Almost three years ago, when I first started interviewing people on camera, I ran into a colorful cowboy named Lightning while strolling along the Redondo Beach Pier. I think you’ll enjoy this. (I’d appreciate your prayers as I prepare to give four sermons this weekend on the wrath of God from Romans 1:18-32)
Since I am getting a fair number of atheists and materialists to this blog as of late, I thought this article, written by my friend Tony Miano from his blog The Lawman Chronicles, will answer the myriad questions that are posed by them about what I believe and why I believe it.
But I’m almost positive that I’ve opened a whole new can of worms.
I’m a Herald, not a Negotiator
by Tony Miano
God exists. I know that God exists. How do I know? He has revealed Himself to me by the power of His Holy Spirit, and through the sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. He has caused me to be born again, resulting in my repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has given me spiritual eyes to see, the desire to know Him and obey Him, and the ability (although I still have much to learn) to understand His Word.
Whether you or I believe God exists is utterly irrelevant. One’s belief in God has no impact, positive or negative, on the existence of God. God is God. He always has been. He always will be.
I’m a herald, not a negotiator.
The Bible is true. How do I know?
Sacramento, CA – The California Court of Appeal is considering the constitutionality of a Sacramento-area shopping mall’s attempt to prevent adult patrons from talking to each other about hot-button topics such as religion and politics.
The case arose after a youth pastor, Matthew Snatchko, was arrested at the Roseville Galleria Mall in 2007 for striking up a casual conversation with two other shoppers about faith. Although Snatchko had first obtained the shoppers’ permission to broach the subject, a nearby store employee disapproved and called mall security guards, who arrested Snatchko. Criminal charges were later dropped, but attorneys with Pacific Justice Institute filed suit to challenge the mall’s tight restrictions on speech.
Under the mall’s rules, shoppers are not allowed to engage in conversations about potentially controversial topics like religion or politics, unless they already know the person they are talking to. Another mall rule bans the wearing of any clothing with religious or political messages.
Kids’ Evangelism Top-of-the-Class Winner
A few months back I posted a picture of the prize (see it up close here) that the top kid evangelist would win if they scored the most points in my Kid Evangelism class. All they had to do was hand out one Gospel tract a day, then write one paragraph about each experience. The winner, Cherish, never missed a day, completely blowing away the competition.
She is now now enrolled in my adult class (along with her whole family), and has her eyes on a new prize: a hand-carved, hand-inscribed Ten Commandments plaque.
Congratulations, Cherish!
In addition to learning about evangelism, the kids get to rehearse and perform a little humorous skit dealing in some way with the Christian life. Here’s a skit called “Mrs. No” that Cherish was in. Feel free to use it for your own kids’ evangelism class.
Mrs. No
Cast: Angel #1, Angel #2, Mrs. No, Homeless Girl, Old lady,
Muslim Man, Ex-convict, Louie the new Christian
(The skit starts out with a lady sitting in the middle of the stage on a stool. Two angels stand stage right and observe Mrs. No.)
Angel #1: Who’s that lady?
Angel #2: Shhh… You’ll disturb her.
#1: Well, who is she?
#2: She’s your average Christian and she doesn’t want anybody to bother her. We call her Mrs. No. She’s having her own time with God.
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