Posts Tagged "Evangelism"
Rich and Poor
About 10 days ago I spoke at an International Carol Service… a traditional English Carol Service put on for the local international students with an evangelistic message.
I spoke on 2 Corinthians 8:9 - “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich”
- Jesus was rich before His birth, but chose to became poor
- We are poor and need to become rich
- Jesus became poor so that we might become rich
Points shamelessly stolen from Christopher Ash, but the talk is mine.
Read MoreJars of Clay
Apparently Ben Southall has “The Best Job in the World”… he’s the guy who is the caretaker of a tropical island off the coast of Australia. But the Apostle Paul would beg to differ… clearly the ministry of reconciliation, of bringing God’s New Covenant, the good news about Jesus to the world is the best job ever!
That’s the back drop for 2 Corinthians 4… where we get God shining light in people’s hearts and using weak people (clay pots) to do his work.
I spoke on this passage a couple of weeks ago, bit of a last minute .com job for Kingston CU who hadn’t got a weekend away speaker.
Talk notes here (pdf)
Read MoreDavid Short on the Resurrection
David Short
Last month I was at the Evangelists Conference at All Souls – you can now download the talks!
David Short was unable to make it due to Anglican rumblings in Canada, but hi5 s brother-in-law (I think), Simon Manchester shared 5 thoughts about the resurrection from David:
- The Resurrection is Central in Preaching (see Acts)
- The Resurrection is primarily about Jesus, not us
- The Resurrection is the point at which Jesus transfers his mission to the church
- The Resurrection hinges on belief in the scriptures
- The Resurrection cannot be grasped or refused without serious consequences
3 Big Blockers
Went to Cornhill today, first day of term, pretty excited. Sat next to a guy who’s just done 8 years of prison ministry at Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town, as seen on Ross Kemp on gangs… pretty cool! The guy on the other side was from Bedford where I grew up… small world!
Anyway… I got home early, so popped to a barbers near Brighton station – hair was a serious mess! Having hair cut, by a girl, mid-twenties probably… and we got talking about the gospel… people always ask about work, so working for a church is a great conversation starter (also a conversation killer!). We only had about 5 mins to talk… but three big blockers (as Tim Keller calls them) came up…
- I work for a church… oh I’m not religious
- Do you believe in God?… oh no, I believe we’re here because of evolution
- I believe Jesus says and does what only God can do (and proves it)… ok, but how do I know he’s the right God, there’s so many out there
It was clear that there was unfounded prejudice about Christian beliefs, a narrow-mindedness to look into the evidence, but I think deep down a desire to know the truth. Good chat. Same issues always come up don’t they, nothing new under the sun…
Read MoreServe/Win, Run/Win
Last night I had the privilege to preach my first ‘proper’ sermon… when I say ‘proper’ I mean at a main church service – the 8am communions with a congregation of 10 is a little bit different. I got to speak on 1 Corinthians 9, but choose to just look at verses 19-27. I put a shirt on for the occasion, but kept my un-ironed jeans and dirty trainers on… it’s all about becoming all things to all men… to the people who wear scruffy jeans I became like one who wears scruffy jeans!
I titled the sermon ‘Freed to Serve’… but have since changed it to ‘Serve/Win, Run/Win’… because I can.
You can listen to the audio here…
…and my preaching notes – maybe Josh Harris could add it to his preachers notes series… maybe not
Two points:
- Serve to Win
- Run to Win
Q: How do we live as Christians in Brighton & Hove?
A: We run, and we do everything we can to win others on the way!
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