Archive for November, 2007

Weekend Read: Charles Spurgeon on Open Air Preaching

Friday, November 30th, 2007

This is an excellent article from about 150 years ago written by the Prince of Preachers. Every would-be street preacher needs to keep a copy of this with them and to read it thoroughly.
null Please copy and print this. Things have not changed that much since Spurgeon’s time. You will laugh and shake your head at his wisdom.

Here’s an excerpt from OPEN-AIR PREACHING – A SKETCH OF ITS HISTORY AND REMARKS THEREON By Charles H. Spurgeon

I must linger a moment over Robert Flockhart of Edinburgh, who, though a lesser light, was a constant one, and a fit example to the bulk of Christ’s street witnesses. Every evening, in all weathers and amid many persecutions, did this brave man continue to speak in the street for forty-three years. Think of that, and never be discouraged. When he was tottering to the grave the old soldier was still at his post. “Compassion to the souls of men drove me,” said he, “to the streets and lanes of my native city, to plead with sinners and persuade them to come to Jesus. The love of Christ constrained me.”

Now read the entire text: (more…)

Arresting Ray Comfort

Friday, November 30th, 2007

Ray is concerned that he might be arrested due to the latest Million Dollar Bill scandal:

The Million Dollar Bill tract not only made the Home Page of Foxnews.com today, but it was also on Yahoo’s Home Page and USA Today. While this is wonderful publicity, I’m wondering if the Secret Service isn’t going to arrest me for being the bill’s creator. So I have a solid defense ready. Read the rest here.

Lights! Camera! Repent!

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

Here is good news for Way of the Master fans who like Kirk Cameron, and for those who loved the movie “Facing the Giants.” A new film is currently being shot called “Fireproof” starring Kirk, and written and directed by the same team that made “Facing the Giants.”
null I’m sure it will be very evangelistic, and I’ll just bet that the crew is getting a good dose of “Hell’s Best Kept Secret.”

Read their daily blog here.
Go to the website here.

Another Million Dollar Scandal!

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

AIKEN, S.C. — A bank teller had a million reasons to deny this transaction. Police say a man tried to open an account with a $1 million bill, which does not exist. The teller refused and called police while the man started to curse at bank workers, said Aiken County Sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Michael Frank. Click here to read the rest from Fox News!

Bulletin Board Boldness!

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

“Hey honey! Look! There’s money on that bulletin board!”
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“Wait a minute… that’s not real money.”
null “It’s those stupid million dollar bills that we see all over the place! I think they say something about Hell.”

“Man. How brave do you have to be to pin one of those on a board?”
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“Christians are so chicken!”

null “I may as well read it…”

R.A. Torrey (1856-1928) says:
null “Oftentimes people who are too proud to be talked with, will read a tract when no one is looking. There is many a man who would repulse you if you tried to speak to him about his soul, who will read a tract if you leave it on his table, or in some other place where he comes upon it accidentally, and that tract may be used for his salvation.”
Who’s R.A. Torrey? (more…)

Famous Lost Words: Ex-Christian.net

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

Here is a website devoted exclusively to “encouraging” ex-Christians to feel comfortable about leaving the faith.
null The site features “de-conversion” testimonials like this one:

“In 2000 I became a born again Christian, I read the bible, I went to church, I listened to Christian music, I guess you could say I “lived” the Christian life. And I thought that all my Christian friends were such great people, so loving and caring and understanding. But then I really found out how wonderful those so called “Christian” friends were. You see I was gay and when I came out of the closet those friends sure turned in a hurry.” (Read the rest here.)

There are, of course, articles about pro-evolution foolishness, fallen “Christians”… in fact, everything that is against Christianity and God is featured. They even have anti-Christ t-shirts available for purchase:
nullnull Don’t be too shocked. The Christian world deserves most of this ridicule due to its hypocrisy and lack of integrity in Christian living.

Also, since less than 2% of Christians actually share their faith, most people aren’t aware that God has a moral standard that He will hold everyone accountable to. And if that standard of the 10 Commandments is not followed perfectly, if a person breaks even one Commandment by lying, stealing, or blaspheming, then they will be found guilty on the Day of Judgment, and end up in Hell forever because of their sin. Of course, if they repent and trust in Jesus—and follow Him to the end, they will be saved. Since this is not preached, everyone goes their own way, like sheep to the slaughter, like fools to the circus, like ex-Christians to silly atheitic websites.

By the way, there is no such thing as an ex-Christian. Ex-Christians were just false converts. 1 John 2:19 says: “They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.”

Ex-Christian.net? NOT!

****
Read how to handle false converts here.

USC Versus UCLA This Saturday!

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

This is the last hurrah for regular season college play, two traditional rivals, both based in L.A…. and our faithful team of evangelists will be there for the exciting part: The pre-game tail-gate parties!!!
null This game is expected to be a sell-out with over 90,000 fans in attendance. Meet at Hope Chapel at 8AM to carpool or meet at the L.A. DMV at 9:15! Game time is 12:30 PM.
Read the big strategy we employed at a previous USC game here—you won’t believe it!

