Stone the Preacher

This is an excellent article from about 150 years ago written by the Prince of Preachers. Every would-be street preacher needs to keep a copy of this with them and to read it thoroughly.
Please copy and print this. Things have not changed that much since Spurgeon’s time. You will laugh and shake your head at his wisdom.

Here’s an excerpt from OPEN-AIR PREACHING - A SKETCH OF ITS HISTORY AND REMARKS THEREON By Charles H. Spurgeon

I must linger a moment over Robert Flockhart of Edinburgh, who, though a lesser light, was a constant one, and a fit example to the bulk of Christ’s street witnesses. Every evening, in all weathers and amid many persecutions, did this brave man continue to speak in the street for forty-three years. Think of that, and never be discouraged. When he was tottering to the grave the old soldier was still at his post. “Compassion to the souls of men drove me,” said he, “to the streets and lanes of my native city, to plead with sinners and persuade them to come to Jesus. The love of Christ constrained me.”

Now read the entire text: (more…)

Ray is concerned that he might be arrested due to the latest Million Dollar Bill scandal:

The Million Dollar Bill tract not only made the Home Page of Foxnews.com today, but it was also on Yahoo’s Home Page and USA Today. While this is wonderful publicity, I’m wondering if the Secret Service isn’t going to arrest me for being the bill’s creator. So I have a solid defense ready. Read the rest here.

Here is good news for Way of the Master fans who like Kirk Cameron, and for those who loved the movie “Facing the Giants.” A new film is currently being shot called “Fireproof” starring Kirk, and written and directed by the same team that made “Facing the Giants.”
I’m sure it will be very evangelistic, and I’ll just bet that the crew is getting a good dose of “Hell’s Best Kept Secret.”

Read their daily blog here.
Go to the website here.

AIKEN, S.C. — A bank teller had a million reasons to deny this transaction. Police say a man tried to open an account with a $1 million bill, which does not exist. The teller refused and called police while the man started to curse at bank workers, said Aiken County Sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Michael Frank. Click here to read the rest from Fox News!

“Hey honey! Look! There’s money on that bulletin board!”

“Wait a minute… that’s not real money.”
“It’s those stupid million dollar bills that we see all over the place! I think they say something about Hell.”

“Man. How brave do you have to be to pin one of those on a board?”

“Christians are so chicken!”

“I may as well read it…”

R.A. Torrey (1856-1928) says:
“Oftentimes people who are too proud to be talked with, will read a tract when no one is looking. There is many a man who would repulse you if you tried to speak to him about his soul, who will read a tract if you leave it on his table, or in some other place where he comes upon it accidentally, and that tract may be used for his salvation.”
Who’s R.A. Torrey? (more…)

Here is a website devoted exclusively to “encouraging” ex-Christians to feel comfortable about leaving the faith.
The site features “de-conversion” testimonials like this one:

“In 2000 I became a born again Christian, I read the bible, I went to church, I listened to Christian music, I guess you could say I “lived” the Christian life. And I thought that all my Christian friends were such great people, so loving and caring and understanding. But then I really found out how wonderful those so called “Christian” friends were. You see I was gay and when I came out of the closet those friends sure turned in a hurry.” (Read the rest here.)

There are, of course, articles about pro-evolution foolishness, fallen “Christians”… in fact, everything that is against Christianity and God is featured. They even have anti-Christ t-shirts available for purchase:
Don’t be too shocked. The Christian world deserves most of this ridicule due to its hypocrisy and lack of integrity in Christian living.

Also, since less than 2% of Christians actually share their faith, most people aren’t aware that God has a moral standard that He will hold everyone accountable to. And if that standard of the 10 Commandments is not followed perfectly, if a person breaks even one Commandment by lying, stealing, or blaspheming, then they will be found guilty on the Day of Judgment, and end up in Hell forever because of their sin. Of course, if they repent and trust in Jesus—and follow Him to the end, they will be saved. Since this is not preached, everyone goes their own way, like sheep to the slaughter, like fools to the circus, like ex-Christians to silly atheitic websites.

By the way, there is no such thing as an ex-Christian. Ex-Christians were just false converts. 1 John 2:19 says: “They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.”

Ex-Christian.net? NOT!

