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Current Outreaches – December
Note: Outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 282-5629 to confirm outreaches or for more information.
Friday November 30, Dec. 7 th 7:30 – 10 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
Sat. December 1, 8 12:30 – 4:30 PM Berkeley Outreach, Telegraph and Haste St.
Entertaining Angels
Dear Christian friends,
As evangelicals, we believe the entire Bible is God’s Word. But in studying the scriptures and applying them to our lives, we tend to concentrate on certain topics and avoid others. One subject evangelicals tend to ignore is that of showing hospitality, both to other believers and to strangers.
“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2). One example of this is in Genesis 18. Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent when he saw three men. He did not know that they were angels, but he immediately greeted them and bowed to the ground. He humbly asked them to receive his hospitality, by washing their feet and feeding them. He had a choice calf killed and prepared a special feast for them. Only later did he realize that these were angels. In the next chapter, Lot welcomed these men in a similar way, before learning that they were angels. Throughout the Bible, we see similar examples of hospitality to strangers being shown by godly people.
Jesus taught extensively on the subject of hospitality. “When you have a feast, invite the poor, the lame, the blind, and you shall be blessed…for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:13-14). “Come…into the Kingdom…For I was a stranger and you invited me into your home…In as much as you did it unto one of the least of these my brothers, you did it unto me” (see Matt. 25:31-46).
We need to be doers of God’s Word, not merely hearers. When we think about inviting strangers into our home, we immediately become fearful. “I can’t do that–they might hurt me or my children.” Lot lived in the wicked city of Sodom, but he did not hesitate to invite strangers into his home. I am not saying that we should take every stranger into our homes. Lot did not invite the mob of sodomites into his house. We need to use wisdom–both common sense and spiritual discernment. I do not think a man should leave a strange man alone at his home with his wife while he goes to work. But he could take a pregnant woman and or single mother into his home.
Life is filled with risks. We take a risk every time we ride in a car. We worry that a stranger might be a bad influence on our children. But we fail to see the risk of refusing to take in strangers. How many children of Christian parents do not follow the Lord as adults? Could it be because they observe that our walk is not the same as our talk? The example of Christian love our kids see in the hospitality we show strangers will say more to them than hundreds of sermons.
We need to obey all of God’s Word. We cannot embrace Hebrews 13:4 “marriage is honorable” and reject Hebrews 13:2 “Do not forget to entertain strangers.” All of God’s Word is true and it is for our good. God wants to bless us and our families and He knows that if we obey His Word–in this area as in other areas–our lives will be blessed and fruitful.
On the Streets
Last month, I shared about Andrew, Tim and Jon, young evangelists who stayed with us for two weeks. Here is a report Andrew gave of our Sept. 1 outreach at UN Plaza:
Today, we went intoSan Franciscowith some of the guys from S.O.S. ministries. They were doing their usual street preaching outreach and had people come to play worship music as well. We had some great conversations with some of the homeless in the area. Tim and I talked for about two hours with a guy named Patrick who said he had no other friends besides his girlfriend. We were able to pray with him three different times and he was close to coming to Christ. He told Tim and I that he wanted what we had—the joy and assurance of the Holy Spirit he saw in us. Tim and I were also able to talk to a gay couple who were up in San Franciscofor the weekend. One of the guys was a former youth leader of his church and still attended church on occasion. He told us that he had got into partying and eventually took on the gay lifestyle. He had not told his parents yet and seemed to know what he was doing was not right in the eyes of the Lord. We were able to pray with him and his boyfriend that God would come and show them His love and conviction of anything in their lives.
Later in the day, while we were praying for some of the homeless in the area, I met a guy named Greg. He was in a wheel chair because he had a lot of pain in a nerve in his back. I asked him if we could pray that God would take that pain away. We prayed once and he said it felt a bit better. We prayed two more times after that and he said some of the pain had left. He asked how we did it and I told him that it was Jesus Christ. The best part about this conversation was that Greg then spent much of the next hour listening to different people preach the gospel. Once, his friend wheeled him away from where he was listening to one of the guys preach, but he came right back. Greg was hungry to hear more about God after truly experiencing His love.
Another great conversation I had was with a guy named Tyler. He was wearing a pink tank top with his belly hanging out and was hobbling around the square. I asked him about his injury and he shared with us that he had a couple of broken bones in his foot. A few of us prayed for him. We thanked God for the love that He has for Tyler and declared healing over his foot in the name of Jesus. Tyler got up and tested out his foot. It was healed and he gave me a big hug. It was sad because Tyler was on drugs and didn’t desire to give that up yet.
(This is the end of Andrew’s report)
On September 28, we witnessed on Haight St. This was the first time this year we had been there on Friday night. When we got there, a number of homeless people were there, clearly irritated by us. Eddie, and later Dave and Eddie, bought some cheeseburgers at McDonalds to give them. Afterwards, they were much friendlier to us. We had many good conversations that night. Eddie and Dave spoke with Jeremy, who used to attend church and who said that God had spared his life several times. They also ministered to Tracy and her teenage son Alex, whom we met last year on Fisherman’s Wharf. Tracy is a nominal Christian who is homeless with her son, who uses drugs. Allan witnessed to Damon, whose wife was near death. After Allan asked him if he was concerned about death, he opened up to the gospel.
Ministry Needs
Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. This past month, the police have given us some problems at Fisherman’s Wharf. For several weeks, a police officer told us to take down our banners. Each time, I told them I would do so if he could show me a law against it. Finally, an officer came up with a Port rule against putting anything on port structures in parks.Jefferson St.was considered a park. So we are now using some of our own poles to hold up the banners. Please pray that the police will leave us alone, as these banners are a powerful witness for Jesus Christ.
I hope many of you will join us for an outreach this next month. If you don’t live in this area, please pray for us and ask God to give you opportunities to share the gospel with others in your own community.
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. As you make your New Year’s resolutions, I hope you will resolve to boldly witness for Jesus Christ to more people this coming year.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum