John 3:30

He Must Increase, I Must Decrease

apologetics

2017 Penn State @ Ohio State Outreach Report

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6 men were able to labor October 28 for the Lord and lost in Columbus Ohio. Caleb Davenport, Kurtis Gould, Travis Jackson and I preached while Chase Vendley and Kenton Gould handed out tracts. It was a sub-40 degree day which started out rainy. But we prayed earnestly that God would keep the rain away and He graciously answered the prayer. We drove to Ohio State at 11am with windshield wipers on, and by the time I parked my van the rain had stopped and didn’t restart. I want to publicly thank the Lord for his kindness to us that day. It was the first cold day, but that is something we are used to in Ohio. The way I see it, if fans will go to the game, I will too. Although I immediately ordered a box of 40 hand warmers when I got home for future games!

On the way there, I asked Kurtis, “Why would you to want to go evangelize in freezing rain?” He responded, “The same reason as when the weather is nice, the get the gospel out.”  <<–Praise the Lord for that faithfulness!

Here are some pictures and commentary about the day, with a special providential surprise at the end. If you click the pictures it will open larger versions of them in a new tab which you can close to return to the article. We started, as always, with the singing of gospel hymns and prayer.

Above you can see a photo of Caleb preaching with Kurtis standing by him. We like to have someone near the preacher, not only in case of an type of physical incident, but also to help if needed. For example, if a person is clearly trying to obstruct the preaching, that person can distract a person who is just causing the preacher problems. Or if the preacher decides to stop preaching to talk to someone who is responding to the gospel, that person can begin preaching. We only have a few hours to preach so we try to fill it up.

Above you can see a picture of the crowd. Basically from 2-3 hours prior to kickoff until 15 minutes before kickoff there is a constant stream of people like this. Every 5-7 minutes the crowd moves along as the police operate the stoplights.

In the below picture you can actually see Chase handing out tracts. There is a teeny tiny arrow pointing to Chase. Click to picture to see it. You can also see just to the right of the middle of the photo there is a street vendor selling knit caps. His set up for the caps is in the shape of a cross. He was mocking the gospel and shouting “Be saved…from the cold!” But in his mocking many people heard “Be saved!” and we rejoice that God may use that to cause His elect to think about their need of salvation. And we also know that this man was in earshot of several hours of preaching, and Travis made sure he received a tract. May Jesus receive the reward!

In this photo, Caleb is preaching and you can see the man on the right reading a tract he was give by Chase or Kenton. It has become rare in my experience to see people actually stop to read the tracts (although I still hope some read them just not in my sight). So I told Travis, “Why don’t you go try to talk to him?” Below you can see Travis engaging the man with the gospel. At one point the man was actually weeping. Travis has a kind heart and a peaceful spirit. Pray that this man might receive Christ or if he already has that he would maybe come back and join us in reaching others!

In the photo below this man came up while Kurtis was preaching and asked Kurtis for his favorite Scripture. As men, we can only judge outward appearance, and not hearts, but this man appeared oppositional to Kurtis in his tone and posture. When Kurtis didn’t immediately tell him his favorite passage, the man said something like “There are a lot of false prophets out here. If you’re going to do this, you need to know the Word.”

I’m protective of my team, maybe to a fault, and Kurtis is only 17 years old, so I stepped over and tried to reason with the guy. I told him that Kurtis not having a favorite scripture off the top of his head was no indicator that Kurtis is a false teacher or doesn’t know the Word of God. The man was unkind and made some more comments which could only be construed as rude, while telling us he was just trying to inspire Kurtis. It was odd, but I was bothered that the preaching was interrupted for such a strange encounter.

After a minute, Kurtis told the guy he likes Philippians. We explained to the man that although he said he was trying to help us it just didn’t come across as supportive. These are the kinds of things you encounter regularly. Questions weigh on your mind with each encounter like “Should we have just had another person start preaching and let Kurt engage the fellow?” “Should I have kept out of it and let Kurtis handle it?” “Was I kind in my responses to him or too accusatory?”

As I said earlier, I do not want the preaching to stop and even a seemingly honest question from someone can interrupt the preaching to the point where many walking by will not hear the gospel. At the same time, the soul in front of us matters also, we we try to be strategic and wise and we hope that God will grant us wisdom and discernment! Pray for us, will you?

