... the darkest pits of hell – if you believe that Christ can do that for persons, then you will do the work of an evangelist. There is an old story about a church in Ystad, Sweden. Back in 1716, King Charles XII announced to that little town ... all centered in that core doctrine of our Methodist way – grace. We must be gracious and graceful people if we would do the work of an evangelist. And we must lead our churches to being places of hospitality. I love to think of the Church as the home of grace. As the ...
... about evangelism. If you believe like Carlos Velasquez that Jesus can transform any life – that he can save to the uttermost – and redeem from the darkest pits of hell – if you believe that Christ can do that for persons then you will do the work of an evangelist. There is an old story about a church in Ystad, Sweden. Back in 1716, King Charles XII of Sweden announced to that little town that he was going to come and visit them, and that he would worship in the village church. The pastor of the church ...
... to the source of our lives to be purified, refreshed, renewed. Evangelism deals with the cause of our hurt rather than its symptoms. This brings us to the third thing to be said: EVANGELISM IS THE WORK OF EVERY CHRISTIAN. You may be embarrassed to be called an evangelist under present circumstance, but that it what you are. Your call as you leave this place this morning is to go out and lead the world to repentance, to cast out demons and to heal the sick. That is a pretty big order, isn't it? Any place ...
... big sister, or do you want to go to the lake of fire to be with the Devil and bank robbers?” David thought a moment, then replied, “I want to stay right here.” (1) Sounds like a smart little fellow. Maybe little Debbie was not the ideal evangelist. But her heart was in the right place. It’s a wonderful thing to help people find Jesus. The highly esteemed theologian Karl Barth had a painting of the crucifixion on the wall of his study that was painted by the artist Matthias Grunewald. In the painting ...
... a feminine ruse. When she returns, she will be able to use this as a pretext: "I forgot my waterjar."(5) But here is something that is even more striking: This Samaritan woman ” this Samaritan woman who had fouled up her life in so many ways ” turns into an evangelist: "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did," she tells her friends in the village. "Can this be the Christ?" At her urging the people from the village come out to the well. Perhaps one or another of her five or six husbands is among ...
... , come out to the well and, in their words to her, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world." Who woulda thunk it? What an unexpected evangelist! I love the way she went about it. No theologizing. She simply told her story. "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did." Even her questions. "Could this be the Christ?" For those who wonder whether or not they could ever be an effective Christian ...
The author of the One hundred and third Psalm is an evangelist who cannot refrain from telling the world of God’s goodness to him. Indeed, he is fairly bursting with joy at the very thought of witnessing to what the Lord has done. He is so filled with the spirit of praise and thanksgiving, in fact, that his song flows from ...
... street corners passing out tracts. Such actions may actually do more harm than good. It is one person showing by his or her life what the Lord can do in terms of a changed life. Thus, this five times divorced woman from Samaria became the first Christian evangelist. She had a rather checkered past, but Jesus did not seem to be as much concerned about her past as her future. Somewhere in my reading I came across a phrase, taken from the world of business and stock markets, “dealing in futures.” Now, my ...
... sing lustily,” as Wesley commanded us, or use our tongues to invite others to experience the joys of the Christian Faith. “There are no proofs for the existence of God; there are only witnesses.” III. LIKE IT OR NOT, WE ARE ALL CALLED TO BE “EVANGELISTS” MESSENGERS OF THE “GOOD NEWS.” It is clear from the New Testament that evangelism is the first business of the church. According to Mark’s Gospel, Jesus first called the disciples to be with Him. Then he sent them out, two by two, to spread ...
... even if he wanted to be. Jesus chose Matthew. And he chose him to follow and to enter the joy of God's kingdom. What our evangelist wants us to see is the fact that Jesus has the right to call followers. He also wants us to see that Jesus uses that right ... what he came to do and exactly what his ministry was all about. When Jesus defends his actions to the Pharisees and when the evangelist writes about it for our instruction, it becomes clear that you and I are to do what Jesus did. That is to say, we ...
... of the world. He had refused sedation before entering that struggle with Satan, death, and hell. Now that it was over, he could be indulged. So the best that the lady or gentleman could offer was a few sips of sour wine. It Was Accepted Three of the evangelists agree that Jesus took this second attempt at sedation, though Mark indicates that the one who offered it called out that the people should wait to see if Elijah would come to take Jesus down from the cross. No one can tell if that was said in the ...
... prefer to live in the bondage to their own desires rather than to live for the sake of others. In the Dark Another condition which is the same as that of the time of the children of Israel in the desert is that the world is in the dark. The evangelist says, "The people loved darkness rather than light." That was the same way in which the Israelites said they preferred the days of slavery in Egypt to the freedom under God in the desert. In the same way the world is in the dark today. There is all kind of ...
... of the world. He had refused sedation before entering that struggle with Satan, death, and hell. Now that it was over, he could be indulged. So the best that the lady or gentleman could offer was a few sips of sour wine. It Was Accepted Three of the evangelists agree that Jesus took this second attempt at sedation, though Mark indicates that the one who offered it called out that the people should wait to see if Elijah would come to take Jesus down from the cross. No one can tell if that was said in the ...
