Archive for August, 2011

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September Evangelism: Back to School, Fiesta Hermosa, MORE!

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

September 1: I go back to El Camino College to continue our evangelism ministry to the lost students, those caught in the tyrannical shackles of unbelief. We will be meeting every Thursday afternoon on the Library Lawn from 12:30-2pm. Email me for directions to the free parking. (Make sure you read about the El Camino Murder artist I met last year by clicking here.

September 2: Every Friday you can join us for The Hour of Power, a one hour excursion to our local fishin’ hole, the Redondo Beach Pier. Meet at the bottom of the stairs at 4:30pm at Hope Chapel to carpool.

NEXT 10 WEEK EVANGELISM CLASS STARTS OCT 13!

September 3-5: The Fiesta Hermosa. This time we actually have an evangelism booth inside the fair. Join us all weekend from 9am-6pm. See details below the video.

Here’s where to park and where to go: (more…)

Posted in AA- EVANGELISM SCHEDULE | 5 Comments »

Martyrs: “I am a Christian. I am dying.”

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Monica Dra and her husband heard the marchers outside their small home in Nigeria on July 26, 2009. They heard the chants of “Allahu Akbar” and wondered what the night would hold for them and other Christians in their village.

Monica in the Hospital“We had heard rumors all night that there were going to be problems,” Monica told VOM, “and now I could hear them walking and slaughtering people as they went.” Monica’s husband, Daniel James, grabbed her, and they ran outside to escape the radical Muslim mob. But the radicals grabbed Daniel and hacked him to death with a machete.

Monica began to run, with her Bible and hymn book tucked under her arm. But members of the chanting mob grabbed her and began striking her with machetes. Seeing a cross on a chain around Monica’s neck, a militant began to chop at her neck, nearly decapitating her. By the time Monica got to the hospital, she could only breathe through the gaping wound left by the lethal blade.

“I thought, ‘I am a Christian,’” she said. “I am dying today.” (more…)

Posted in Martyrs | No Comments »

Atheist Tuesday: A Non Seeker-Friendly Church

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

I want to invite all atheist readers of my blog to our fellowship, Hope Chapel. But I must warn you: We are not seeker-friendly, we are user-friendly. That is, we are not going to pander to you by offering a watered-down, man-centered, toothless message designed to make you feel good.

Oh! Here’s our church welcome sign from two weeks ago:

We are user-friendly though. That is, we will provide you with a very comfortable environment in which you may hear the truth of the biblical Gospel, taught verse by verse, in a message that is from 45 to 60 minutes long. (You can even bring coffee into our sanctuary.) You will also hear that you are a sinner, that you’ve broken the Commandments, that you are headed for Hell and the only way to be saved is by trusting Christ and repenting of your sin—nearly every week!

Oh! Here’s another of our church’s welcome signs from last week:

See you on Sunday? (Okay then, come Friday night at 7pm or Saturday night at 6pm.)

Whatcha waiting for? I’ll even buy lunch (or dinner).

Did you see this other church? (more…)

Posted in ABOUT ME, MY BLOG, MY CHURCH, Atheist Tuesday | 22 Comments »

Malevolent Marriages/Great Gospel

Sunday, August 28th, 2011

Most evangelists are aware of John Wesley, that awesome itinerant open air preacher who God used to bring about the Great Awakening in the 1700s and was the founder of the Methodist movement. What you may not know is that he had a horribly lousy marriage.

William Carey is considered the father of modern missions, but did you know that he, too, lived a matrimonial nightmare?

John Wesley’s wife Molly was so unhappy she decided to make John’s life miserable as well. Because he was away often preaching to crowds of thousands in the open fields, she grew resentful of his long absences. She destroyed some of his writings, criticized him publicly and repeatedly accused him of adultery.

According to Church History Blog “on several occasions she left home, only returning after he begged her repeatedly. Although he had been unspeakably angry with her, he kept aiming at reconciliation.

