Coming Events
(Outreaches subject to change. Call (510) 282-5629 a few hours before the outreach to confirm)
Friday January 4, 11, 18 Witnessing in San Francisco Neighborhoods. 5 - 8 PM Sat. January 5, 12 5th St. and Market 12-4 PM. Sat. Jan 19 Berkeley Outreach 12 – 4 PM Shattuck and Center St.
The air is unhealthy from the “Camp Fire” as I preach in downtown Berkeley on Nov. 10. (SSt)
Reaching Our Generation
Dear Christian friends,
When Jonathan Edwards preached his famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in 1741, he read the sermon in a dull, monotone voice. Despite this, hundreds of people, convulsing under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, committed their lives to Jesus Christ. If I were to read this sermon on a San Francisco street corner today, the reaction would be far different.
Edwards’ sermon is as true today as when it was written. The gospel message has not changed. However, the people we seek to reach for Jesus have changed a lot. Edwards preached this sermon to people who attended church and claimed to be Christians. They said they believed in the Bible and in Jesus Christ, but in fact were unsaved.
Today, especially in the San Francisco area, most people do not attend church, do not claim to be Christians, and do not believe that the Bible is God’s Word. We need to understand the people we are seeking to reach with the gospel, and learn how to communicate God’s Word to them. The concepts of hell, judgment and God’s wrath that Edwards preached about still need to be preached. But many people today have a hard time with these concepts. We should at least try to explain them to people in terms they can understand.
In speaking of God’s judgment, I sometimes use examples from current events. In recent years, there have been riots in our cities when police officers killed unarmed black people (in the view of the rioters, without justification) and were not prosecuted or convicted. As humans, we have a sense of justice. We believe that people who do bad things ought to be punished for their wrongdoing. When they are not punished, we often get angry. Similarly, God is angry when people like Hitler commit horrible crimes. Hitler committed suicide and was never punished by a human court. But God will punish him for his wrongdoing. However, the same God who will judge Hitler for his sins will also judge each of us for our sins.
If we believe that human judges and juries have not only the right but also the responsibility to punish those who do wrong, how much more does our Creator have that right and responsibility? If there is no God, there is no justice in the universe. Many people do terrible things and are never punished.
Many people also have a problem with the concept of “eternal torment” in Hell. While most people will admit to being sinners, many think eternal torment is an excessive punishment. Our human tendency is to minimize the seriousness of our own sins, especially the sins we have committed against God. The existence of an eternal Hell helps us realize how terrible our sins really are.
God has given us a free will. However, our decisions have consequences. If I reject an opportunity to live eternally in God’s presence, I will live eternally in His absence. Since every good thing comes from God, separation from God involves separation from all that is good.
If I am distracted while I am backing up my car and drive over my child and kill him, I will spend the rest of my life being tormented by the pain resulting from my foolish act. Similarly, people in Hell will be forever tormented by their foolishness in rejecting Christ and missing out on the wonderful eternal destiny He offered them.
On the Streets
On Fri. Oct. 20 we witnessed at Powell and Market. John, who lives in South Carolina and stayed with us for a month, witnessed to Dion, who lives in the Virgin Islands and is a boxer training for the Olympics. His trainer is a strong Christian. John and Dave prayed for Daniel, a skateboarder who believes in Jesus but is not living right with God. Dave also witnessed to Jesse, a Mormon, and Serena. Serena understands and accepts the gospel. However, she is living with her boyfriend, who claims to be a Christian. Dave ministered to her about that, and she thanked him for telling her. I witnessed to Joseph, a Mexican from Chicago. He had some questions but had to leave. He gave me his email so we could talk more.
Mike witnessed to Mark, who shared how on his 4th birthday, he watched his father kill his mother. He spent most of his youth in mental institutions, and was given shock treatments. He was very bitter and into Wicca. Mike ministered to him about his need to forgive all those who wronged him because Christ had died so he could be forgiven for his sins.
The next day, we witnessed in Berkeley. The BART station had been remodeled so we set up in front of it. John witnessed to Dre, 23, who had lots of questions and was confused about the gospel. Dave witnessed to two students from China, Alex and Kevin. Both were very receptive and asked him how they could be saved. Kevin’s mother is a Christian. Dave also witnessed to Juan, 50, a devout Catholic, who was listening to Cal’s preaching. He went through the plan of salvation with him.
On Fri. Nov. 2, we witnessed at 4th St. and Mission. Mike ministered to Kylosh, 28, who got saved 2 weeks before watching a You Tube sermon by Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty. He ministered to Joseph, 25, a professing Christian who was addicted to meth. He had been sober for two weeks. He also ministered to Joshua, another professing Christian who had recently gone back to using heroin after being free for 8 years. John and Mike witnessed to Dewan, 27. At first he seemed receptive to the gospel, but he suddenly ran across the street, throwing the gospel of John they gave him on the ground. They spoke to him later that night, and again he was receptive. Dave witnessed to Gilbert, 20, whose father was saved 4 years ago in Victory Outreach. He was honest about his life of sin and they prayed together.
The next day, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. Dave and Mike witnessed to a homeless man who called himself “Human.” He professed to be saved but admitted to having a drinking problem. Dave also witnessed to Jimice, a 17 year old girl who was raised in a Christian family but was not saved. Kathy and Sarah witnessed to a man who claimed that both Jesus and the Devil were living inside him.
On Sat. Nov. 10, we witnessed in downtown Berkeley. For the next two weeks, the air was quite bad from the “Camp Fire” that destroyed Paradise, CA. About half of the people on the streets were wearing masks, making conversations difficult. Mike witnessed to Maurice, who was watching Scott preach. He was raised “Christian” but converted to Islam. Dave witnessed to Michael, 27, a student at UC Berkeley. He started reading the Bible last year. He witnessed to Raj and Rachad, both Hindus, and Jovan, from China. He also witnessed to Edgar, a UC Berkeley student who was raised Catholic. He asked what being “born again” means.
Ministry News & Needs
Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. On Fri. Nov 9, we planned to witness at 24th and Mission. However, our ministry van broke down on the Bay Bridge. It appears to be the same problem as last year: the van computer. Four house members took a Lyft home, and witnessed to the Muslim driver.
Dave and I waited three hours for two tow trucks and witnessed to the truck drivers. Mike let us use his truck while we waited for a new computer. Fortunately, removing the computer only involves 3 screws. The company we had purchased the computer from last year refused to honor the lifetime warranty but did agree to replace it one time. We also ordered a second computer from a different company since this seems to be an ongoing problem. It also has a lifetime warranty, but we don’t know if they will honor it. So far, the van has been operating fine with the new computer. And we now carry a second computer with us as a backup.
On Sat. Nov. 10, Steve Styles joined us in Berkeley to take photos of our outreach. He brought his son Joseph, who passed out tracts. Steve lived in our ministry house over 20 years ago and still does evangelism in Sacramento. He took up photography as a hobby, and within a year had photos published in Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, LA Times, Boston Globe, and the UK Daily Mail, among others. I credit his photos with “SSt.”
I applied for a loudspeaker permit for Dolores Park on November 12. The application form says we will be notified within 10 business days if “the application is denied and the reason.” However, it has been much longer than that and I have no idea when we will receive a response. We plan to appeal any permit denial to the Recreation and Park Commission.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum