Myself, and Jonathan; ready with our tracts and trivia:)
A few of us were able to get onto ASU to do a little outreach during this past week. In general many people were open to conversing and learning about the gospel. We spoke to a diverse number of people. Some, who had at one time of their life professed Christ, yet had fallen away from the faith. Others, included Mormons, Muslims and one man who was Hindu. The personalities types included those who were indifferent, seeking out truth, crying out for justice or yearning to be accepted. For the most part our time consisted of handed out gospel tracts and one to one conversations. However, Walter and Jonathan both did take part in a little open air.
Ephrem, Walter and Jonathan, sharing the gospel.
Ephrem entered into a great conversation with a man who professed to be a Mormon. Eventually both Jonathan, and Walter got involved in the conversation. The three men tried to show the man, through love, patience, and boldness how Mormonism presents a false gospel. Here’s why…A Mormon may often use the word Salvation and describe Jesus as their Savior. However, Mormonism presents a different Jesus. And a different definition of the word “salvation.” Mormons believe that they must empty themselves completely of sin, become completely perfect and then and only then will they meet the requirements to go to Heaven. However, the true gospel of Jesus Christ(through the bible) states that we can never be perfect. Only one was perfect, JESUS CHRIST! So, yes we are to forsake our sins and turn to Christ as the bible commands of us. However, we are to trust in Christ’ perfect, not our own self righteousness, because that does not exist. Every privilege in Mormonism is conditioned on their worthiness through their perfection and performance, rather then the work of Christ. We wouldn’t get into the other funky doctrines that they have.
Here’s what most people don’t get: It’s actually a diss to call Jesus a “good teacher.” It’s kind of like calling the Pacific Ocean a “puddle.” Or saying Mount Everest is “a hill.” Or saying that the sun is “warm.”
Jesus was no doubt an incredible teacher in addition to his unparalleled diversity of perfections as the ultimate prophet, priest, and king. However, to simply view Jesus as a good teacher is to misrepresent him. He is the eternal son of God who became a man to reveal the ultimate glory (importance and weightiness) of God to His own creation, and to destroy Satan, Sin, and Death without destroying us. When Jesus taught, people didn’t just think He was a good teacher, they were absolutely astonished. They marveled at Him. When Jesus taught, thousands of people crowded around Him, straining to hear and see Him. He wasn’t just smart and funny; he was perfect.
If ever there was a celebrity, it was Jesus. That is not to say everyone agreed with Him- He confronted and/or offended just about everyone who heard Him. He ticked off every single political group of His day. He undermined the authority of the doctrinaire religious leaders and exposed the hypocrisy of the wealthy elite. He made the religious experts look like fools. He won the hearts of the poor and the disenfranchised. He healed the sick and defended the weak. He demonstrated His divinity and supernatural powers by many great miracles, culminating in the resurrection that proved He was both Lord and Christ.
Jesus was “the talk of the town.” He would have been on all the tabloids, Oprah, Maury, The Daly Show, The Today Show, Larry King, Meet the Press, etc. When people saw the miracles that Jesus performed and believed in Him, they were never the same again. How could they be? He was the promised messiah, the fulfillment of Torah in human form. People longed to be like Jesus, because His righteousness was qualitatively superior to all. He caused people to thirst for righteousness in ways that all the patriarchs and prophets could not. As image bearers of God, we hate injustice and iniquity, yet it scandalizes us when we detect it within our hearts. To be cleansed by our maker Himself is the only vindication that ultimately matters. Only Jesus can give us that desire to be sanctified through the Holy Spirit. Only Jesus earned the right to redeem us to Himself. He has washed us with his blood.
Jesus demands that you worship Him. Responding to Jesus with anything less than extravagant worship is proof that you don’t get it and you still think He’s just a “good teacher.”
Christ died in OUR law place. He was the ONLY one worthy to do it. He was Buried and then miraculously rose from the dead, as prophesied in scripture, proving that he was who he said he was…GOD! If that does not blow your mind, then re-read that again!!!!