“But the home life was unhappy. John Hampson of Manchester ‘once entered a room unannounced to find Molly dragging her husband across the floor by his hair.’ (John Pollock, Wesley, Hodder, p.238)

“Finally, she left for good. Wesley wryly reported in his journal, ‘I did not forsake her, I did not dismiss her, I will not recall her.’ ”

You’d think that this was straight from an 18th century edition of the National Enquirer, but sadly, it’s all true.

William Carey’s wife Dolly refused to go with him to India but was pressured to go. Once there, their 5-year-old died and the other children continually contracted tropical diseases.

His wife started to go insane and constantly followed him down the street berating him, accusing him of having affairs with women, even threatening him with a knife. Finally, he had to keep her in a locked room.

His motto for life: “Expect great things; attempt great things.” *

On one hand, I’m distressed that God didn’t change the hearts of these wives to support their husbands in their respective Gospel ministries. I’m bummed that these men didn’t love their wives like Christ loved the church. John Wesley’s philosophy about being married and ministering was this:  “I cannot understand how a Methodist preacher can answer it to God to preach one sermon or travel one day less, in a married than in a single state.” (more…)

Posted in Great Quotes, Steve's Sermons | 10 Comments »

Sudden Death: Her Own Funeral

Sunday, August 28th, 2011

A woman has died of heart failure caused by the shock of waking up at her own funeral.

The woman came to as grieving relatives prayed around her open coffin.

The horrified 49-year-old began screaming when she realized they were getting ready to bury her. Read more by clicking here.

Posted in SUDDEN DEATH! | No Comments »

Saturday Evangelism: 3rd St. Promenade

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

We will once again be joining Tony Miano and his team to share our faith in Santa Monica. Meet at Hope Chapel at 10:00am to carpool. For more info, click here.

Posted in AA- EVANGELISM SCHEDULE | No Comments »

Atheist Tuesday: Found! Proof of God in Vietnam (of all places!)

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

It’s been two weeks since my return from Vietnam. (Read part 1 by clicking here.) I thought that for today’s post I would show nine evidences that there is a God. And I do mean show. At the end of this article I will provide the concluding statement in which no one will be able to argue. Here goes….

Why would a team of nine visit a Third World nation in southeast Asia? To make God known through the kind things He does through us, to show his love to a people who do not yet know him so that they might know Him.

In a backwards village, not unlike those types you see in a National Geographic magazine, we encountered a huge crowd of grateful ethnic Bru people awaiting us with a welcome banner.

Hope Chapel is known in certain parts of Vietnam because of the love we show the Vietnamese people, because God loves the Vietnamese people as shown through his common grace. For eighteen years faithful Christians from our church have visited this country and here are a few of the things that He has done through us: (more…)

Posted in Missions | 68 Comments »

In the Spirit of Unity and Charity…

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

In the spirit of unity and charity I chose to remove my posts about the Harvest Crusades.  (more…)

Posted in ABOUT ME & MY BLOG | 5 Comments »

Sudden Death: Skateboard

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

SANTA CRUZ (AP) — Authorities in a Northern California city say an 83-year-old woman has died after being hit by a teenager on a skateboard. Click to read the rest.

Why in the world do I post these grisly stories every Monday? Do I have a strange obsession with death? Am I a distant cousin of Edgar Allan Poe? Was I raised in a graveyard during my childhood years? Am I a frustrated mortician? Click here for my reasons for Sudden Death Mondays.

Posted in SUDDEN DEATH! | No Comments »

Lost Liberties: “Unnecessary Noise”

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

Citing Infringements on Rights of Street Preachers, Rutherford Institute Attorneys Present Oral Arguments in Noise Ordinance Case

WINCHESTER, Va.— Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute will present oral arguments on Wednesday, August 17, 2011, before the Federal District Court for the Western District of Virginia in favor of a motion for summary judgment in Marcavage v. City of Winchester on behalf of a group of street preachers who were prevented from using a microphone to speak about their religious beliefs at a community street festival. (more…)

Posted in Lost Liberties | 25 Comments »

Atheist Tuesday: God Shows Up in Vietnam

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

If there is no God, affections get misplaced. Many things end up supplanting the One True God: Created things, science… even governments. The banner above “Uncle Ho” declares “GLORY TO THE COMMUNIST PARTY.”