****
Read how to handle false converts here.

This is the last hurrah for regular season college play, two traditional rivals, both based in L.A…. and our faithful team of evangelists will be there for the exciting part: The pre-game tail-gate parties!!!
This game is expected to be a sell-out with over 90,000 fans in attendance. Meet at Hope Chapel at 8AM to carpool or meet at the L.A. DMV at 9:15! Game time is 12:30 PM.
Read the big strategy we employed at a previous USC game here—you won’t believe it!

On November 1st, my littlest daughter, Laurel, celebrated her 6th birthday at SeaWorld in San Diego.

We have taken full advantage of the family pass we purchased at the beginning of the year, this being our fourth visit. We always bring our Million Dollar bill Gospel tracts, never knowing how God will use them—and us—as we hand ‘em out. Everytime we take a step of faith—even if it’s a small step, like handing out tracts—we get blessed, big time! Maybe this little pictorial will encourage you to “stick your toe in the Jordan” and see what God will do as you trust Him:

Upon entering an amusement park its always a good idea to have the kids pose with a silly character…

…then of course, hand him a Gospel tract.

I’m positive that Pete the Penguin is a pagan; there was something a little fishy about his theology.

And wow! A rare picture of my beautiful wife (who’s camera-shy), posing with our daughters while feeding a dolphin.

We were very suspicious of Flipper’s faith: We caught him reading “The Porpoise-Driven Life.”

A stop at a little shop yielded an opportunity to brighten the day of two bored employees who had nothing better to do than read a detailed description of their sin before God.
The tract they are reading is a test that asks if they are good enough to get to Heaven. It’s very detailed and leaves people with no doubt of where they are going when they die. (I will provide more details of this gem in the future. We’ve handed out about 50,000 of these so far at our church. It’s a free download; Click here to get one.)

A strange “coincidence” occurred next. A family visiting Southern California from the San Francisco area had hit all the theme parks within a 100 mile radius and were burned out. They had yet to see San Diego’s Wild Animal Park, but couldn’t bear the thought of having to endure another day’s outing. “Would you like these passes?” they asked us. We snatched them up (a two hundred dollar value!) and immediately made plans for the following Monday to visit more unsaved animals.
We rewarded the family with millions, of course. Hopefully they’ll spread the Good News when they leave their hearts in San Diego.

And then there was the famous Shamu show called “Believe.” They get the audience all riled up by having everyone chant native-like:
“SHA-MU! SHA-MU! SHA-MU!”

The waters swirled…

My girls were ready, well-prepared in the splash zone…

The mighty waters rushed…

“SHA-MU! SHA-MU! SHA-MU!” The crowd was encouraged to raise their hands overhead in a whale-tail way and just belieeeeeve! Mass whale-dolatry!

THUD!

The biggest splash of the day came when we gave this grandmother and her grand kids millions of dollars.
“I can’t believe it! she exclaimed. “Just before you gave me these, my youngest grandson (in the orange) made a wish: He wished for a million dollars!”

Just belieeeeeeve!

*****
Read about how we attempted to save Mickey Mouse here.
And how a Disney character Pooh-Poohed the idea of Gospel tracts here.

Have a burden to evangelize by wearing clever clothes?
Here are some options that will elicit “Amens” and “Oh nos!”

This is a great gift put out by EvangelismStuff.com:

Shopkeepers Dale and Anna Jackson are good friends of mine who also are on staff at Way of the Master! They know their evangelistic stuff!

And this is an awful option…

Here is another example of the irreverence and cluelessness found in the “Christian” community being passed off as authentic witness. The company that produced this shirt is called “Holeyware.com, which is certainly an appropriate name, since there are some major holes in their understanding of Who Jesus is.

As A Little Leaven puts it: “This is a fine and reverent way to depict the Lamb of God, King of Kings and Maker of Heaven and Earth.”

BY RAY COMFORT

Charles Spurgeon said that people can be taught to live by being reminded that they have to die. That’s true. Every sane human being has a will to live, and it’s an often-forgotten tool by which we may reason with them. So, here’s some feathers for your evangelistic arrows:
Every year around 90,000 people die in hospitals–from medical mistakes. That is one American dies in a hospital from a medical error or a lethal infection every six minutes. Medical blunders are the eighth leading cause of death in the United States. A horrifying 43,443 died in car accidents in one year–one American is killed by a traffic accident every 12 minutes. That may make you want to stay home. Think again. One American is killed in an accident at home every 29 minutes–that’s an annual total of over 18,000 deaths. One American is accidentally poisoned to death every 27 minutes (19,457). Falls killed 17,227 people back in 2004–that is, one every 31 minutes. One American is killed by a drunk driver every 31 minutes (16,885). Murders are down since the 1990’s (unless Hollywood has succeeded in teaching more people how to disguise murder). One American is murdered every 32 minutes. According to the FBI 17,034 people were murdered in 2006.

