SOS Ministry Newsletter - June 2008

Rise Up And Walk! (cont. from May)

Dear Christian Friends,

The second New Testament evangelistic message took place at Solomon’s porch at the Jewish temple. Peter had just healed a lame man who regularly begged there. Word quickly spread of this miracle, and a crowd gathered. Peter’s message to them was similar to the one he gave on Pentecost. Many in his audience had been part of the mob that called for Jesus to be crucified, and Peter accused them of rejecting God’s Messiah and killing Him. He then called for them to repent and be converted, so that they could receive forgiveness of sins. He spoke of Moses’ prophesy in Deut. 18 concerning the Messiah, which included a severe warning to those who would not listen to Him. “All the prophets from Samuel…have likewise foretold of these days.” Peter’s sermon was interrupted as the Jewish leaders arrested Peter and John. However, it was noted that 5000 adult men were saved that day, in addition to many women and children.

In Luke 24, after the resurrection, Cleopas and another disciple were walking towards Emmaus when a man (later revealed as Jesus) “beginning at Moses and all the prophets … expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” These disciples undoubtedly told the other disciples, including Peter, what they had learned from Jesus. In this message, Peter began with Moses’ prophesy in Deut. 18. He mentioned that there were many other prophesies fulfilled by Jesus. As I read this, I wondered why Peter did not go into more detail about the prophesies Jesus fulfilled. Perhaps he shortened his message because of the approaching Jewish authorities. At any rate, the miracle, the brief message, and the deep conviction of sin in those who had consented to His death were all that were needed on this occasion.

What can we learn from this message? Again, Peter took advantage of the attention drawn to the gospel by a miraculous healing. The audience knew that Jesus had performed many miracles and healings. But Jesus had been crucified. On Pentecost, the believers were speaking in languages they had never learned. Now, one of his disciples had performed a dramatic healing on someone most of them knew. Certainly, they must be wondering if Jesus is truly the Messiah.

Again, we see Peter using Old Testament prophesies fulfilled by Jesus to argue that He is the Messiah. Again, we see Peter pointing out the sin of those who had called for Jesus to be crucified. Again, he called people to repent and be converted. However, this time Peter softened his message, “I know through ignorance you did it” and “God…sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” Sometimes our preaching can get too hard, and we need to soften our approach – emphasizing God’s mercy and forgiveness in addition to His holiness and judgment. At the cross, Jesus had prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” The thousands who were saved in response to Peter’s first two sermons were a dramatic answer to His prayer.

Richard’s Testimony
by Larry DuBois

For several years, we have been praying and looking for a younger person to move into our house. Instead, God brought Richard Latimer to us. He is 64, but “young at heart.” Richard was born in Nevada City, California. Brought up as an “army brat,” he moved around a lot growing up. Richard and his family settled in Washington State, where he lived for many years.

After serving in Vietnam, Richard got married and started a “normal” life. Then came the worst time in his life. He was laid off from his job, and at the same time, his wife divorced him. If that weren’t enough, he was developing recurring health problems as well. Alone and desperate, Richard decided to drive across a bridge, stop the car, and then jump to his death. He began by getting drunk and using drugs. While driving he forgot where he was going and what he was planning to do. He ended up at his sister Judy’s place. She is a Christian and was the only one he had not pushed out of his life. On that lowest day of Richard’s life, she witnessed to him about the Lord Jesus. Richard repented and received Christ as his savior.

Since that day, Richard has served the Lord at various churches and ministries, including evangelism, jail, and prison ministry. He felt he always had a calling for street ministry and was called by our Lord to be a witness in Everett, Washington, where he began handing out tracts and talking with people on the street. Last year about this time, Richard came to the Bay Area to visit me and ended up staying for a month here at the house. A year later, after much prayer, Richard decided to move here. We are blessed to have him with us.