One thing that was notable to me that day was that I did not see a particular ticket scalper who I usually see. I have been going to the same corner for years now, and I have gotten to know various vendors and scalpers. One of them I even recognized when I was at a different event where he was selling tickets and he recognized me too and hugged me. Well, I did not see him this Saturday and it actually disappointed me.

But that evening, I went to a local place called Wingstop to get my wife and I some wings. As I got out of my car, I saw that same scalper! He said hello and hugged me and I asked him where he was that day and he said he was at a different location. We chatted for a moment and I found out his name and that we have at least one mutual friend from his church. Then as I was getting ready to pick up my order, he stepped up and paid for my chicken wings. I thanked him and he said, “You bless a lot of people, so I’m blessing you right now. Keep it up.” Praise the Lord for his providential timing and the gift of chicken wings for my bride and me!

One thing you can consider is that when you watch the games, you can look at the faces of the fans and know that many of them received the gospel. As I watched fans storm onto the field after OSU’s comeback victory, all I could think was “that’s my mission field.” Pray for a harvest, dear Christian!

Finally, I uploaded this video to give people an idea of what it is like preaching. There are distractions galore: sirens, people periodically shouting, and a constantly moving crowd at sporting events.

We ought pray for preachers of righteousness that the Holy Spirit would give them wisdom and unction to preach as He would have them preach.

 

Rape, Incest and Abortion

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On Facebook, someone posted “Can a Christian be pro-choice on the abortion issue?” The ensuing responses were varied.

I ended up in a bit of an argument with one of the commenters. Here’s the comment thread if you want some background to my comments. Clicking the screenshot will take you to the Facebook post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What you see here is my response to Donald’s final comment with Donald’s comment included.

OK. Donald. I hate to have to do this, but maybe for the benefit of someone who will read this, if not you as well.

You wrote //** Ted, I love God as my Father and and His Son Yeshua (Jesus) as my Lord and Friend. I am sorry about my last response but that was the mentality of the logic being offered in the discussion that turned to Michael’s condemnations, assumptions and judgments. **//

1. Then you are not sorry. True apologies aren’t followed by excuses. Just stand by what you said.

2. I made no assumptions. I simply believed what you said. You said it is OK to murder a little baby in some situations, the situations you define as it being OK. I also cannot condemn, but I can warn you of God’s condemnation on those who approve of wickedness, promote wickedness or participate in wickedness (murder is wicked, BTW, child murder even more wicked maybe).

3. I am not ashamed of judgement. You are saying evil things, should a man of God sit by quietly when evil is spoken in the name of our Lord who you claim to represent?

You wrote //** I love God but to force a women to suffer continued injuries after being raped by stranger of family is unreasonable to me. **//

1. Here’s a tip – if you start a sentence with “I love God,” don’t include “but” in that sentence. This is my fear for you Donald, that you don’t really love God. Because God demands devotion above and beyond our apparent care for other people. (Luke 14:26)

2. And here’s the real point, Donald. You say you don’t want to force a woman to suffer continued injuries after being raped…this is noble. The problem is that becoming a murderer is actually the WORST thing for the woman. Abortion is a terrible thing to do TO a woman. So if you really don’t want woman to suffer further injury after rape or forced incest, encourage them to trust God, respect life and find healing in Jesus Christ rather than simply murdering an innocent baby. Nothing will be more detrimental to a woman in that situation than the belief that ending the pregnancy will make them feel better only to realize that ending the pregnancy NOT ONLY does not make them feel better but it will add the guilt of murder for the rest of her life on her conscience.

If you love women – tell them abortion is absolutely sinful and point them to Jesus Christ.

You wrote //** My point to Michael is that the sin needs to be stopped at it’s beginning! With sex deviants getting little to no time, many of those with wealth not even being approached for their indecencies, we instead continue the assault on the victim! ALL other abortions I detest and consider murder. Can I possibly be any clearer? **//

1. Logic is important. God is logical. He doesn’t change. He cannot deny Himself. So we, made in his image must be logical.

2. There is simply no logic to this statement. The post is about abortion. Do I really need to tell you I oppose rape? I do. But does the fact that I stayed focus on the topic of discussion somehow mean you can imply I am not against rape?

3. No you cannot be clearer, Donald. You have made it clear that murdering babies is OK if you think the baby’s conception was the result of some other sin where the mother was the victim of the sin. << This is actually what we are arguing about.

You wrote //** To Michael, it is more important as to the exception to my stance on abortion while ignoring the new Oregon gender abortion law that allows abortions for gender choice as late as 9 months pregnant! Michael did not seem to care about that one word worth! Shame .