Governments will come and go, but God lives forever. And all who come to Him through repentance and faith in Christ will, too.

When I have access to all the photos, I will present to you proof that God exists, and how a small group of nine from a church in Hermosa Beach made him known in Vietnam.

Posted in Atheist Tuesday | 15 Comments »

Graduating Class of Summer 2011

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

Out of the 32 people who started “Sharing Your Faith…Made Easy!” only thirteen made it to the end. Was I disappointed? Of course.

Would I have liked to have all 32 make it through? Of course. Am I saddened that most may not use the God-given tool that is almost guaranteed to unlock the heart of even the most hardened sinner? Of course.

But I believe in the principle of margin: a few here, a few there. (more…)

Posted in What's Your E-vangie Tale? | 5 Comments »

Sudden Death: Stage

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) – A fifth person has died from the collapse of an outdoor concert stage in heavy wind just before a weekend show at the Indiana State Fair, which was shut down on Sunday, authorities said. Read the rest and see the photos by clicking here.

Posted in SUDDEN DEATH! | No Comments »

Mission Vietnam: In Country

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

I just returned from a two week trip to Vietnam where we were able to share the Gospel in an unprecedented manner…through good works!

Built on eighteen years of faithfulness, Hope for Vietnam is registered as an NGO (Non Governmental Organization) with the Communist government. This type of status is reserved only for the largest of organizations like WorldVision, etc. But this ministry from a small church in Hermosa Beach has won trust due to all the good works that have been performed there. I will write about that later but here’s a tiny little overview of what I experienced in the harsh environment of this Third World nation, where the team of nine endured 100 degree temperatures in nearly 100% humidity.

In a backwards village a short distance from the infamous “Hamburger Hill” of the Vietnam War we shared food, scholarships for selected children, and investigated the tanks provided by Hope Chapel that supplied water to many village families.

One of my favorite things to do was to to teach the 10 Commandments in 5 minutes to an underground church. (With translation, from English to Vietnamese to this particular village’s dialect, it took a little longer.)

But the biggest surprise for everyone (including myself) was discovering how popular my cheesy magic tricks were. These simple performances broke down barriers and opened the doors of many hearts to prepare them for the greater things we were to bring.

Stay tuned for more reporting from the front lines about what we did in Vietnam, from Saigon to Da Nang, to the Laos border.

Posted in Missions | 14 Comments »

Saturday Evangelism: 3rd St. Promenade

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

EDIT: WE WILL BE MEETING AT HOPE CHAPEL AT 10:00AM TO MEET UP WITH TONY MIANO AND THE GANG FROM LIVING WATERS.

Our Hope Chapel evangelism team will be joining the Third Street Heralds regularly down in Santa Monica. This will encourage many first-timers as they join Tony Miano and other seasoned evangelists from Southern California who will meet there every Saturday from 11-3pm.

Our team will meet at A DIFFERENT TIME at Hope Chapel: 10:00AM.

As always there will be opportunities to Stop Light Preach. If you don’t know how to do it then watch the instructional video I re-posted below. I also have a story on how we did it at the Huntington Beach Pier. Read it by clicking here!

Posted in AA- EVANGELISM SCHEDULE | 1 Comment »

Atheist Tuesday: The Drowning Woman

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

Our evangelism teams preach the Gospel in many ways: from the tops of walls to inside elevators; at bus stops, inside restaurants, outside beer gardens, in front of the Department of Motor Vehicles and outside Social Security offices. “Why?” some would ask. In answer to that question, and in response to a few insults directed at me after posting two articles called “The Shaadaap! Game” and “Jerky Evangelism,” here’s my response.

