Everyday Evangelism-September 11, 2009-Thoughts

"Will it be door number one, door number two or door number three?" Those are the words that one would hear while watching a game show in the 60's. That sounds a lot
like how people think their relationship with God should be. They assume that nobody really knows what God is all about, so, hey, lets just pick something to believe in. Maybe it will be right, or maybe it won't. Most of the time, people believe in a particular religion (or denomination) because they were raised that way, or, someone brought them into it, and it served them in some way. I recall a story of a great uncle of mine, who married a Jehovah's Witness. From what I understood, the woman became a Jehovah's Witness because one time she was very ill, and a group of them served her while she was sick. So there you go. Someone reached out to her because she had a need. Too bad we aren't more sensitive to people's needs like that. But we don't want people to come into our churches or fellowships because we served them (although God can use that to expose them to the Truth). We want friends and family to come to Christ because they have been convicted of their sin, and are looking for a way to be forgiven and delivered from their sin. We don't have to make a guess about what God said about Himself and our need for Him. We can read in the Bible how God sent His Son to us, to deliver us from our sin. He became the Ultimate Sacrifice for our sin. There is a reason why we believe in Jesus. And we can know what we believe in and why we believe it. It is not a guessing game without any information given to us. Jesus said that He is the way, the Truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father but through Him. How much clearer could it be? We know which door to pick. It is not door number one, two, or three. Jesus said that He is the door. The choice is now clear. Which door will you pick?

Everyday Evangelism-August 25, 2009-Yoville

"Life has many choices. Eternity has only 2." "God is uncreated. He never had a beginning and has always been in existence." "150,000 people die every day. Where do they go?" and "Are you good enough for heaven? How good do you have to be?" What do these statements have in common? They are the quotes that I use in Yoville, a Face Book game that is similar to Second Life. I am not a game person and don't understand directions to games, so I am already challenged to play this game. But this game provides a way to come in contact with different people. There are different scenaries in Yoville, all of which, at some time or other, have people in them. The people have silly names some times, but behind every avatar (character) there is a human being that needs to hear the Gospel. Yoville is a game that has a city setting, and each person that creates a character, gets an apartment. Each character can earn money by going to the factory a couple of times a day. The people in Yoville are generally hardened to the Gospel, but some are interested. Usually, but not always, someone wants to be my buddy when I have gone out preaching the Gospel. You can see how deceived people are by their responses to the Gospel. Some of them think that sharing the Gospel is 'shoving God in their faces' as one person put it. But they don't understand it is good for them to hear the Gospel. That is how faith comes about. Only in eternity will we know how many people will be reached with the truths of the Gospel. We need to be faithful to find places where we can 'publish' God's word so people can see it. We need to pray that God will give them eyes to see with and that He will open up their hearts and minds to the Scriptures. Yoville is just one way to do that. There are many ways to reach people, and we need to look at ourselves and let God work His grace in our hearts, then, we can minister to others. And we need to use our talents and skills to bring glory to Him and tell others, in such a way, so that the cloud that is between them and God will dissolve and they will see Him more clearly.

Everyday Evangelism- Christmas Caroling Project Preparations

It is only 4 months until December and I decided it is time to get ready for the Christmas Caroling Project this year. We will need a group of people to meet together to sing and play instruments, as we visit homes in the month of December to bring our Christmas greetings to. We would like to represent Metro Life Church and minister to families, if possible, in the vicinity of the church building. We will take an evening and go door to door and sing the old Christmas carols that are based upon Biblical truths. Each family will receive a bag which contains a book, a toy with the Gospel message on it somehow, some candy and cookies, a bookmark, a bar of homemade soap, and whatever other suggestions people have. We will go to about 30 houses, and if we have enough people, we will divide up into 2 groups. Then each group will go to 15 houses, and when we are done we will come back to the host house. Anyone who lives close to the church building, say within 5-7 miles, would be a good candidate for hosting this event. We would love to sing to your neighbors and provide an open door for them to soften up to us and you, the host, so that should they have any questions, they would feel more comfortable about asking them. Last year, we had one lady who was very touched and started crying and opening up. The year before that we had a lady thank my son-in-law for the caroling and the bread, the day after we went caroling in his neighborhood. This will be a good opportunity to show hospitality for Metro, and will leave the book with them, "More Than a Carpenter" by Josh McDowell. Anyone interested in being part of this in any form, please let me know. Contact me. There is quite a bit of preparation and everyone can do something, so it won't become stressful for any one person.

