One of my favorite ways to explain the gospel is state how the Father communicates a resounding “yes” and “no” to us through His Son Jesus Christ. The “Yes” “Yes” is shorthand for a longer, amazing thought: “Yes, God loves you.” John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only… Read More »
In John 4:5–42, we have two examples of evangelism—one in Jesus and the other in the Samaritan woman. She invited others to meet Jesus, they came, and many believed in Him. However, what follows below are five practical points for evangelism from looking at Jesus Himself in His example of giving the truth to the… Read More »
Jesus encouraged Paul in Corinth, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people” (Acts 18:9–10). These words are encouraging to us today as well, giving… Read More »
If you had the opportunity to give the gospel to only twenty people, who would be on your list? Who would be “first place” on your list of hopefuls for salvation? Please don’t misunderstand—I am not advocating giving the gospel to only those who you like or those who are like you. Such a narrow… Read More »
In Mark 6:4, Jesus is rejected by His listeners in Nazareth and quotes the well-known proverb: “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” Notice how He specifies three groups and narrows the group each time―hometown, relatives, and household. Jesus knew what it was… Read More »
We have a guest speaker this Sunday at my church. He’ll be preaching from 1 Thessalonians 1, and this is a blurb I’ve pulled from my dissertation and added to our bulletin to complement his sermon. Paul reminded to the Thessalonians that “our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power… Read More »
In NT times, tax collectors were assumed to be unbelievers (cf. Matt 5:26; 18:17) and were associated with “prostitutes” and “sinners” (Matt 21:31–32; Mark 2:15; Luke 15:1). Extra-biblical literature likewise associates them with “robbers” and “brothel-keepers.”1 It was scripturally noteworthy that tax collectors could be so sinful and yet believe the gospel (Luke 3:12; 7:29; 18:10–14).2… Read More »
More than anything, I wish I could simply share my faith with others all day long. I wish they could come to Christ as a result. Everywhere I go in this lost and dying world, I immediately see people through the filter of whether they know Christ or not. There are so many people who… Read More »
For my installation service at my present church, I covenanted with the church, among other things, that I would do the work of an evangelist. Two primary tasks that bartered for my attention for the past year along these lines were getting to know the folks in my church and finishing my PhD. I know our folks… Read More »
Paul spent two years in Ephesus “reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus” (Acts 19:9). A few manuscripts add “from the fifth hour to the tenth,” which would have been from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Even if this addition was not part of the original text, it likely served as a commentary for when… Read More »