Lifehouse skit

Although not theologically correct, this is a great depiction of the spiritual battle people go through in this world. The ending will amost bring you to tears of joy.

Atheist Central

Peters, Yoshi, and I met up for another day of sharing the gospel. It seems like we ran into mostly atheists today. We did our usual route through Carroll College, past the movie theater, through hill park, to the walking mall and library and then back. The campus was dead because of Christmas break. We hit the movie theater which was not dead at all. It seemed like everyone was going to the movies. There was a big line, so I went to the front and handed a stack of gospel tracts to a guy and told him to take one and pass it back. He did and the people in line passed out my tracts for me. Yoshi gave out around 100 tracts as the people funneled by.

I found a smoker at the theater and asked him about his beliefs. He was an atheist. I eventually got to his conscience and he admitted that if the Bible was true he would be guilty of breaking God's laws and end up in Hell. He said he wasn't concerned at all about Hell and it seemed he didn't want me talking to him. I told him to look into the things I told him, as he walked away.

We moved to the walking mall. I did a trick for a couple guys. They must have been late 20's early 30's. They had many demonic symbols hanging from their necks. One guy said he was an atheist and the other said Catholic. I looked at him and told him he wasn't Catholic but was an atheist. He actually agreed. They said they were atheists because of all the bad in the world. I explained why there is a lot of bad in the world by showing them that they are bad according the law of God. They admitted they were not good and after some reluctance of one guy, they said they would be in Hell. At this time, the devil, who always distracts us, sent one of his minions in the form of a drunk homeless guy. We have witnessed to this drunk guy before and knew he was very belligerent, confrontational and loud. He came up looking for a smoke and wouldn't leave. Peters, seeing the distraction, took him aside and starting sharing the gospel. He got very fired up with Peters, but it allowed me to explain the gospel to the guys I was talking with. They were convicted. I gave them tracts and my email if they had questions.

The walking mall was pretty dead so we moved down towards God's love shelter. Peter's shared the gospel with a guy that we saw earlier in the day at the church. He said he was saved but couldn't tell him much. Peters directed him and gave him tracts.

It was a good winters day of sharing the gospel. We gave out a lot of tracts and got to share the gospel with a few people. Even if we only get to witness to one person it is worth going out. Praise God!

How should a Christian celebrate Christmas?

It seems like this time of year people have a lot of different ideas about Christmas. The world say’s it is all about Santa Clause, presents, trees, lights, and spending more money than they have. On the other end of that are Christians that don’t celebrate Christmas at all because it’s roots are pagan. Then in the middle we have Christians who celebrate Christmas in the same worldly way as their unbelieving friends and some who remove Santa Clause and focus on the birth of Christ, still indulging in some of the worldly traditions.

So how should a Christian celebrate Christmas? Well I think it is a matter of conscience. I think it is between you and God since you will be accountable to God for the way you lived and the way you taught you’re kids. We do know that Jesus was not born on December 25th and that the wise men, also in the manger scene, didn’t show up until some time after Jesus was born. So it is very clear that we are not celebrating on the actual day Jesus was born.

No matter when Jesus was born I think we should celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. This was a one time miracle when the God of the Universe, the Creator became a man in the person of Jesus Christ. Whether you celebrate this on December 25th or in September I don’t think it matters. One thing I think does matter though is actually focusing on the birth of Christ and not just adding Jesus into the mix of all your other traditions.

So many Christians are crying out this time of year that “Jesus is the reason for the season” or “keep Christ in Christmas”, but how many of these same people actually take the time out themselves to focus on Jesus. Look at yourself. How much time do you spend shopping for gifts and how much time do you think, discuss and tell people about the birth of Christ? How much time do you spend opening presents Christmas morning and how much time do you take to read the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth and discuss it with you kids.

It is so easy, as a Christian, to say we celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas but how much do we actually do it. Look at your kids, their actions, are they more excited about presents or Jesus? I think we all fail at this and need to strive to be separate from the world and focus on Jesus Christ this time of year.

I have to add one more thing to this and that is Santa Clause. How many Christians tell their kids that a fat man in a red suit who is omniscient actually exists? As a Christian should we tell our kids this? When we tell our kids that this mythical figure does exist and he really doesn’t we are lying to our kids. We know that God hates lying (Prov. 12:22, 13:5, 19:5, 9, Ex. 20:16, Jer 9:8-9, Eph 4:25, Revelation 21:8) and does not take it lightly. He even says in Revelation that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire. So it is a huge danger to justify lying to God. So lying is a sin, it is actually the 9th commandment, and we know not to do it so why do we? Another danger is when we lie to our kids about Santa Clause for the first 10 years or so of their lives and then we have to crush them with the truth, they have to question us. They must ask their parents why they were lied to their entire life. They might even turn to their parent and ask if God is fake as well, if this whole bit about Jesus they were told their whole life is also a lie. So why do we do it? Why do we lie to our kids and sin against God? Why do we give our kids false hope in a mythical man when we can give them true hope in God? Is it because some Christians are so ingrained in the world that they are no different?

As true Christians let us focus on Psalm 115:1 this Christmas which says, “Not unto us O Lord, not unto us, but to your name give glory.” Why give glory to a mythical fat man and indulge in worldly traditions that distract and diminish the glory of God when we can give all the glory and praise to the Lamb that was slain, who bore all our sins and has cleansed every stain. Just something to think about.

The Fire

Watch this, it will blow you away!

The Devil's schemes

My buddy came over my house with his two brothers to make hamburger in the meat shop. When we were done I sat his brothers down to explain the gospel. As we were getting deep into it and they were getting convicted, an electrical fire started on my bench. The cord to the heater had a crack in the insulation and was sitting in some water the was dripping off some furs. It started sparking and smoking as my buddy pulled the plug. Now that is distracting. It was hard to explain the cross as my garage was about to go up in smoke, but better my garage than the boys I was sharing the gospel with.

When the World beats you down.

It was one of those nights when the world beats you down. For me anyway. I met Peters, Brent, and Yoshi for another winter night of sharing the gospel. We started out with prayer and hit Carroll College first. Peters got into a great conversation for a long time with a kid that was very convicted.

I did share the gospel with a kid who grew up Catholic but now has many problems with the church and is trying to figure things out. We went through the Law and Gospel. He gave the usual responses. He didn't seem convicted but wasn't offended either. Seed planted.

While we were sitting there waiting for Peters another guy came by so I asked if he wanted to see a card trick. He said he saw it before and wasn't impressed. He said it really snarky. I asked him if I did it for him and he said, "yes, you are the guy who does the quarter trick and talks about Jesus". I told him that was me. He said very sarcastically, "Are you out trying to save people again?" I said that only God can save, I have no control over saving people. He asked me why then am I even out here. It was clear this kid hated the gospel and me proclaiming it by his angry voice. I told him I was here telling people the truth and what they do with it is up to them. I said that people could think about it, accept it or spit on it. I looked at him and told him that he spit on the truth last time. He asked how I knew that and I told him I could tell by his reaction now. He said I told them they were going to Hell. I reminded him that we went through the law and he himself told me that he was going to Hell. He said, "I believe in Jesus!" I told him, "so does the devil and it won't save him." I was being hard on this kid because he was looking for a fight and wanted to justify his sin. He argued for a while longer and said it was too cold and left.

We moved downtown and the 15 degree weather was starting to bite so we headed into Starbucks. There were 4 college kids playing cards at the table so I did a card trick, which they liked, and then started talking about Jesus, which they did not like. We went through the law and they were very hardened. On girl, who said she was not a Christian, said she knew theology and began to tell me all about it. I told her that I too love to study theology. She told me that all real theologians will tell you the Bible is wrong in many places. I disagreed. She told me she knows a lady at the Vatican that has many of the original copies of the New Testament and she said they were all very different. I disagreed. She said, very upset, that she would rather listen to that lady than a man she met at Starbucks. I told her not to believe either one of us but to actually research it herself to find the truth. I asked her what she thought Jesus meant when he said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me." She said that clearly that was not true and the Bible writers changed what Jesus said to what they wanted. She would not listen to reason and was getting more angry so I ended it and told them to have a good night.

We walked up through the walking mall and Brent got into a few good conversations. It was pretty dead so we called it a night. Sometimes the world just beats you down. Praise God! Like John Wesely used to say, "When the gospel is preached people should be getting angry or converted."

Why do we seperate the youth from the local assembly during service?

This is from Leon Brown's Blog: Press on until glory.

