The Gates Of Hell!

The last three weeks at our little church has been a great for me. I have been so refreshed in going over the simplicity of the gospel with our church.

Week 1:
We did a study of the "The Power Of The Gospel" in which we talked about the fact that the gospel does not need to be played up to make it more effective, or played down to make it not offensive, but played out as we share what God has done for us. We just need to proclaim the news of what He has done and..... Nothing else

Week 2:
We talked about "The Way We Share The Gospel". If we share from having been affected by the gospel ourselves it changes the way that we share. When we have daily come to the cross in need of God's grace, then we share from a place of humility and compassion.

Week 3:
We talked about "Why We Share The Gospel". In a word. Hell. The gospel doesn't just give us a better life. It is the only hope of salvation for a world that is condemned already.

Summation:
There are many difficulties in reaching out to the community that we live in. We can't expect that the world is going to walk through our church doors, fall on their knees, and ask us if we know Jesus. As a result, the typical forms of evangelism can often leave people feeling tricked because unbelievers show up for the "goodie" (concert, turkey giveaway, toy drive, etc...) and then realize that they have been hoodwinked like some sort of timeshare gimmick. As a result we are often pedaling the gospel with salesmanship rather than proclaiming the gospel in sincerity. Evangelism is often better received from someone you personally know, and in an environment where you don't feel like you were tricked or trapped. In other words evangelism should begin with the church going to the people that they already know and love and happen in a place where they don't feel like they are being targeted to sign up to be a part of an organization or club. We decided at CCF that the best way we could reach our community with the gospel is to give our people a platform and environment where they could share the gospel with their loved ones. So we handed out envelopes with cash amounts in them that were for they express purpose of taking someone they already know out to lunch or coffee and sharing the love of Jesus Christ with them!! In the coming weeks we will see what God does with those who used His resources wisely! Getting sixty people to walk into our church to hear the gospel would be next to impossible (apart from God) but the sixty or so people that took an envelope this Sunday will be reaching out to sixty plus people in our community with the gospel!!! May God fill their words with His power!

There are squatters (those who wait to be attacked) and there are soldiers (those storming the gates of hell!) Which one are you?