No Notes

what a day...

There will be no Friday Night Notes this week. I was in Montreal, QC all day today, attending a scientific seminar associated to my work.

See you next week, Lord-willing.

Rand

Friday Night Notes

"Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said: We will not walk therein." (Jeremiah 6:16)

The market was mostly empty tonight. It was bitterly cold out there tonight which most likely kept people home. An hour into our endeavour, it actually started snowing! I had to run up and down a stair case in the parking garage behind our preaching spot in order to keep warm for the two-plus hours we were out there evangelizing for.

Pastor Tim had the bulk of the one-on-one conversations tonight. He spoke to a young Romanist named Paul, and the good preacher told me the conversation was quite profitable. Paul took some Bible literature including a short tract which points out the errors of Romanism, so please remember him in your prayers, dear saints. The Lord saved me out of that wicked, vain religion... here's hoping He will do the same for this young man.

The cursing and mockery wasn't too grievous tonight; probably due to the lower turnout. Less sinners, less trouble, I suppose. There was one man, however who was intent on mocking us and blaspheming the Lord. Twice he came by to mock Pastor Tim and I. The first time he just yelled out blasphemies, when he came around again, he thought it would be real funny to take off his shirt (in the freezing cold), stretch out his arms to make it look like he was the crucified Christ and mock/blaspheme. I just carried on preaching and thankfully the man kept walking and left us alone for the rest of the night. The Lord have mercy on him.

Pastor Tim had to answer, for the 1,374, 453, 293,095, 321 time if he actually thought his evangelistic method "worked". This question was of course posed by a couple who professed faith in Christ Jesus. Pastor Tim told me how he dealt with them and I think he did a great job at explaining why our evangelistic method is biblical and does "work". The whole conversation got me thinking about how I would answer that question in the future.

I think I now know what I'll answer... stay tuned.

There was an insane number of police officers in all of downtown tonight. I don't know what was going on, but I have to say, I felt quite safe tonight. I doubt anyone would have tried to harm us or intimidate us when so many police cruisers drove by our preaching spot. I hope the Lord will save some of those brave men and women in uniform, through the reading and hearing of God's Word.

With that, dear readers, I close this edition of the Friday Night Notes. I can't keep my eyes open. Good night, and have a blessed weekend in the Lord.

Enjoy the Lord's Day, dear saints.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism

No Notes

rain... rain... go away...

We didn't go out for our customary night of street preaching due to bad weather. I'm really tired tonight (it's been a long week at work), so this break in my routine is quite welcome.

Remember us in your prayers, dear saints.

God bless you!


Rand

Friday Night Notes

dynamic duo... together again...

It had been quite a while since pastor Tim and I were together for a Friday night of street evangelism... it was good to have my old partner back!

We were only out for a couple of hours tonight since I was late making it downtown; I was stuck working long hours in the lab. Nevertheless, we made those hours count by preaching the Gospel, handing Bible tracts and holding forth our Bible signs. The overall reception was pretty poor. There were very few souls in the market tonight, and the souls who were there were mostly antagonistic to the Gospel (our poor Bible signs were oft pushed down to the ground).

I suppose it was "lesbian night" for me. I was twice faced by lesbian couples who felt the best insult they could cast at me was for them to kiss each other. Can't say it did too much for me. Both times I shrugged and sighed a quiet: "meh". One one of the occasions I offered a Bible tract to one of the women and she said:

"But I'm a sinner!"

"Jesus saves sinners," I replied.

I honestly believe I saw a trace of shame in the woman's eyes as she walked away. The Lord have mercy on her, and save her from her abominable sins.

Pastor Tim had a long conversation with a young Arab man. He told me that the conversation was quite courteous and earnest. The young man took a Bible tract and thanked Pastor Tim for his time. I hope that that was the beginning of something spiritually good!

That's about all I have to report for tonight. Like I said, it was a real quiet night in the marketplace. I do want to acknowledge and thank the three or four saints who offered me kind words of encouragement when I was handing out Bible tracts; it's always pleasant to know you have brothers and sisters who appreciate your efforts.

Have a blessed weekend in the Lord everyone, and to everyone in Canada, happy thanksgiving!


Rand

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Labels: Friday evangelism

Friday Night Notes

getting back to the routine...

Pastor Tim had just gotten home from his vacation when I showed up to his house to pick up a Gospel sign and some Bible tracts for tonight's evangelistic effort; I thank God that He brought our shepherd back safely from a whole lot of traveling!

After a brief conversation with my pastor, in which we recounted the main events that took place during our 10-day 'separation', I picked up what I needed and let the weary traveler get some rest. Brother Rod and Marcio caught up with me as I was making my way out of the house, so I had a couple of partners to help me with the task of soul-winning. I again thank God for these men's zeal and compassion (they braved cold Canadian weather to serve the Lord and support a brother-in-the Lord).

The market was quieter than usual tonight; colder autumn weather no doubt played a role in this. The outdoor patios in the market are slowly being closed for the winter... the number of souls in the market on Friday night will drop significantly now (as opposed to the summer time). Christmas time will be when the crowds will return to the market. So we likely have a couple of months with at quieter marketplace to minister in.

I believe we all had one-on-one conversations with sinners tonight. Brother Rodrigo had an unprofitable conversation with a harsh, rude and foolish man. I saw Brother Marcio talking to a woman from a distance (I have no idea how it all went), and me, well, I had an interesting conversation with a female panhandler. She told me that Jesus was a panhandler and he often "had to take the bread thrown to the birds" for sustenance (I really couldn't make this stuff up!). When I explained that the Bible didn't record any such thing, the woman claimed to have learned this from 'other sources' (she wasn't forthcoming as to the identity of these sources). When the woman perceived I was at all swayed by her views/positions, she told me that:

1- I needed to put serious thought into what she was professing... that it would help me "reach my point of maturity".

2- I needed to "get in touch with my inner-self".

3- I needed to talk with my friends about all that she was revealing to me. She claimed my friends would undoubtedly agree with her sentiments and would help 'straighten me out'.

So there you go, dear friends. Feel free to 'straighten me out'! Again, I assure you, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried...

I then had a typical conversation with a couple a Pentecostals. They didn't come out and say that they thought my evangelistic method was stupid, but everything they said insinuated it. I didn't deal with any of that because I didn't feel a long conversation on the doctrinal differences between Baptist Fundamentalism and Pentecostalism was a wise use of my time of evangelism. They insinuated, and replied with the appropriate biblical truth and left it at that. The Lord save them out of their errors, as He did with me.

Marcio (the young man in the picture above) handed out a large number of tracts tonight; truly amazing considering the more modest number of souls in the marketplace. I also handed a fair number, and I believe Brother Rod didn't do too badly either. The Lord use those Bible messages tonight, tomorrow and into the future, to save men and women from their sins!

With that, I close this edition of the Friday Night Notes, dear readers. I need to get some rest.

Please pray for me, dear saints, as I have been called upon to preach the evening service on the Lord's Day.

Have a blessed weekend, and a restful, glorious Lord's Day.


Rand

Labels: Friday evangelism