them one." So I did. It's always good to have a few interesting tracts with you, as you never know when the opportunity will arise. These two will have the opportunity to read through the Gospel message on the airplane ride home. I don't know what they believe, I didn't have time and couldn't really witness to new customers at work, but they have a good representation of the Gospel on the back of that Million Dollar Bill.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Saturday 02-19-11
One of the girls who was out last weekend playing guitar was out again with some other friends tonight. She’d been drinking and told us again that she was in the Army (not yet been through basic training, though), and would be defending our right to free speech on the streets. She first claimed that she was fine with us exercising those rights, but she later revealed that she really didn’t like the conviction of God's Law on her life (John 3:20). She felt that she should go out and get drunk without consequence (1 Cor 6:10) because of her future military record. We explained that this is like attempting to bribe God with our "good works" which are nothing more than filthy rags in God's eyes (Isaiah 64:6).
There was a guy who came over as we were getting set up to tell us that our “religion sucked.” Ronnie tried to talk with him, but the guy had no intention of any sort of intelligent dialogue to back up anything he said, he just wanted to complain and mock us (Prov 1:22) to see what sort of reaction he could get.
It started pouring down rain a little later, and we had a small patch of shelter under an overhang at the post office. A bunch of people piled in there to escape the rain, so we talked with them for a bit before they went back out into the rain.
While Norm was doing some Open Air preaching, our atheists showed up to argue with their bull horn. Then a couple of Oneness Pentacostals stopped to condemn us for sharing the Gospel and claimed that we should be displaying signs and wonders. Marcus quoted Jesus as saying, “A wicked and adulterous nation asks for signs" (Matt 16:4). They decided that they’d rather hang out with the atheists than with us, proving a couple more Bible verses, "They went out from us because they were never of us" (1 John 2:19) and "They will know that you are My disciples by your love for one another" (John 13:35).
I talked to Rocco for a while on what “born again” might mean and how he sees it as judging others when we use the Good Person Test in witnessing. I tried to explain that we are not judging them, but asking them to judge themselves by God’s standard, but he still considered that to be judging. The Bible tells us to "judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24), and people use their judgment all the time in every day life. Come to think of it, he was actually judging us by saying that. Hmmm. He also stated that he thought we’d gotten the Bible so wrong, that if it really were true, we’d all be in hell with him as an unbeliever. 1 John 5:13 comes to mind. Rocco says some crazy stuff sometimes.
He thought that if we were “born again” that we would no longer sin. I explained that that was not the case (1 John 1:8), but that we struggle with sin. We won’t be completely sinless this side of heaven, but we do not sin purposefully (Hebrews 10:26-27) - the difference being between slipping into sin and diving in. Of course, he disagreed (what else can you do as a self-proclaimed atheist?) Please continue to keep Rocco in prayer. I don't see any hope of him ever turning to Christ, but with God all things are possible. None of us could come to Christ without the Father first drawing us (John 6:44), so pray for his salvation to the glory of the Lord.
Soli Deo Gloria
Monday, February 14, 2011
Saturday 02-12-11
Kind of a weird night on Mill Ave (but I guess that's pretty much normal). It was pretty slow early in the night, but there were more people out and about as the night went on.
I brought out the celebrity board - a posterboard that I pasted 50 of the celebrity caricature cards on, to see if people could tell who they were and what we all have in common with them (we will all face death one day). A few people showed some interest, but most took off when I attempted to speak with them. We'll have to try it again another night.
There were a couple of girls playing guitar for tips in our usual spot, so we set up nearby and handed out tracts for a while. Jeremiah and Rudy came out, and it was nice to see them. Since Jeremiah moved up north, we haven't seen much of him out on Mill. He can always gather a crowd pretty quickly, and our atheists love to argue with him. Unfortunately, they didn't show up until much later when he was about ready to leave for the long drive home.
Meanwhile, Jeremiah preached to the crowd across the street that was waiting to get into bars over there, and also answered some hostile questions from some people who disagreed with the idea of street preaching.