One more to cheer you up: Every 30 seconds, a woman somewhere in the world gives birth to a child. She must be found and stopped. [He's kidding...] —From Comfort Food, used with permission.
Here are the sources of the stats: (more…)

A wildlife biologist at Grand Canyon National Park most likely died from plague contracted while performing a necropsy on a mountain lion that later tested positive for the disease.
Eric York, 37, who worked in the park’s cougar-collaring program, became ill on Oct. 30 and called in sick for a couple of days before being found dead in his home Nov. 2. Tests were positive for pneumonic plague.
—From the L.A. Times

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor;
…and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”
(more…)

Ray Comfort has a new blog called Comfort Food. While I take a few days off for Thanksgiving, check out his site. See ya back on Monday.

Two months ago I preached a sermon entitled “The Fear of the Lord” which was a warning to all unbelievers. This sermon, “Drop-Dead Disciples?” is the companion piece, a warning to false converts and half-hearted believers to take God seriously.
This teaching about Ananias and Sapphira is not a fun talk, but I hope it might wake you up, and make you even more thankful for what you believe. Click here to listen.

Yesterday I posted a Guest E-vangie about how a lady at the water store thought I was a priest (read it here). I denied it. I didn’t know about the hidden security camera…

“As you come to him, the living stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
(Thanks to Paul LaTour for reviewing the security footage and sending the evidence to me.)

The L.A. Times features advice columnist Carolyn Hax regularly. Read her answer to a person whose co-worker is a rather obnoxious Christian..

Dear Carolyn: My co-worker seems to have made it her mission to convert me.

She treats every conversation as if it’s a chance to make points about her religious beliefs. I can’t even congratulate her for getting shoes on sale without her saying something like, “The Lord favors His own!”

If we’re working on a project together, she’ll say, “Oh, last night I was thinking about our report and the Lord told me we should….”

She works in the next cube, so I can hear her on the phone with her church friends, all pumped up about how “people are going to try to shut you up, but you’ve got to speak up for Jesus!”

I just keep repeating, “Well, you know I’m not a believer.”

But my inclination to be respectful of others’ views seems to put me at a disadvantage with someone who doesn’t respect mine.

Here’s Carolyn’s advice: (more…)

A Colorado city is considering a plan that one attorney calls the epitome of the war against Christmas.

Tonight, the Fort Collins City Council will meet and decide the fate of a task force report that urges the city to decorate with white lights, winter symbols not traditionally associated with any particular holiday, and unadorned garlands of greenery. City staffers are also encouraged to remove ornaments or stars from trees and red ribbons from wreaths. (Read the rest here.)

Once again, we will be heading down to Huntington Beach to share our faith with Ray Comfort.
Meet at Hope Chapel at noon. Bring your copy of “The Way of the Master” so you can get his autograph.

Can you believe Ann Coulter—that firebrand of the Right and scourge of the Left—who makes a living from creating needless controversy and writing books, didn’t have a word to say when challenged on air?

That’s right. For an amazing six seconds, Ann was stumped. Where did this take place? At The Way of the Master Radio show. Host Todd Friel told Ann that she was wrong in her assessment of what it means to be a Christian then… dead air. I laughed so darn hard; you will, too. Listen to this 60 second sound bite. It’s classic! Click here to listen to this very short clip.

BY RAY WORLITZ

(Ray is a student in our latest evangelism class. Each student’s homework is to hand out one Million Dollar bill Gospel tract each day of the class. Here are two sad and humorous encounters he experienced.)

I made two attempts to give out a Million dollar gospel tract:

Attempt #1- A pastor: He politely declined saying he was given two and said that they were still sitting on his desk from a year ago. The pastor told me how bad church attendance was and that they can’t seem to get anyone new. I thought it was sad that here was a perfect opportunity the pastor was given to restore enthusiasm among his struggling congregation to evangelize for Christ, yet he wasn’t using it.
Attempt #2- The lady at the water store reading a bible:I asked her if she had received a million dollar bill yet and she said, “Yes! Every week a priest comes in and hands me a bunch!” I asked if that pastor’s name happened to be Steve; sure enough it was! Well, I tried Steve… but you got to her first.