A lot of things have changed over the years concerning how we "do" church. The liturgy, to a large degree, is gone, churches rarely sing hymns and psalms, preachers really don't preach, and the emphasis on preaching the gospel to the body of Christ has diminished--the gospel has merely become an evangelistic tool.
I don't desire to be this negative, but all of the above statements are true. And if this list could not get any longer, there are typically 3 or 4 churches operating under the same roof.
What do I mean by that?One of the things that has changed over the years, which by the way is no where in church history, is "youth church." Typically, a youth pastor will preach to those 18 and under. Sometimes, however, the age group may be college-aged and under or 16 years of age and under. I guess it all depends on the church and the programs being run.
That's one church under 1 roof.
Then, right along side youth church is, I guess, "adult church." That's two churches under 1 roof.
Then, next to adult church, some churches have 2 or 3 services, and each service operates as previously discussed (e.g. adult church and youth church).
So...How many churches do you have under 1 roof? 1, 2, 3, 4, or more?I know, at this point, it's probably easy to say, "We only have 1 service--1 for the adults and 1 for the youth." To me, that's no better. Why do we separate ourselves from our children during this most precious time of worship on the Lord's Day? Are we afraid our children will be a distraction? If so, train them not to be? Are we afraid our children won't understand the message? If so, are we willing to explain the message to them afterward? And are we conducting family worship at home? This would definitely help them.
And besides, what are they learning during youth church? Have you ever set in to listen? Is the youth pastor even qualified? Do you know him by name?
All of these questions and concerns are essential. The individualistic mentality of America has bleed into many churches. This is why the youth must be separated. Adults worship their way and the youth worship their way. Separation!Please understand the point of this blog article. It's not to tear down, as some may envision. I only want to challenge you to question why "certain" things happen. As I've said in a previous post, if my wife and I had children and we were visiting a church, I would not dare let them take my children. But chances are, we wouldn't visit a church like that to begin with.
If you are one that falls into this category (i.e. you have 2, 3, or 4 churches under 1 roof), what should you do? Well, that's a big question. I'm not saying you should leave your church, nor am I saying you should go on strike, but you should definitely question things.
Consider how many people you don't know in the service you attend, let alone if your church has 2 or 3 services. And what about the youth? Don't you want to worship God with your children, regardless of the age?
God works through families. We shouldn't dare separate them, nor should we separate the local assembly into 2, 3, or 4 services (or separate churches).

The Miracle

It was the middle of a Montana blizzard last night. It snowed all the night before and all day today and the temperature was about 19 degrees. I picked up Jeremy R. at our church and met Peters and Yoshi at their church in Helena at about 2:45 for a day of sharing the Gospel. God convicted Peters, Jeremy and I during the week about prayer. We seen how the persecuted church prays for four hours every morning. We decided to do the same. We all prayed for 2-3 hours by ourselves before we went out witnessing. After seeking God in prayer like this we sure were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, boldness and authority in Christ.

The Mormons were having a Nativity display at their church so we figured it would be a good place to share the gospel. Peters witnessed to a girl and got into a deep conversation about the gospel and the girl was questioning all kinds of things about her beliefs but the Mormons found out what we were all about and pulled the girl away from Peters. I was witnessing to an older couple. They were nice but hardened. He said you just have to keep the commandments to be in heaven. So of course we went through them and he said he broke them all. I explained the gospel but he wanted off the subject and started telling me a story about his great grandfather in Russia. While we were talking they introduced me to a lady who was a host and left, so I started sharing the gospel with her. She named 5 things you had to do to get to heaven. I questioned her about her beliefs and explained the gospel. She couldn't really answer the question and was confused. She just knew what she was supposed to believe but couldn't tell me why. She asked me what me and my friends were doing here. I told her we came to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. She asked me why we would do that. I said because Jesus told us to in Scripture, to go into all the world and preach the gospel. She swore she was a Christian and the LDS was another branch of Christianity. I explained a few differences and gave her a tract, which she had a hard time taking. I told her to compare everything that I or her teachers tell her to the Bible to see if it is true. The Mormons, seeing what we were here for, told us about the refreshment room. I told them that refreshments sounded good and that there was nothing better on a cold day than a good cup of coffee. (Mormons can't drink coffee). The old man gave me a talk on how coffee is bad, even decaf. I told him that he was missing out. Yoshi witnessed to a few people and then met an older man. The man, when introducing himself said, "We fought some of you guys in Japan" (Yoshi is Japanese). What a weird thing to say. Yoshi responded by saying, "so you are the one who shot my grandpa." It was a good joke. There wasn't a lot more people to witness to so we left.

We moved over to the Civic center in Helena to the Festival of Trees. We got there in between the tree showing and big dance that cost $25 to get in. I did witness to a couple kids there. They were lost and had not concept of getting to heaven. I don't think they ever thought about it. The girl did say she was good but after the Law she seen she wasn't. Their mom came in the middle so I left them with a tract. We were not going to pay $100 to get in so we decided to go to the mall. I told the boys that unless God gives us $100 on the street we won't go, but if we did find $100 it was a good sign God wants us there.

We moved over to the mall and I witnessed to a kid with giant earrings that make his ear lobe hole giant. The ring was huge! You could fit a nickle through it. That is what I used to start the conversation.
We talked about his earrings and tattoos and then I swung to spiritual things. He didn't believe in God and thought he would be worm food when he died. We talked about where his conscience came from and went through the Law. He was guilty but still proclaimed his own righteousness. He thought God would see him as a great person. We talked about his logic. He said whatever a person believes is true, typical new age. He also said he was the one that determined right and wrong. I asked him if that goes for me too. He said yes. So I said that it is right for me to stab him with a knife and then asked him if I was right. He said no and then stumbled around for an answer but couldn't come up with one. He questioned the Bible and had objections about tattoos, piercings, homosexuals and all the usuals. I avoided them all and stuck to the gospel. He got fired up at the end and said he didn't believe in the Bible and never would and he didn't like me telling him about it. He started shaking and getting ready to blow his top and hit me. Peters was ready to jump in and besides it didn't look like he could hit to hard anyway. I settled him down and told him the good news of Jesus Christ. He asked me why I was her doing this. I explained our motives that it would be easier to stay home and watch TV but I didn't want him to be in Hell and if he didn't hear the gospel he couldn't be saved. I explained the cross and the most loving gift of God through Christ. He mocked it and left.

We moved down the mall and seen a guy we know named Roger. Out of the blue he said he had 6 tickets to the Festival of Trees dance and asked if we wanted them. This was the clear sign from God that He wanted us there. God never gave us a $100 bill on the street but instead gave us $150 in tickets to get in. It was a miracle. We went and ate dinner and were back at the Civic center at 7:00pm. We gave out tracts as people walked in the doors and gave out our two extra tickets with tracts to a couple. There were a lot of people there, maybe 500. The fields were ripe for the harvest and we had four laborers.
I shared the gospel with a group of caterers who were loitering around. One was nothing, one was Catholic and another Protestant. I started in on the law and the Agnostic left and a lady came and whispered something in the protestant girls ear and she left also. The Catholic guy stayed. We went through the law and gospel. He was not too convicted and had all the usual Catholic responses. Seed was planted. I witnessed to a couple that were the security for the place. They were both Catholic and lost. I asked them how many brands of beer they could name. They had no problem and I stopped them at 10. I then asked them how many commandments they could name. They struggled to get 2 out. I asked them if they were concerned that they know more about beer than the commandments they will be judged by. They said it never concerned them. We went through the law and justice, Heaven or Hell. They admitted Hell after a while but were hardened and not convicted.
I found a couple sitting down away from the crowd and started a magic trick for them. Another couple came to sit down at the same time so I asked them to join in the trick. They all like the trick and then I went into witnessing. We went through the law and gospel. They were actually all Lutheran except the Asian girl was a Christian, she said. As I explained the law I seen the Holy Spirit convicting them all very seriously. They knew that if they walked out of the dance tonight without Christ they would be in Hell. I explained the Cross and the gift of God in Jesus Christ and how he bore the wrath of God in their place. It made sense to them and one of the men started deeply thinking and gave an illustration of something a pastor told him once about switching places with Jesus. I left them with an urgency to repent and believe the Gospel.
Peters managed to open his mouth big enough to fit his foot in it. A saw a girl he had been witnessing to at the bank. She came up to him and asked him what he was doing here and Peters said he was sharing the gospel. Peters then asked her a question he did regret. He meant to say, "Do you want to be my guinea pig?" Which is a weird thing to say as it is but he knew the girl already. It never came out like that though, he said, "Do you want to be my pig?" She was shocked and Peters, realizing what he said, almost fell out of his chair. He apologized profusely.
The band started and it got loud and was hard to witness so we were ready to get out of there. I witnessed to two "cowboys", or so they claimed. They were ignorant. I did a magic trick and then asked them what would happen when they die. They didn't know or care. I took them through the law and were almost bragging about breaking the law, especially about lusting. They didn't like that I was asking them questions. They asked me why I was asking them these questions and what I was doing here. I told them I was here to share the gospel. They asked me why I would ever want to do that. I explained our motives. They were hardened. I shared the cross to them and it seemed to make sense and I left them more sober. They were mocking and getting fired up at first but when I left they were thinking for a time anyway. Seeds planted.
Yoshi got into a good conversation with a guy who just got out of jail yesterday. He was emotional and as Yoshi explained the gospel the guy was coming to tears but did not repent at that time.
Praise God! What a great night of sharing the Gospel. We saw God provide us with tickets and put us in the path of many people who needed Jesus Christ.