1. Now what’s really interesting is how you try to twist everything with your final statement. You imply that I don’t care about an Oregon law regarding abortion when, in fact, my stance from the beginning has been anti-abortion entirely. If you did this intentionally, it is sin to misrepresent me in this way. If unintentional, then I guess I can overlook it.

2. You seem to be arguing that abortion for gender selection at a late age is unacceptable, but abortion for the reasons you gave, presumably at a younger age is OK. This is a sin and a logical fallacy. The age of the human being being slaughtered by abortion is irrelevant to the fact that it is murder. Reasons may seem more or less barbaric or irrational, but in the end, I’m not here to judge the apparent motives of the murdered, I’m here to judge the action of murder. In my view, I don’t need to play with these distinctions, I think abortion is murder all the time.

This is why I asked you when it ends, Donald. Can a woman who was raped have a baby then look at the baby, be reminded of her rapist and kill the child? Why not? Why would you force her to suffer again? By your logic you could not prevent that, unless you just want to play the “we can kill babies before they have faces or have formed hands” young gestational age argument.

Donald, your soul is important. You are either a sinner deceived into thinking he knows Christ or you are a seriously in error, immature in thinking, Christian. I challenge you to consider these things because I care about your soul. You are important too, just like raped women and babies.

If your response to this is just that I’m hateful and judgmental then you’re not reading. The entire post was written for your benefit, that you may see clearly. Are you offended that I say you do not see clearly? I’m sure you are. But faithful are the wounds of a friend. I care too much about Jesus, babies, women who are victims and you, Donald, to not tell you these things.

P.S. In case this needs to be said (which is really sad if it does) – I also believe rape to be wrong. And incest is wrong. And incestual rape is wrong. I do not think it is logical to say that because I oppose abortion I in any way endorse sinful acts which could result in pregnancy. If you read my anti-abortion arguments and come away believing I am defending rape you are seriously mistaken and likely misinterpreting intentionally to fulfill your own agenda or just lacking in some basic skills of reading and logic. I do not mean to be harsh or mean about this, but we need to be grownups who can have a conversation on one topic and not misrepresent the things people say.

Open Air Preaching from Home

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I am sure you’ve heard of “working from home.” But have you heard of open air preaching from home? I want to share what I think was a singularly unique experience to me. Maybe you’ll think so, too!

My 3 year old son Wesley had just gone outside into the backyard. My teenagers were on the couch with my 9 month old and my wife was gone. All was quiet on our little street and then I heard the doorbell, or a knock. I looked over and saw a man in a suit with a young boy. I figured they were Jehovah’s Witness, and headed over to the door.

The young boy showed me a pamphlet and was trying to talk to me. You could tell it was taking some courage for him to do whatever he was doing. Had he been a boy scout or a basketball player raising money for a trip, I’d have bought popcorn or candles or whatever he was peddling to encourage him.

After I took the pamphlet I looked quickly at it to find the JW markings. The man was saying something about Scriptures and the boy was talking about love…and I told them to hold on, while I went and grabbed a tract.

I always try to give JWs a tract because I have been told they are not allowed to take them. It’s a test, in a sense. If they take it, fine. If they refuse, it opens the door to asking them why I should take their stuff and they don’t take mine, etc.

So I went out on the porch and started asking the boy what he thought. He kept saying they were walking around to ask people what “they thought.” I asked him if he believed Jesus died on a cross for sinners, and he mumbled yes and then the older man corrected me and said Jesus died on a stick. I repeated that He died on a cross and then asked if they believed Jesus is God. The boy just stared and the man said “No.”

I don’t intend to prove this here, but if you do not believe Jesus Christ is God, (and not just “a” god, but the God) you do not believe the saving gospel.

So I started talking to the boy and telling him that whatever the man he is with has been telling him is false and will lead him to Hell. I started explaining that Jesus had to be God to die in the place of sinners; that if Jesus was only a man that He would not have been able to satisfy God’s wrath for sinners!

The reason I did this is twofold.

