Man arrested for reading Bible in public!

Personally (and this is a preference) I would have asked the officer "what law was I breaking?" Then quietly accepted the officers UNLAWFUL arrest. It could come across as you being belligerent if you keep shouting AFTER you have been arrested. HOWEVER there is so much wrong with this. Praise the Lord these brothers were willing to go to jail for what was not only legal but RIGHT for them to do!!

Break It Down!

Acacia Park - Colorado Springs 4-25-11

Hope you all had a blessed Resurrection Sunday. Today I was blessed to go out to Acacia Park and preach. By God's grace I was able to weather some major heckling. I barely could keep any order to it and get the gospel out. People are SO opposed to it in this area. Had the heckler Elliot come back and try to distract a young girl named Cat who was challenging me. His "big" argument is that Jesus did not meet the requirements of the Messiah which was that "he had to be in the line of Solomon!" I'll let you guys respond to that if you would like. ;)

Another guy tried to pull the Zeitgeist non-sense; with Jesus being the SON & the SUN god... I learned (besides all the other inaccuracies of Zeitgeist) that "PUN" doesn't work in Egyptian, Hebrew or Greek... only in English. He then said the bible was written in English... "read a history book" was my response.

Overall about 15 bibles went out, some while I preached and some while I stood with the Cross. Glory to God for these wonderful opportunities.

If anyone tries to pull that dopey Zeitgeist non-sense on you I've attached a page of notes I put together from a couple of critiques of that movie.

Burbank Media Center-FOLLOW-UP-4/24/11

Here's a great report from Mike about Saturday nights evangelism in Burbank:

"Tonight we were privledged to proclaim the gospel at the media center -in attendance were Mark, Dean, Sai, myself, and Tom, along with Justin Leblanc, and son Luther (it is Luthers birthday). dean, mark and me preached and invited folks to the easter sonrise service. Many people herd the gospel and many tracts went out along with about 25 bibles (new testaments) Praise the Lord!" I look forward to witnessing with my brothers and sisters again!!

ARISE MY LOVE!!

HE IS RISEN INDEED!!

Christ Preached!!

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison," 1 Peter 3:18 &19

Christ crucified, risen and glorified... DECLARED to those in HELL itself!!!

Wonderful Opportunities in Colorado

Just a quick update on some wonderful opportunities to share the Gospel over meals in Colorado.

The other day I was contacted by Alex, she's been on her own since she was twelve. She was one of my hecklers at Acacia Park featured at the beginning of THIS VIDEO. She had many good questions about the bible etc. Her and her friend Laura were willing to meet me at the food court of a local mall. I treated them to dinner for their willingness to meet me. Laura was from a Christian background but is now a Lesbian. I shared the Prodigal son story and realized later it was the perfect thing to share (thank you Lord). Here I was with Alex being the prodigal and Laura being the "religious brother". Laura asked me "what is the greatest sin"? I let her know it was the violation of the greatest commandment... NOT loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Of course she asked about homosexuality and I was able to take her to Romans 1 and shared the Gospel. I let her know there is forgiveness and freedom in Christ! They both took bibles.

Also the other day I went to Acacia and handed out tracts. I was blessed to speak with a young guy named Michael. While talking with him a friend of his walked up named Joseph, who is currently dealing drugs. Long story short Michael left (taking bible) and I was blessed to talk with Joseph for 2 hours!! I bought him lunch and we sat together while I explained his condition before God and the person of Christ; who He is and what He did for us. We read the story of Lazarus and Joseph intently listened and was fully engaged. Even while talking with Joseph a friend of his named Matthew came up and listened and took a bible as well!

I hope you will pray for them. Honestly, it is the GRACE of God that makes me step out of my selfish world and give up time, money & energy to reach people for Christ. The Lord gave up EVERYTHING to ransom us, the least we can do is step out in faith to reach the lost. He is faithful to meet us there and be with us as we witness! What a kind Father!!

Good Friday

Are you like the thief or the centurion? There is hope for you.

REPENT and BELIEVE in the Gospel and He will take pity on you!

David Platt On The Gospel & God's Election

David Platt On The Gospel & God's Election from Bowen Blog on Vimeo.

Hells Best Kept Secret to Mormons

There are so many good points Joshua Willamson makes with these Mormons. Please listen carefully.

"The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? - Jeremiah 17:9 ... Excellent job!!

Joshua also does a great job of NOT getting tangles up into a one hour conversation. This is something to remember. You can share the Gospel, confront false teaching and point them to the scriptures without getting tied up into a long, drawn out, theological debate. False teachers want to feed their pride and are TRYING to distract you from sharing the truth with others. Avoid arguments!!

Manitou Springs - Colorado Follow-up 4-16-11

On Saturday my family and I went down to visit Robert, Steve & Connie from IANAministries as they reached out to the folks in Manitou Springs. I got hit with some high-altitude sickness so I was not myself. They definatley took the lions share of evangelism but I had to try to do a little witnessing while my peeps milled around.

Robert and Steve preached several times.

I tried again to do some dollar trivia AGAIN which is almost impossible but

managed to get a few people to listen and Josh (the young man in the green cap)

took the "Good Person Test" for five bucks.

