|
|
SOS Ministry Newsletter - May 2008New Testament Preaching
Recently, God has been leading me to study the way the gospel was preached in the early church. Most of what we know about New Testament preaching comes from excerpts and descriptions of the preaching of Peter, Stephen and Paul in Acts. Over the next few months, I would like to discuss these scriptures, and see what we can learn from them about effective gospel preaching. The first recorded sermon in Acts was given by Peter on Pentecost in Acts 2: 14-40. Thousands of Jews from all over the known world were there. They heard a strange sound at the place where the believers were gathered, and heard these believers from Galilee speaking in their own tongue. Peter, who recently had denied Jesus three times, stood up and boldly proclaimed the gospel. He went through several Old Testament prophesies, starting with Joel’s prophesy of how God would pour out his Spirit in the last days. He proclaimed that Jesus is the Messiah, and that God confirmed this through various miracles he performed. He said that they had nailed him to the cross and murdered him, but that God raised him from the dead. He quoted David from Psalm 16, pointing to the resurrection, and Psalm 110. This was his conclusion: “God has made this Jesus whom you crucified to be both Lord and Messiah.” Many were under great conviction and asked the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost…” About 3000 were baptized that day. The believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and gave to those in need. So what can we learn from this first sermon? The crowd gathered in response to a supernatural phenomenon – the wind and tongues. Many of the New Testament sermons were given in response to supernatural events, such as healings. Today most healings, prophesies, words of knowledge and miracles occur in church services, not around non-Christians. Some are genuine but, unfortunately, many are not. Genuine healings and miracles demonstrate the power of Christ and get the attention of unbelievers. However, we must preach the gospel at all times, not just when there are miracles or healings Much of the audience had been part of the crowd that had called for Jesus to be crucified two months earlier. Peter bluntly accused them of murdering God’s Messiah. Great conviction fell upon the crowd and 3000 were radically saved that day. In our preaching, we can help people see that they have violated God’s law and deserve punishment for their sins, but that they can be forgiven by repenting of their sins and trusting in Jesus. Peter was addressing Jews, and most of his sermon was based upon Old Testament scriptures. Almost every sermon in Acts was given either to Jews or to gentiles who were familiar with Jewish matters (as when Paul went before Felix and Agrippa). Usually, the argument was made that Jesus is the Messiah in fulfillment of Old Testament prophesies. However, in the one major sermon given to gentiles, on Mars Hill in Athens in Acts 17, Paul does not mention the Old Testament prophesies. Most people in the U.S. know more about the Bible than the gentiles on Mars Hill, but much less than the Jews of that day. In my preaching, I often refer to the Old Testament prophesies that point to the coming of Messiah, and how Jesus fulfilled them. However, I try to provide some background explanation to help them understand these prophesies. I point out that the Bible is the only book that predicts the future with perfect accuracy, and contrast it with man’s inability to predict the weather or stock market even one day in the future. Christian UnityIn John 17, Jesus said “I pray… that all of them may be one…so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” God intended for His church to be united. Unfortunately, today, the church is far from united. This past week, I met with Tim Svoboda, who is the new leader of Youth With a Mission (YWAM) in San Francisco. He told me about his father, Charles, who ministers to churches that are about to split. Often, the issue is trivial, such as what color of carpet they should purchase. Sometimes, it is more serious, such as a pastor involved in immorality or a doctrinal dispute. “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” Eph. 4:3. SOS Ministries was established for the purpose of uniting churches in this area to preach the gospel. During the past week, I have been contacting churches, inviting them to join us in witnessing on the streets. We obtain permits, bring our sound system, and invite them to bring a worship or drama group, or just some Christians who want to witness. We give them the opportunity to minister – through preaching, testimonies and drama. If they want, they can take the entire permit time to minister. We encourage those of you who live in this area to contact your pastor, worship leader or youth leader and ask him if he would like to witness with us in San Francisco. We are hoping to involve as many local churches as we can this year. After Larry DuBois and I met with Tim Svoboda, he brought a team out on the streets to minister with us on Friday night. It was a rainy night, so we witnessed at Powell and O’Farrell. He brought about 8 people, including several musicians. It was the first time in four months we had had live music on Friday night. Despite the rain, many people stood around listening to the music. Hanna, one of the YWAM musicians, said she wants to join us regularly on Friday night. She is trying to put together a small worship group. We are greatly blessed by their involvement. We want to work with other ministries, and we very much need worship on the streets on Friday night. ON THE STREETSClick on Photos to Enlarge
SOS -San Francisco July 11-19, 2008Every person on this planet will spend eternity either in the eternal bliss of Heaven or in the eternal torment of Hell. We have the Words of Life that can change their eternal destiny. We need to use every hour we have left to reach as many as possible for Jesus. Will we keep silent or will we open our mouths? SOS -San Francisco is an opportunity to get training and practical experience in evangelism. The hardest part is overcoming apathy and fear. Once you actually come to SOS, God will give you divine appointments to witness to people. He will give you the right words to speak to each person. The experience you get during SOS week will help you become a bolder and more effective witness for Jesus in your daily life. Satan does not want Christians to witness for Jesus and he will do everything he can to keep you from coming to SOS. 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 at 7 PM. 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 EventsNote: Outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 531-5325 or 213-2584 (cell phone) to confirm outreaches or for more information. Friday May 2, 23, 30 7:30 - 10 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods. Sat. May 3 San Francisco Evangelism Outreach. 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM Washington Square (Columbus & Union St.) 3:30-5:30 PM Union Square (Powell & Geary St.) Sat. May 24 San Francisco Evangelism Outreach 12-5 PM UN Plaza (7th St. & Market). Sat. May 31 San Francisco Evangelism Outreach. 1-5 PM Dolores Park (19th St. and Dolores) Ministry News and NeedsWe want to thank each of you for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. We just spent $600 for 11 permits between now and July. Our ministry van uses about $80 worth of gas a month to take us to outreaches. There are many other expenses in operating a ministry like this. Thank you for helping us pay our bills. We still have one opening in our ministry house for a younger person with a commitment to evangelism. Our Tape of the Month is Hear their Cry by Fellowship of the Risen King. This is a music cassette tape from this church, now closed, which led worship during the SOS outreach for several years in the 1980’s. 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
|
||||||||||||||||
