John 3:30

He Must Increase, I Must Decrease

Open Air Preaching

2017 Arnold Report – 3

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This is part 3 of a series.

Part 1
Part 2

While I was preaching outside the Arnold Classic, a man sat and seemed to listen for a long time. Kurtis noticed this and went over to talk to him. This was an excellent thing for him to notice.

Kurtis ended up talking to this man for several minutes and it ended with Kurtis praying for the man. Some people won’t let you do that in public, but this guy did!

Praise the Lord! Open air preaching resulted in this gospel conversation where Kurtis was able to minister to this man.

Next, I asked Kurt if he was ready to preach. Unlike most stories I’ve heard, he did not become afraid and back out! Kurtis grabbed his waterproof Bible and read John 3 in the open air, then used that text to launch into about a 20 minute open air sermon.

He was approached by several people who shook his hand, gave him a fist bump or hugged him! He got more hugs in his first open air sermon than I ever have. (Not to mention I think half my hugs have come from transvestites, but that’s another story).

Here is a photo of Kurtis while he was reading the Bible on High Street!

Kurt reading John 3

In addition to the good reactions he received, a man named Josiah and his friend Kevin sat down and were really excited about what Kurt was doing. They started a t-shirt business and were at the Arnold showing people their work. It was encouraging to talk to believers from another place in the USA and see them encouraged to hear Jesus preached in public.

Tune in Monday to hear more about this exciting day!

2017 Arnold Report – 2

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This is part 2 of a series.

Part 1

Our standard procedure is to arrive early when going to an outreach. But in the case of the Arnold, there is a constant stream of traffic all day, so that wasn’t a big concern. Nevertheless, we arrived before our 12:00 goal.

We did what we usually do and one person dropped everyone else off at the location, then that person went and parked. (Thank you Dave!) This allows us to bring lots of stuff like boxes of tracts and Bibles and a prayer stand without the need to lug those items very far.

We got the prayer stand setup about 20 feet from where we planned to open air preach. This was an exciting day because Kurtis was planning to open air preach for the first time. Kurtis is a 17 year old believer who wants to see people come to know Jesus Christ and understands the necessity of preaching so that they will hear (Romans 10:13-14).

I went first and preached Jesus as the Christ. After a little while, a man start to argue with me and use foul language.

Handling a situation like that with grace and truth is difficult and it is essential to be Spirit led that you may not fall into the flesh. Being able to react and respond on your feet is something that can be learned, but you only get one chance. I have certainly failed to be godly in the past.

What was encouraging this day was that there was a man who afterward came up to me specifically to tell me he thought I handled myself well and that he liked the way I preached. I was shocked to find out he is a non-believer! He told me he’d heard preaching before and wanted me to know he appreciated my approach. I have actually stayed in touch with him. His name is Dan and he and I plan to discuss Christianity and his thoughts on philosophy. Open air preaching often results in good conversations about the gospel!

Tune in tomorrow to read what happened next…

2017 Arnold Report – 1

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The Arnold Classic is an annual athletic event held in Columbus, OH which attracts a large number of people from all over the world. For several years in a row we have gone to the central location for the event and preached Christ crucified, handed out tracts and engaged people in conversations.

Here is a multi-part post where I will share with you some of the stories from this weekend’s evangelistic outreach. I am hoping to make this series educational for others.

Allow me to introduce you to our team of evangelists. From left to right in the front row Pam, Kenton, Alexandra, then me. In the back row are Dave, Luke, Nick and Kurtis. You will notice that our team has 4 teenagers and one almost teenager! Praise the Lord for giving these young people a desire to see souls hear about Christ.

The day started long before March 4. We spent days and weeks praying, announcing the event at church and studying the Bible so that we would be ready. The night before and morning of the event I was charging my speaker, packaging tracts, finding DVD movies and watching the weather report!

We met at our church at about 11am on March 4. Due to there being 8 of us, we borrowed a generous brother’s van which seats 8. Right before leaving the church for downtown Columbus, our pastor prayed that the Holy Spirit would go before us and change hearts, something we cannot do.