Monkey song

What does being a Christian cost you?

Joseph the suffering Evangelist

Puritain Prayer

Lord, I am hunted with such temptation, dogged with such a lust; either thou must pardon it, or I am damned; mortify it, or I shall be a slave to it; take me into the bosom of thy love for Christ's sake; castle me in the arms of thy everlasting strength; it is in thy power to save me from, or give me up into, the hands of my enemy: I have no confidence in myself or any other; into thy hands I commit my cause, my life, and rely on thee.

William Gurnall

The Power of the Cross

This is the Getty's singing a song they wrote called the Power of the Cross. I saw them a couple times at Alistair Begg's Pastor's conference. They are actually members of his church. I love the Getty's because they chose to write and sing hymns instead of contemporary Christian music that is all about selling their songs. I love their hymns because they are filled with theology, unlike most of the songs you will hear on K-Love. This song explains the Cross of Christ and what Jesus did for us in our place. Praise God. The Getty's also do something unique. All their songs are first ran by Alistair Begg to make sure they are theologically sound before they ever publicize them. When listening to this song, listen for all the Scripture in it and the profound lyrics about Christ's Atonement. This is unlike the contemporary songs that have no substance at all to them. I recall one song in particular that just says: "Yes Lord, Yes Lord, Yes Yes Lord" for the entire song! Are you kidding me? You have the entire Bible to pull lyrics and this is all you can come up with? The Getty's are a refreshing change from the worldly garbage you will year on the radio. I'm not saying all contemporary Christian songs are bad, there are several groups that are very good but the majority are not worth listening to.

State High School Football game

I met Mike P. and Brent at about 4:30 Friday night for another night of sharing the gospel. There was a big High School football game going on so we headed that way. We walked by the movie theater on the way and we talked with two ladies that were Catholic but lost. They thought they had to be good to get to heaven. We went through the commandments and they admitted to breaking them all and would end up in Hell. They were convicted. I shared the good news of Jesus Christ and it seemed to make sense to them. They asked about my testimony so I shared it. It seemed they were genuinely convicted. We left them with an urgency to repent and trust in Jesus.

We moved over to the RB drive-in and talked with some kids there. They were hardened to the gospel. All either Catholic or nothing. We went through the law and gospel but there wasn't much conviction happening. Brent talked with the younger kids and they mocked him as he shared the gospel. We left them with something to think about and moved to the game.

Everyone was trying to get into the game so it was hard to strike up a conversation. There were a lot of people at the game. Brent got into a good conversation with some kids from Missoula that mocked him but stayed and listened. We met up with Crebo and he gave us several hundred of his football gospel tracks so we gave them out to everyone who entered. We must have gave out close to 300 tracks at the game.

I saw one of the same groups of kids we see a lot when out on the street. I asked them if they have thought about what I told them and they said they hadn't.

We talked with another group of kids from Helena that were actually older. I thought they were in high school but they said they already graduated from college. They were lost and confused. I gave them the trivia tract and they went through it. They all believed in evolution and said they came from a monkey. Typical graduates from our public universities. They have this stuff ingrained in them at college and they believe it all without question. I took them through the law and then they left us and went into the game.

After we were out of tracks we went across the street to a park because there was 20 or 30 kids hanging out there. Brent took the group of guys and Peter's and I took a group of girls. All the kids there were lost and clueless about anything that was important. I did some magic tricks and gave them all million dollar bill tracts. I told them I would give $20 to anyone who could pass the good person test. They all volunteered. Doing this brings out all the most prideful, obnoxious people. I usually pick the most prideful and obnoxious person because it draws a bigger crowd to hear the Gospel. I took the volunteer through the law and she saw she was not a good person but a bad person and was going to Hell if she died tonight. She admitted she would and seemed convicted. I gave them the gospel and urged them all to repent and put their trust in Christ. It turned out the girl wasn't too convicted because see asked if she could have $10 for being kind of a good person. I told her she failed miserably and never came close to passing.

At the end of the night we were able, by the grace of God, to share the gospel with around 40 people and gave out over 300 tracts.

Helena art walk night

It was cold outside but we had a fire in us to share the gospel tonight. Jeremy R. and I met Peter's and Mike H. for a night of evangelism on Friday. We prayed before we started and moved towards the college by way of the staggering ox.

Magician
I saw the magician that I wrote about in an earlier post. He said he has thought a lot about the gospel and is reading the Bible but doesn't know if it is true. Mike H. invited him to his Bible study and it sounded like he was interested in going. Praise God.

Hardee's guy
We moved over to Hardee's and I saw the ex-gang member who I shared the gospel with before and mailed him a Bible. He said he was reading it and was very grateful. Mike also invited him to his Bible study and he too seemed interested in going.

Carroll College
We moved to the College and ran into a group of about 7 kids going to eat. I did some magic tricks and asked them what their religion was. They were all Catholic with one agnostic and one professing Christian. I asked them what it took to get to heaven and they surprisingly gave some fair answers. The Christian said Jesus and the others said the grace of God. I already forgot the rest of our conversation but it was surprisingly good.

The First Date
Now this had to be awkward. I witnessed to a couple going out on their first date at Carroll. The guy thought he had to be good to get to heaven and the girl thought good looks and charm gets you in. First time I have heard that one. I started taking them through some commandments. They both admitted to be liars, thieves and blasphemers. I told them this conversation was a good way to get to know each other. They said they would be guilty before God if they died but still thought they would go to Heaven because God forgives everyone. I explained justice and then the Gospel but they were not too convicted.

The Football Players
We got into a good conversation with two Carroll football players. They were Catholic and lost. They said they had to be good to get to heaven. I took them through the law and they admitted to breaking them but still thought they would get to heave because they confess sins to a priest. They went on to tell me the Catholic church teaches that all religions can go to heaven and that the Bible can't be taken literally. They were shocked I took the Bible literally and called me a fundamentalist. We argued about the infallibility of Scripture for quite a while. He said the Bible is to be taken figuratively. I asked him what he thought Jesus meant when He said He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but through me. After I quoted this verse the kid said he didn't agree with my interpretation. I said I never interpreted it, I just stated the text. The conversation was going no where. The one kid was openly defiant and said he would be Catholic until the day he died. I guess he liked it because he could sin all day long and not have to give an account for it. The only problem is that his beliefs do not negate reality. He will be in Hell without Christ whether he believes it or not.

Downtown
We moved downtown where they were having an art walk. There had to have been over a thousand people downtown. People just wandered from store to store looking at art and drinking wine, a perfect opportunity to share the gospel. We gave out tracts as we moved throughout the crowd.

Angry Parents
Peter's got hammered by some parents. He was sharing the gospel with some kids when an angry mom came up to him and asked what he was doing. He said that he was telling the kids about Jesus. She told him that he better not ever talk to her kids about Jesus, said a few other select words and stormed off with the kids. I saw the family later in the night and gave the dad a million dollar bill gospel tract and the kids and the dad were actually fighting over who got to keep it.