Everyday Evangelism- 08/04/09-Yoville and Walmart

Well the Walmart idea didn't work out so well. I went to the manager and she didn't understand what a prayer station was, nor did she really care to find out. She just said that her manager only has Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts set up tables. But I have seen the prayer stations done at a park, so that is an idea I am going to look into. Another thing I am doing, is going into Face Book and one of the application programs is called " Yoville". It is like a chat room where they give you an apartment and ways to make money and a virtual city where you can go shopping and buy things to decorate your apartment. What they don't know is that it provides a great opportunity to chat with people and communicate the Gospel in the different parts of the town. The best place is right in front of the apartment building where the hot dog stand is. There are lots of other figures there, and each figure has a person behind it that needs to hear the Gospel. It is very similar to doing open air as there are hecklers there, and people try to distract by wanting you to play games with them. Others are interested and ask questions. I have one lady who was irritated because of my preaching, so she asked to be my buddy, to which I said yes to. She became my buddy so she could email me and let me know that she didn't like what I was doing. But she did have questions. In one of them she wanted to know what God has ever done for me. The other one she was asking wanted to know if I really cared for the people, or was I just saying that. When I was talking to the people in that area in front of the apartment building, I told them that I cared for them. I guess she wanted to make sure that what I was saying was really true. Anyway, it is cool to be out there and proclaiming the Gospel. I feel like I need to become part of this game so I can go into the world of these lost people. So, I invite those of you to join me in Yoville if you are my friend on Face Book.

Everyday Evangelism - July 26, 2009- Church Parking Lot

Today we went to the church meeting, as usual on a Sunday morning. We were learning from the book of Hebrews again, seeing Christ in the Old Testament. He is revealed in the New Testament as our Great High Priest. A piece of furniture that was missing from the place where the priests used to carry out their sacrifices, was the chair. When Jesus was finished with offering the sacrifice of Himself, the Bible says that He sat down. In the Old Testament the priests were not able to sit, because they were always offering sacrifices. They were a picture of what Jesus was going to do for us. He only had to die one time. No more need for sacrifices. The final one had been offered, and the curtain was torn. The way to the holy of holies was now open. We can come boldly to the throne.
Now after the meeting was over, I left and was heading toward the car. There was a guy on a bike and I offered him a tract. He stopped and we talked for a couple of minutes. I shared the Gospel with him. He didn't speak English well, and I tried to communicate with him as best as I could. I would explain a Bible truth to him, and his usual response was "I know" or " I know that". He did admit to not being a good person, but I didn't sense a deep conviction of sin. I gave him 4 tracts to go home with. Please be praying for him. His name is Lisandro. He was very kind to talk to.

Everyday Evangelism- July 23, 2009 Walmart

I love shopping at Walmart. When it is not so hot out, there are lots of people that you can talk to. I try to make my way in while I walk across the parking lot to give out tracts and start conversations with people. Today I met a young man named Chris. Gave him a tract, and shared the Gospel with him. He didn't seem to understand the Gospel when I first started talking to him, but seemed to understand later on in the conversation. I invited him to church on Sunday and he said he wanted to come. He said he would bring a friend. Now I have great plans for me and Walmart. I have been reading about Tony's Prayer Station and today I went to go look for the manager of the store so I could get a PD-38 form. She wasn't in, but will be in tomorrow. I will look over the form and see if we will be able to set up a Prayer Station at our Walmart here. I would like to have friends that would be interested in being at the Prayer Station with me when I would do them. Of course, we have to make sure we get permission first. Wouldn't that be cool? (Well, maybe in the fall or winter : ) Would love to plan to be out there once a month at the Prayer Station.

Everyday Evangelism- July 21, 2009

What an exciting night at The Conversation tonight. It it week # 6, next week being the last class. People are asking for something to continue. We have approximately 40 people attending, with lots of help from the Metro people. Tonight as I was in the lobby waiting for the late people to be coming in, I noticed a skateboarder who was flying in front of the church building. Whenever I see a skateboarder, I am inclined to go after them because they seem to respond to listening to the Gospel. So I told a co-worker who was standing next to me that I wanted to get him. Of course, by the time I would have gotten out there to get to him, he would have been long gone. So my co-worker asked me if she should go get him. I told her "Go" and she did. She caught up with him and invited him to the free dinner. He responded, and came in, skateboard in arm, and joined for the dinner and as far as I know, stayed for the whole meeting. Now I am impressed. His name is Andy and we need to pray for him. I'm sure he heard the Gospel and God will be working in his heart. I hope he comes back next week.

