Witnessing in Ann Arbor tonight

We will be in Ann Arbor this evening preaching the Gospel. Please pray for us, join us, or come heckle us. Either way. We'll be there somewhere.

email me james_At_[deliver][detroit][dot][com]

Resources page updated

Added some additional links to the resource page. Hope to add more soon. If you know of some free resources to help other brothers and sisters grow in their understanding of the Scriptures, and walking with the Lord please feel free to comment and I will consider them for addition to the resource page.

Resources -

Added,

eStudySource. This site provides premium resources for the e-Sword - Here

e-Sword users has a plethora of free tools add-on's and hard to find commentaries to add to your e-Sword toolbox. - Here


Bill Mounce has a number of resources ranging from flash summaries, video lectures, iPod downloads, and study guides. Most of these correlate with Mounces Basics of Biblical Greek textbook and workbook. Either way, it is very helpful - Here

Coming up Methodist: Gods wonderful plan

“God has a plan for you, to give you a future and a hope,” belted an older bearded man from the window of a black Buick Reatta cruising past as I stood on the concrete stairway of the First United Methodist Church smoking a cigarette waiting to go into the afternoon Narcotics Anonymous meeting. As I finished smoking my cigarette and watched the tail lights of the Buick cruise off into the distance, and I thought, “weird!” I was provoked to think of “Gods plan” and went in for my daily dose of Narcotics Anonymous.

Recently coming off of a seven year hiatus from reality, my life had been halted in its tracks, and through a series of providential events, the party was officially over. I had come to know the Christ through a faithful minister visiting the County Jail and preaching a faithful message of repentance, trust, and forgiveness. I had experienced a glimpse of reconciliation with the Creator, and I wanted to know more. But, I had only been able to get glimpses through the doors that were open, and ultimately through the ones I had walked through.

I had very little exposure to the organized Church at large, and even less exposure to genuine expressions of Christianity in general. The one thing I currently had in common with the First United Methodist Church (FUMC) at the time was that it was host to several twelve-step meetings throughout the week. As a matter of fact, the rumor in the recovering community was that the pastor of this church was very friendly towards those who called themselves addicts and alcoholics, and encouraged them to meet in the FUMC. He was even known to make appearances at the meetings. Quintessentially, he had already shattered many typical paradigms.

By all definitions of the practice, and the tendency of, this man was unique as a “pastor.” Comparing him to the stereotypes most would have of pastors was difficult, and only added to my interest in this particular church. He did not proselytize, pressure, or encourage church attendance. But, he did foster relationships with those who were coming to the NA/AA meetings. Of which, a few had already begun attending services and serving in the assembly in some fashion. At that time, relationships were what I craved, and genuine people were what I was looking for in my life, as at that point, all my past affiliations had suffered a major purging.

As it turns out, that bearded man yelling from the Buick Reatta was that same man who was pastor at the FUMC. As unconventional the approach seemed, it worked to grab my attention. But most importantly, it demonstrated a characteristic of a pastor that I had not known would become so important to me. This man, was a shepherd, with a shepherd’s heart, and he went after stray sheep. Tragically, he was not as appreciated by the majority as he was the minority. But, his deeds can be seen manifest in several people’s lives, of which a lasting impression of the love of Christ has been left. It may be safe to say, that a lost sheep is generally grateful to its retriever, and thus demonstrates gratitude. That gratitude can even be extended to the shepherd’s faults. It is even easier to extend that grace when that shepherd is also known as brother, servant, and friend.

This would be the advent of my journey into Methodism. Brief as it was, laden with trials, and chock full of surprises, disappointment, and malcontent it served as kindling to set a fire that has not dampened since. In large part, there is a core group of people in that old steeple house at 3 Town Square that showed an old sinner like me how to be loved. They also showed me how to love in return. Christ manifest in the life of a believer is a genuine outpouring of His characteristics, and in keeping with His commandments, loving God, and loving one’s neighbor. I didn’t live very close to any of those folks, but they made me their neighbor. As for the shepherd? He was one of a few men who stood in places I shouldn’t go, prodded me in the proper directions, was faithful to the Scripture by pointing me to them when we disagreed and in showing me the Words of the Good Shepherd ultimately, submitting to the Christ.