The Apostate church
We walked past some guys handing out some kind of flier, so I traded him for one of my tracts. It turned out they were from a new church starting up in town. They invited us to come and explained that it was not "churchy" and they canceled worship every 4th Sunday to do stuff. As he talked a thousand red flags went up in my mind so I asked him what the gospel was. He looked like a deer in the headlights. He stumbled around and tried to get his friend to answer the question and then confessed that he himself was the pastor! He asked if this was a loaded question and said he should know the answer to the question of what the gospel was. I agreed and said that I gave him an easy question for a pastor to answer. He stumbled around and gave me all kinds of junk that had nothing to do with the gospel. He finally concluded with, "the gospel is what makes your life better." Wow, a pastor that doesn't know what the gospel is. I explained the gospel to him. He said he didn't know I wanted "churchy" language or he could of gave it. I asked what he thought it took to get to heaven. He tried to quote Romans 10:9 but messed it up and said in was Romans 10:10. I corrected him and he was frustrated. I explained it and we moved on. I wish now that we would have stayed and rebuked them more but there were still plenty of lost souls to share the truth with. His church is called Headwaters church, avoid it like the plague.

We finally found a soundly saved man. Praise God!!!
I asked a kid standing on the street what he thought it took to get to heaven. He said, "do you really want to know the answer to that question?" I said yes. He repeated, "do you really want to know?" I said yes, but was suspicious that he was going to start talking about aliens or something. He never. He started talking about the Holiness of God and then moved into the sinfulness of man and the fall. He proceeded into the Cross of Christ and the call for repentance and faith. I was so happy I started smiling. He thought I was mocking him and started getting even more passionate and said if you don't receive Christ you will be in Hell. Praise God. We explained to him we were Christians. He asked what we were doing at the art show and we told him we were sharing the gospel and he was happy. We had a good talk. In a world that hates Jesus Christ, it is refreshing to find another brother.

Atheists again
We saw our atheist friends again, the guys we debated at Hill park for half the night. They mocked us a little, I did a magic trick for them, then they mocked us some more and left. They said they didn't know about God and haven't changed since the last time we talked.

Group of Catholics
I did some tricks for a group of Catholics. I guess there were about 5 Catholics and one proclaiming Christian. I asked them if they could name the ten commandments. They started to and got most of them but wouldn't name the second one and split the tenth in two. This is because the Catholic church taught them this. The Catholic church actually changed the ten commandments, if you can even fathom that. They removed the 2nd commandment, which is do not make for yourself a graven image of anything. This makes since because the Catholic church has many graven images that some worship. Countless statues of saints and Mary. To keep ten commandments they had to split the tenth into two. So in the Catholic Bible the 9th commandment is: do not covet your neighbors wife and the 10th is: do not covet your neighbors house. After we talked about this I took them through them and they broke them all anyway. I explained the gospel to them, but as soon as I started talking about Jesus their whole demeanor changed and they wanted out of there. I let them go and we moved on.

Another Catholic
I witnessed to an older man who was a Catholic who was proud to go to the Cathedral. He fell into the usual wrong answer to the question of what it takes to get to heaven. He, like almost all Catholics, even the priest I witnessed to, said you have to be good. I took him through the law and the gospel. Seed planted.

The three stooges
I witnessed to three girls who said they were Christians, as they were drinking plenty on the street. One said she was a Christian but didn't believe in what Jesus did anymore. What??? As I tried to explain they gospel they bolted.

What a great night of sharing the gospel. Praise God!

Atheism

My mom is an Episcopalian Priest

Last night at Wolf Creek's Volunteer Fire Department's Pancake Supper, I shared the gospel with a kid who said he was going to be in heaven for a fact because his mom was an Episcopalian Priest. Never heard that one before. Seeing the kid was lost, I took him through the law and even though he said he broke all the commandments he still said he would get to heaven because his mom was an Episcopalian Priest. I said, "Are you saying the grace of God flows through Genes?" He said yes. He actually thought he had a "get to heaven free card" because of his mom. I told him what the Bible had to say about his opinion and he went on to tell me his mom told him that the Bible has been changed so much by men and their are mistakes so we should just read the Bible as a bunch of good stories. So I said like when Jesus said He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one comes to the Father but through Him. He didn't agree. At the end he said he will believe his mom way before the Bible. I would like to meet his mother someday, I never shared the gospel with an Episcopalian woman Priest (whatever that is). What a depraved and wicked generation.

The Hecklers

Jeremy R. and I arrived early at the church to meet the rest of the boys for a night of sharing the gospel. When we were waiting a guy walked by so I did a magic trick for him and went into the gospel. He said to get to heaven you just had to believe in god. I said, "like Hindu's". He said yes. He went on to say everyone who believes in a god goes to heaven, only atheists go to Hell. I thought that was amusing. I took him through the law and he got uncomfortable. I shared the good news and he left, not wanting to talk. It is funny how "Christians" don't like to talk about Christ. All true Christians that I meet will talk about Christ all day.

The rest of the crew showed up a little later. We had TJ, Mike P., Yoshi. We moved over to Carroll College. The first kid I witnessed to grew up Southern Baptist and was thinking about becoming Catholic. He said he was trying to figure things out. I took him through the law and shared the gospel. He said if he died tonight that he would be in Hell. He said it concerned him and he would think about it. I told him not to wait because no one knows when they will die. He thanked me for the conversation and we moved on.

I ran into three kids walking across campus next. I did a card trick for them and they were cussing up a storm. I asked if they were Christians and they all said yes. Two Catholics and a Protestant. This conversation got interesting and went on for a long time. One kid wanted to argue forever that he wasn't a liar even though he admitted to telling thousands of lies. He didn't think telling lies made him a liar. I shared the gospel and they said it made sense but they continued to say they were good and would get to heaven because of their goodness. The Protestant kid was very mad that I said only Christians will be in heaven. He thought all religions would be in. He also got fired up when I said man is evil and there is no good in him, only God is good. He steamed up and said,"are you telling me you think only God is good", I said your exactly right. His friend now took over and got into an argument with himself about Superlapsarianism and Infralapsarianism. I don't think he had a clue those terms even existed but he was arguing with himself whether God knew man would fall in the garden or if God made man fall. I just sat back and never said a word and he eventually argued himself into a circle and then shut up. We argued for a while longer, they were not convicted at all but the gospel was presented and the seed was planted.

TJ was witnessing to a lot of people this whole time as well. The rest were giving out tracts. Peters was faithfully standing by me, waiting for his turn to jump in.


We moved downtown to the move theater. Peters and TJ took 3 kids on the sidewalk before the theater. A couple of them claimed to be Christians. There was a lot of kids hanging out in front of the movies. I walked into the crowd and asked if they wanted to see a magic trick. Several kids recognized me because I shared the gospel with them before. One asked if I remembered him from downtown. I asked if he thought about the things I talked with him about, he said he did. Another kid shouted out that I interviewed him. I think these where the same kids we witnessed to at Starbucks. I did some tricks and they all were shocked. I held up two million dollar bills and two real dollar bills and offered them to anyone who could pass the good person test. The rest of the kids came over and now I had 15-20 kids surrounding me all wanting the money.


In the crowd were our hecklers. There are a couple kids we see when we are on the street that always follow us around and heckle us when they see us. They climbed atop a concrete block above the crowd to heckle as I did the good person test. One girl said she was the best person here so I picked her. I took her through the law and she failed miserably but still proclaimed here goodness because she goes to Hannaford church 3 days a week. She had no clue. I shared the good news of the gospel with the crowd as the hecklers threw out question after question.

As the crowd dispersed, the rest of the crew picked them off, either witnessing to them or giving them tracks. TJ and Peters had some great witnessing encounters. I dealt with the hecklers. They were throwing out every skeptic argument you can find
on the Internet. I told them I was going because they were not serious about actually knowing if God exists, they just wanted to argue. They said they really wanted to know and last time I witnessed to them I told them to look into the truth and they said they did. I believe that they did, they just looked in all the wrong spots on the Internet. They wanted to prove God wrong, which is fine, at least they are researching it. God has saved many people who started out trying to disprove His existence.

The hecklers settled down. I told them to get off their pillar and they got down. I said I would answer any serious question. They asked them and I answered them. I told them to look into answers in Genesis for answers to all their science questions.

It had been raining hard for the last 1/2 hour so we decided to call it quits. I have been sicker than a dog the last two days with a high fever. I felt bad when we started but as soon as I started sharing the gospel, God took all my symptoms away. I gained full strength, lost the cough, and was revived the whole time witnessing. I heard of this happen in the past to pastors getting real sick and as soon as they step into the pulpit they are revived. My symptoms returned on the drive home. Praise God for the great night. In a short period of time we shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with around 35 people.

