Friday night we did our PIE (Pizza, Intercession, Evangelism) ministry. We ventured to the Riverside Plaza for the third straight week. This week we had several good conversations and passed out hundred's of gospel tracts. There was a big presence of people doing street evangelism at the Route 66 Car Show so we wanted to make sure there was a presence in our city. I consider the Riverside Plaza (and any other place we go in Riverside) our home turf. It is great too give away our church information card and know that the people I am giving it to are legitimately close enough to come visit our church should they repent and put their faith in the gospel (or just want to investigate Christianity some more). The card includes our service times, our address, a map, our phone number, and the church website address. The first group of guys (in their mid to late 20's) were from various backgrounds (Catholic, Christian, "nothing"). They admitted to breaking God's laws (lying, stealing, sex outside of marriage, using the name of Jesus as a cuss word (instead of as Lord and Savior), disobeying their parents, and committing the sin of idolatry (through praying to the virgin Mary, praying to saints, putting things (idols) before God. They admitted that God would find them guilty if He judged them by that standard. But all of them said they would still be headed for heaven (some had no reason why while one said "God forgives everyone"). I was able to use a good illustration about how if we break the laws here in America we will be found guilty and be sentenced as punishment for our crimes (even if the judge is forgiving, the judge must uphold justice). That made sense to them. When I asked them if it concerned them that if they died in their sin that they wouldn't be headed for heaven but for hell, they replied that it did. I was able to share the exclusive good news that Jesus died on the cross for their sin, was buried, and rose again on the 3rd day. I told them that their response needs to be a faith based response (repentance & trust in Christ). They had some questions about why praying to the virgin Mary was wrong. One of the guys, Santiago, asked "how do you know they didn't pray to Mary in the early church?". That was a great question and I was happy to share with him that God gave us a recording in the Bible of what the early church did. I encouraged him to read the book of Acts when he got home. In the book of Acts we see how the church started, what spiritual disciplines they practiced, and what they believed. There were other great conversations and we are hopeful that the seed that we were able to plant will be watered either by us or by another believer (I gave them all our church info card).
Saturday we were able to relax in the morning (I watched a little bit of a college football game) before heading out to Olive Garden for Nicole's family birthday celebration. Her birthday was a few weeks ago, but her family likes to have their celebratory meal in conjunction with her sister Shannon's birthday at the same time (Shannon is born on the 22nd). I got the never-ending pasta bowl (a pretty good deal - it is 9 bucks for all you can eat soup, pasta, and bread sticks). I like getting the 5-cheese sauce with angel hair pasta. After the meal we drove up the mountain to Big Bear. Saturday night and Sunday the First Baptist Church of Big Bear Lake was putting on their missions conference. Last year we went and had a great time. We met an awesome married couple, Nathan and Laura, last year (they were up there again this year) and got to hear some great testimonies of what God is doing around the world. This year was a little different. A guess pastor preached a pretty good sermon on the importance of not forgetting our marching orders (we are ambassadors for Christ with the ministry of reconciliation). We got to see the different tables set up by the missionaries. The lady at the Wycliffe table remembered us from the year before (she knew Nicole's name still and remembered that we were both teachers) and asked us to look into becoming teachers for Wycliffe. I think Nicole would rather teach the people we are trying to reach than to teach at a school solely for the children of missionary. I think if they had a mix of missionary children with the people we were wanting to reach that it would be an option to consider. Of course we saw Nathan and Laura (along with their 4 children) up there. They are a great encouragement to us! It was too bad that we didn't have much time to spend with them (other than chatting sporadically before and after the 2 sessions we went to). My mom got to share about what she did in Haiti the past two summers. Samaritan's Purse is a great ministry that reaches out to the world in many ways (medical missions, social justice, and operation Christmas child boxes) and I like that they state that their social outreach is meaningless if they don't share the gospel. Only the gospel has the power to change people's lives permanently (they have a right standing with God through faith in the gospel).
Sunday started with my mom treating Nicole and I to a breakfast at the Teddy Bear restaurant. I got French Toast, Nicole got a waffle with eggs/bacon, and my mom got chicken friend streak with eggs and biscuits. It was a tasty way to start the day! We got to hear about what God is doing through the Friends of Israel mission organization both here in Los Angeles (through Nathan & Laura) as well as what He is doing through Waldemar's (I forget his last name) family in Poland. We were disappointed to hear that the passport portion of their conference wasn't going to start until after lunch on Sunday which meant that we wouldn't be able to take part in it. I had to be back down the mountain in time to finish my homework for the class on world missions I am taking Sunday evenings for the next several months (not to mention driving out there since the class is in Tustin near Costa Mesa). Upon getting home around noon I ate lunch and watched the USC game I had recorded (the game only took an hour to watch when you cut out the 2 hours of commercials) before spending a few hours doing my homework. Then in the evening I ventured out to Orange County for the Perspectives on the Worldwide Christian Movement class. It was great to hear from a missionary to Turkey as he taught us about "The Story of God's Glory" which is weaved throughout the whole Bible. Though I am tired this morning from having stayed out so late (the class ends at 9:30 p.m. in Orange County....I got home just before 11 after all the carpooling stops) it is worth it to delve into the Bible and hear the testimonies of what God is doing around the world (last week we heard about activity in Africa and South America).
So that is my recap of a busy weekend. Hope you have a great day!
-Fei
No comments:
Post a Comment