(Steve’s note: I’m not a priest…)

A Gideon member who was threatened with arrest while handing out Bibles near a Florida public school has been granted a preliminary injunction by a judge in a federal civil lawsuit. The motion will allow Thomas Gray to freely witness and hand out literature in a disputed 500-foot zone around the school.

Gray was handing out Bibles on a public walkway inside the alleged zone outside of Key Largo school in January, along with Gideons International team members Anthony Mirto and Ernest Simpson when confronted by authorities. (Click here to continue reading.)

Author John Shore’s book is a wash-out!
Over the last several months, I have taken to task a heretical book called “I’m OK — You’re Not: The Message We’re Sending Unbelievers And Why We Should Stop” by author John Shore. The incredibly ridiculous assertion he makes is that everyone knows the Gospel already; therefore Christians need to shut up and just live it out (read the background of this story starting here).

The good news is that NavPress (a real Christian publishing house that does not believe The Great Commission has been fulfilled yet) will pull the book soon and stop selling it.

When it’s pulled I’ll fill you in on the back story, including my dialogue with the author.

I just did a sermon on hypocritical Christianity dealing with the reasons why the unbelieving world doesn’t take us seriously. We aren’t persecuted so much for what we believe anymore (although that certainly does happen, of course), but for what we do—like buying this Jesus junk! Are we really letting our light shine before men by purchasing these items?

THE JESUS ROBOT

THE “I LOVE JESUS” SHOTGLASS

“JEEZ-ITS”

AND… “THE JESUS TONGUE-PIERCING BARBELL!

Is it time for a revival? Hmmmm…

(All Jesus Junk used with permission by www.ALittleLeaven.com

A man was killed in Tustin by falling into a wood-chipper.
 The tree service worker, identified as a Gabriel Gonzales-Ferrer, “was standing at the back end of the chipper, throwing branches into it with his co-workers nearby, said Sgt. Pat Welch of the Tustin Police Dept. “One of them looked over, and he was gone. He was one of three workers trimming trees and removing debris from a private residence,” he said. “One was in the tree and the other hauling debris. He was there and then he wasn’t….”

Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, said this about 150 years ago: “Speak a word for the Master whenever it is possible, and offer a short prayer at every convenient opportunity.”

“I think we should make it a rule, whenever we hear a foul or blasphemous word in the street – (and, alas! We constantly do so) – always to pray for the person who utters it. Perhaps then the devil might find it expedient not to stir up people to swear, if he knew that it excited Christians to pray.”

“Try it at all events, and see whether it may not have subtle power to stop the profanity, which is so terribly on the increase.”
(Thanks to Ed “The Rev” Lee for these photos.)

The server bolts to the backroom as I enter; when I say “Hi!” her eyes roll. I’ve been abandoned mid-order, gossiped about, and rebuked in front of other customers. She’s been just plain nasty, rude, and intimidating. Still, I continue to patronize Peet’s Coffee in Redondo Beach. Why? In addition to their great coffee, I want to win her to Christ.

I’d also like to be featured as “Customer of the Week” in the little photo display on the counter.

The first time I met Briana (not her real name) was on the Friday before Easter; I wished her “Happy Good Friday!”

“Happy, uh, Good… Friday,” she replied haltingly.

“Do you know the meaning of Good Friday?” I asked.

“No… not really.”

“It’s the day that Jesus was crucified for our sins and died. Why do you think it was good?”

“I… uh… don’t know…”

I hadn’t given my order yet and there were no other customers in line, so I took advantage of the vacuum—by giving my 17 second sermon: “Well, if you’ve ever broken any of God’s 10 Commandments—if you’ve ever lied or stolen–then He will see you as a lying thief; and if you’re found guilty of one sin, then the penalty is eternity in Hell.”

Her eyes fixed on mine, she looked receptive, maybe even ready to bow the knee to her Creator right there next to the Sulawesi Dark blend.
I continued, “But Jesus died on a cross for all of us—and that was good. If you repent and turn your life over to God by believing in Jesus—

Her head twitched, eyes flamed, she started to shake… then she ran away stopping only to deliver a nasty whisper to a co-worker; she bolted into a backroom, never to be seen again.

