I joined my pastor and John (holding my cross), an elder from church, for open air at Lakewood Park for open air. Please excuse the poor visual quality- it is taken from a frame of the video. After my pastor read from Scripture and went through the Law and Gospel, I read "Are You Really a Christian?" that I wrote for our church website. After this, John and I went to the sidewalk in front of Madison Park to distribute tracts.
I love handing out tracts with John. He has so much energy and a great desire to reach the lost.
Today was the first day I was recording with my digital audio recorder. I bought a cheap one on eBay just to have as a precaution in case there is ever a dispute of what was said on the street.
As I was putting my camera back in the car, John starting having a conversation with a man named Steve. John invited me over and I asked Steve if he would consider himself to be a good person. He said, "Yes, sir," at which point I asked him if I could ask him a few questions to see if that was true.
I asked him if he had ever told a lie. He said no. After some prodding, he admitted to telling maybe a white lie. John asked him what that makes him, and he said, "Bad." John asked him what he would call John had told him a lie. "It starts with L." The man says "sinner." John replies, "An L!" (exclamation on the L). He finally says liar.
I ask Steve if he has ever stolen anything. He says no and continues to explain how he was wrongly accused of stealing something by someone. I move on.
Have you ever used the Lord's name in vain? "No. Never."
Have you ever disobeyed your parents? "No. My parents would have would have beat my butt!"
John asked him if he has ever lusted- he finally says, "Heck, yea." John explains this is adultery in the heart.
John told him he has broken some of the commandments of God. John asks him, on the Day of Judgment, if he would be innocent or guilty before God. Steve says innocent. John asks him, "Why's that?" Steve said "Because, I'm a good person."
John tells him that he has now broken the second commandment- creating a god to his own image. John gives him the analogy of being in a court room and having broken six laws, what is Steve going to say. He says, "That I'm a good person."
John told him that a good judge will make him pay the penalty for his guilt, at which point Steve says he has to go.
Next was Carl. Carl told us he had recently been in jail and was out of work. John tried giving him some advice on where to find work. When John brought up the topic of Jesus Christ, Carl appeared to want to have nothing to do with it. When John offered to pray for him, though, he quickly folded his hands and John prayed for him.
John left me around 1:35, and I stayed at this location with my cross for about another two hours. A little while later, a young man rode past me on his bike and asked me what the cross meant. I motioned to him to come back. He stopped his bike, turned around, and came back. I took him through the law and he admitted he was guilty and he was headed for hell. I asked him if that concerned him, and he said it did. I asked him if he knew what God had done for him so he wouldn't have to go to hell. He said he did not.
I explained the gospel and the meaning of the cross and gave him a gospel tract. I was able to tie in how the church across the street had the name "Grace" incorporated into it. He said he had been to a Catholic church when he was younger when I asked him about a Christian background. I told him to read over the gospel tract, as it goes over what we talked about.
Another man who I gave a gospel tract to asked me if what I had given him was Christian or Jehovah's Witness. I assured him it was Christian. School has just started and I my cross was clearly visible to a lot of students walking home. John handed out about 15 tracts and I handed out about 25 tracts today.
My pastor is heading up an Evangelism Boot Camp (at which John is speaking) this weekend and we should have the audio available on the church website soon after it is finished.
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