I felt like passing out after I got off the box. Its always worth it!

I even got a stack of $1's and $5's from the bank yesterday for my stay out here.

Steve got to give some tracts to these ladies who were out here for a "Christian Women's Conference"...? God is good and there are opportunities in every community to share the Gospel.

Noho Follow-Up 4-16-10

Got this GREAT follow up from Steve this morning:

"We had a team of 11 faithful witnesses including two Elders! It was a really pleasant night with a lot of great preaching and fellowship. Dean has started bringing bags of tacos and burritos to give away.

Those in attendance were: Dean, Sai, Mike, Mark, elder Van Trees, Jordan, Rebecca, elder Bob Powell and his daughter, Forrest, and yours truly."

PRAISE THE LORD!! You guys are faithful, keep fighting the good fight!

Acacia Park - Colorado Springs 4-15-11

It was a LIVELY day at Acacia Park. Still"brisk" but not as freezing. The "heckler mic" got some action with no need of trivia, but no crowds. I tried to start preaching and the local crowd of "trouble" got good and mad. I've learned that everyone is brave from 30 feet away. A guy named Scott came to the mic for a little while and I tried to share the good news.

He wouldn't have it...very sad.
The Gospel went forth from Robert, Steve and myself.

Bibles and tracts were handed out to many. Glory to God for all the opportunities!

Steve had three hecklers come up to ask questions. He did a great job of giving them the gospel.

This young man took a bible.

This kid was an evolutionist and tried to make his case... Steve stayed on point and went with the LAW.

Robert preaching the Gospel!

Here he had an opportunity to share the truth in love.

At one point I said to the guys, "People walking by have a guy preaching, a guy handing out tracts AND a guy standing with a wooden cross... they will have no excuse on judgment day."

At the end a guy came up asking us, "Do you know where you are?" That "everyone at the park was high on weed and no one was listening." I said, "Then we are at the right place!" Sadly this man said he was the son of a preacher and that he "had done that" when it comes to Christianity. Seems we were also in the right place for him to hear the Gospel.

American Revolution & Open Air Preaching

"Open-air evangelism has always had a more or less counter-cultural stigma. People have always been offended by it, because it tends to confront them with the truths they least want to think about at precisely the moment they are trying to do something to avoid thinking about things like eternity and accountability to God.

Evangelical Christianity has a noble tradition of open-air preaching, and some of the finest preachers in history have done it. George Whitefield did little else. Spurgeon did it, advocated it, and gave lectures on how to do it correctly. Both of them were vilified for it by more “refined” religious leaders in their respective eras. May the Lord save us from that kind of “refinement.”

It’s true that most people who convert to Christianity aren’t won to Christ through the methods employed by street evangelists. The average Christian is more likely to win someone to Christ within his or her personal circle of relationships. So if you can’t imagine yourself doing open-air ministry, get busy evangelizing anyway.

But let’s not miss the equally-true flip-side of that fact: Some people are so deep in sin and degeneracy and so devoid of Christian friendship that if they don’t hear the gospel from an evangelist like Tony Miano or Ray Comfort, they aren’t going to hear it at all. We should support and encourage what these guys do, because on its own level it can be very effective. Only heaven will reveal how true that is." - Pastor Phil Johnson

Colorado Springs 4-14-11

Today I was blessed to join 3 other local brothers to reach the lost in Colorado Springs. It was a "brisk" (freezing cold) windy day in the Springs. If anyone is wondering why I'm getting to witness so much its because work has been DEAD for me out here.

I guess the Lord wants me to witness more... oh darn. :)

Robert is a full time traveling evangelist who was BOLDLY proclaiming the Gospel!

Today I TRIED to use the heckler mic with the second "fail" in a row! The past two times I tried to do some trivia to draw a crowd people would answer, get their dollar... AND LEAVE. Its funny because I've had more hecklers and interaction with NO trivia. At least I was able to give Hope the Good Person test and share the Gospel. She took two bibles one for her and a friend.

Here Steve is getting heckled by some of the local high schoolers.

Ken getting to share the Good News.

This was a great moment for me. This couple walked by when Robert was preaching and the young lady stopped to listen. They both had taken Bibles. Here Robert is explaining what Jesus had done for her. I overheard her say, "I need to have God in my life."

Here is some of the local crowd that regularly meets at Acacia Park. Please pray for these folks as they have been hearing the Good News regularly. You can check out some more from today over at Steve's blog. Praise the Lord for these brothers in Colorado Springs!

Colorado Springs 4-13-11

Drove into the Springs for some witnessing and sadly got rained out. I totally forgot my umbrella and rain coat but still stood with the Cross and offered out Bibles until it rained too much. Five people took one, that was a praise.

A disturbing trend I've noticed in Colorado Springs is the legalization of WEED!!

For medicinal purposes of course...

... as I drove down ONE street in Old City Colorado there was shop...

....after shop. They were trying to label this as "medicine"... PU-LEASE.

I visited Amsterdam when I was younger and believe me

this does nothing good for the health of a community.

There must have been a dozen shops along this one street.

