By All Means

Coming to faith in Jesus Christ 24 years ago changed my perspective on a lot of things. One of them was the holiday of Halloween. The much anticipated & celebrated holiday was put into new focus, as I understood the dark history and ongoing relationship with pagan and the occult, especially from brothers and sisters in Christ who came out of heavy occult lifestyles. The day is a high sabbath for practicing witches, so the darkness is real, and present, and masked under the veneer of dressing up in costumes and going around in the evening asking for candy from the neighbors.


Because of this, I really wanted nothing to do with Halloween, and especially wanted to protect my children from its influence. So, on Halloween we kept the porch light off, the curtains closed, and prayed for the safety of all the children and adults who were out celebrating. 

My first attempt-October 31, 2017

My kids are grown up now and off living their lives. Halloween remains a dark holiday, but I have decided to redeem it for the purposed of getting the gospel message into the hands of children in my community (and their families). Two years ago, I got some Halloween-themed gospel tracts, put them in snack bags with candy, and waited for trick-or-treaters. Problem was, almost no one came. The street was empty. I had one car drive up and 2-3 kids ran up for candy, and that was it.

View of Main Street 2018

 A co-worker who lives on Main Street in Marshalltown told me that they had a ton of kids come by on Halloween, and suggested I set up at his neighbor's house that was for sale and currently unoccupied. These people happened to know about our little public ministry, and were excited to let us give out gospel tracts at their place. So, on October 31, 2018, I got home from work, got my stuff together and got set up just in time (see pictures right & below). And, my "set up" included my light-up "JESUS SAVES" cross!

My second attempt - October 31st, 2018

Mary & I had around 300 gospel tract candy bags prepared, but I ran out in around 45 minutes. And there were still hundreds of kids walking up and down Main Street! I had to quickly tear down, and as I drove home past all these children and parents still out and about, I thought, "Next year, we could do 1000 tract candy bags!"

And so as we rolled into 2019, I mentioned to my Pastor at Solid Rock Bible Church that we could reach a lot more of these kids, but that we needed to buy more tracts, more candy, and most important, we needed a place on Main Street to set up, since the house we used in 2018 was up for sale. When it sold, we started praying for a new location. I would drive to work down Main Street and when I pulled onto that street I would lift up this little prayer: "Oh Father, give us a place to give out gospel tracts this year!" 

150 gospel tract-candy bags ready to go!

 God has answered that prayer: my co-worker got into a conversation with the new owner of the home we used last year, and she was open to the idea of letting us use it again this year. I stopped by the other day to ask her directly, explaining what we did last year, and she gave us permission. With praise to the Lord, we've started on our goal of making 1000 gospel tract-candy bags. 

I still lift up prayer for protection from the adversary, for people out celebrating Halloween. And now, we also pray that God would use these gospel tract-candy bags to point children, their parents, and their families to the Jesus Christ: that they would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, and be given the gift of eternal life. Please join with us, and not for us only, but for many other Christians who are reaching out to the lost with the good news of Jesus Christ.

10 Commandments for Kids (and Adults!)

I'm adding a downloadable resource for anyone interested in sharing an effective way to memorize the 10 Commandments using word pictures, and also share the gospel message in a powerful way. The 10 Commandments for Kids is something I got from Living Waters (Ray Comfort), with some text and formatting revisions I thought made it a better and clearer presentation. Here's a picture of how to memorize the first commandment, as an example:

 

It goes on to share a story - an analogy - that brings the moral law to bear on the conscience of the hearer, and makes the gospel really good news. I hope you try this out on your kids, or your neighbor's kids, or really just anyone. I use the word pictures when I'm preaching open air, going through the 10 Commandments, and it really works.

 

You can find the downloadable file by clicking here (LINK), and I'll be adding a tab at the top to make it convenient for anyone who might want this in the future. Let me know if you get a chance to try this out! Paul.

 

Labor Day Weekend 2019

Mary and I ministered the gospel at the Des Moines Farmers Market this past Saturday, August 31, 2019. It rained off and on on the drive down, but it was fine down on Court Avenue and there were plenty of people at the Market. Here's the view from the corner of Court and 3rd where I speak:

 

I started off wishing everyone a good Labor Day weekend, and spoke on  John 6:27 and Hebrews 11:6  regarding the ultimate subject of what men should labor diligently for. Then I explained what we come down to the Market to do, and shared about what the gospel is, who Jesus is and what he's done for us; what sin is, and why we need to be delivered from its consequences. You can see the card with my outline, and the tabs I stuck in my Bible for the scriptures I shared, in the photo below.

