First Friday 3/22/2013

On Friday evening Dave, Mark and Steve hit the streets to proclaim the Gospel. It was unusual in many respects. The sudden change (from Saturday night) came as a surprise to many regular members of the team. It was also a surprise to many who had never seen street preachers before. In fact, at least half a dozen believers came up to encourage us, and listened carefully to the message.

This man (on the left) was one of two young men who attend an Armenian Apostolic Church in Los Angeles. They were greatly encouraged by the presence of street preachers, and will hopefully, by God's grace, be inspired to do the same. We had an opportunity to share the fact that CBC hosts the Armenian Reformed Bible Church service every Sunday evening, with Pastor Vahik.

The location pictured above is at the corner of Olive and San Fernando. There is an alcove which helps contain and project the sound of the preacher's voice toward the people who are crossing the street from the mall. Perfect for "stop-light" preaching.

Here are some links to examples of stop-light preaching:

rational responder

On The Box / Living Waters

Stone The Preacher


Here is a sample stop-light (i.e. very brief) sermon:

"Folks, be careful on the road today. 150,000 people die every day; many of them on roads like this.

"When we die, we are going to stand before God and give an account for our lives. Because God is good, He is going to judge each of us according to the perfect, moral standard of His Law. If we've ever lied, stolen, taken His name in vain, He will find us guilty of breaking His Law. And because God is good, He must punish our sin; and the punishment God has ascribed for sin is eternity in Hell.

"But God is also merciful, loving, and kind in that He provided one way to escape that punishment; and that was through the gift of His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ: fully-God and fully-Man, without sin. He died a horrible, bloody death on the cross that He did not deserve in order to take upon Himself the punishment we rightly deserve for our sins against God. And then three days later He forever defeated sin and death when He rose from the grave.

"What God requires of you and me is that we repent--that we turn from our sin, and by faith and by faith alone, receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Jesus said, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.'

"So, please, repent and believe the gospel while God has given you time. And be careful on the road today."


Praise Report:  The traveling pastor, Nick, who we have prayed for the last few weeks, stopped by to show us the new shoes he received thanks to the faithful help of a man whom he witnessed to last week.