Proclaiming the Excellencies- Rick Goertzen

This sermon will get you fired up to PROCLAIM the excellencies of Christ!!

TEAM 1 Follow-up- Burbank Media Center 3-26-11

Team 1 was in Burbank and Team 2 in Noho on a gloomy, rain looming night. I've been amazed at the faithfulness of the evangelists who have been going out inspite of the rain. The past few weeks have been super rainy and these saints keep going. We've been preaching and handing out tracts from under umbrellas if we have to... but the Gospel keeps going forth! The first time I didn't go out witnessing because of rain I was convicted of my "need for comfort". People are going to HELL and I didn't go out because of rain?! Talk about a fair weather Christian. Since then I've made it a point to go no matter what the weather and have been blessed every time.

Team 1 was Sharon, Forest, Steve and myself.

Sharon has to be one if the BEST at getting 1-on-1 conversations.

It was a busy & loud night complete with bad saxaphone playing & break dancing.

Steve handing out the Millions. Lots of tracts went out.

I recently was blessed with the income to get a heckler mic setup which we broke out tonight. If anyone isn't familiar with a "Heckelr Mic" its where you set up a mic to let anyone who wants to ask a question or give their two cents about what we're sharing. Its a great way to draw a crowd. Built into the box I'm standing on is a "kill switch" that I can step on at any point to shut off their mic if the heckler has potty mouth or gets out of control. We didn't have any hecklers tonight but its nice to have this extra way to reach people.

Over all it was a great night. Handed out several bibles and had a few people stop and listen to the gospel. We wrapped it up right before it began to rain. Praise the Lord.

Unicorns in the Bible?

The Grim Reality of the Last Days

EVERYONE MUST LISTEN TO THIS!

My brother Tim sent it to me and was preached by John MacArthur at a recent night service. Have you ever wondered why it is so hard to witness to Muslims? Listen below to find out what they think when you tell them about Jesus.

"When we fear God, we don't need to fear anyone else." - Oswald Chambers

The question is not "Are we going to die?" its "HOW are we going to die?"

Endure to the end PREACHING THE GOSPEL!

If you have not been sharing it REPENT... and start today!

Do We Really Believe What We're Saying?

Do We Really Believe What We're Saying? from The Church at Brook Hills on Vimeo.

Should Women Open-Air Preach?

All I ask my Sisters and Brothers in the Lord, is that you please read this post written with a tone of love. I know this may be a sensitive issue with many evangelists, and I believe in the Spirit of Christ we can disagree with this topic and still love one another. Many of my dear sisters in Christ have a love for the Lord and a love for the lost and that is not what is in question with this post. A while ago I saw on another blog a story about a sister who was open air preaching and was verbally and basically physically assaulted by an angry heckler which lead me to ask the question: Should women open-air preach?

Keep in mind the question is not one of ability but SHOULD women open-air preach?

There are three biblical cases that lead me to belive that women should NOT be open-air preachers.

FIRST: What God requires of men

When open-air preaching you are opening yourself to verbal and in some cases physical abuse from angry hecklers. As men I believe we do our sisters a great disservice by encouraging them to be put in a potentially dangerous situation. We are to be protectors of women. I would not like my wife or for that matter my sister in the Lord to be verbally cursed at or worse... lets just say it would probably not bring the best side of me out. At that point the men on an evangelism team are put into a precarious place. Protect her and escalate a confrontation or allow her to be abused for the sake of the gospel. A situation that I believe could have been avoided had the men on the team lead in preaching.

SECOND: What God requires of women

"rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." 1 Peter 3:4

The Lord expects His daughters to exemplify a spirit of gentlness. Anyone who has seen open air preaching knows that it's anything but "gentle & quiet". By nature it is confrontational and loud. This is counter to the design of women.

THIRD: What scripture doesn't say on the subject

The absense of scripture that show women as preachers. All the prophets were men, the apostles were men and church leadership... all men.

I believe my sisters have a vital part in evangelism by their effective 1-on-1 witnessing (many times they can reach people I cannot), their godly gentilness can have an effect on people. Their prayers are vital and we have sisters on our team who can out tract the best of em'.

