Wednesday, March 25, 2015

The Ministry of Reconciliation 3/21/2015

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ESV)

Saturday Outreach  

3/21/2015 Glendale

It was another great outreach in Glendale. Many Bibles and tracts were given out. In spite of a small team many one-to-ones took place.  

This photo has an interesting subtext. The woman on the left with her arm akimbo was sitting with the man on the right who is talking to Sharon. As the picture was being snapped, the woman had gotten up to leave and was looking back at the man with an attitude of impatience. He, however, was interested in what Sharon was explaining (i.e. the Gospel, of course). How many times have we seen a similar scenario play out as one half of a couple is interested in hearing the Gospel, and the other is vehemently against hearing the Gospel. 

Due to the presence of a woman playing a guitar in the place where we usually set up, we instead took a position on the other side of the Galleria entrance where we had a great exposure to the passing throng of shoppers.

Jack, Barbara and Mark reported to the team on their visit to the inmates of the women's prison in South Central Los Angeles, earlier in the day. This was a long day for them, but they each expressed gratitude for the opportunity to be a part of that challenging outreach. They also remarked on the similar need that the shoppers had in common with the incarcerated women, that of a Savior who died for their sins. Clearly, though, it was the ones in jail who took the issue far more seriously.

According to Barbara, this young couple, expressed doubts about the truthfulness of the Bible's description of a man who died 2,000 years ago to take away the sins of the world. Rather, they claimed to be followers of a religion described in the pages of the Harry Potter novels. 

One note of concern: There were three different musicians performing simultaneously. The Pho cafe, which is directly contiguous to our preaching, had a small band performing. Also, besides the guitarist in our usual spot, there was a woman playing a highly amplified violin across the street. Hopefully, this is not the start of another trend!

As always, the evening was well spent and many received tracts and Bibles. 

The Morning Shift - NoHo Station


The Metro Station shift has been on hiatus for two weeks. Lord willing we will resume this week.

Please stand with us on Wednesday mornings at 6:00 AM at the North Hollywood Metro Station on Lankershim Blvd. it's a great opportunity to share the truth with the thousands of commuters who pass through this area. Please watch for text announcements on Tuesday evenings. Please always RSVP if you plan to join us on Wednesday mornings.

Abortuary Duty

3/7/2015

Yasmine's Crime of Convenience


As previously reported, on March 7th, our brother Don was joined at the Mission Hills Clinic by Tony Miano and several men from the Shepherd's Conference. They came from Oregon, Arizona and Canada, among other locales, to join the effort to stem the tide of murders taking place there. This video is a good example of how to present the case for life to a pregnant woman who is willing to listen. Sadly, in spite of Tony's eloquent and gracious presentation of the truth, it is reported that she decided to go through with the abortion. 

You can join the effort at the Mission Hills clinic, 10200 Sepulveda Blvd., 91345, every Saturday and Wednesday morning from 8 to 10 am. No experience necessary.

News Items





Apologetics Corner


Join Us!


Please join us as we proclaim the glorious Gospel to a lost and dying world on the streets of Burbank, Glendale, Hollywood and beyond.

Maranatha!!

Friday, March 20, 2015

Inerrancy of Scripture - March 2015

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; (2 Timothy 3:16)


The Masters Academy International (TMAI) Symposium
Calvary Bible Church
03/02/2015



Our church was blessed with the privilege of hosting a pre-Shepherds-Conference symposium on March 2nd where several well known speakers spoke to hundreds of pastors from around the world about missions in light of the inerrancy of Scripture.  The TMAI Symposium featured Dr. James White and Paul Washer, along with international speakers from locations including Latin America, Africa, and India.

The exact numbers of people attending varies, but between 500 and 700 men (primarily pastors) came, were blessed with fellowship, and were strengthened and exhorted to handle Scripture as the sole authority, the infallible and inerrant Word of God.

Participating in the proclamation of the gospel comes in different forms, and while one way is going out to the streets of Burbank, it would be a mistake to think that an evangelism team like ours is the standard for evangelism and that the end goal of every good Christian is standing on street corners with a loudspeaker or a fistful of tracts.