Yesterday after I preached at Acacia Park a guy approached me and said, "Nothing drives away the smell of dope than the aroma of the Gospel." Well said. That is the cure for any culture that is on a downward spiral... the Glorious Gospel!! Please keep praying for me because in the midst of all this beauty there is much darkness.

HOLLYWOOD FOLLOW-UP 4-9-11

Here is a brief follow-up from Mike & the team when they went to Hollywood this past Saturday night:

"Went to Hollywood - Dean, Sai, me, Steve, Mark, Sharon, Forrest. Preached and handed out tracts - Scientology was right next to us and both me and forrest witnessed to them. Mark preached and drew a croud and a heckler- Kevin, who argued "Jesus was black, and only came for the nation of Israel." Pray for him. Believers gatherd to defend the Lord it was great.

Also Dean and Mark witnessed to the group down the street who were proclaiming judgement day - end of the world.

All in all - great night in the Lord.

Also the cross was out which brought some good conversations too."

Acacia Park - Colorado Springs 4-12-11

Had a GREAT time yesterday!! Preached at Acacia Park which seems to be a MAGNET for troubled people and drugs. There were about 30 people just hangin' out there. The Lord gave me the courage to preach and I was almost immediately confronted by a woman who seemed to be high on something. She tried to intimidate me and even went as far as to "semi-shove" me. God gave me the grace to give a soft answer, hop on a wall and keep preaching. She ran off screaming something incoherent. A couple guys listening to almost the whole Gospel then took bibles and gave me an AMEN. Afterwards I stood with the cross and handed out bibles to those who wanted them. God is good!!

Christ is Risen!

Christian Persecution

Please remember to pray for our persecuted brothers & sisters and take advantage of the freedoms we have to share the Gospel!! Videos like this remind me.

Spurgeon quote for the day! 4-11-11

“Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said unto Peter,

It is the Lord.” John 21:7

"Now, secondly, I have to speak upon THE MEANS WHICH WE ARE TO USE SO AS TO GAIN OUR MASTER’S PRESENCE. I have tried to show you that all our success must come from Him and all that He gives us must be ascribed to Him. So how can we secure His Presence? We have it in a measure—how can we have it more fully? Well, let us always remember that He comes just where He wills to come. There is absolute Sovereignty about the work of Christ in the Kingdom of His Grace. As the wind blows where it wishes, so does the Spirit of God work wherever He pleases. I do not think that we can always account for the great success of one preacher and the non-success of another by anything that we can see. We have to fall back upon the Sovereignty of God and say, “God wills it and, therefore, it is.” He will have us know that Sovereignty is His Divine prerogative. He has the key of David—He opens and no man shuts. He shuts and no man opens. If He wills it, the rain shall descend steadily to make fat the fields. But if He wills it, He can restrain the dew of Heaven until the most fertile Church shall become barren as the mountains of Gilboa! He exercises His power not according to our will, but according to His own will—we must never forget that. At the same time, what course should we take in order to secure His Presence? I reply, first, that we had better go on with our work for Him. If we want Christ to bless us and we are doing work for Him, we had better keep on steadily doing it. These disciples of His had been fishing all night. Perhaps if they had not fished at night Christ would not have given them fish in the daytime. He does not often come to bless idlers—He acts Sovereignly, as I have said, but He generally gives His blessing to those Churches that do the most for Him. I have always found that an earnest Gospel ministry and a prayerfully united Church will have God’s blessing when others will not have it. Go on, Sunday school teachers, go on, tract distributors! Go on, Evangelists—go on, all of you who are laboring for Christ—keep, each one, to his own service and even if it has been night with you and you have taken nothing, still keep on at your toil! Probably the best way to bring the Master to you is to labor for Him with all your might."

C.H. Spurgeon- "THE POWER OF CHRIST’S PRESENCE" NO. 3146

Colorado Springs 4-11-11

Today I was blessed to meet with Mark at a coffee shop in Manitou Springs where he heard me open-air preach. Thank you for all those who prayed for this door to open. It was nice to sit and talk more with him about his life. Mark seems to be a guy who has been through a lot. We read through Genesis 1. I offered to meet with him again... we'll see if he is wanting to. Praise the Lord for the opportunity.
I swung by Palmer high again today and handed out a bunch of tracts! The Lord opened the door to share the Gospel with a girl named Jessica. She was raised Catholic. Her friends split once they heard what we were talking about. She listened and took a Gideon bible. Glory to God!

The Lord's handiwork has been all around us in such beautiful ways. We've been watching a movie called "God of Wonders". It is a MUST see!!

Manitou Springs Follow-Up 4-9-11

Went to Manitou Springs today. Its primarily a tourist area and was busy today. Was blessed to hand out about 300 tracts, a few 1-on-1's and open-aired once. I tried to do some trivia to get a crowd and it was a a total FAIL. So I just preached a quick open air while preaching the Lord drew a guy named Mark. He listened then asked for my contact info. Later today he called and we had a short bible study on the phone. He doesn't see the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism, so I went to Ephesians 2... we're going to try to have another bible study on Monday in Manitou at a local coffee shop. Please pray for Mark.