John Piper is Bad

This is hilarious and true. We are all bad, there is only one that is good.

Voddie Baucham answers the age old question, if God is so powerful and good, why do bad things happen?

John Piper and the Prosperity Gospel

Harvest Fest

Last night was Harvest Fest, which is put on by our church, Wolf Creek Baptist Church, every year at this time. It went so good. We had a huge turn out. We were expecting 80 or 90 people and 137 or so people showed up. We had good music from Bob and Tim Redmond's kid. The food was great and we had such good fellowship. Mike Peters was are speaker and he shared his testimony of how God saved him in prison after a life of sin and rebellion against God. It was great. He compared and contrasted his life with the man in the Bible that was demon possessed by Legion. Praise God for all His goodness and grace.

Hermeneutics

I have been studying hermeneutics lately and this summary from Herman Who, a Hermeneutic Primer, by Todd Friel really helped me at the task of interpreting Scripture. I hope it helps you too.


Step 1: Observe the Text.

What does the text say?
Who was it written by and to whom?
What is the author’s reason for writing it?
What is life like?
What are the circumstances?
What is the culture?
What is the commercial trade or industry?
From where and to where is he writing?
When did he write it?
What is his or their situation?

*To answer the questions in step 1, use your Bible, other books written at the same time, and commentaries.
*Note: We cannot understand the verse differently than the original audience. We know more than the original audience, while we can use that knowledge to know how that information helps us form our theology, we can’t use that to expand what the verse would have said to the original audience.
*Example: Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future hope.” This was written to people in captivity, not you. We can’t apply this verse to ourselves and say God has a plan for us and gives us hope. God does, but use other verses to form this theology.

Step 2: How wide is the river? What are the differences between the biblical audience and us?

What is the culture?
What is the setting?
What is the Time period?
Old or New Covenant?

Step 3: What is the theological principle of the text?

Step 4: Does the New Testament change our understanding of an Old Testament text? Ex.: Sacrifices

Step 5: Application

How should the individual Christian apply the theological principles in our lives today?
*We must be specific. Just because it is a principle, does not mean we can use it.
The situation needs to resemble the general situation and then apply the text to our situation.

Example:

Philippians 4:13. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Step 1: Observe the Text. Paul is writing this letter from prison to the church. He is experiencing trials and awaiting sentencing. The theme of the letter is to encourage the church to stand firm in trials.

Step 2: How wide is the river? Not very. We are New Covenant believers that experience trials.

Step 3: What is the principle? Jesus will give Christians strength to endure trials and hardship that come from being a Christian.

Step 4: Does the New Testament change our understanding of an Old Testament text? No

Step 5: Application: We must first meet the criteria of Paul in context. We must be a Christian that is being persecuted because of our faith in Christ, not just typical struggles like working, sports, etc. So the principle applies if we meet the criteria: Jesus will give Christians strength to endure trials and hardship that come from being a Christian. Examples: An unequally yoked Christian that is being treated bad by his or her spouse because of their faith. Being passed over at your job for a promotion because of your faith.

Joel Osteen vs. Paul Washer

Shepherds conference

Praise God! I just signed up for John Macarthur's Pastors Conference on March 3-7th in California. Tim Killillay is also signed up and we are waiting for a few more. Can't wait.

October fest

I met Brent and Mark B. at 5pm to go and share the gospel at October fest at the Fairgrounds in Helena. There wasn't as many people there as we hoped for. The Bull fest, in the building next door, was at 7pm and had a lot more people. We didn't want to pay to get in so we witnessed to all the smokers who came out to smoke.

The awkward group

The first group of people I shared the Gospel with turned awkward. I did some magic tricks to this group of a mom, her daughter, a little girl and a guy in his 40's. After the tricks I swung to the spiritual and asked them if they were Christians. They knew what I was about and they guy rolled his eyes and stormed off. The mom and daughter stayed. I took them through the law and they were convicted and said they would end up Hell. I explained the gospel and then the mom left leaving me awkwardly with the daughter by myself. I wanted to get away from this situation but she was convicted and was asking how God saved me and she was very concerned she was going to Hell. Her boyfriend came over next and put her arm around her. I think he thought I was trying to steal his woman. I explained what we were talking about and then shared the gospel with him. He then realized what I was all about and relaxed. I told them about Calvary Baptist church and they said they would check it out.

As I was talking with this group, Brent jumped right in and talked with a couple that were confused. The guy said he got saved when people laid hands on him. Brent asked if the gospel was presented and they guy said no. They both went on to say their good works would get them to heaven. Brent shared the law and gospel and talked for 20 minutes with them.

Mark B. is very bold and to the point, which I like. He just walks up to people and asked them if they died if they would be in heaven or hell, if they are secure eternally or not. he doesn't waste much time talking small talk, he just jumps right in to the important stuff. Praise God for Mark.

The angry Catholic

I next witnessed to a Catholic couple. They didn't want to talk at first but I did some magic tricks and then took them through the law. They guy was getting fired up. He thought you just had to be a good person and a good Catholic and you would be in heaven. After I took him through the commandments he seen he wasn't good and that made him mad, not convicted. He went on to say the Bible was not God's word and that God would forgive him if he asked. I used the judge analogy and asked if you stole three cars and were standing before the judge and asked him to forgive you, would he? He said no. I explained the justice of God. He then got mad and said, "are you telling me I need to repent?" I said that I didn't know him at all but he did say he broke the commandments. I told him every man that sins should repent and trust in Christ. They left. Throughout the night Brent kept seeing the couple and they guy got more angry until they left. He was convicted and angry. Praise God because the seen was planted.

The Rough and Tough Lot

I did some magic tricks to these three guys drinking beer at a table. They liked the tricks and were open so I went into the Law. Two said they were not Christians and One said he was. They said they didn't know what would happen when they die. I took them through the law and they willing said they would end up in Hell. I explained the way out through Christ and the cross. The one kid was in the military and had all kinds of tattoo's. He explained the meaning of them all and said he killed many people. He also said he has seen many horrible things in his life and didn't believe in God because of the things he saw. He gave the typical argument that if God exists, how could he let horrible things happen. I asked why he blamed it on God and not men. I explained how man is fallen and sinful and they do horrific things and this was all a result of man's disobedience to God. He asked if it was a sin to kill people in the military. I explained just and unjust wars but brought the focus back to his sin against God. I talked with him for quite a while. I gave him a gospel tract and he said he would read it. I explained how God saves someone and that if he left here today and nothing changes then God is not drawing him, but if he leaves here today and feels guilty for his sin and can't get it out of his head then it is a sign God is calling him to repentance and faith in Jesus. He said he feels guilty every day.

The Cops

When I was witnessing, Brent was handing out tracts and sharing the gospel when the organizer of the event and the cops showed up and told him he can't give out tracts. The organizer said this wasn't the place for this and if he continued to do it they would kick us out. Brent told me about this when I was done witnessing. I told him that God was going to teach us to share the gospel without tracts as ice-breakers. I told Brent that they can't stop us from talking to people and Brent agreed. We kept sharing the gospel but the cops followed us everywhere we went. Praise God. It was kind of entertaining more that discouraging. We led the cops all around and it was fun.

The Methodist, Mormon and Catholic

I know this sounds like a joke but we walked over to the bull fest and shared the gospel with some smokers. A Methodist, Mormon and Catholic. I did some tricks and then took them all through the law and gospel. The Methodist and Mormon said they were going to Hell. The Catholic knew the most but was confused. I explained the cross and told them they have a chance to be saved through Christ and the His work on the cross. They seemed convicted but it was hard to tell. Seeds planted.

The Atheist

We walked back over to the bull fest and met the door guy. I did some tricks and asked him if he was a Christian. He said he was an atheist. I told him I could prove God existed and used the building is proof there is a builder analogy. He said he had to go but I gave him a book by Lee Strobel that shares how he, an atheist, who looked into the evidence of Christ and God saved him. He said he would read it.

The drunk

We walked back over to October fest and had the cops follow us around. I started witnessing to a man who was drinking. It turned out he was drinking more than I thought. I took him through the law and he got fired up. I had to calm him down a little by shaking his hand. He told me all these things that happened in his life and that if it wasn't for his daughter he would be an idiot drunk somewhere. He said his daughter was his savior. When I started to comment on that he knew what was coming so he started babbling. He said he had complete peace with God, even though he was getting wasted, was depressed, and miserable. I told him about Calvary Baptist and told him to go.