Shamu Salvation

Tuesday, November 27th, 2007

On November 1st, my littlest daughter, Laurel, celebrated her 6th birthday at SeaWorld in San Diego.

We have taken full advantage of the family pass we purchased at the beginning of the year, this being our fourth visit. We always bring our Million Dollar bill Gospel tracts, never knowing how God will use them—and us—as we hand ‘em out. Everytime we take a step of faith—even if it’s a small step, like handing out tracts—we get blessed, big time! Maybe this little pictorial will encourage you to “stick your toe in the Jordan” and see what God will do as you trust Him:

Upon entering an amusement park its always a good idea to have the kids pose with a silly character…
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…then of course, hand him a Gospel tract.

I’m positive that Pete the Penguin is a pagan; there was something a little fishy about his theology.

And wow! A rare picture of my beautiful wife (who’s camera-shy), posing with our daughters while feeding a dolphin.
null
We were very suspicious of Flipper’s faith: We caught him reading “The Porpoise-Driven Life.”

A stop at a little shop yielded an opportunity to brighten the day of two bored employees who had nothing better to do than read a detailed description of their sin before God.
null The tract they are reading is a test that asks if they are good enough to get to Heaven. It’s very detailed and leaves people with no doubt of where they are going when they die. (I will provide more details of this gem in the future. We’ve handed out about 50,000 of these so far at our church. It’s a free download; Click here to get one.)

A strange “coincidence” occurred next. A family visiting Southern California from the San Francisco area had hit all the theme parks within a 100 mile radius and were burned out. They had yet to see San Diego’s Wild Animal Park, but couldn’t bear the thought of having to endure another day’s outing. “Would you like these passes?” they asked us. We snatched them up (a two hundred dollar value!) and immediately made plans for the following Monday to visit more unsaved animals.
null We rewarded the family with millions, of course. Hopefully they’ll spread the Good News when they leave their hearts in San Diego.

And then there was the famous Shamu show called “Believe.” They get the audience all riled up by having everyone chant native-like:
“SHA-MU! SHA-MU! SHA-MU!”
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The waters swirled…

My girls were ready, well-prepared in the splash zone…
null
The mighty waters rushed…

“SHA-MU! SHA-MU! SHA-MU!” The crowd was encouraged to raise their hands overhead in a whale-tail way and just belieeeeeve! Mass whale-dolatry!

null THUD!

The biggest splash of the day came when we gave this grandmother and her grand kids millions of dollars.
“I can’t believe it! she exclaimed. “Just before you gave me these, my youngest grandson (in the orange) made a wish: He wished for a million dollars!”

Just belieeeeeeve!

*****
Read about how we attempted to save Mickey Mouse here.
And how a Disney character Pooh-Poohed the idea of Gospel tracts here.

Christmas Gifts: Your Choice!

Monday, November 26th, 2007

Have a burden to evangelize by wearing clever clothes?
Here are some options that will elicit “Amens” and “Oh nos!”

This is a great gift put out by EvangelismStuff.com:

null Shopkeepers Dale and Anna Jackson are good friends of mine who also are on staff at Way of the Master! They know their evangelistic stuff!

And this is an awful option…

Here is another example of the irreverence and cluelessness found in the “Christian” community being passed off as authentic witness. The company that produced this shirt is called “Holeyware.com, which is certainly an appropriate name, since there are some major holes in their understanding of Who Jesus is.
null
As A Little Leaven puts it: “This is a fine and reverent way to depict the Lamb of God, King of Kings and Maker of Heaven and Earth.”

Deaths in America

Monday, November 26th, 2007

BY RAY COMFORT

Charles Spurgeon said that people can be taught to live by being reminded that they have to die. That’s true. Every sane human being has a will to live, and it’s an often-forgotten tool by which we may reason with them. So, here’s some feathers for your evangelistic arrows:
null Every year around 90,000 people die in hospitals–from medical mistakes. That is one American dies in a hospital from a medical error or a lethal infection every six minutes. Medical blunders are the eighth leading cause of death in the United States. A horrifying 43,443 died in car accidents in one year–one American is killed by a traffic accident every 12 minutes. That may make you want to stay home. Think again. One American is killed in an accident at home every 29 minutes–that’s an annual total of over 18,000 deaths. One American is accidentally poisoned to death every 27 minutes (19,457). Falls killed 17,227 people back in 2004–that is, one every 31 minutes. One American is killed by a drunk driver every 31 minutes (16,885). Murders are down since the 1990’s (unless Hollywood has succeeded in teaching more people how to disguise murder). One American is murdered every 32 minutes. According to the FBI 17,034 people were murdered in 2006.

