Halloween Evangelism

I like Halloween time for evangelism. People come to your door and ask for things and take what you give them. There is no other time of year that this happens!

For the last several years, Greg and I have made a point of making this a ministry night in our home. Here's what we are doing this year:

• Full size candy bars. Our philosophy: Be generous just as we have had great generosity shown to us. Side note: Kids remember the house that gives the big candy bars and they come back, with friends.
• Business card from our church taped to the back of the candy bar with a label that reads: "This is our church. We invite you to visit sometime."
• Gospel tracts to go with every candy bar. I'm a big fan of the tracts from "Living Waters" ministry. This year I'm using the cartoon "Are you a good person?" tract.
• "Why Christianity?" video for the older children and teenagers who come to our door. It's a great evangelistic message in a DVD format. It's available through "Living Waters" ministry and, when bought in bulk, can be purchased at a discount rate.

With those tips in mind I say, "Happy Halloween Evangelizing!"

Evangelism Video 10/30

Here's another interesting evanglism video from the Living Waters University series. This is Ray Comfort witnessing to two young men named Ryan and Jerome.

Do Hard Things

I recently finished reading the book Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris. The subtitle of the book is A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations.

I liked the book. I thought they did a good job relaying history, explaining where and when the concept of a "teenager" began, and giving lots of examples from history and current times of teenagers who took on hard things. The authors are teenagers themselves, so that made the book real to the reader. The book is written from a Christian perspective and gives a pretty good gospel presentation at the end of it.

My niece Meghan (14) and I read it simultaneously (part of the Feed the Starving Teenagers program--more on that another day). Last week we got together to discuss the book. Meghan was very excited about it. It spurred her on to expect more from herself as a teenager and to want others to expect more from her as well. She's looking for a big project to do. We're brainstorming about that together.

My one concern about the book is that it could inadvertently encourage moralism (behaving well for the sake of behaving well-to be a better human being). Because of this concern, I think it's worth reading this book with a teenager, so you can have some discussion afterward.

In my discussion with Meghan, I was able to address that concern and present the gospel to her. She listened intently and was truly interested in the message. I'm grateful to God that He allowed that opportunity through the reading of this book. And I know that the intense interest this book stirred in Meghan will allow for more conversations of this nature in the future. To God be the glory!

Cookie Baking Night 10/26

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. Ethan and Carissa were in attendance. After we ate supper and baked brownies, we took on a new endeavor. I've been working on teaching the kids the books of the Bible. As I was gathering information for this task, I found a gem in my closet I had forgotten about. Several years ago, we attended a meeting where Josh McDowell was the speaker for the evening. He has developed a curriculum (http://www.truefoundations.com/) for teaching young children about the Bible called, "Is the Bible Personally From God?" I had purchased a variety pack of information at the time of the meeting, and this curriculum was amongst that information. This "course" included a teacher's guide and a couple workbooks for children. It's an eight week course. It's more information than we need for our limited amount of time at Cookie Baking Night, so we'll probably be working through the information (picking and choosing a bit) over the next year. Tonight we started with some information from lesson 1, "Who Wrote the Bible?". The lesson focused heavily on the word "inspired" and covered how God inspired men to write the Bible. The balloons were visual aids, each with the word "inspired" written on them. Each child took a balloon home at the end of the evening as a reminder.

Evangelism Video 10/24

This is a different kind of evangelism video than those I usually post on my blog. I find it very intriguing, so I thought I would share it with you.

Frightening Fridays

If you visit this blog from time to time, you might have noticed the absence of Frightening Fridays posts in the last month or two.

Frightening Friday is the name I gave to the day of the week I go out in the community with the intention of sharing the gospel with strangers (I usually go to the mall or a carnival or a skate park to do this).

I'm still going out and sharing the gospel (if not by one-on-one encounters then by handing out gospel tracts) but the day of the week varies, and I'm trying to figure out a plan with winter approaching (this being Minnesota and all).

So, I am putting my Frightening Friday posts on hold for awhile. Please continue to pray for these efforts, and I'll keep you posted.

Because of Christianity...Reconciliation

Because of Christianity, we have reconciliation. If you have watched the world and the world system you will notice a lack of reconciliation (no restoring to friendship or harmony, as Webster's would define it). There is little motivation or need to reconcile with another human being. When doing what is right in one's own eyes, the thought of reconciling with another person often invokes statements such as, "Why should I, they were wrong." or "If that's the way they treat people, I don't need them in my life anyway." But Christianity teaches us something different. The Bible tells us:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:17-18

Speaking of Jesus in these verses:
For it pleased the Father that in Him all fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless, and above reproach in His sight. Colossians 1:19-20

As Christians:
We reconcile with others because we've been reconciled to the Father.
We forgive because we've been forgiven by the Father through the Son.

Evangelism Video 10/16

This is a video of Ray Comfort witnessing to a man named Chris. I think the end of the video is particularly interesting when Chris mentions how many people had spiritual conversations with him (or gave him gospel tracts) that weekend and how it was starting to have an impact on his thinking.

Book Binding Tip

Today I will pass on a book tip to the masses (or the 5 or so people who occasionally read this blog). If you are a continuous reader of books, as I am, occasionally you will run into a book that you read over and over and want to recommend to others or want to study further in conjuction with studying the Bible. If this book you have found is paperback, I find it helpful to bring the book to an office supply store (like Office Max) or a copy center (like Kinkos) and have a spiral binding put on the book. This can be done for the cost of $3.00-$4.00 per book. This will allow you to open the book flat or completely flip the book around and study (and write in if desired) one page at a time. A few wise women in my life have passed this tip onto me, and I've found it very useful (especially when studying a book in conjuction with a Bible Study--one that that you will be returning to for months). When I run into a real "keeper" of a book, I invest in this extra step (just did it tonight as a matter of fact with Lies Young Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free).

Cookie Baking Night 10/12/09

Tonight was cookie baking night. Emily, Ethan, and Carissa were in attendance. We made pumpkin bars.
Tonight we got back to our project of learning the books of the Bible. We practiced the first 10 books of the Old Testament and learned how many books are in the whole Bible (66) and how many in the Old Testament (39) and New Testament (27) each.
The evening also included supper (pizza, a favorite), a Bible story, and lots of coloring pictures.
A grand time was had by all.

Evangelism Video 10/2

Today I'm in Iowa visiting relatives. I pray I will have the chance to share the gospel while I am here (and while I'm traveling).

I leave you with this video from the Living Waters University series of Ray Comfort witnessing to a young man named Brandon.

Ephesians 2:1-10

Ephesian 2:1-10 (NKJV)

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sin, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.