Newsletter

As most of you know by now, because I tell you every time Christmas comes around, Luke 2:11 is one of my favorite verses regardless of the season. This year I would like to share with you the verses that come before that verse. Luke 2:8-10 says, “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
I once heard a preacher ask the question, after reading those verses, “Why do you think the first people to hear about Christ birth were a bunch of lowly shepherds?” Well, the Bible does not answer that question for us. Although the Bible is silent in regard to that question, I told the preacher after class that, in my opinion, it was because Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. When John the Baptist saw Christ coming to be baptized in John 1:29 he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” Jesus is often referred to as the Lamb throughout scripture, so what better people to be the first to hear about His birth than shepherds who take care of lambs.

Take some time this season to thank God for providing a worthy sacrifice for your sins. (Rev. 5:12) For without the sacrifice of that spotless Lamb, none of us could stand in the face of a Holy God.     

Newsletter

    A couple of weekends ago we went up to Sugarland’s Visitor Center to give out tracts and share the gospel. We had a great time. The weather was good, and we saw a lot of people. We had the privilege to hand out about 700 tracts. We also had a chance to talk to several people who slowed down long enough to talk with us. Please pray for the people who took the tracts, and the ones who had questions. We never know what God is going to do in the lives of the people who take our tracts.

Encounters

A couple of weeks ago we were at the mall and met a young man named DeAndre. He shared with us that he had been in prison and while there “had a dream about hell.” He was very open to hearing the Gospel and listened to what we had to say very closely. We had the privilege to share the Gospel with him and were able to give him a Bible, tracts, a DVD, and my business card to get in touch with me later. Please pray for him that God would grant him saving grace.

Newsletter

We will be going to the Sugarland’s Visitor Center again. This will be our third trip up there. This is a great trip. The weather and the leaves have always been beautiful. We will be going on October 20th.  Mark your calendars and plan on joining us this year. This is a great event for those who would like to try their hand at evangelism for the first time. The people are friendly, and most, if not all, people take a tract and keep on walking. Let me know if you plan on coming, and I will give you more details. Please pray for us and the people who will receive the tracts.

Encounters

  We had a great time at the U.T. vs. Florida football game this last Saturday. We had the privilege to hand out close to 1,700 gospel tracts, which is a record for us at a football game. We had several people come by to give us support and encouragement. Please pray for all of the people who took the tracts, that God would grant them saving grace.

Newsletter

I am excited to announce that the new website that I have been working on is finally up. It is more interactive and has more videos. Also, it has more information about Words of Life. The URL will remain the same. It is wordsoflife4u.com. Go by and check it out. Let me know what you think, and give suggestions to improve the website.

We will also be going to the U.T. vs. Florida game this coming Saturday. We meet a couple of hours before the game starts and leave before kick-off. This is a great first time event to go to. If you have never given out gospel tracts, this is a very non-threatening way to experience evangelism. Let me know if you would like to go, and I will give you more information. 

Evangelism Needs

   We have had a great year this year! We have been to the U.T campus, the Water Angel’s Ministry, and the mall. We are planning trips to the Sugarland’s Visitor Center and some U.T. football games this Fall. We are also about to reach another milestone in giving out our Gospel tracts. We are  close to giving out 20,000 Gospel tracts in our own backyard of East Tennessee. That is a lot of “seeds planted”! Thanks be to God!

   None of this would have been possible without the support and gifts you have provided over the years. Once again, we need your financial help. You may not feel led to come out with us. By giving a gift to the ministry, it is as if you were there with us. Your giving makes it possible for us to go, so you play a huge part in the ministry by giving.

Please begin now to pray about your gift to the ministry. Maybe you could give monthly, quarterly, a one time gift, as a Sunday School Class, or as a corporate sponsor through your company. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit, so all gifts are tax deductible, and legal receipts are provided. Would you help us reach the lost here in East Tennessee? We cannot go without your help. Thanks for making this a matter of prayer.  

Newsletter

We have two opportunities this week to share the Gospel and minister to the community. The first opportunity is this Thursday night at the mall. We will be sharing the Gospel. Our second opportunity is this Saturday the 11th. We will be working with The Water Angel Ministry thewaterangels.com during their “Back to School Party”.  They do a great job helping the homeless in our community. We will be on site to share the Gospel and counsel with anyone who comes over to our tent. If you would like to be a part of either one or both of these events, please let me know before then. If you can’t make it out, please pray for the people going and the people who will hear the Gospel.