Everyone, indeed, is called to be involved in the proclamation of the gospel, but our Savior has created each of us with gifts, talents, and resources so that together, His Word goes forth.

The TMAI Symposium was an opportunity to participate in the furthering of the gospel by serving pastors who, in turn, will take what they have learned to their countries and ministries.

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? (Romans 10:14, 15a NASB)

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. (Paul to the Philippians in light of their ongoing support of him and his ministry in Philippians 1:3-5 NASB)

Some from our team were blessed to be counted among the participants at this missions focused event.  Praise God for the literal swarm of men and women from both Calvary Bible Church and Grace Community Church who volunteered their time to setup, serve food, carry out trash, and otherwise help.

Our Lord made it a success in so many ways that a short entry like this cannot adequately express thanks to Him.  He granted wisdom to a team of people who had never organized an event like this, held back the rain until everyone had been served lunch and returned inside for the next speaker, gave people a heart to serve so no one was overburdened, safely brought pastors from all around the world, etc.  To be counted as one He used is a most humbling thought, indeed.

All glory to Him, and may He continue to bless the pastors who came and use this for the furthering of His gospel!

The audio for the majority of the TMAI Conference can be downloaded from their website:
TMAI International

Recommended Audio from event:
Mike Gendron - Establishing the Supreme Authority of Scripture in Roman Catholic Evangelism




The Morning Shift
03/04/2015
NoHo Station


This morning, as our brother Paul was about to step on the box to begin preaching, a woman rolled up on her bike, unburdening her conscience about the loss of custody of her children due to her own drug abuse.

As she continued, she began insisting that Paul could help her by going across the street and mediating on her behalf.

This was not someone that Paul knew personally, nor could he vouch for her.  She also, albeit unintentionally (though certainly to our Enemy’s delight), was directly stopping the proclamation of the gospel.

As always, discernment is required in these matters and after a few minutes of discussion, the woman’s demands were declined and the gospel proclamation was able to begin.

In this sad story of the woman and Paul we also get a glimpse of a small, frightening reality of the gospel, and one’s position without Christ.  On our own, we are unable to stand for our crimes and must bear the full consequence of our sin.  As a result of the woman’s sin (drug abuse) she lost her children (consequence of breaking the law).

Not being able to justify herself in the eyes of the law, she pleaded with Paul to mediate on her behalf.  Paul, who did not know her (nor does he have a relationship with the government) was rightly unwilling to do so.  The woman left, continuing to bear the full weight of the consequence of her sin.

While our brother Paul is certainly not our Lord, nor his rejection as damning, we can hear the frightening echos from our Mediator in Matthew 7:23 to those who claim to be His, but aren't:

I never knew you, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.

With no one to mediate for them, “workers of lawlessness” will be left to bear the full consequences of their rebellion for eternity.


This is why we go out - to proclaim salvation through Christ Jesus to a dying world with an eternal weight of deserved wrath waiting for them.

As it once was for us.


Come stand with us at 6-8 am most Wednesdays!
Watch for the Tuesday evening text announcement and please RSVP if you are coming, so we know what size of a team to expect.

Contact Steve for more details...



Abortion Clinic
Mission Hills
03/07/2015




This week Don was joined by men who had traveled to Los Angeles for the Shepherds Conference.


Our good friend Tony Miano, who was used by the Lord to start this particular ministry a couple years ago before turning it over to Don, brought Pastor Chuck O’Neal from Beaverton Oregon along with his son and several others to stand with him and to preach the gospel.

Pastor Chuck, who has a regular ministry at a similar clinic in Oregon, is no stranger to this type of work - what a great encouragement for Don to fellowship with other equally committed believers!

Going to the abortion clinic ranks high on the list of "hard" evangelism in this part of the world where it’s still relatively easy to be a Christian in public.  Unlike witnessing on the street where those who walk by can hide under the general "everybody makes mistakes" justification umbrella, at the abortion clinic you are face-to-face with those who are intentionally, and often all too willingly, on their way to pay to have their baby murdered.