So hear me again with love dear brothers and sisters, we all have our roles. None of which is more or less vital in fullfilling the Great Commission!

Take the poll and cast your vote on: SHOULD women open-air preach?

FINAL POLL RESULTS:

YES	6 (50%)
NO	6 (50%)

Laminated

Yesterday I had the pleasure of laboring with Chris, Joshua & Steve in the pouring rain at Noho. Chris and I preached from under an umbrella. Amazingly a few people came up and took bibles!

Chris unveiled his "Rain Proof Tracts" yesterday. I kid you not... the man LAMINATED some Million Dollar Bills to make them water proof.

Don't let rain stop you from working in the fields which are ripe for harvest!

Please pray for Daniel. He is a young man who is on the street. At one point he took off his sunglasses and revealed his bruised and bloody eyes from being beaten up. I gave him a bible and when sharing the Gospel with him was very emotional.

HOLLYWOOD/Veritas FOLLOW-UP 3-19-11

Tonight was the Veritas "group" for CBC's Crash Course evangelism class... and ONE faithful, brave soul came out with us. It was a little disappointing, I'll admit it. I have to remember how long I was a Christian before the Lord woke me up to the need to go out to the world and be a witness for Jesus Christ. Our dear sister Hanna had to endure me teach her for 40 minutes then we ate some pizza and went via the subway to Hollywood Blvd.

It was a busy night out on the Boulevard

Well in 64 days we'll see if he is a true prophet... if not we STONE HIM ;)

We spent the night in front of Manns Chinese Theater. We preached several times and Praise the Lord... no police showed up!

Mike and his wife showed up on a "date" to go out witnessing.

We were also blessed to have Tony the Lawman join us. A bus load of tourists was greeted by Tony giving them a Million Dollar bill saying "WELCOME to HOLLYWOOD!"

Mark hands this young girl a Gideon New Testament... maybe we'll see her in heaven one day. About 40 bibles went out this night!

Hanna hands out Giant Hundreds while Sharon witnesses.

Tony, Mike, Nathan and I all preached.

Another great night on Hollywood Blvd. We handed out tons of tracts! Its amazing what a few people can do in a few hours by God's grace!

We finished back at Noho with Mike preaching once more and getting a drunk heckler to give him a piece of his mind... all in a nights work!

Please pray for those who got tracts and bibles and heard the good news!

Letters of Encouragment

Rarely does this happen... so I wanted to share it with you. Sometimes people will give you a card or a note to encourage you in evangelism. Everyone who is faithfully part of this ministry can take part in the appreciation of those who sent these notes.

Below is a note that a young teenage girl named Grace gave us when I was at Joshua's monday morning outing at Noho Subway station.

Here is a note someone left at the booth I had set up at CBC's Missions Conference.

Have I seen many conversions since doing this ministry? No. But have I seen FRUIT from this ministry? ABSOLUTELY!!

PLEASE PRAY FOR JAPAN

The devastation and grief would lead you to despair. Pray the sovereign Lord of Heaven and Earth would allow missionaries & believers there to be bold with the gospel & Gideons to have bibles for the people of Japan. May He use this tragic event to bring healing to a people and glory to His name.

A way you can show tangible love to the people of Japan is by donating to a ministry like Samaritan's Purse which has people on the ground with food, supplies AND the Gospel!

"Either you go into the well or hold the rope for those who do. But either way you need to have scars on your hands." - Paul Washer

Loud Amps: YES or NO?

Please take this post as a healthy critique and not an attack. We should all be open to examine the wisdom of our methods.

The video below was filmed on Hollywood Blvd. a few weeks ago. There was a team of evangelists from another church who were faithful to come out and share the gospel. Praise the Lord for that! This post has nothing to do with the content of their message, or their desire to see people saved, but merely the issue of the VOLUME of amps. I had gently approached one of the guys on the their team; as a brother to suggest that maybe they should consider a better quality amp. I pointed out that maybe their amp was a little "sharp" on the ears. You could actually hear the second team they had set up from across the street.