Later there were a couple of guys who were flaunting their homosexuality, lifting their shirts and dancing around, trying to annoy us, and another guy who was mocking the Bible with sarcasm by claiming that God didn't like "sex with dudes." Amidst all of this craziness going on, there was another guy named Jessie who was sitting on the window ledge of the post office.
I was standing nearby as we were talking to another guy who claimed that homosexuals were born that way. I agreed with him, explaining that we're all born sinful, and that my sins might manifest differently than his, but we are all born sinful and we need to repent of that sin rather than embrace it. He didn't like that explanation much and went back to his friends for reinforcement.
Jessie said that he'd seen something on TV that suggested that homosexuality was almost a disease, a mental imbalance of some sort. I told him that I didn't think so, that it was merely the sinful nature of mankind in general, and we talked for a bit about that and what the Word of God says about it. He said he'd read some of the Bible, but not all of it, so I gave him a Book of John and asked him to read that to start with. He hung around for a while after this, so I felt that I should talk with him more, asking him if he considered himself to be a good person. He did, and we went through a couple of the Commandments to show that, by God's standard, he wasn't good, so that he could understand the need for a Savior. I explained the Gospel and how the punishment was paid by Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross, and what is required of us is repentance and trust in Him for our salvation. We had a pretty good conversation, please keep Jessie in prayer, that the Lord would water the seed planted, bring him to true conviction and salvation.
Another guy came by with a skate board and tried to unplug the mic while Ed was preaching. He came back a little later with some insults, then came right out and told us that he was trying to provoke us to anger. He told us that we couldn't read, didn't understand our own Bible and some other silliness that I don't even remember. He was pretty ineffective in his attempts. It was a bit strange though, he didn't seem angry, but there was a controlled hatred of the things of God within him.
Soli Deo Gloria
I brought out the celebrity board - a posterboard that I pasted 50 of the celebrity caricature cards on, to see if people could tell who they were and what we all have in common with them (we will all face death one day). A few people showed some interest, but most took off when I attempted to speak with them. We'll have to try it again another night.
There were a couple of girls playing guitar for tips in our usual spot, so we set up nearby and handed out tracts for a while. Jeremiah and Rudy came out, and it was nice to see them. Since Jeremiah moved up north, we haven't seen much of him out on Mill. He can always gather a crowd pretty quickly, and our atheists love to argue with him. Unfortunately, they didn't show up until much later when he was about ready to leave for the long drive home.
Meanwhile, Jeremiah preached to the crowd across the street that was waiting to get into bars over there, and also answered some hostile questions from some people who disagreed with the idea of street preaching.
Later there were a couple of guys who were flaunting their homosexuality, lifting their shirts and dancing around, trying to annoy us, and another guy who was mocking the Bible with sarcasm by claiming that God didn't like "sex with dudes." Amidst all of this craziness going on, there was another guy named Jessie who was sitting on the window ledge of the post office.
I was standing nearby as we were talking to another guy who claimed that homosexuals were born that way. I agreed with him, explaining that we're all born sinful, and that my sins might manifest differently than his, but we are all born sinful and we need to repent of that sin rather than embrace it. He didn't like that explanation much and went back to his friends for reinforcement.
Jessie said that he'd seen something on TV that suggested that homosexuality was almost a disease, a mental imbalance of some sort. I told him that I didn't think so, that it was merely the sinful nature of mankind in general, and we talked for a bit about that and what the Word of God says about it. He said he'd read some of the Bible, but not all of it, so I gave him a Book of John and asked him to read that to start with. He hung around for a while after this, so I felt that I should talk with him more, asking him if he considered himself to be a good person. He did, and we went through a couple of the Commandments to show that, by God's standard, he wasn't good, so that he could understand the need for a Savior. I explained the Gospel and how the punishment was paid by Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross, and what is required of us is repentance and trust in Him for our salvation. We had a pretty good conversation, please keep Jessie in prayer, that the Lord would water the seed planted, bring him to true conviction and salvation.