That man was, and is, a godly example toward me. Most notably, toward others, which proved more reputable. I write this as a bit of biography, but in part as a tribute to him, and by proxy, his wonderful wife. Dave and Ellen, you have both proved worthy of the office bestowed to all true genuine Christians, Saint. The wonderful plan (Jer 29:11), I would soon come to realize as a proof text well out of place Biblically, would prove to be a fulfilled word of knowledge from that rascally pastor, Dave. And today, there is evidence of a true wonderful plan at work in my life, in spite of tragedy or prosperity. There is a much larger story than me.

next: Coming up Methodist: Fire in the bones

Evangelism report from beginning of month: 10.01.10

Overall the night got off to a good start. Levi from the assembly meeting in Rochester Hills drove down to help reach out. He also attended the previous week with us as well. He is a zealous young man and eagerly desires to preach the Gospel publicly. He likes to author and design his own tracts as well. He has an older brother, Eliezar that has witnessed with us in the past as well. We arrived down at Liberty Plaza and assisted Kirk and Genii with food distribution, Gene brought pizzas, and some students from Campus had come alongside us to help with the food distribution. They are participating in cooperation with folks from ‘Red Cross.’

The laborers  who went on to the campus and downtown for evangelism were Gene, Myself, Brian Frei, Levi, and Carissa. Please uphold them in prayer.

As usual, Levi freelanced and sought conversations up and down the street while we parked on the corner of South and East University in front of the PNC bank. It was a slow start at first and he had trouble striking up conversations. He said he had a good conversation with an Atheist man who had good, legitimate questions that he didn’t know answers to. He has been encouraged to study harder.

We were using the “NarrowMinded” tracts tonight as well as displaying the ‘Are you a genius’ illusion board with Albert Einstein’s reversed image on it.

Farook – This man was passing by and took one of the tracts I was holding out. I explained to him what it was and he took it. He returned a few minutes later and was confused, he thought we were “against religion.” When he asked what it was I told him it was the gospel message of the Lord Jesus Christ. I explained to him the difference between religion, and faith. He tried returning the tract to me, but per usual, I encouraged him to take it and keep it. It was ‘his!’

Ming – Brian spoke to Ming after he had been drawn to the illusion board. Brian used the conversation that started to segue from the ‘natural’ to the ‘spiritual.’ Ming had a Catholic background and was from Korea. He spoke with Brian at length regarding the differences between Biblical faith, and Catholic dogma that equates to tradition more than faith. Pray that God reveals the simplicity of the gospel to him.

Josh – Another conversation that was initiated by the attraction to the illusion board. Josh had a Catholic background and has come to the University from Ogemaw county, Michigan. He had a nominal understanding of the scripture and related to stories I shared with him, but had little biblical foundation or knowledge. We discussed the state of man in his sin, the just penalty of our judgment in our guilt, and the need for a mediator between us and God. He affirmed everything that was said, and even agreed that the ‘works’ taught by the Catholic church were insufficient to be a worthy offering to God. I pleaded with him to consider his state, read his bible, and contact me if he has any questions. He thanked me for the conversation and went on his way. Hopefully, we may hear from him again.

Greg – This young man passed by with a group of friends who were intrigued by the illusion board we were  using. He then stopped to seemingly ask genuine questions. Some included ‘why’ and ‘what’ we were doing out there. We explained to him that ‘narrow’ way of Jesus Christ and gave him a tract (along with those in his group). We spoke for a good 20 minutes concerning the difference between mainstream ‘Christians’ and those who walk on the narrow path. He had an interestingly sound grasp on Biblical Christianity, and proclaimed that when it comes down to it, he acknowledges that God is the only true counselor in the affairs of men. He was very open and challenged by the disparity he observed in our approach to evangelism, the discussion about a necessity for holiness, and the abundance of hypocrisy that seems to characterize Christianity to the unbelieving world. He thanked us for the conversation and took some information from us. The best part was that while his friends pleaded with him to leave our discussion, he emphatically made them wait for me to finish speaking with him. Pray for his salvation.

Prayer Station: Help Needed

Readers and friends. I would like to propose an opportunity for you to participate in our outreach efforts. I am currently seeking local businesses and storefronts to host a prayer station in or on their property. With the winter quickly approaching, outdoor ministry efforts are often slowed, or sometimes completely stalled. But, I want to remain diligent in preaching the Gospel to the citizens and students of Ann Arbor.

With that said, I am in need of $350.00 to purchase the equipment and supplies. The distributor has agreed to provide the station at a significantly discounted rate to us. Through this opportunity,

• We will be able to pray for individuals needs directly in the name of Jesus Christ
• We will be able to utilize their time with us for proclaiming the Biblical Gospel
• We will be able to utilize otherwise down-time for continued diligence in reaching the lost

If you are interested in assisting us in the matter we would be grateful for any contributions you may make. We do not often solicit funds of any sort. If it is the will of the Father for this endeavor to take place, He will provide. This is merely an effort to make the need known.

You can use the widget below to donate, or find it in the right-hand column of this blog.