I believe that many people (and I'm totally guilty of this) equate VOLUME with PASSION. Ian paisley said "You get on fire in the pulpit and people will come to see you burn!"

The poll question is:

Loud Amps: YES or NO?

FINAL POLL RESULTS:

YES-People need to hear the gospel no matter what!	2 (16%)
NO-We want people to hear the gospel not lose their hearing.	10 (83%)

TEAM 1 Follow-up- Burbank Media Center 3-12-11

Tonight we tried out two teams. Mike, Mark, Nathan & Elder Bob went out to Noho Subway station. Steve, Sharon, Forest & I went to Burbank Media Center.

It was a busy night at the Media Center.

I encourage you all to KEEP GOING! It will be worth it in eternity!

LOTS of tracts & bibles went out.

It was a great night. Steve & I preached while we did the "Stand with the Preacher" technique. Several bibles went out. At one point I preached and the Lord drew a small crowd and great questions from the heckler box from about 4 people all of whom took a bibles.

Please pray for Sonya (she is Orthodox Christian and does not attend church) and the three teens who asked questions. God is good!!

Francis Chan: Are Your Beliefs Biblical?

D.A Carson - The Atonement

"I argue, then, that both Arminians and Calvinists should rightly affirm that Christ died for all, in the sense that Christ’s death was sufficient for all and that Scripture portrays God as inviting, commanding, and desiring the salvation of all, out of love (in the third sense developed in the first chapter). Further, all Christians ought also to confess that, in a slightly different sense, Christ Jesus, in the intent of God, died effectively for the elect alone, in line with the way the Bible speaks of God’s special selecting love for the elect (in the fourth sense developed in the first chapter)."

D.A. Carson - The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books, 2000), 73-79.

Open Air Preaching- Noho 3-9-11

Haven't posted me preaching an open air in quite a while. Here is one from last night when Dean, Sai, Steve and I were at Noho Subway station. I apologize for the quality my mic was not in the ideal place to pick up the sound. At one point there were about 20 people hearing the gospel and there was an eerie "hush" in the environment.

We serve a kind God who uses weak vessels for His glory.

Mithra, Attis & Rob Bell... All are Bogus.

Alliance Defense Fund

Just in case anyone has a run in with those who would try to unlawfully strip them of freedoms to share Christ.

Missions Conference 2011

Had a nice time this weekend at our churches Missions Conference. Its amazing to see how the Lord raises up different people with different burdens for the lost... but all having in common the desire for people to know Jesus Christ as Lord! This year they gave the kids a Passport that they got to walk around and ask each Missionary different questions and get it stamped. I had a great time talking with Don Allen from the Navigators who has been witnessing to college students for 37 YEARS!! There were many other FAITHFUL warriors of the cross from ministres like Hope Again, Avenues, Ministry to the Blind and Deaf & the Hollywood Church and many more.

Claudia has a wonderful Spainish childrens ministry.

2011 Missions Conference Attendees

Here was the CBC Evangelism booth for this year... REPRESENTIN'. I had the great priviledge of briefly sharing what the Lord has been doing with our ministry and to share the promo video which features Paul Washer for the attendees.

I offered out Million Dollar Bills and Giant Hundreds to encourage people to pass them out to others. Also several copies of Hells Best Kept Secret were taken which Lord willing will fuel many more to share the Gospel.

IF you have never listened to Hells Best Kept Secret you should, ENJOY!!

PS- Whenever I talk with people I often feel that I am a "ME MONSTER". Watch this hilarious video below and you will know what I'm talking about. The Lord is working on me to learn to "esteem others as better than myself" in conversation.

Nothing Created Everything... really?

Stand with the Preacher!

Went to Dean's Magnet Evangelism last night. Always a good time! Mark, Steve, Dean, Sai and myself were there. We've started to add Tony the Lawmans "Are You Ready?" Cross to the mays ways to reach people. Its already drawn several conversations, heckling and people taking bibles.

