Limiting the Gospel Part II

Last week I wrote about how we limit the Gospel to just the end of Jesus’ story, this week I want to talk about another way we limit the Gospel.

And that is how we spread the Gospel.

They’re many different methods that get discussed on how to talk to someone about the Gospel and they’re mostly super helpful.

The problem comes when people start criticizing others for how they spread the Gospel. 

The truth is we have no idea how someone might accept Jesus. The traditional ways of preaching are most effective but let’s not be a stumbling block to the Gospel by limiting how the Gospel is preached.

I am going to give two unique examples.

Tim Mackie of the Bible Project has a unique testimony. He was a teenager who liked to skateboard, he started attending a place called, “Skate Church” a place where youth could come and skate but the catch was at a certain point in the day skating would stop and a church service would begin. Most people including Tim Mackie tolerated the service just so they could have free place to skate.

Well eventually Tim got hooked on the Bible and became a Christian through this church skateboard community. Not exactly how you would expect a teenager or anyone to come to Christ is it?

Another interesting story is from a book I read which unfortunately I can’t recall the name of. A woman wrote about her friend who she had tried and tried to convince to come to church. He always refused but then one day decided to do so. The Pastor that particular Sunday ended up reading from the Bible the Census from Numbers. The woman was so upset and couldn’t believe it. She felt her friend would be so bored the entire time. She was hoping for a powerful sermon delivered from God through her Pastor.

As it just so happens her friend gave his life to Christ right after service. Why? Because the man had been searching for family his whole life. You see his family didn’t care about each other; they did not value each other. The census from Numbers proved that God cared about family, He cared so much He had the Israelites record every persons names.

These are just two examples, I’ve heard many more ways that are special and unique but the point is don’t limit how the Gospel is preached. We never know what will be the point someone accepts Christ.

Preach the Gospel, the full, true and beautiful Gospel.

It’s the only thing.

Have a Blessed Week,

Chris 

Monday – Isaiah 55:1-9

Tuesday – Psalm 63:1-8

Wednesday – 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Thursday – Luke 13:1-9

Part II (His Way Church)

This is part two of my first ever blog series from 2016. His Way Church was special. My wife and I got married there, we have a lot of good memories. Reading this again was a great reminder of God setting the stage for things. Unfortunately His Way Church is no longer running and I’ve lost touch with the Pastor. I hope and pray he is okay.

The Good Word

That’s when the urge started again to find a church. I would pray asking for guidance for two things, to find a church that would focus on Christ’s teaching and for myself to learn how to do works not just have faith. I had three bible verses that were on my mind. When James said faith without works is dead, when Jesus said to remove the plank from your eye before you worry about the spec in your brother’s eye and when Jesus confronted the men about to stone the adulterous woman he said, he who is without sin cast first stone. These three were very powerful to me.

Now Jane and I still talked about how we missed our old church. Then one day on the way home, we saw an advertisement for an Easter egg hunt and the address was the same as our old church. We couldn’t…

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The Journey Part I

Can’t get much more Throwback Thursday than this. My first real blog entry after my introduction. This is deeply personal and also a bit rough around the edges but wanted to share this since the blog has grown in six years. Probably will share the whole series over the next three Thursdays.

The Good Word

I thought I was a believer, that I had strong faith. But what good is faith without works? “Faith without works is dead” That’s what James 2 teaches. I would claim to be a Christian, but I didn’t go to church, I was resentful of the church. How can these people be such hypocrites? How can they continue to do the opposite of what Jesus teaches? Do they really do anything for the poor and needy or do they just care about themselves?

It wasn’t till recently that I realized I needed to ask those questions to myself.

When I was 19, I was still claiming to be Christian but continued sinning without repentance, not following what God teaches us. My only communication with God was, when I fell into brokenness and begged for help, when that didn’t seem to work I would scream at him and yell, wondering where…

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