When we arrived, Mary went across the intersection to pass out tracts, and as I was setting up my platform and my "Jesus Still Saves from Sin, Death, and Hell" witnessing cross, a woman and two young ladies stopped and asked if I was going to be teaching. I was getting my audio recorder ready, and started recording as we talked. Thought you might like to hear a part of that conversation: LINK.

I put a copy of the outline and all the scriptures I used in the message I shared at the Market below. If you don't know Jesus Christ as your savior, turn to him & trust in him for the forgiveness of your sins today. If you're a born-again child of God, please tell others about Jesus Christ while you can.

Maranatha!
Paul

OUTLINE

• Introduction: why we come to the Farmers Market

• To share Jesus Christ with you: who he is & what he's done

• John 17:20

• Sharing the gospel message that the Apostle Paul shared
• 1 Corinthians 15:3,4
• "...Christ died for our sins....": use the moral law (ten commandments) to explain what sin is.

• The Bible says that Jesus was "delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification" (Romans 4:25)
• We need to be delivered because "the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)
• 1st death = death of the body
• 2nd death = eternal separation from God's love in the lake of fire described in Revelation 21:8

• The Gospel is "good news" because God has made a way for us to be reconciled to him
• Our sin alienates us from God and we are made "enemies in our minds through wicked works" (Colossians 1:21)

• Jesus came into the world to save sinners, not "good" people (Mark 2:17, 1 Timothy 1:15)
• Because of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Holy God and sinful man may be reconciled: "...that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them...." (2 Corinthians 5:19)
• God wants to be reconciled to you:
• Jesus did all that was necessary to pay for your sins 2000 years ago: on the cross he cried out "It is finished" (John 19:30) meaning "Paid in full."
• Righteousness is available to all, but not applied to any until they turn to God and trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins (Romans 3:22)
• Salvation is doing nothing more or nothing less than believing on the Lord Jesus Christ...trusting in him
• Note: "believe" or "belief", "faith" and "trust" are synonyms as seen in Ephesians 1:12-15

Iowa State Fair Outreach

Frank and I gathered with some friends, and with the help of tracts supplied by Solid Rock Bible Church, we had a great opportunity passing out gospel tracts to some of the folks going to the Iowa State Fair on Saturday. I made up some canvas work aprons for holding tracts, and we set up on the northeast corner of E. 33rd Street and E. University Ave., where people walk to Gate 2 at the State Fair. 

I don't get down to the State Fair much, but last year I was invited to come with my son Alexander: he had won some tickets for a lunch put on by an agricultural group. Walking into the fairgrounds at this gate, I saw Jehovah's Witnesses set up on this corner with a magazine rack, and it got me thinking that we need Christians out here with the real gospel of Jesus Christ, not the false message of the JW's.

So this year, I had the opportunity, and made it a point to "commandeer" that real estate to use to share the gospel message of the hope we have in Jesus Christ. That meant getting there early: Frank got there a little before 7AM and I arrived shortly after.

7AM: getting set up on the corner of E. 33rd Street & E. University Avenue outside of Gate 2 of the Iowa State Fair

Work aprons I prepped for carrying tracts

Tracts provided by Solid Rock Bible Church

See the blue arrows? That's Chris Brown (far left), then Priscilla and Aquila Sletten, who helped us giving out the gospel

The weather was great: cooler and a little overcast starting out, but later it warmed up and got humid - typical State Fair weather. We handed out as many gospel tracts as we could until after 2:00, and then wrapped it up. I didn't feel the fatigue from this work until I stepped out of my car in Marshalltown around 4:30PM, and then it hit me! It really is warfare when you step out to publicly share your faith, and it does take a physical toll. Frank had the same experience: physically tired, kind of "fried", and a bit of a sore throat.

However, it was a wonderful opportunity to share the gospel with our neighbors, and I thank the Lord for it. Next year, if the Lord allows, I'd like to get more people involved so we could work in shifts and cover the entire day, and also to do the same at another busy gate around the other side of the fairgrounds. Wouldn't that be great?

"But when he (Jesus) saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest."

Matthew 9:36-38

 

Do You Know For Sure? Can You Know For Sure?

When I give away Bibles out on the street corners in Marshalltown, I always try to give a brief overview of the Bible, give out the gospel message, and ask the person a question like this: "If one of these cars passing by went out of control, (remember we are standing on a street corner with traffic going by), do you know with confidence that  God would allow you into Heaven?" 

Most answer by saying, "I hope so", or "I'm trying", or "I don't know." I understand that answer: it was my answer some 24 years ago, before I came to saving faith in Jesus Christ. I explain this and more in the audio message that I gave at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market this past Saturday, August 3, 2019, from the corner of 3rd Street and Court Avenue. You may listen to that message by clicking on this LINK and then hitting the play button with the audio comes up.

Hope this encourages you. Maranatha!
Paul