  1. I have found that JWs usually travel in pairs, (like Sith), and, like Sith, there is usually a learner and a ‘master.’ I believe all men who hear the saving gospel of grace and of Christ’s glorious resurrection can be saved, but I’ve found experienced JWs particularly hard to interact with. But a 9 or 10 year old child who was obviously nervous about whatever faith he had? I was sure I could get him thinking and maybe be used of God for his salvation.
  2. As I mentioned, the context was that I had a 3 year old alone outside, a couple of teenagers watching a baby and no wife at home. I didn’t believe I had time for a friendly conversation where I slowly tried to lead them to the gospel. Nor, honestly, do I want to listen to their beliefs. I know many wonderful Christians who will sit and listen to pagans share their thoughts and many times blaspheme Christ. I do not believe it is my duty to allow them the privilege.

The man immediately recognized what was happening and saw he would get nowhere with me and said, come on, let’s go. And he led the lad away. So I quoted Matthew 18:6 to him. They, of course, kept walking, so I kept talking, louder and louder. Within seconds I was open air preaching from my porch to this man and this child as they met with one of their cohorts across the street. I continued to preach the necessity of the new birth, believe in the deity of the Christ and the truth of the resurrection for the justification for sinners. You could see the bewilderment as I do not think they expected this, nor probably ever encountered it.

I started to hope I had neighbors who would hear the preaching too! I saw a family walking toward the house who looked like they may be the young lad’s family and I started preaching in their direction. Finally, they all headed as far away as they could until I could no longer see them.

I am sure some (Christian) people would not feel comfortable with this story. But when was this young man going to hear the gospel if not from the preacher whose door he was brought to providentially? Do I know how many more days any of those folks had before they met their maker? Do you not believe that it is through the foolishness of what we preach that men are saved from the wrath of almighty God?

I am not saying that is the only way to interact with JWs (or anyone). But I am grateful to God for the opportunity to preach His Word today, even if it was only for 3 minutes. 6 people heard the gospel, my own children heard me preach the gospel and saw the importance of it.

Maybe the sweetest part was coming inside and praying with my children for the salvation of sinners and then singing hymns together as worship of Jesus Christ! May God be praised and may He have mercy on the men and woman and children who visited my neighborhood today.

Preaching to the Choir?

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Dear reader, the question this article proposes to answer is, “Why would I go to a Christian worship event to preach?”

Do I just want to start trouble?

Is this literally a form of preaching to the choir?

Do I believe only that only I and 14 other Calvinists on the internet are the “true church?”

Please join me along with my friend Brandon Hines as we lay out a case for why Christian street preaching and evangelism is not only acceptable outside a Christian worship event, but why in fact, it is necessary outside many events designated as Christian worship events.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

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..

Google & International Women’s Day

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If you visit Google.com today (go ahead and click the link to open a new tab), you will see that for today’s doodle they have a nice representation of women who have done wonderfully heroic and academic things from all cultures. This is in celebration of International (Working) Women’s Day which is March 8.

A few quick thoughts:

  1. Watch the Google Doodle and you will notice that in almost every picture the woman is pictured with a child. It is as if Google cannot deny the importance of motherhood (which the good people at Google cannot).
  2. You will also notice that there isn’t a single depiction of a heroic, brave, woman having an abortion, going into an abortion clinic nor performing an abortion. It is as if this vital, empowering act of womanhood isn’t really something people celebrate when it is considered seriously.
  3. Finally, absent from the doodle are the woman who have risen up against the patriarchy to prostitute their bodies for men, display their talents in pornography or shake “what their momma gave ’em” at a strip club. What the doodler reveals to us unintentionally is the worldview that we are all born with written on our hearts (God’s law) which reveals to us the importance of women and their inherent value as made in God’s image, rather than what they can do for us sexually.

Even the average heathen has a conscience, one they cannot violate without consequence. Today is a day that many people celebrate the good contributions women make to our world – and a day many others celebrate their anti-God attitude toward a woman’s true, high calling from the Lord Jesus Christ.

So dear Christian, do you celebrate woman as God would have you? Do you want to tell others the good news that God Himself sent His only Son, Jesus Christ into the world to die for women who are sinners?

International Women’s Day is a cry for help. This isn’t a day that people finally have risen up to “stick it to the man” as so many are so certain. This is a day when women everywhere are being told their significance, their worth and their value are in how they contribute to a society, rather than found in another, Jesus Christ.

Women who pursue virtuous endeavors are to be lauded to the extent that they obey Christ’s commands for their lives and in the context where God has placed them, and this is righteous judgement for praising the accomplishments of a man or woman. Don’t get caught up in the social justice of it all.

I appreciate any comments you may want to leave for discussion. I have more to say, but want to keep the post under 500 words.