Walter and Marcus pray for previously angry man
After First Fridays last week Walter was really feeling the itch to get out and preach some good news:) He was not with us at First Fridays as he was on crutches, still recovering from his surgery. So we quickly dashed home from First Fridays, picked up Walty and met up with the faithful Marcus and Phil at the Bars. Eager to preach, Walter wasted no time. He popped on his new, sweet headset and began talking about who Jesus was and why he died. Right off the bat a man got out of the bar line and began yelling, practically right in Walter’s face. He continually asked Walter” What have you done for your disability, for God?” No one really knew what that meant, which frustrated the man even more. ” I’m sorry man, I’m not sure what doing something for my disability means, and I am actually not disabled…I just had surgery.” The man shouted the same question, over and over again, increasing the volume of his voice each time. Finally, he stormed off but came back about 5mins later apologizing to Walter. Walter of course told him it was perfectly alright, and asked if he could pray with him. The man agreed; and Marcus, Walter and Phil all prayed with him! Later the man befriended Walter:) Strange, and quick transition, but awesome nevertheless!
Walter(notice the crutches) poses with man he preached to:)
Man thanks Jonathan and inquires regarding church.
Mill appeared to be dead as we hit the streets early Friday evening. However, as the night
The guys praying for a man on Mill
grew later we learned the cold, wet streets wouldn’t keep the local crowds from the club/bar/public intoxication scene. The night got off to a great start… Walter and Jonathan didn’t waste any time before getting on the mic. They both began by speaking about some fundamentals regarding Jesus, the gospel, justice, and repentance. Right away three men walked up; one interested the other two very much NOT interested, haha. “Come on dude lets GO NOWWWWW.” One of the uninterested guys said to his friend. “It’s okay, I am actually listening to this guy(Jonathan), why don’t you guys just go ahead with out me.” The man answered. He later approached Jonathan, thanked him for “the message”, and inquired about going to church with him or Walti
I have some urgent and shocking news…Jesus of Nazareth may not have been born on December 25th! Haha, I kid, but as you’ve probably heard before, Jesus’ birthday is most likely not December 25th. No where in the bible is a date or time of year given. There are biblical references of shepherds tending to their flock in the night during the birth of Jesus, and therefore scholars have maintained it was probably lambing season; aka Spring. While other scholars believe his birth occurred in July. The precise day matters little to me, I am simply glad a day exist where we can celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world. However, I do think we ought so celebrate that news daily…the “Christmas message,” is not merely about ipods, cars and diamond rings. While that stuff is cool too,the true Christmas story is life saving news!
Each Monday myself and the Evagie Team witness onASU’s campusfor a few hours. While Jonathan Myers, Missy Myers and myself( Emily Verrelli) were handing out gospel tracts to some students we came across an international family( I believe they were from Pakistan). Within the first few moments of our conversation we realized these people had never even heard of Jesus. After sharing the gospel with them they said they were going to go tell all of their family about “the Savior!” Think everyone has heard of Jesus? Think again! Don’t forget to share the gospel with people from other countries. Odds are they may not know who Jesus is; or perhaps they have never even heard his name.
One to One Evangelism at with Internatinal students at ASU. Image is not in reference to above story.
Thanks for checking us out! urbanevangie is a group of Christians from the Tempe/Phoenix/Scottsdale area. We evangelize unbelieving Arizonians in order that they may to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and connect them to a local church. Leave a comment and let us know you stopped by!
NEWS: TEMPE Church Plant
Visit the site and join us for worship Sunday Nights @ 6PMTEMPE LIFE CHURCH http://www.tempelifechurch.com/
Be wise now, therefore, O ye who would succeed in declaring your Master's message among the multitude, and use your voices as common sense would dictate.
One to One Evangelism at with Internatinal students at ASU. Image is not in reference to above story.