Saturday, October 29, 2011

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Burbank Media Center Follow-up 10-22-11

It was a LIVELY night at the Burbank Media Center. As far as I'm concerned Burbank went from one of the lamest places to go to one of my favorite places to go! One of our Elders told me they were praying for Burbank so this may be an answer to prayer.

THEY'RE BAAAACK! Our friends the Down Town Ambassadors have returned. We were told (very nicely) that if we don't pack it up they would report us to the police and be ticketed. I opted to meet them half way and took down the heckler mic and continued with the AMP. We had no further problems.

We have a great time out there. Even when we get hassled by people we help and encourage one another to keep pressing forward!

Dan came out in response to what was apparently a very motivational sermon at the Men's Conference. There was also another brother who came out and brought his two little boys to hand out tracts!

Debbie and Joanne having a good time serving the Lord.

Taking down the heckler mic didn't stop us from using a wirless mic to get hecklers to engage us. Jason stepped up and I was blessed to share the Gospel with him.

Roger came by again and here he is using his skills with the "Dark Side" to choke me. ;) Just kidding. I was happy to see him again and we had a nice conversation. Lord willing I will get to have breakfast with him soon! Keep praying for him as he needs the Lord.

Once again Steve was the recepient of God's grace to DRAW A CROWD! What a praise! Steve engaged hecklers for about 45 minutes while I held the mic.

What a great time! I've been encouraged to see what the Lord has done at our church in the hearts of the saints, but honetly we need more laborers! Please pray for us and that His church everywhere takes advantage of the freedoms we have while we have them.

"But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." - Acts 20:24




Sunday, October 16, 2011

HOLLYWOOD HALLOWEEN OUTING 2011

Please RSVP with what you are bringing:

David & Nichole:
ALL paper products /eatin' utensils, cups & BBQ Pork Sandwiches w/ cole slaw

Sharon: Chips

Mark: Veggie Platter with Ranch Dip

Debbie: Cookies

Dean and Sai: Thai Main Dish

Mike & Joanne:




Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Noho Follow-Up 10-8-11

Here is a Follow-up from Steve who faithfully lead the team this weekend at Noho Subway Station:

Great night at Noho! Everybody got heckled, some got heckled twice. By the end of the evening Dave, Dean, Sai, Mark, Forrest, Sharon, (and a new person from Sharon's bible study), and Steve had been giving out tracts and witnessing in 1 to 1's or on the box. Many bibles went out thanks to plenty of outspoken hecklers.

Mark was heckled by two young men before he could even get started preaching. Both were in various states of inebriation and acted out inappropriately, to which Mark faithfully responded with the gospel.


Dave stopped by for a guest appearance, (on loan from his daughter's birthday weekend) eloquently proclaiming the gospel for a full thirty minutes before being heckled by two seperate people, Fernanda, a very skeptical young woman...

...and a loud fellow who spouted profanity and angrily denied the inspiration of the Word of God, claiming it was written by "a man". When he was told that he needed to repent he threatened to attack David, but ran to catch a bus instead.



Later, Mark was on the box again, only to be hit by a verbal barrage from a Hebrew Israelite who gradually worked around to his main issue, "What color was Jesus?" The strategy of these individuals appears to be:
1.) Attack with incessant questions and demands for specific Bible passages to be read.
2.) Deny the new testament message of atonement through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
3.) Deny that salvation is for any but the "Black Hebrew Israelites"
4.) Condemn the depiction of Jesus as having "blonde hair and blue eyes."
(Nowhere, at any time or place, in any way, does the CBC Evangelism ministry display, describe, preach, or even possess an image of our Lord, let alone such an absurdly inaccurate one. Worshiping or venerating such images of God is a violation of the second commandment.)

There is much anger in this cult-like worldview, and we ought to pray for these men to be saved. They adamantly claim many unprovable statements about the ethnic history of the Israelites, and apparently maintain that salvation is by means of keeping the law and having the proper skin pigmentation. The young man's anger seemed to escalate minute by minute, finally resorting to name-calling and endlessly repeated statements denying whatever Mark shared. "No it's not! That's wrong! That's a lie!" As he left he stated "I win, you lose!" and implied that Mark's infirmity was probably the result of God's judgement upon him. Mark endured graciously through this attack which lasted at least 30 or 40 minutes.

Even after this, Dean was preaching clean-up, not wanting for us to leave the scene on a negative note. No sooner had he started, when a long-time heckler, a woman who has contended with us many times, rushed over and started screaming at Dean and blaspheming God. No sooner had she arrived, then she was gone.


Due to all this activity, many paid attention and heard the glorious Gospel! Almost all of the Bibles were eagerly snatched up throughout the evening.

Thanks to all the faithful saints who obediently shared in this evenings effort to proclaim the truth.