The second time I met her was on Friday the 13th.

I had just given a fellow server a giant $100 bill Gospel tract and he thanked me, smiling.
When I offered one to Briana she was less than enthusiastic. “That’s extremely pretentious and rude!” she scolded, turning away. I glanced at her co-worker. “What’s up with that?”

“I don’t know,” he replied with a shrug. “I don’t want to get into it.”

Setting her face like flint Briana ignored me, slamming down her little espresso squeezer and, clinking cups in an aggravated way, made darn sure everyone at Peet’s knew she was perturbed—at me!

It sure is hot in here; funny how I didn’t notice it before.

Looking up at the ceiling, then at the menu on the wall, time dragged as I waited for my coffee.

Bam! Clink! Briana continued to ignore me with a deafening silence.

“I’m sorry if I offended you in some way,” I said lamely.

“I don’t like you giving those to my employees. It’s solicitation!”

I still go to Peet’s regularly; I’m used to the routine. I walk in. She walks out. Friendly greeting rebuffed. I don’t hand out tracts there that often; I just let my little light shine, shine, shine.
I also don’t share my faith there that much anymore.

Yes. I’m a little intimidated. But God can break through; He might even use me someday… but I’m not holding my breath.

The other day, Briana stormed out to her SUV and drove away for her lunch break. I noticed a few stickers on her vehicle that led me to believe that she would be a hard-sell. In addition to the obligatory KERRY/EDWARDS proclamation proudly displayed on her bumper since 2004, I also noticed these:

I LIKE YOUR CHRIST
I DO NOT LIKE YOUR CHRISTIANS
THEY ARE SO UNLIKE YOUR CHRIST

And…

DOING MY PART TO P_SS OFF THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT

Customer of the Week? I can always dream.

This Saturday at noon we will head on down to the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica to engage the very interesting wildlife.

Read another story about this place:
3rd St. Promen Odd

Here’s an article from the March 24, 2006, edition of The Minnesota Daily, which I found from an atheistic science blog called “Science Ouch” (see below).

Here’s my question to you: Do you think that America’s level of trust for atheists has grown or lessened in the 2 1/2 years since this article was written?

Atheists are America’s least trusted group, according to a national survey conducted by University sociology researchers.
Based on a telephone survey of more than 2,000 households and in-depth interviews with more than 140 people, researchers found that Americans rate atheists below Muslims, recent immigrants, homosexuals and other groups as “sharing their vision of American society.” Americans are also least willing to let their children marry atheists.

“It tells us about how Americans view religion,” said Penny Edgell, an associate sociology professor and the study’s lead researcher. “Many Americans seem to believe some kind of religious faith is central to being a good American and a good person.” Read the rest by clicking here!

I discovered an incoming link to this blog last week from an atheistic science blog called “Science Ouch”.
I checked it out and found that they had a little story linked to my “The Blasphemy Challenge Guerrilla Action” video accompanied with the following text:

If you’ve never heard of, or are unfamiliar with “The Blasphemy Challenge,” then click on the video below and see what it is about. Let me caution you though, it is a disturbing video. It is important that you see it so that you know what we are up against.

I don’t know what the audience for this atheist’s blog may be, but anytime I can make an incursion into enemy territory with the Gospel is always a good thing!

Our right to free speech in America, including the freedom to preach the Gospel will depend on who gets into the White House in the next election (God aside, of course). This disturbing article by Matt Friedeman is not for the faint-of-heart.

Don’t vote for a non-Christian? I wish it were as easy as all that. Former Republican National Committee official John Lofton is co-host of The American View, a weekly radio show syndicated by Radio America. He says, according to OneNewsNow, that Christians have a “cut-and-dried” directive from the Bible not to vote for a non-believer. Given recent history there might be a bigger concern — voting for a “believer.”
New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is a believer — a Bible-thumpin’ Methodist, to hear her and her campaign tell it. Illinois Senator Barak Obama is, too, and can apparently preach so that the sanctified will shout “Amen!” Of leading presidential candidates, only former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson has said that the local church isn’t all that important to him, but he pulled back from that statement with the declaration that he, too, is a serious Christian. Ditto John McCain and presumably most every other candidate trying to harvest votes.
Read the rest here.