These are pre-scheduled, pre-planned, and pre-meditated killings - we know why they are there, and they know we know why they are there.


So with all pretense of being relatively good gone, and 200 feet between them and “cover” from the clinic, “patients” tempers flare quickly and fiercely.  It often takes a cool head, focused words, and a discerning and direct approach under this type of fire.

Praise the Lord that He has given us men like Don, Tony, and Chuck who stand up boldly on a regular basis to speak for the defenseless!


Every Wednesday and Saturday at 8-10 am
Reminder - the days have changed (see: February's Post)
10200 Sepulveda Blvd
Mission Hills, CA 91345

No Experience Needed and no need to say anything if you are not ready - come hold a sign, pray, and bring encouragement to those who are standing for the innocent.



Missions Conference
03/07/2015
Calvary Bible Church 

The week that started with the TMAI Symposium ended with another conference. This one was hosted by the Calvary Mission Leadership Team specifically for the recognition and encouragement of missionaries supported by Calvary. The Evangelism Team was graciously invited to participate again this year, which was humbling for us all, considering the sacrifices being made by other missionaries in impoverished and hostile areas of the world.



This year our team was tasked with putting together the video to kickoff the conference.  Steve handled the editing, while our brother Mark eloquently explained, on camera, the reason we go out - to proclaim the sure hope we have in a risen Savior - and to encourage others to join us.

We will be posting a link to the video as soon as it is available for uploading.

The conference was well attended with a final count of 241.  This conference, held once a year, gives the members of our church body the opportunity to learn about, and fellowship with, local and foreign missionaries supported by our church.

See Calvary’s Missions Website for more information




Saturday Outreach
03/14/2015
Burbank

Every Saturday night before descending on downtown Burbank, we gather together in the Police parking lot to pray.



There is nothing that will be said on the box - no argument, no apologetic, no well-planned words - that will “win souls”.  Unless our Lord so chooses to move in the hearers, there will be none saved and no-one will hear what we have to say.  So this part of the evening is as crucial as the outreach, itself, as we praise Him for the opportunity to serve, and ask that His Spirit would give us wisdom in our encounters, and we plead with Him to be merciful in His justice, even as we repent of our own sins and attempts to do it on our own.

Regardless of an evening’s outcome, we always pray that we will honor our Lord in our actions and words, being faithful servants, clinging tightly to the Word as our authority and the actual words of God, inerrant and trustworthy.


We also have the opportunity to thank Him for the people He has brought us. How great is our Lord, who gives us not only the pleasure to be used to proclaim His gospel, but who provides laborers for the harvest!


This week the team was blessed to have first-timer Erin out with us.

Before praying, this week we took a few moments to talk about one team member's suggested “strategy” for what to do when we find ourselves in a long-term discussion with someone who has endless objections.

This type of "defense" is common and is a direct result of man's enmity with God.  It isn't an answer they are looking for, but an excuse to suppress the truth...or at least the one saying it.  It can come in all forms from all kinds of people - from those who consider themselves to be hyper-intelligent to those who believe themselves hyper-spiritual. Sometimes they are disguised in humble sounding words while others are laid bare in self-exaltation.  Unfortunately, the answer to the question of how to handle these all too frequent occurrences isn't always easy.

We must always be careful that such strategies don’t drive or hamper the proclamation of the Gospel. We don't go out to be applauded or for results, but rather to speak of our Savior and our Father's free gift through Him, knowing that through the hearing of His Word some will be called and some will be hardened. Thinking through these types of issues as a group gives us the opportunity to meditate on what the Word says, and to grow together.




Father, let us be found to have proclaimed too much and too boldly and too often of Christ, than to be found guilty of withholding the truth out of worry of wasting “our” time. Help us to find the balance of being faithful yet discerning servants, and grant us the wisdom we need for each conversation, that we might glorify and magnify your Son in our words and actions.

This evening we had five men available to be on the box, so we split off into two groups, straddling the light between Ross and P.F. Chang's.




Given the large size of this night’s team, we also had people handing out tracts at all four corners.