Evangelism

Are you saved? We ask that question a lot, or we ask it about other people. Is he or she saved? Let me ask you, what does that question mean. “Are you saved?” What exactly are you saved from? Some might say, “I’m saved from sin, hell, wondering through life, etc…” How would you answer that question? The Bible gives us an answer that might surprise you. The Bible says we are “saved from God.” In Romans 5:9 it says, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.” When we say we are saved, what we are saying is “we are saved from God” and the wrath we deserved.

 The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:3 that we were by nature “children of wrath.” One of the greatest verses in all of the Bible follows it. In verse 4 it says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in or trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved.” Take some time this week and thank God for saving you from the wrath to come. Rejoice in the fact that you are no longer an enemy of God and a child of wrath, but a friend of God.

Encounters

            A few of weeks ago we were at the mall and had the privilege to share the gospel with at least 8 young men. They were between the ages of 13-15 years old. Some of them said that they went to church. One of them said that his dad was a missionary. Most, if not all of them, said that they were lost, after we spoke with them. One of the mothers walked up as we were talking with her son and said, “Thank you for sharing with them, they need to hear that.” Some of their names are Rob, Cameron, Zack, Chris, Parker, and Travis. Please pray for all of these young men that God would grant them saving grace.
  

Encounters

This past Thursday night (4-12-12) at the mall, we had the privilege to talk to two young men from Powell, TN.  Both of these young men, Andy and David, said they went to church and thought they were saved. Ed and I spoke to both of them about the holiness of God and His righteous standards to enter heaven. We also talked about how we all fall so miserably short of that standard. They both listened to what we told them and began to examine their own lives. They took some tracts and DVD’s to watch later that night. Please pray for these young men Andy and David that God would grant them saving grace.

Encounters

 We had the privilege to go to the University of Tennessee on April 3rd to share the gospel and hand out tracts. Once again, we partnered with Lighting the Way Ministries. We handed out over 1,000 gospel tracts on campus and spoke with a few students who would stop. We all had a great time! Please pray for the students who took the tracts and both of the ministries that were there, Lighting the Way and Words of Life.

Newsletter

Would you like to share the Gospel more? Do you feel intimidated, scared, fearful of what to say, or inadequate? If you answered yes to any of those reasons or have your own reasons, then we have the perfect class for you. I am excited to announce that we will be starting a free Evangelism Training Class in late March. The class will be open to men, women, couples, singles, high school, and college age adults. The class will give you 4 easy steps to share the Gospel with anybody you meet. The 4 steps are a great “track to run on” when sharing the Gospel with friends, family, co-workers, and strangers. I have been using this method (biblical evangelism) myself for years now in public with people from all walks of life and religious backgrounds. I have also used this method with my family, and it works. Please begin now to pray about joining us. This class is not about going out into the public arena with us (unless you feel led to). This is simply an opportunity for you to equip yourself with the Gospel message to use as God directs you within your circle of influence. We will meet at First Baptist Concord on the last Thursday night of each month starting in March. I will be sending out more details later. If you are interested, please let me know ASAP so we can plan on you being there. 

Encounters

A few weeks ago, we were at the mall. Ed and Robert stopped a young man named Keith and had the privilege to share the Gospel with him at great length. He was very open and honest about his standing before God. He said he was lost and was concerned about going to hell. While they were sharing with him, his girlfriend Brittany walked up, and they shared the gospel with her also. Please be in prayer for both of them that God would grant them saving grace.  

Newsletter

I think one of the greatest motivations for sharing the gospel is that there is a place called Hell. I say to people, “if there is a Heaven, then there must be a Hell.” Warning people of the terror and wrath of God to come is to me a great motivation to tell people, not only of the wrath of God, but His great love for them in sending His Son. I think 2 Corinthians 5:11 says it best, “ Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men….”  In Romans 2:5 we read, “But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”  The last verse I read before I came to faith in Christ was Hebrews 10:31 that says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Knowing that God is Holy, and Righteous, and would one day judge me, I repented of my sins and came to faith in Christ. The bible tells us why men do not come to Christ. Romans 3:18 says, “ There is no fear of God before their eyes.” I think people must know of the “wrath to come” before they will ever flee to the safety of the Savior. Without the fear of the Lord, the “good news” of the gospel is just news to them.

Newsletter

I hope everyone is having a good New Year so far. If you have not chosen a devotional book to read this year, I would like to suggest the one I will be using. The book that I’ve chosen is At the Throne of Grace A Book of Prayers by John MacArthur. This is a great book not only on prayer, but a good study of the Word of God. Please pray for the ministry as we start a new year serving the Lord and your possible involvement with the ministry. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to go out and share the gospel this year. We will also be starting a new class to teach people how to share the gospel in a non-threatening way, and to know what you believe and why you believe it. I am excited about this coming year and look forward to all that God is going to do!