Another guy came by with a skate board and tried to unplug the mic while Ed was preaching. He came back a little later with some insults, then came right out and told us that he was trying to provoke us to anger. He told us that we couldn't read, didn't understand our own Bible and some other silliness that I don't even remember. He was pretty ineffective in his attempts. It was a bit strange though, he didn't seem angry, but there was a controlled hatred of the things of God within him.
Soli Deo Gloria
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Saturday 01-29-11
We talked with Rocco (one of the atheists) for a while. I really enjoy talking with him. He brings up some good points, although we (obviously) disagree on the basics. He says that he has really tried to believe, but it simply doesn't make sense to him. This just proves that, no matter how hard we try to convince someone, no amount of facts or information is going to do it. Only God Himself can make a conversion. We do nothing but be obedient and are granted the great privilege of being used by God for His purpose. Please keep Rocco in prayer, that the Lord would open his eyes and convert him to salvation. With God, all things are possible.
Three girls stopped to take the Good Person Test for a free prize (a glow stick bracelet). Marcus took them through the law and explained the Gospel to them. One of them said she had a Catholic background, and Marcus told them that it is only through Jesus Christ that we are saved. This is contrary to Catholic teaching, but she didn't seem to realize that. I gave them each a "Are You Good Enough to Get into Heaven?" tract, and they seemed very receptive.
Tom talked to a young couple named Luke and his fiance Maddie for a long time. You'll have to check out his Blog for details on that conversation, as I was passing out tracts and didn't hear it.
Stan said he had spoken with a guy that he had known before, but that the man was very angry and said he was going to go get a gun. We didn't think he would be back, but you never know on Mill Ave. We were getting ready to pack up anyway, and Stan headed out, as we were planning on meeting at a local Taco Bell afterward.
Then a man who was pretty drunk showed up asking if we were the preachers out here on the street. Marcus said yes, and the guy said, "Alright, preach to me." Marcus explained that we preach the Law and the Gospel per the Bible. We were wondering if this was the guy that had threatened Stan, as he was acting a little strange. Then the guy pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to Marcus saying that he wanted to give this to him for the ministry and to keep up the good work. Marcus tried to refuse, but the man insisted. We counted it up later, and it was a pretty good sum. Marcus decided that we should split it, so we did and bought a bunch of tracts to continue to hand out on Mill Ave. The Lord provides.
Soli Deo Gloria
Three girls stopped to take the Good Person Test for a free prize (a glow stick bracelet). Marcus took them through the law and explained the Gospel to them. One of them said she had a Catholic background, and Marcus told them that it is only through Jesus Christ that we are saved. This is contrary to Catholic teaching, but she didn't seem to realize that. I gave them each a "Are You Good Enough to Get into Heaven?" tract, and they seemed very receptive.
Tom talked to a young couple named Luke and his fiance Maddie for a long time. You'll have to check out his Blog for details on that conversation, as I was passing out tracts and didn't hear it.
Stan said he had spoken with a guy that he had known before, but that the man was very angry and said he was going to go get a gun. We didn't think he would be back, but you never know on Mill Ave. We were getting ready to pack up anyway, and Stan headed out, as we were planning on meeting at a local Taco Bell afterward.
Then a man who was pretty drunk showed up asking if we were the preachers out here on the street. Marcus said yes, and the guy said, "Alright, preach to me." Marcus explained that we preach the Law and the Gospel per the Bible. We were wondering if this was the guy that had threatened Stan, as he was acting a little strange. Then the guy pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to Marcus saying that he wanted to give this to him for the ministry and to keep up the good work. Marcus tried to refuse, but the man insisted. We counted it up later, and it was a pretty good sum. Marcus decided that we should split it, so we did and bought a bunch of tracts to continue to hand out on Mill Ave. The Lord provides.
Soli Deo Gloria
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