The night began as most, with men on the box and various one-on-one conversations.





As the evening progressed, Mark's preaching caught the attention of one young man.

Seeming at first to only half-care, he engaged with Mark, opening with a question regarding the "three" possible tomb locations (according to his "sources") from which Jesus could have arisen.

Much like we had discussed earlier, this man would have several questions throughout the conversation that really had no point except to be a wall. Mark countered each with Scripture (much to the man's chagrin), bringing him back to the gospel, reminding us all of man's state after we rebelled against God and of our need for a Savior.

What particularly set the man off, first to mocking, then to yelling, was when Mark told him that we were created to glorify God.

Most of what the young man said cannot be repeated, but centered on God being a self-absorbed “jerk” who created us just so He could be glorified.

Mark remained calm as he reasoned with him, which only caused him to become more agitated. He began screaming profanities and people gathered to watch.


 Even still, Mark lovingly and consistently brought him back to the Bible, proclaiming the need for a Savior not only to him, but to all who had stopped to stare.  Here was an example of staying close to God’s Word as the source, intentionally not bringing God down low to be cross-examined, but rather lifting Him high on the strength of His Word, alone.



As the man cursed and swore, not just at Mark but at people in the crowd, he declared his own goodness and right-standing before God.

How blind are those that have not been granted eyes to see!

That gave Mark the opportunity in conversations with him both on and off the box to show that what proceeds out of our mouth reveals our true heart’s condition.



In the end the heckler stomped off.  We can only pray that the Lord would use the scriptures Mark shared with him to soften and not further harden his heart.

While we've had angry hecklers before, this one had the whole crowd stirred up, chattering wildly among themselves, and engaging with both the heckler and members on our team. As has been mentioned in previous blogs, these types of encounters give us an opportunity we just don’t have on a “quiet” night.  Getting so many people to stop on a street corner was a welcome opportunity as others were able to hear the gospel. Many conversations happened during and after.










Police! Actually, this time it wasn't because of someone offended by us. A concerned lady in the crowd called 911 after the heckler and another guy in the crowd starting screaming at each other like they were about to fight.  The cop was very friendly, and stayed for no more than a minute.



This man, like several others, took pictures and movies with his camera.

He identified himself as a Jew who supported us from a first amendment standpoint (a common theme being yelled by other such supporters during the heckling). 

He said little, but did mention that he had a Christian friend who "already tried to convert him”.  Please pray for him.


Another “after-the-event” one-on-one is of particular joy as our sister had the opportunity to open the Bible with Harley and Luis, and walk them through the gospel.  They listened intently and humbly.  Sharon has asked that we pray for these two men, one of which in particular who seemed to “track” with what she was saying.




Often, after an intense heckler leaves, so do the watchers. But this night people milled around - some staying through two more gospel presentations. Praise the Lord!

Come Join Us - 6-9 pm
See the calendar on the upper, right-side of this page for our location each week...
Tracts and Bibles supplied!






Media

Albert Mohler (audio): The Briefing - commenting on "Why Our Children Don't Think There are Moral facts"

Kevin DeYoung (video - at the Shepherds' Conference): Not one iota of the law will pass away

TMAI Symposium (audio): TMAI International




Join Us!



Please join us as we proclaim the glorious Gospel to a lost and dying world on the streets of Burbank, Glendale, Hollywood and beyond.

Maranatha!!






Thursday, March 12, 2015

The Spirit of Faith - February, 2015

Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:13-18)

This special edition of the blog is a summary of our February evangelism activities.


Saturday Outreach

2/7/2015 Burbank

Once again, it was like old times as we took up a position on the AMC mall to proclaim the gospel without significant competition.

One-to-ones were plentiful and the gospel went forth.

Brother Vinny stopped by and offered his usual heartfelt and urgent proclamation.

Dr. Jack was blessed to see this father and sons step up to receive bibles.

Dean was blessed with several people who stood by and listened intently.

2/14/2015 Burbank

UFO? This hovering object was identified as a small, lighted drone being flown near the Police Station as we were gathered for prayer. As it flew overhead we waved.