One more to cheer you up: Every 30 seconds, a woman somewhere in the world gives birth to a child. She must be found and stopped. [He's kidding...] —From Comfort Food, used with permission.
Here are the sources of the stats: (more…)

Sudden Death: Plague!

Monday, November 26th, 2007

A wildlife biologist at Grand Canyon National Park most likely died from plague contracted while performing a necropsy on a mountain lion that later tested positive for the disease.
null Eric York, 37, who worked in the park’s cougar-collaring program, became ill on Oct. 30 and called in sick for a couple of days before being found dead in his home Nov. 2. Tests were positive for pneumonic plague.
—From the L.A. Times

George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Thursday, November 22nd, 2007

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor;
null …and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”
(more…)

Comfort Food

Thursday, November 22nd, 2007

Ray Comfort has a new blog called Comfort Food. While I take a few days off for Thanksgiving, check out his site. See ya back on Monday.

Sermon: Drop-Dead Disciples?

Thursday, November 22nd, 2007

Two months ago I preached a sermon entitled “The Fear of the Lord” which was a warning to all unbelievers. This sermon, “Drop-Dead Disciples?” is the companion piece, a warning to false converts and half-hearted believers to take God seriously.
null This teaching about Ananias and Sapphira is not a fun talk, but I hope it might wake you up, and make you even more thankful for what you believe. Click here to listen.

Priest Unleashed

Wednesday, November 21st, 2007

Yesterday I posted a Guest E-vangie about how a lady at the water store thought I was a priest (read it here). I denied it. I didn’t know about the hidden security camera…
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“As you come to him, the living stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
(Thanks to Paul LaTour for reviewing the security footage and sending the evidence to me.)

Famous Lost Words: Advice Columnist

Wednesday, November 21st, 2007

The L.A. Times features advice columnist Carolyn Hax regularly. Read her answer to a person whose co-worker is a rather obnoxious Christian..

Dear Carolyn: My co-worker seems to have made it her mission to convert me.

null She treats every conversation as if it’s a chance to make points about her religious beliefs. I can’t even congratulate her for getting shoes on sale without her saying something like, “The Lord favors His own!”

If we’re working on a project together, she’ll say, “Oh, last night I was thinking about our report and the Lord told me we should….”

She works in the next cube, so I can hear her on the phone with her church friends, all pumped up about how “people are going to try to shut you up, but you’ve got to speak up for Jesus!”

I just keep repeating, “Well, you know I’m not a believer.”

But my inclination to be respectful of others’ views seems to put me at a disadvantage with someone who doesn’t respect mine.

Here’s Carolyn’s advice: (more…)

City Considers Ban on Christmas Lights

Wednesday, November 21st, 2007

A Colorado city is considering a plan that one attorney calls the epitome of the war against Christmas.

null Tonight, the Fort Collins City Council will meet and decide the fate of a task force report that urges the city to decorate with white lights, winter symbols not traditionally associated with any particular holiday, and unadorned garlands of greenery. City staffers are also encouraged to remove ornaments or stars from trees and red ribbons from wreaths. (Read the rest here.)

Meet Ray Comfort This Saturday!

Wednesday, November 21st, 2007

Once again, we will be heading down to Huntington Beach to share our faith with Ray Comfort.
null Meet at Hope Chapel at noon. Bring your copy of “The Way of the Master” so you can get his autograph.

Ann Coulter Silenced!!!

Tuesday, November 20th, 2007

Can you believe Ann Coulter—that firebrand of the Right and scourge of the Left—who makes a living from creating needless controversy and writing books, didn’t have a word to say when challenged on air?

That’s right. For an amazing six seconds, Ann was stumped. Where did this take place? At The Way of the Master Radio show. Host Todd Friel told Ann that she was wrong in her assessment of what it means to be a Christian then… dead air. I laughed so darn hard; you will, too. Listen to this 60 second sound bite. It’s classic! Click here to listen to this very short clip.

Fruitless Attempts and Father Steve

Tuesday, November 20th, 2007

BY RAY WORLITZ

(Ray is a student in our latest evangelism class. Each student’s homework is to hand out one Million Dollar bill Gospel tract each day of the class. Here are two sad and humorous encounters he experienced.)

I made two attempts to give out a Million dollar gospel tract:

Attempt #1- A pastor: He politely declined saying he was given two and said that they were still sitting on his desk from a year ago. The pastor told me how bad church attendance was and that they can’t seem to get anyone new. I thought it was sad that here was a perfect opportunity the pastor was given to restore enthusiasm among his struggling congregation to evangelize for Christ, yet he wasn’t using it.
Attempt #2- The lady at the water store reading a bible:I asked her if she had received a million dollar bill yet and she said, “Yes! Every week a priest comes in and hands me a bunch!” I asked if that pastor’s name happened to be Steve; sure enough it was! Well, I tried Steve… but you got to her first.

(Steve’s note: I’m not a priest…)