ON THE STREETS

Click on Photos to enlarge

	Paul and Noreen Coca minister at Fisherman’s Wharf on April 5
	Hannah and Steve lead worship at Fisherman’ Wharf
	Noreen prays with Tonya at Wharf

SOS -San Francisco July 11-19, 2008

The greatest need for every person on this earth is to receive salvation from Jesus Christ. The greatest thing any one of us can do is to present the gospel to someone and give him or her a chance to be saved. Almost every day, we have opportunities to witness to people. We encounter people at work, at school, on the bus or airplane, on the street, at the grocery store, in our neighborhood, etc. We all need to take better advantage of these opportunities and be bolder in our Christian witness.

However, there are many people who do not have any Christian friends or co-workers to witness to them. They will not be reached for Jesus unless someone makes a special effort to reach them. This is why we need special evangelistic outreaches.

One of the main reasons we do not witness in our everyday lives is that our minds are focused on other things. During an outreach like SOS - San Francisco, we can focus on one thing — reaching people with the gospel.

Another reason we do not witness is because we fear rejection by friends or coworkers. SOS - San Francisco provides an opportunity to overcome fear and witness boldly for Jesus, with the encouragement of other Christians.

A third reason we don't witness is that we don't know how. SOS - San Francisco provides an opportunity to get practical training and experience in personal witnessing.

An "SOS" is an urgent call for help. The people of San Francisco are in great spiritual need. They may not be starving physically, but they are starving spiritually and are headed for eternal torment if they do not trust in Jesus. We have the spiritual food, the Word of God, that can save them from a fate worse than death. How can we withhold God's Word from those who desperately need it?

Many Christians at one time had a zeal for God and a burden for souls. But today they are caught up in worldly activities and have lost that zeal. I believe that God wants to use this summer's SOS outreach to restore this fervor in many of His people. Jesus is coming soon! Let's get our hearts right with God and get busy doing the work He has commanded us to do: investing our lives winning souls for His Kingdom.

Please don't miss this year's SOS-San Francisco outreach. If possible, ask your boss if you can get off work to attend the entire outreach. If not, plan to come on Saturdays and in the evening. The outreach begins Friday July 11 at 6 PM with worship, orientation and evangelism training. On Saturday July 12 we will have a worship rally at Market & Embarcadero at 11:30 AM and at Union Square at 3:30 PM.

Meetings are held daily except Sunday at 9 AM at Park Presidio Bible Church, 10th Ave. & Cabrillo, in San Francisco. Free housing is available during the outreach. Bring a sleeping bag and foam pad. If you prefer, we can send you names of hotels in the area. We have printed 4000 full-color cards that you can give out at your church, to Christian friends, and at Christian events, schools and bookstores. This outreach is guaranteed to change your life--and the lives of those you will reach for Jesus

Coming Events

Note: Outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 531-5325 or 213-2584 (cell phone) to confirm outreaches or for more information.

Friday June 6, 20, 27 7:30 - 10 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.

Sat. June 7 San Francisco Evangelism Outreach. 12-5 PM UN Plaza (7th St. and Market)

Sat. June 21 San Francisco Evangelism Outreach. 1-5 PM Dolores Park (19th St. and Dolores)

Sat. June 28 Berkeley Evangelism Outreach. Telegraph and Haste St. 12:30-4:30 PM.

July 11-19 SOS-San Francisco. 29th year.

Ministry News and Needs

Thank you for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. We print these newsletters on a laser printer at home. Our printer broke while we were printing last month’s letter, so we purchased a new one.

About 15 years ago, a ministry friend donated a used cassette tape duplicator to this ministry. It worked well for 15 years, and we have used it to copy and distribute several thousand evangelism teachings. Now it is broken. It would cost at least $200 to repair it — if we could find a repair person. Today, I think more people have CD players than cassette players, so it is time to convert our cassettes to CDs. In the future, we will only be offering CDs of our teachings.

Our CD of the Month is Three Minutes to Live by Ray Comfort. What if you only had three minutes to share the gospel with a dying man? This teaching will help you get prepared.

God bless you all. I hope you can join one of our outreaches this next month. Remember to pray for us.

Yours in His love,

Larry Rosenbaum