We were back over at bull fest to witness to the smokers. I did some tricks for two guys and two girls and then went into the gospel. As soon as I mentioned the gospel the two girls stuck up their noses and stormed off. I took the guys through the law and one said he would be in Hell. The girls came back and drug them away.

We were allowed by our gracious God to witness to about 27 people as well as all the tracts we gave out.

Gracious

God is Gracious. I gave away a magic trick to a kid we witnessed to last week. God provided through some anonymous person with a gift certificate, that showed up in the mail, to a magic shop so I could replace the trick and buy more. Praise God for His gracious provision and for that person being obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

The Town and the Cure

One day someone noticed something different about the people in this small town. They were all required to get checked out by the doctors because the doctors felt it was cancer. The people of the town were very skeptical because they felt fine and were happy with themselves. They all reluctantly went but refused to see the results of their tests. The doctors soon found they were right about everyone having cancer. The doctors discovered that they have had this cancer since they were born but this cancer was an incurable form so they had no cure for it at all. The people in the town had a 100% chance of dying from this cancer soon. The doctors excessively worked on finding a cure, but the town’s people went on with their lives believing nothing was wrong with them.

One day a man found a cure for the cancer, he found it was a very simple cure that wasn’t new but has been around forever. He was so excited that he had the cure that would save peoples lives that he started to tell all of the town’s people. The town’s people were very offended at this man because by telling them about the cure he suggested that they had cancer. They were very mad at the man and told him to mind his own business because there was nothing wrong with them. After telling the town the cure and being rejected and chastised each time he was frustrated. He had to think of a way to tell these people about the cure because even though they hated him, he stilled cared for them and wanted them to be cured.

One day he thought of a great idea. He would write the cure for the cancer on a paper and give it to all the people. So he did, he left them at the store and in the mail and everywhere he could in hopes the people would see it and read the cure. He figured if they wouldn’t listen to him they could read the cure at their convenience. To his surprise the people were still very offended because they didn’t think they had cancer. He then realized that they would never accept the cure for the cancer until they actually knew they had cancer. He then wrote on a piece of paper all the symptoms that someone would have if they had this form of cancer and then he wrote the cure. To his great surprise the town’s people still rejected him because even though they knew they had the symptoms they refused to admit they had the cancer. They thought if they believed they were healthy then it was probably true and they wouldn’t have to face the consequences of having cancer.

The man with the cure devoted his whole life to trying to explain to the town’s people that they had cancer and he had the cure and all they had to do was see that they had cancer and take the cure and they would be cured and live. Over time a few people finally seen they had cancer and received the cure and were very grateful that the man tried so fervently to tell them the truth and even more grateful for the cure itself. They thanked him greatly and then went to the rest of the town’s people to tell them the cure. The newly cured town’s people faced the same rejection as the man with the cure. As more time passed people started to die from the cancer, this caused some to look at their own symptoms and receive the cure but still others were too stubborn and prideful to admit they had the cancer. Eventually all the town’s people who never would admit they had the cancer and receive the cure died at a very young age and those who did receive the cure all lived for a long time.

Laboring

We were back at again last night. I met Mike P. and Yoshi in time to catch the crowd leaving the Carroll College football game. We walked to the stadium and onto the field and gave out tracts to the players and fans. We gave out over 100 tracts in about a half hour.

We headed back to my truck meet TJ and to get my Elk tracts because the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation was having their annual banquet at Carroll College. At the truck we talked with a couple guys in their truck. They were outspoken and had almost everything you could have wrong, wrong. We gave them Tracks and TJ gave them a book on the infallibility of the Bible. They like to argue, we talked for a while and then left them. They were more of a distraction than anything.

We stood outside the RMEF banquet and gave out elk tracts as people entered. Everyone thought we were part of the banquet and gladly took the tracts. We eventually ran out but gave out 50 or so. Mike P. tried to give out some regular tracts and the people rejected them and were mad, but they willing took the elk tracts.

We moved downtown. Not much going on. TJ, Mike, and I ran into the homeless guys we see all the time. They know us well but are hardened to the gospel. They called us over and we talked for a while. A new homeless man was with him. I talked for a little while but he got very angry and wasn't up for reasoning so we left.
Yoshi and his friend witnessed to a few people at the walking mall. We moved up to the Cathedral and I gave out some tracts as people were leaving mass. The rest of the crew did the same. We moved back downtown. I shared the gospel with a couple kids sitting outside the bar. They were clueless and just laughed the whole time. The night was over. Not much happened tonight but a lot of seeds were planted. May God alone bring the increase according to His good pleasure and glory.

The Magician

It's Friday night and we are back on the streets. I met Mike P., Brent, and Yoshi at 5:00pm. It seems the more we do this the more resistance we face from the Devil. A few days before and especially the day we are going out to share the gospel, everything that could stop us from going happens. We all made it tonight though. We started out with prayer as we always do and moved towards Carroll College. We seen a few people smoking outside Hardees so I did a few magic tricks for them and started sharing the gospel. The two girls left immediately but one man stayed. I asked him about his tattoos and it turned out he was in a street gang in some other city at one point. I took him through the Law and shared the gospel. He seemed interested. I asked him if he had a Bible, he said he never so I offered to give him one. He gave me his name and address and I told him to look for it in the mail. He promised to read it.

We moved through campus but there were not many people around at all so we moved up to the walking mall. Mike P. and I split off from Yoshi and Brent. We ran into a group of kids and an adult wandering the streets so we shared the gospel with them. The adult was kind of irritated and never wanted us around. I talked mostly with an agnostic. Mike shared the gospel with another kid. All the usual arguments. Seeds planted.

We swung around to the jail and gave some tracts to a few cops and then moved down by the Cathedral and St. Pauls Methodist Church. I found one guy to witness to at the Methodist Church. He was cooking for the church dinner but took a cigarette break. I asked what he thought it took to get to heaven. He looked at me and said, what you don't know. I said I did. He said all it took was love. I asked him why Jesus had to come then. He said as an example and message. I said not to shed His blood on a cross for forgiveness of sins. He was very angry and sarcastic. He also said everyone in the world has a part of God in them. I asked him if he could think of some Bible verses to support his view. He got mad and mocked us. He finished his cig and went back inside. I told him to have a great day.

We moved down to God's love and talked with a guy I know that just got out of jail. He was not at all repentant and he was very angry. Mike P. shared the gospel with him again. We walked back to the church because it was late. We ran into some people in front of the staggering ox. I asked them if they wanted to see a card trick and the one kid was very interested. I did the trick and it blew him away. Turned out he was a magician. We started sharing card tricks and other tricks and had a good conversation. His friends left but he stayed. He wanted to buy my card trick off me for $20 and he put the money down. I told him to wait a minute before I decided. I then took him through the Law and gospel. He was convicted and listened intently. He just got out of prison and was at the pre-release center. Mike P. then chimed in because Mike himself went through the same thing before he was saved. We told him it was not by coincidence that we met him. He agreed and said he would never listen to anyone. The only way to get to him was through magic.

So God, by His Providence, put us together. Mike an ex inmate like Chris and me into tricks like Chris. Praise God. He said he would think about all we told him about the gospel. He was convicted and knew he would be in Hell if he died tonight. I gave him the card trick and let him keep his $20. He thanked us immensely and gave us hugs. Funny how God works. This hardened man that just got out of prison, that has made bad decisions all his life, that has no use for people like us heard the gospel and by the end of the conversation was thanking and hugging us. The gospel is the power of salvation to those who are perishing.

Paul Washer - The Gospel (Wow!!)

A few past witnessing adventures

September 21st, 2009

Mike P. and I met again at 6pm to share the gospel in Helena. We talked with a man smoking a cig by the Lundy shopping center. He said he was a non-practicing Catholic. We find this a lot. He said you had to follow the commandments to get to heaven. I took him through them and he found out he broke them all. He said he would still go to heaven because God is forgiving. I explained the only way was through Christ and what Christ did on the cross. He didn't seem convicted. We left him with a tract. Next we moved over to Carroll College and found a guy to witness to. He had some weird views about God. He thought God was a relationship not really a deity. I took him through the law and gospel. He liked talking but was lost as can be. We gave him a tract and he said he already had several. Turned out, this was the kid TJ witnessed to a while ago. The weird thing about the Catholic Carroll College is that most of the people we talk to are Atheist or Agnostic. I asked the last kid about that and he said that only 40% claimed to be Christians. We actually found more Catholics down town.