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."- John 3:18


180

Friday, October 7, 2011

Spurgeon quote for the day! 10-7-11

"That I may know Him.” Philippians 3:10


"When the Laodicean Church was neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm, how did Christ seek her revival? Did He send her precious doctrines? Did He send her excellent precepts? Mark you, He came Himself, for thus it is said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will sup with him, and he with Me.” That is a cure for it all, you see. No matter how lukewarm, though God may say, “I will spew you out of My mouth,” yet, if Christ comes, that is the cure! The Presence of Christ with His Church puts away all her sicknesses. When the disciples of Christ were at sea in a storm, do you remember how He comforted them? Did He send them an angel? No. “It is I, do not be afraid.” And when they knew Him they had no more fears. They were assembled one night, “the doors being shut for fear of the Jews.” How did He comfort them? Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them and said, “Peace be unto you.” There was Thomas, full of doubts and fears. How did Jesus Christ take away his doubts? “Reach here your finger and behold My hands. And reach here your hand and thrust it into My side.” Oh, it is Christ, it is Christ who cures all! The company of Christ is the only thing which a Christian wants. I will undertake that if his heart is like an iceberg, as soon as Jesus comes, it shall flame like Vesuvius. His spirit shall be dead and like a rotten corpse. But if Jesus comes he shall leap like a hart and become strong as a young unicorn. Your Presence makes me like the chariots of Amminadib! Now do not think I am talking what I do not know. Do not imagine that I am talking mere fanatical slip-slop which I cannot prove. I do assert (and God who searches all hearts knows how true this is)—I do assert that from the depths of doubt, of dullness, of worldliness—I have leaped in one moment into love and life and holy enthusiasm when Jesus Christ has manifested Himself to me. I cannot describe the difference between my spirit, water-logged, worm-eaten, ready to sink to the bottom without Christ—and that same spirit like a strong staunch ship, with sails full, with favorable wind, speeding into harbor with a golden freight. Like yon poor little bird which some cruel boy has torn from the nest and almost killed—it is not fledged yet and cannot fly—and it lies down to die. It is soon trampled in the mire in the streets—that is my heart without Christ. But see that other bird! The cage door is opened, its wings vibrate, it sings with all its might and flies up to talk with the sun—that is my heart when I have the conscious Presence of my Lord Jesus Christ! I only bring in my own consciousness because I do not know yours. But I think I will now venture to say that every Believer here will admit it is the same with him—


“Midst darkest shades if He appears

My dawning is begun!

He is my soul’s bright morning star,

And He my rising sun.”


-C.H. Spurgeon "Do You Know Him"



Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Video Games Are Stupid

Does anyone over the age of 15 really want to argue that video games are NOT stupid?

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Burbank Media Center Follow-up 10-1-11

Had a great turnout of evangelists this past Saturday night!

When we first got there it was pretty dead for most of the night.

Many guys preached and we were basically neglected. Not even heckled.

Bibles were going out while we preached. This gentlman here took one then started to asked "sneaky" questions about the Trinity and the Deity of Christ. I asked if he was a JW and shared John 1:1, we talked for a little bit then he gave the bible back and left.

Andrew preached...

Dean preached...

And then Steve preached for his forth time. I asked if anyone who was an Atheist or Evolutionist wanted to come up to the mic to talk with him. This young lady named Milo was willing. She was a little "contentious" and before we knew it...

... there was a big crowd!

Steve debated and shared the Gospel for over an hour!

There were even 3 other people who came up to the mic after Milo. GOD is AWESOME and gave Steve the grace to hang in there!

... at the end I even had an opportunity to ride the small "wake" Steve left.

Something I learned by watching Ray Comfort and Scotty at Living Waters is when a guy draws a crowd after he finishes preaching have another preacher waiting in the wings to immediately get on the box to take advantage of the crowd that was drawn.

Thank you guys for your faithful service and PRAISE the LORD for His grace to draw people to hear His word!

Please pray for: Milo, Jim (who talked with me after I preached needing some counsel), Gilbert who came up to the mic to talk with Steve and all those who took Bibles, Tracts and heard the Gospel.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Courageous


My wife and I just saw "Courageous" the movie. Most Christian movies either struggle because of poor acting or low budgetness... not in this case. THIS MOVIE IS SO POWERFUL! It is imperative that ALL fathers and men see this movie right away! You will not leave the theater the same.

PS- Bring a BOX of tissues because you will not escape without crying.


Spurgeon quote for the day! 10-1-11

"He will beautify the meek with salvation.”

Psalm 149:4.


"Now, my Brothers and Sisters, I have shown you who the meek are towards God, and towards men. Will you judge whether you deserve that title? Such people are also lowly in themselves. “Oh!” says one, “I will try to be meek.” No, my Friend, do not try to be meek, because he who is meek is meek without trying! I do not know anything that is more nauseous than the attempt some people make to be amiable, Their pride pokes out at every corner and though they try to be very gentle, there is no real gentleness in them and, consequently, it cannot come out of them! Dear Friend, will you learn this lesson? You are a poor sinner—therefore, be meek. You may well forgive others, for you have good cause to ask others to forgive you. You may well be patient with those who provoke you, for you have often provoked your God, yet He has been wondrously patient with you. You may well put up with affronts from your fellows, for who are you, after all? If you have a right idea of yourself, you are so little and so inconsiderable, that whoever affronts you, affronts a mere nobody—so it does not matter! Whoever treads on you does but tread upon the dust, for you are dust—so who shall blame him? “You are setting us hard lessons,” says one. I know that I am! And unless the Lord shall teach you, you will never learn them! It takes a long time to put out the fierce fires of pride—and when you think you have really become meek and lowly in heart, it is sadly surprising how, with a little breath, the ashes begin to glow—and soon the old fires are burning up again! Some people say, “You know, it is a natural pride,” as if its being a natural pride made it any better! Oh, that God would tread out the last spark of it, so that we might obey that blessed command of our Lord, “Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls.”


C.H. Spurgeon- "Beautiful Forever"


This is important to remember when sharing the Gospel with people on the streets... "

You are a poor sinner—therefore, be meek."