Mike and Yvette stopped by to encourage the team.

We were blessed to have brother Art, from CBC, join us for prayer and handing out tracts.

2/21/2015 Glendale

Glendale is always a joy for us as many receive bibles and tracts and offer encouragement.

Dean led a contingent in establishing a beachhead across the street so that the Gospel could be heard on both sides.

Many tracts and bibles were distributed.

These young men claimed to be 17 years old. They were very sophisticated and polite for their age and engaged in serious apologetical discussions.

2/28/2015 Burbank

One of our well-mannered Glendale hecklers from last week followed us to Burbank and engaged in lively one-to-one debates with Dean and Mark. The bottom-line conclusion from the apologetical discussion was that Darian needed to approach the Bible from a standpoint of faith, for the things of God are spiritually discerned. Although Darian seems to be genuinely seeking truth, his presuppostions are staunchly materialistic, and he deconstructs the scriptures in a way that completely misses the truth, not seeing the forest for the trees, so to speak.

Just returned from the East Coast where he attended the passing and funeral of his Mother, brother Vinny was inspired to get on the box and proclaim the glorious Gospel. His normally urgent tone took on a note of added gravity as he cautioned listeners to be reconciled to God while they still have breath and life.

The Morning Shift - NoHo Station

2/4/2015

The unusually heavy fog that engulfed the NoHo train station provided a unique backdrop to the proclamation of the Gospel. Many took tracts and bibles.

Paul and Steve were joined by Marvin, and before too long the fog had lifted.


2/11/2015

Brother Marvin has been faithfully joining the team, and is unafraid to engage with individuals to offer a tract and words of encouragement.


2/18/2015

North Hollywood Metro Station continues to be a valuable outreach. Many tracts and bibles are distributed.

Due to the time of day, the mood is far more business-like and people seem more attentive in spite of their haste. There are fewer distractions and the challenge of heading off to a new day at work allows the strangeness of the proclaimed message to jolt the soul like a strong cup of coffee, Lord willing.

2/25/2015


Another brisk morning of evangelism work. Pray that the Holy Spirit will bear fruit in many lives.

A picture worthy of a metaphor.

Please stand with us on Wednesday mornings at 6:00 AM at the North Hollywood Metro Station on Lankershim Blvd. it's a great opportunity to share the truth with the thousands of commuters who pass through this area. Please watch for text announcements on Tuesday evenings. Please always RSVP if you plan to join us on Wednesday mornings.

Abortuary Duty

2/14/2015

Firemen arrived to "rescue" a person who was trapped inside the elevator. Sadly, they could do nothing to save the innocent children who were inside the building being murdered at the time.

Evangelists Gor, Jeff and Larry stopped by to join the effort.

2/10/2015

This particular Tuesday morning outreach was a benchmark. No clients showed up to the abortuary. The security guard was sent home because there were no appointments scheduled. We would later find out that the clinic had changed the day of surgical abortions from Tuesdays to Wednesdays. We also found out from an inside source, that the clinic blames the efforts of Don and the small team of regulars, for a 20% rate of appointment no-shows. So, glory to God, what seemed like a hollow victory actually was a true victory, at least in part.

Imagine what the Lord would do if we had a dozen or two dozen witnesses holding signs in front of this death mill.

You can join the effort at the Mission Hills clinic, 10200 Sepulveda Blvd., 91345, every Saturday and Wednesday morning from 8 to 10 am. No experience necessary.

News Items



Apologetics Corner

Tony Miano: Is Street Preaching Effective? 


One Quran Verse Leads a Muslim to Convert


Article: Why The Universe Does Not Revolve Around the Earth  This comprehensive article refutes the idea put forth by the recent documentary, "The Principle."

Article by Tony Miano - The Mall: A Great Fishing Pond - While It Lasts  If anyone at Calvary Bible Church is interested in starting such an outreach, please contact Steven V.

Join Us!


Please join us as we proclaim the glorious Gospel to a lost and dying world on the streets of Burbank, Glendale, Hollywood and beyond.

Maranatha!!