We moved to downtown and gave out some tracts. We went up to woman's park and the coffee shop all the kids hang out. In the coffee shop I talked with one of the workers. He said he was a pastors kid. I asked him if he thought the world was in good shape or bad and he said bad. I asked if he thought man was by nature good or bad, he said bad. I asked him what he thought it took to get to heaven and he said to believe. I said in what, he went on for a bit but wouldn't say the name of Jesus. I said it for him. We left him with a tract and went outside.

I started to talk with another kid and Mike disappeared across the street to witness to a bunch of kids. The kid I talked with was a non-practicing Catholic. He thought you needed to be good to get to heaven. I took him through the law and gospel and explained regeneration and stressed the importance of examining himself to see if God gave him a new heart and new desires. He said it made sense but not a lot of conviction.

I looked across the street and saw Mike surrounding a bunch of kids. I could almost see him chewing his gum 100 mph from across the street. He was in a good conversation. I joined in when Mike finished. Turned out there were 3 non-practicing Catholics and a couple that were nothing but lost. We went the law and explained the cross. One of the lost kids developed his theology from the TV show "South Park". We left them with tracts. The Catholics seemed to listen but the other two were happy for us to leave.

We moved to the walking mall and gave out some tracts. Not much going on so we headed back to campus. We ran into a guy by himself that said he grew up Catholic but didn't really believe anymore. I took him through the law and gospel. He had several stumbling blocks that kept him from believing. He questioned me on the inspiration of the Bible. I showed him through Archeology and History that it is inspired, infallible and that it could be trusted without a doubt. He was satisfied and said he never heard that before. We urged him to look into the things of God and get right with Him today. He was convicted and thanked us sincerely for the talk and said no one has ever explained it that clear before. He only understood, though, because of the Holy Spirit quickening him. We gave him a tract and told him where to find a good church.

Carroll College had a sign up that said there was a Bible study so we went to check it out. There was a large number of people showing up. I talked with the preacher and asked him what the gospel was. He explained it perfectly. Praise God! What a refreshing talk after tonight. We couldn't stay but encouraged him and told him we would tell people on campus to show up for his service. We headed back to the truck since it was well after dark.

Mike found a guy at the grocery store and shared the gospel with him for a good length of time. He seemed to be convicted. Praise God. We handed out some more tracts and were done. We were able, by God's grace, to share the gospel with 11 people and gave out plenty of tracts.

September 18th, 2009

Jeremy, Mike H. and I met again for a night of sharing the gospel in Helena. Nothing too exciting happened this time but we got the gospel out. We started at Carroll College and shared the gospel with four kids there. I think we had and agnostic, a protestant and a couple Catholics. The Protestant gave the correct answer to the question, "What does it take to get to heaven?" but the rest missed it by a long shot. We were able to take them all through the law and gospel.

We moved towards downtown and talked to a couple kids at a coffee shop. One was an evolutionist and the other kid was just lost. He had tattoo's all over his arms with Scripture on them. I asked him about them and he said he used to believe it but now doesn't. When I asked him what he thought it took to get to heaven he said to be self-less. I asked him that if all it took to get to heaven was to be self-less then why did Jesus have to come? He said Jesus came to give us an example of self-less. He did admit that Jesus was God though, he just thought he never needed Jesus to get to heaven. They were not humbled by the Law and were very distracted so we left them. We moved up to the Library and saw the street kids. I already witnessed to them before and Mike P. witnessed to them several times and probably TJ as well. They were hardened and like to cuss us out constantly, but there was a few guys I never saw before so we went to them anyway. The one girl with the maroon hair saw me and immediately moved away. The kid had a guitar and played a song for us and then asked for money for vodka. They were all homeless. He was good a the guitar but he dropped the F-bomb throughout the song. I asked them what they thought the purpose of life was. They were clueless. One kid said that God was the table and grass and tree. A pantheist, although he probably never knew the label. He said he did not want to talk about his beliefs. I tried to ask a few more questions but they started singing and playing the guitar really loud and every word in the song was the F-bomb. We left, which was what they wanted.

We moved down by the silver star steakhouse and saw an Indian family (from India) coming out of the restaurant. They had a couple kids with them. I did some magic tricks for the kids and started talking to the parents. They said they were Sik, which is kind of like Hinduism but they believe in one God and that all regions are equal and all paths lead to God. They also believe in reincarnation. I started talking about Truth with them and that there can only logically be one truth but the lady didn't want to talk about it. I left them with a tract.

We moved back town to campus and we found one atheist that was nice, unlike the last several groups we ran into. I was at least able to convince this kid into being an agnostic instead of an atheist. We had a good talk and I took him through the law and his phone kept ringing and he said he had to go. We left him with tracts. We were able, by the grace of God, to witness to 9 people and give out a pile of tracts. Praise God.

September 12th, 2009

I met Mike P. and we were off to Boulder to an music and art festival to share the gospel. There wasn't a lot going on, maybe 50-60 people, mostly families. We gave out some tracts and walked down town and met a few men coming from the bar. They had been drinking for a while but I don't think they were drunk. I did a card trick for them and then asked if they were Christians. One of the guy's left and the other stuck around. He said he wasn't and that he grew up in a cult. I took him through the Law and shared the gospel. He said he didn't mind going to Hell if that is where God would send him. That is until I explained what Hell would be like, then he changed his mind. He wasn't too convicted though so we left him with a tract.

We headed back to Helena because there was a lot of people out. We parked at Mike's church and walked over to the Staggering Ox and found some kids to witness to. They were agnostic. I took them through the Law and shared the gospel. One kid had questions, which I answered but he wasn't convicted. Seed was planted. We moved to Carroll College an we found one guy to witness to. He said he was a Christian. I asked him what it took to get to heaven and he said to keep the commandments. I took him through the commandments to see how he was doing on his path to heaven. He broke them all and said God would find him guilty and he would end up in Hell. I shared the gospel with him and explained regeneration. I stressed that if he was saved he would have a new heart and new desires. I told him to examine himself to see if he was in the faith. He said he would. I told him to read the gospel of John. He thanked us and we left.

We weren't prepared for what happened next. I did a few tricks for a couple kids on campus, and they liked it so they called in some of their friends that were walking by. I went into the law and as soon has I mentioned Christ their attitude changed. They were very defensive and went into all the usual arguments. They were all agnostics. We argued over evolution very heavy as well as the crusades and back to science, then into the justice and love of God. They were throwing out all kinds of straw men to us. It got very heated. There is a fine line between a good witness encounter and getting punched sometimes and we were balancing on this line. We debated for 30 minutes very intensely. Every time I tried to bring it back to the cross they would bring up science or carbon dating or the guy in Africa that never heard of Jesus or people are starving. One kid was so fired up he was spouting off that Christians were messed up because we need to all unite and feed the poor. God doesn't matter. The conversation was going no where so I shook their hands and thanked them for the conversation and they grudgedly shook back. This wore us out mentally and spiritually.

We moved back to the church and met our friends Brent and TJ. We prayed and renewed our mind in the Scripture and then headed back out. We decided to avoid the campus and head downtown. We hit the park by the civic center, where all the kids hang out. Brent and TJ took a group of kids and Mike P. and I took another. We witnessed a little but it was the same group Mike witnessed to earlier that day. We were waiting for about 15-20 minutes so we decided to go find TJ and Brent. We walked up the hill and saw that TJ had a big group of kids huddled around and he was preaching the gospel to them. They were very heated and it almost look like they would stone him. We joined in. There were a bunch of Atheist's there firing questions at TJ. I decided to let TJ handle this. One of the Atheist's asked a question while TJ was busy answering another so I piped out the answer. The next thing I knew the group of Atheist's jumped me. They fired off four questions at a time. They were fired up and ready to fight over this subject. When I told the one Atheist that he wasn't smart enough to be an atheist the crowd erupted and we were on that fine line between good witnessing and violence. Like John Wesley said, "When the gospel is preached, people should be getting mad or converted." Well we never saw conversion but we saw people get mad. At one point I had to settle the crowd down. I stopped and shook their hands and introduced my self and said I was enjoyng the conversation and it is good to discuss these things. They agreed and settled down being less obnoxious. We argued into the night. When ever I brought up Christ they changed the subject to science. They wouldn't believe there was a God. I even used the building is proof there is a builder analogy and they wouldn't even admit that. We got into mathematics, defining truth, proof that the bible is inspired and the translation of different manuscripts, Macro and Micro evolution, logic and many other subjects. We debated for hours until 9pm. I ended the conversation and asked if they were hungry and offered to buy them pizza. They agreed but later decided they better get home. They were all interested in science vs. the bible resources so they all gave me their email address so I could send them some info. This entire time TJ, Brent, and Mike P. were debating other groups of kids.