Everyday Evangelism- July 18, 2009

Today I had just a little more time to shop and didn't have much to get at the stores. I am a little surprised that it still took about 2 hours to go into Walmart and then down the road to Sam's and back home. But the time allotment today was good, for I wasn't pressed hard to get back home or to some appointment. I gave out several tracts and when I was at Sam's, I gave a Giant Money tract to a young man, who refused to take it. I asked him why, and he didn't want it. I asked him if anyone had ever shared the Gospel with him, and he said he has his own beliefs. I asked him what he thought was on the other side after we die, and he really didn't know, and said he would find out when he gets there. He actually was easy to talk to, and I continued to ask him some pointed questions. I finally left him with this; I said to him, "You need to get a hold of a Bible, in the New Testament find the book of Luke. Then read Luke chapter 16, and then think about if you still feel the same way about eternity". He said he would and I told him I would be praying for him. He didn't give me his name, but he was a young man in front of Sam's entrance/exit doors. God knows his name and we can be praying that other people will be coming across his path to share the Gospel with him so he can repent and come to faith. Thank God for opportunities to preach the Gospel!

Everyday Evangelism- July 14, 2009

For those of you who can pray, please pray for a lady I met at Walmart last summer, whose name is Dee. I met her last summer in the store and got to know her a little bit. She had a difficulty because she had too many dogs in her apartment and had to sell one of them. We prayed for a buyer and God provided for that. I didn't know that happened until I met her again in Walmart, when she told me about it. I gave her some tracts and invited her to Metro, and she was considering coming. I met her again at Sam's the other day. It seems like God is bringing her into my path every so often. She doesn't appear to be a believer, and has a Greek Orthodox background. She is 78 years old, and has a deceased son. There is a shower planned for her great granddaughter who is going to have a baby and I am planning on stopping in. Please pray for her heart to be softened to the Gospel. I gave her some tracts one time, but haven't really explained the Gospel to her yet. She is very open to friendship and she enjoys talking. I desire to be able to share biblical truths with her and am looking for the open door for that, but I want to do it tactfully, and with a lot of grace.

Everday Evangelism-July 7, 2009

The maracas are on their way to the publishers. I will use them at celebrations like Halloween and our wonderful Christmas caroling event in December. I took some little beach balls and frisbies with the Gospel message on them and gave them out at the Red, Hot, and Boom. I don't think the maracas will be here before Saturday, but if they come, I will put them out at the garage sale that we are having this weekend. I don't have much to sell, but will put out a table with some tracts on it. Oh, I ordered a gorilla puppet, and I think they are sending it out tomorrow. Will have to learn ventriloquism real quick if it comes on Friday. I hope for opportunities to talk about the Gospel with people on Saturday morning. I hope for opportunities to share the Gospel when I go to the grocery store. I like the saying I heard somewhere that goes something like this; "I go to the grocery store to share the Gospel, and while I am there to pick up some groceries." Don't know where this came from but it makes sense.

Everyday Evangelism on Monday, July 6th, 1009

Today I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to convert my jpg files into pdf files. I am in the beginning stages of making my order for 250 maracas with the verse on them that says "There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus...". So in order for me to process the order, I have to have the verse and web site saved as a pdf file. I researched this on the internet and found a way to do it. The files were converted and uploaded to the company that is going to have the maracas printed up. After I did that, I realized I wasn't completely satisfied with the design of the Bible verse with the web site, so I had to find the programs I used on my computer, then redo the Bible verse and web site. Got it done and converted it and uploaded that one too. Now hope the lady who is helping me doesn't get confused!I hope she reads through all the emails I sent to her today, and gets to the last one, the one with the best design for the maracas. Now, trustingly, she won't tell me that my design is too large for the space to be printed on the maracas. Will update again tomorrow. Oh, tomorrow is the time I will have to begin to plan the evangelism part of the garage sale we will have on Saturday....

Everyday Evangelism- July 5th, 2009

Well here is something cool that has happened. I am planning my next project of having some type of toy with an imprint of the Gospel or a Bible verse depending on the size of the toy. I have to have around $400 to order 250 of the selected toy. Well I reached the goal on Friday of the $400, so now I have to decide on the item. I chose the maracas which has a small space for imprinting. I went to the web site to call to ask questions about ordering them, and noticed that they were on sale! So, if I order them I will have to pay around $331 dollars for the total order. Also, I am trusting that what I want to have imprinted with fit in the 1 1/4" X 1" space. Here is what I chose for the imprint "There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus...www.needgod.com". Well I am excited about this and will look forward to using them, maybe even this weekend at the garage sale in our neighborhood, and certainly at events like Halloween and Christmas. And with the money left over, I am planning on buying a puppet and doing my best at learning ventriloquism. May God's word go out with power and affect the lives of many people for eternity.

Everyday Evangelism

Here is a blog I am beginning to create. Most of the subjects will have to do with theology or evangelism. I will welcome questions that people post, but please make sure if you do post a question, that you are looking for answers along with me. I love to hear how others think, and I am ok to be friends with people who I may disagree with on different subjects. We can banter about on many things, but always must be careful to not be mean or hateful to others that we disagree with. Please, always be gracious in whatever you say here. I will put questions here from time to time, so lets be patient with each other and kind. No attacking people here please. Let everything be done in love and decency, always speaking the Truth in love.