... the greatest excitement had to do with the preparations so that the commerce had to be at its height. Into that busy crowd Jesus rushed with a homemade whip of cords and struck out wildly at people and animals to put them into a rout. The reason that the Evangelist John includes this story at the very beginning of his gospel is because he wants to show throughout his gospel that Jesus gave new shape and meaning to the worship life of the people of God. In this very early story John is able to set the stage ...
... who do not live here and do not know our culture or our people. What would you think they might preach when they come? Do they come because they see that Dallas is a good religious market for traveling preachers? How do they know what to say? Suppose the evangelists landed at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and took one of our major freeways into the heart of the city. What would they see, which would help them get some insight into who we are and to what we are committed? Would they get some idea of the God or ...
... . The song goes on to praise God for the manner in which God reverses the fortunes of the poor and lowly and humbles the proud. The song, which became a model for the “Magnificat,” the song of Mary at the time of the Visitation recorded by the Evangelist Luke, celebrates God’s control over all of life. The Blessed Mother In the First Lesson appointed for today we read that Hannah faithfully made the annual visit to the temple at Shiloh to worship. As she did so she also visited with her son Samuel and ...
... to bring Christ's light to others? Isn't that the whole ball of wax, the whole nine yards? The church cannot reach its full power and potential without all members using their gifts for the common good. You remember our friend, Demos? The man who arranged evangelistic meetings? Here's the rest of his story: Sure enough, on the night of the meeting, no one showed up. There were Demos, a few of his friends, and four arena custodians. Demos was so discouraged that he couldn't bring himself to speak. But among ...
... , than the un-Christian, uncouth strategy of attempting to make people aware of their lost and sinful condition."1 There is a good old fashion word for that—heresy. We've been told that whatever we do we should never hurt people's feelings. The old evangelist, Sam Jones, said, "When I started preaching I thought I would hurt somebody's feelings. Now I'm afraid I won't." Peter Cartwright was a circuit riding Methodist preacher back in the 19th Century. On one occasion as he was getting ready to preach to ...
... ," rather than "God loves you." Her neighbor caught the error and passed on the original message: "God loves you. Pass it on." But two people later, a man again said to his neighbor, "Jesus loves you. Pass it on." And so the message continued back to the evangelist. This visiting preacher had a point to make, however, so with an expression and demeanor of all seriousness, she said to the congregation, "You have made an error, and it is a common one, but one that needs to be corrected. We find it easy to say ...
... Holy Spirit - drove them out to the boundaries of their world to tell this very amazing and joyful story. It is not too much to imagine Matthias, one of these eyewitnesses of the resurrection, entering a small town, gathering a crowd around him, much as the street corner evangelists do, and saying, "I want to tell you a wonderful story about a man named Jesus, who was executed on a cross but rose from the dead on the third day after his death. I knew him well ... I saw him die and I saw him buried in the ...
... said, “your vocation is not to serve lepers – your vocation is to love Jesus.” If we could remember that – if we could burn and groan with the love of Jesus – those whom we serve would hear and see the Gospel and we would do the work of an evangelist and fulfill our ministry. I close with this. Back in 1716, King Charles the Twelfth of Sweden announced to the little town of Ystad that he was going to come and visit them and that he would worship in the village church. The pastor of the church got ...
... all the answers and he didn't presume he knew the needs, wants, desires, of the stranger in the chariot. For all Philip knew at this point, the Spirit could have brought him to the Ethiopian so that the stranger could teach him! What makes Philip a true evangelist is that he waits for the Spirit of God to make the first move, and that he is better at listening than talking. The Ethiopian, the one to be evangelized, is the first to offer any sort of invitation in today's story. His long quest for spiritual ...
... his name” (Acts 10:43). Clearly, these passages mean that Peter and the apostles (and the prophets before them) were witnesses. In addition, all Christians are called to be witnesses for Christ. Not all are evangelists, but all are witnesses. The word “evangelist” comes from the New Testament word, euangelizzomai. It means “someone who announces and declares the gospel.” The word “witness” comes from the New Testament word marturein. It means “someone who shares the gospel.” Not all ...
... sins through his name" (Acts 10:43). Clearly, these passages mean that Peter and the apostles (and the prophets before them) were witnesses. In addition, all Christians are called to be witnesses for Christ. Not all are evangelists, but all are witnesses. The word "evangelist" comes from the New Testament word, euangelizzomai. It means "someone who announces and declares the gospel." The word "witness" comes from the New Testament word marturein. It means "someone who shares the gospel." Not all Christians ...
... what has been done for the deceased is how much love has been poured into the arrangements. The dollars do not make all the difference. It is the love that mounts up in what is accomplished. For that reason it is important for us to note that the evangelists took the pains to report our Lord's burial in some detail. We do have accounts of how members of the inner circle of Jesus' followers attended to the proper funeral rites for the corpse of our Lord. What they did is worth examination. A Virtuous Act To ...