A man was out sailing just off the coast of the Big Island when he saw what appeared to be a woman swimming next to her capsized catamaran.

“Are you okay?” he shouted as he slowly sailed by.

“I’m good,” she replied.

“You sure?” he asked again.

“I’m very good!” she assured him. (more…)

Posted in Atheist Tuesday, Ev Tips/Tools | 136 Comments »

Sudden Death: Bird Feeder

Monday, August 8th, 2011

A Chino Hills woman apparently fell to her death early today as she was attempting to hang a bird feeder on her apartment balcony.

The woman, who was not identified, fell from a second-floor balcony at the Rolling Ridge Apartments in the 13400 block of Peyton Drive, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.

Deputies were called to the apartments about 3:45 a.m. They arrived to find fire personnel already there and attempting to resuscitate the woman, but to no avail. Click here to read the rest.

Posted in SUDDEN DEATH! | 4 Comments »

“Righteous” Richard (almost) Gets Whacked!

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

The motto for our evangelism team is “Go and make—mistakes!” Richard Chavarria made this one on a recent weekend in Huntington Beach. Here’s his report from 2007:

I handed a man a Million dollar bill Gospel tract.
null“What is it?” he asked.

“It’s has the million dollar question on the back,” I replied. “If you died today would you go to Heaven or Hell?” As I asked him this question I noticed two things about him: #1—He seemed to have been drinking a lot as his face was flush red and his speech was slurred. # 2—He was wearing a large cross around his neck.

“I’m going to Heaven because I’m wearing purple,” he stated confidently.

I lost my gentleness and patience when I noticed that he wasn’t wearing any purple. “I haven’t read in the Bible that one gets into Heaven by wearing the color purple.”

“I’m royalty.”

“Are you drunk?” I knew I hit a nerve, so I decided to leave the area, but before I could get half way up the stairs I heard him calling: “Hey you! Hey you!” I stopped, turned around, and there he was in my face.
null I immediately sensed that he was angry to the point that if I didn’t watch myself, he would take some action likely to cause me great bodily injury.

“Yeah, I’m a little buzzed… and I’m royalty because those in Heaven will wear the color of royalty which is purple.”

His girlfriend came along side of us as he was talking. “Apologize to him,” she said sternly. I did so immediately, and Mr. Royalty calmed down. He put his hands on my shoulder and I raised mine in anticipation of blocking a punch.
null
However, he turned away; I did the same.

I hope that next time, Mr Royalty will drink a little more of that living water…

(Read about how to deal with false converts here.)

Posted in Guest E-vangies, PERSECUTED! | 3 Comments »

August Evangelism Schedule

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

6: Redondo Beach Pier: Meet at Hope Chapel at noon to carpool

13: 3rd St. Promenade: NEW TIME: Meet at Hope at 10am (more…)

Posted in AA- EVANGELISM SCHEDULE | No Comments »

Atheist Tuesday: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

I preached a sermon a couple of weeks ago based on Psalm 139. Here’s an excerpt that will prove to atheists that I am not against science at all. At the end of the excerpt you can read the sermon in its entirety or watch it or listen to it online.

Have you stopped to consider the piece of work you are?

Just consider the human cell: A single DNA molecule contains 20 billion bits of information. How much is that? Its equivalent, if it were written down in an ordinary printed book, would be about three billion letters.

If there are approximately six letters in an average word, the information content of that DNA molecule corresponds to about 500 million words.

If there are about 300 words on an ordinary page of printed type, this corresponds to about two million pages.

If a typical book contains 500 such pages, the information content of a single human DNA molecule corresponds to some 4,000 volumes.

“It is clear, then, that the sequence of rungs on our DNA ladders represents an enormous library of information. It is equally clear that so rich a library is required to specify as exquisitely constructed and intricately functioning an object as a human being.”

Do you know who gave that great quote? (more…)

Posted in Atheist Tuesday | 29 Comments »

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