Lot of seeds planted. Praise God. We were able to share the gospel with about 22 people this day.

September 11th, 2009

We had an interesting night of sharing the gospel. God brought TJ together with Jeremy and I. We started at Carroll College and shared the gospel with a couple people. The campus seemed dead so we moved up to the walking mall. I shared the gospel with a couple groups of kids at the movie theater. There was a few in each group that were convicted. All said they would be in Hell if they died tonight. One girl in particular was convicted. She said she has always been afraid to die and she knew if she died tonight she would be in Hell. I shared the hope we have in Christ and that He offers a way out to those who believe. I explained the gospel and asked when she would get right with God and she said soon. We left her with a call for urgency and it seemed like she was being drawn but only time will tell.

We moved up to the walking mall. TJ shared the gospel with three little kids. We moved up to the jail and ran into a weird guy that said he was a Christian but what he did at night was walk around and tell kids scary stories. He didn’t want to talk about Christ.

We got to the St. Johns Library for the Buddhist meeting. There was some famous Buddhist lady in town that was teaching on Buddhism. We got to the meeting late with only ½ hour remaining. Just in time for question and answers. There was about a dozen people there being taught by the guru. The first question I asked was referring to the morality of the eight fold path. I asked who determines what morality is. She responded that we all agree on some things. I responded by questioning that morality is determined by a group of people and she said it is really inside you. I then said It seems to me if there is a moral law inside of us that there must be a moral law giver. They all laughed but couldn’t answer the question. The lady then started talking about Karma and cause and effect. TJ asked her if the cause has always been there. She said yes but didn’t know what the cause was. We do, it is God.

I asked several other questions as they came up like: Is there absolute truth? And what is truth? They said I was not asking the right question and that absolute truth means something else. Then I asked if anyone has ever achieved Nirvana (a Buddhist belief that through countless cycles of reincarnation a man gets to be morally perfect and loses all desire and attachment to anything which brings them to a state of Nirvana, which is bliss or non-existence). They said that people have attained this. I said it was hard to believe that someone has gone their entire life without telling a lie or thinking a covetous thought. One guy was irritated at me and said that I was missing the point. I then asked if Nirvana was achieved by losing all desire, does the Dali Lama desire for Tibet to be free? She stumbled around that one like crazy and somehow justified desiring some things.

They decided to end the meeting. We all had to stand up and show glory and honor to the holy one and repeat a prayer after the lady about the four noble truths. We of course never did it. We never stood but sat and prayed to the only True God, our God, to open eyes to the truth. After it was ended some people left. TJ immediately started sharing the gospel with the lady in front of us. I went to the guru and told her I was a Christian and came to learn about Buddhism vs. Christianity. She said they were almost the same. She talked about the moral principles. I asked her if she agreed with Jesus when He said that He was the Way the Truth and the Life and that no one comes to the Father but through Him. She said He was a good man and a good Buddhist. I said He was God. She said she disagreed with Jesus on that point. I told her the Bible says it is appointed for a man to die once then the judgment, so there is no reincarnation. She disagreed with that too. I told her according to Jesus all those who don’t follow Him will be in Hell for eternity. She disagreed. So Christianity and Buddhism have nothing in common.

I had a good talk with an ex-Catholic minister that was no getting into Buddhism. I explained the law and gospel to him. He said the Bible was misinterpreted. I showed him it was inspired by God because of all the manuscripts we have for the New and Old Testaments as well as through history, science, and archeology. It seemed like he was convicted. We left the meeting and went back down town. TJ shared the gospel with some kids at an ice cream shop.
We got back to the cars at about 10 pm. Praise God, we were able, by God’s grace, to share the gospel with about 16 people one on one as well as give out plenty of tracts.

September 9th, 2009

I assumed the man was lost when I met him today because of his cussing and the fact that he had enough hard liquor in his house to supply several bars in town. I asked if he was a Christian and he said kind of. I asked him what he thought it took to get to heaven and he said to love your neighbor as yourself. I have heard this many times usually from Catholics. I asked him if he thought that anyone in the world has done this. He said only one, Jesus. So I took him through the commandments and he told me he broke them all many times. He said he would be in heaven though because God is forgiving. I explained the justice of God and he said that heaven would be empty. I then explained the cross. It seemed to make sense. He asked me a few questions that I have heard a hundred times. He asked about a man on an island that never heard of Jesus. I answered the question and he seemed to be satisfied. He then told me he was a devout Catholic. I said I also grew up Catholic. We talked about the church but I explained again the importance of Jesus and His substitution on the cross. We had a good talk. Seed planted.

Monday, August 31st, 2009

We met in Helena at about 6:00 pm. Six men were ready to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the gospel. We started at Carroll College. The University is usually a good place to start up deep conversations about God. Even though it is a Catholic College the majority of people there are agnostic or lost in some other form of religion. We split up in groups of two and would meet up later. Brent and I would be in a group. We found two kids walking across campus so I started up a conversation with them. They were both agnostic. We went through the law and gospel but they were not convinced. They admitted they would be going to Hell if the Bible was true but they didn’t want to believe the Bible was true so they never cared. I said that if I jumped off the campus building and didn’t believe in gravity I would still fall and die. So your belief in something doesn’t negate reality. They still weren’t convicted so we ended. They shook our hands and thanked us. We left them with tracts and moved on.

We met three more kids. One was Catholic, one said he was a Christian and one was agnostic. They were, however, all lost. The Catholic thought everyone would be in heaven even Hitler, the “Christian” thought you had to be good to get to heaven and the agnostic didn’t believe in heaven. I took them through the commandments and they admitted to breaking them all. I shared the good news of the gospel but they hardened their hearts. They did thank us, however, and shook our hands. We left them with tracts.

We met back with the others. Mike H. and Mark were able, by God’s grace to witness to six people. One lady was interested and they invited her to Bible study. Mike and Yoshi found a Russian and got into a debate for the entire time. Mike and I decided to continue sharing the gospel after the others had to leave. We walked up to the walking mall and found two homeless men who had heard it all before. We shared the gospel anyway and explained our motives. I asked them if they found the cure to cancer would they tell everyone they could. They said they would. I said that we have the cure to death and we want everyone to know before they are dead.

We moved up to the Cathedral but no one was around so we headed back to campus. We found two kids leaving the food court. They were both Catholic and thought you had to keep the commandments to get to heaven. I took them through the Law and they trembled and said they broke them all. At first they were joking around and then they were heavily convicted. They had a few objections but I answered them. I explained that 10 out of 10 die and they couldn’t escape death. They knew if they died tonight they would be in Hell. The Holy Spirit was convicting them. I shared what Jesus did on the cross and the penalty He paid for their sin. The good news made sense to them. We left them with tracts and left them with God. We will let God save them, since He is the only one that can anyway. Praise God. We ended the night with great zeal.

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

My family, Tim K. and his family, Jay and his son, met Mike and Yoshi at the Library to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Mike, Yoshi, and I shared the gospel with some "street kids", as I call them anyway. They are the typical kids, most of which live on the street or with friends, that present themselves as non-conformists to the world. You recognize them by their dyed hair, tattoo's, piercings all over and wearing all black clothes. They were all agnostic. Some were made at us and called us all kinds of names, as usual. Some were open to talking. They heard the law and gospel but didn't care. A crazy distraction from the devil did happen at this time. We were sharing what Jesus did on the cross when all of a sudden a 10 year old (I'm guessing) came flying out of the bushes with a fake sword screaming at the top of his lungs like he was shot. He ran through the park hysterical. Everyone was distracted and went to see what the deal was. Turned out the kid just got stung by a bee! Ah, the devils schemes. We moved down the walking mall and I shared the gospel with four kids about 15 years old. They all said they were going to Hell after we went through the law but it didn't seem like there was a lot of conviction. Shared the gospel and left them with tracts. Later we saw them again at Starbucks so I stopped in and talked with them some more. They had four or so more friends with them now. Some were mocking and others had questions. I answered their questions and stirred them up a little to provoke good conversation. I shared the gospel with the 8 or 9 kids in the middle of Starbucks while the rest of the occupants watched on. Praise God. We left them with tracts.