Mark peaching the Good News while Steve holds the cross.

Something I've noticed in the past is when a guy gets up to preach the other evangelists on the team tend to move away from them. I've learned that having a guy stand next to whoever is preaching to hand out bibles is a VERY helpful thing to do for several reasons:

1) Its biblical to have two or three witnesses. "After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go." - Luk 10:1 NKJV The preacher looks "less crazy" if he has another guy with him.

2) Its good to have back-up if there is hostile opposition. To record with a camera or to be an eye witness.

3) Offering out bibles while the gospel is being preached is a great way to give people that are listeneing God's word so they can come to know the Lord. Its also an indicator that people are being effected in some way to hear more about Jesus Christ. Its good to make a small sign that says "Free Bibles". (Which I've attached below for you to print out and use.) OR for the preacher to announce, "We have free bibles if anyone wants one."

4) Having new open-air preachers stand next to and watch more seasoned street preachers helps them to learn how to interact with hecklers. Remember though; if you are standing with the the preacher and he is being heckled (its hard not to do) DO NOT HECKLE HIS HECKLER! Let the preacher handle it.

5) Also to hold each other accountable to the content of the message preached. There have been times when I forgot to tell people "Jesus rose from the dead!"... sad but true.

6) Finally its very encouraging to the guy on the box. Anyone who has open-air preached knows... it can feel very lonely on that box. Sometimes you can feel like the only person on the planet that believes in Jesus. Its encouraging to look and see a brother standing with you. And don't be afraid to throw out an "AMEN" while he is preaching... its like throwing gas on the FIRE!! :)

Evolution.... really?

If anyone can say these "creatures" are designed but then turn a blind eye to the creation and say there is no Creator... truly they have given evidence that their problem is not intellectual its moral.

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse," - Rom 1:20 NKJV

Spurgeon quote for the day! 3-3-11

And you will not come unto Me, that you might have life.” John 5:40

"As the man is spiritually dead, God has spiritual life for him— for there is not a need which is not supplied by Jesus. There is not an emptiness in the heart which Christ cannot fill. There is not a ruin which He cannot fix! There is not a desert which he cannot make to blossom as the rose. O you dead Sinners! You spiritually dead, there is life in Christ Jesus, for we have seen—yes—these eyes have seen—the dead live again! We have known the man whose soul was utterly corrupt, by the power of God seek after righteousness. We have known the man whose views were carnal, whose lusts were mighty, whose passions were strong—suddenly, by irresistible might from Heaven—consecrate himself to Christ and become a child of Jesus! We know that there is life in Christ Jesus, of a spiritual order. Yes, more—we, ourselves, in our own persons, have felt that there is spiritual life. Well can we remember when we sat in the House of Prayer, as dead as the very seat on which we sat! We had listened for a long, long while to the sound of the Gospel, but no effect followed, when suddenly, as if our ears had been opened by the fingers of some mighty angel, a sound entered into our heart. We thought we heard Jesus saying, “He that has ears to hear, let him hear.” An irresistible hand put itself on our heart and crushed a prayer out of it. We never, before, had a prayer like that. We cried, “O God! Have mercy upon me a sinner.” Some of us, for months, felt a hand pressing us as if we had been grasped in a vice and our souls bled drops of anguish. That misery was a sign of coming life! Persons, when they are being drowned, do not feel the pain so much as while they are being restored. Oh, we remember those pains, those groans, that living strife which our soul had when it came to Christ! Ah, we can remember the giving of our spiritual life as easily as could a man his restoration from the grave. We can suppose Lazarus to have remembered his resurrection, though not all the circumstances of it. So we, although we have forgotten a great deal, do remember our giving ourselves to Christ. We can say to every sinner, however dead, there is life in Christ Jesus! Though you may be rotten and corrupt in your grave, He who has raised Lazarus, has raised us—and He can say, even to you, “Lazarus! Come forth!”

C.H. Spurgeon-"Free Will- A Slave"

Q & A with John Lennox-Evil done in the name of Religion

Q & A with John Lennox-How can Jesus be both God and Human?