On one sad note, two dear brothers who were scheduled to go with us could not make it due to illness. One of them was sick and the other couldn’t come because of how that affected him. This is very common! Pray for your outreaches and those of folks you know.

Click to read part 2..

My First Sunday Morning Sermon

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On March the 6th, 2016, I was honored to preach my first ever Sunday morning sermon at First Baptist Church of New Albany in Ohio.

To skip my comments and just listen to the sermon see below.

A few notable moments. Upon arrival I found out they were happy to allow me to lead the entire service. They had a bulletin already created which they could not get printed. As I was writing it out, I was so glad to see Heaven Came Down, How Great Thou Art and Victory in Jesus listed for singing. Then I noticed a song titled “Let Jesus Come into Your Heart” as the ‘invitation hymn.’

Not opposed to judging a song by its title, I asked if we could change it to “How Firm a Foundation” and they had no problem with that. The service flowed nicely with a skilled pianist and my friend Christopher offering prayer.

They had Scripture reading on their bulletin. I had not prepared for that. Since my sermon was about God’s Word, I thought it would be appropriate and helpful to read Proverbs 30:5-6. I then tested myself and tried to quote Psalm 1 from memory. I did it!! I thought Psalm 1 went nicely with my sermon, and it was the first time I had quoted an entire chapter of Scripture in public from memory (inside a church).

Then my daughter Bailey played perfect renditions of Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art on her flute for special music. You will notice if you listen to the sermon that I open by talking about the hymns. I then do what I am apt to do (and learned from my own pastor), and I spoke for 20 minutes off the cuff while ignoring my notes. So many things flood to my mind that I want to share.

I really enjoyed myself and was very grateful to my friends Mike Stockwell and Christopher Ledezma who attended along with my 3 oldest children. It was a time of service to God and to one of His local churches. I appreciate everyone who prayed for me and the service. As a hipster Christian might say “God showed up big time.” 😉

Feel free to listen here:

Interview On Pillar of Truth

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The good folks at the Pillar of Truth interviewed me about my work evangelizing and leading evangelism events.

In 2015 I was interviewed on the Pillar of Truth podcast:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

As you can imagine, I wasn’t any less wordy with them than usual, so they had to cut the interview in parts. 🙂

I do appreciate if you listen and give me feedback.

Western “that team up north” vs THE OSU Outreach Report

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First off all, hat tip to Jason Marianna for reminding me that “THE” is all caps when referring to THE OSU.

Saturday, September 26, 2015: Joshua Richards and I preached the gospel from about noon to 3pm at the usual spot, Lane and Olentangy River Rd, prior to the Buckeyes’ victory over the Broncos of Western you know.

I only brought a couple hundred tracts with me, and we were able to distribute them all! Pray, dear Christian, that God would bring someone to repentance and faith as the result!

Reading the Bible in public

After Joshua preached for the first time, I delivered this sermon (embedded below). The scripture read included Psalm 14, Romans 1:18-32, Romans 3:10-27; Psalm 1, Psalm 149, and parts of John 10. I have said this before: for many Christians, this is more reading that you are willing to do in a day…or even a week. I’ll confess – some days, that is a problem for me too! Together, let’s repent of our apathy toward God’s Word, shall we?

After Joshua preached a second time, I read the entire book of 1 Peter in the open air and followed it up with 19 minutes of preaching, using 1 Peter as my launching point. At one point, there was a large group of people waiting for the light to change including many children. I was so joyed to have the chance to tell them of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I also read Psalm 23 aloud during that preaching stint. Overall, we filled about 2-2.5 hours of preaching. How we wish for more laborers to join us!

You can see the pedestrian traffic in this picture.
You can see the pedestrian traffic in this picture.

Our culture is so hateful toward God’s law that there was a truck that kept driving by advertising strip clubs with loud music and large images on the side of the truck. Two young ladies women were walking around passing out free passes to a gentlemen’s strip club, as well. Much prayer is needed for our culture and for those of us engaging the culture with the gospel!

While Joshua was preaching, I followed an idea he gave me and I was able to offer prayer to a young man who had been recently injured. That was a really neat way to engage people and get their ear.

Praise Almighty God for His good work that day. His gospel must have been heard by thousands, and He will do as He pleases!