Paul was a tentmaker missionary: He worked a job and taught people about Jesus. He actually was the original tentmaker missionary--he really did make tents.
We, too, are tentmaker missionaries--we who tell others about Jesus and work a job are just as “spiritual” as the Apostle Paul himself! Middle School Youth Pastor Josh Harris talks about why he started Team Hope: “I was motivated to start Team Hope by a vision and a passion that the Lord put on my heart to reach the lost with the gospel through organized street evangelism. The vision was to help equip believers who had a heart for evangelism and empower them to be more effective by teaming them up with other like-minded evangelists. I started it with the hope of handing the leadership over to Gabe Graham when he returned from Barbados, which the Lord worked out wonderfully!” [continue reading]
1 Kings 8:46-50. This passage is taken from Solomon’s dedication of the temple of God. Here repentance refers to a sorrow for sin, admission of guilt, and turning to God with all of your heart. The word used for repent here is the Hebrew word snoob. It is also translated turn or return in other verses in the King James or New King James translations of the Bible. It means to turn back or turn away. Remember, the disciples were Jews and had a Jewish understanding of repentance. [continue reading]
This message was delivered in an effort to better equip the believers in The Living Room Church, Barbados to share, and make sense of the gospel with the unsaved people in their circles of influence. 1 Corinthians 1:18 tells us that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. The unsaved think that the gospel is stupid and doesn't make any sense, but God has given His people a powerful tool designed to make sense of the good news. This message shares this tool and other insights so that the believer will be confident in sharing the gospel with the lost.
I had a dream Joseph. I don't understand it, not really, but I think it was about a birthday celebration for our Son. I think that was what it was all about. The people had been preparing for it for about six weeks. They had decorated the house and bought elaborate gifts.
It was peculiar, though because the presents weren't for our Son. They wrapped them in beautiful paper and tied them with lovely bows and stacked them under a tree. Yes, a tree Joseph, right in their house. They'd decorated the tree also. The branches were full of glowing balls and sparkling ornaments. There was a figure on top of the tree. It looked like an Angel might look. Oh it was beautiful. Everyone was laughing and happy.
They were all excited about the gifts. They gave the gifts to each other, Joseph, not to our Son. I don't think they even knew Him. They never mentioned His name. Doesn't it seem odd for people to go to all that trouble to celebrate someone's birthday if they don't know Him. I had the strangest feeling that if our Son had gone to this celebration, He would have been intruding. Everything was so beautiful, Joseph, and everyone so full of cheer, but it made me want to cry.
How sad for Jesus not to be wanted at His own birthday celebration. I'm glad it was only a dream. How terrible, Joseph, if it had been real!
What if I offered you a pizza fresh from the oven with bubbling hot cheese and all your favorite toppings. That sounds good doesn’t it? What if on the way to presenting it to you I put a big pile of dog poop on top of it. Would you eat it? Of course not! What if I only took a small hand full of dog poop and sprinkled it on the pizza. Would you eat it then? No, it’s still disgusting. [continue reading]
I am excited about what God wants to do in downtown St. Petersburg. Rick Brown and his family, who attend Calvary Chapel, have very generously offered to let us use a room in Remax Realty (just across the street from Baywalk) to begin having meetings for the Downtown Outreach Church. I am not certain yet as to what Friday night we will kick it off, but I will keep you posted.
I am going to need some help moving some stuff to prepare the room, and I'll let everyone know when that happens. In the meantime, I wanted to share with you a copy of the original vision document that I shared with the pastors at Calvary Chapel several months ago, in order for you to get a better idea of the vision I have for the D.O.C. Obviously, some of the things you'll see mentioned in the document will be things that have already taken place. [continue reading]
Imagine someone came into your living room from two hundred years in the past. The guy sees a box in the corner of your room and asks you what it is. You say it’s a television set. So he asks you what does it do? You tell him sometimes a guy reads the news and other times actors entertain in it. He seems confused and asks how do they get in the box? [continue reading]
Why do good people go to hell? A similar question was asked of Jesus while he was on earth. A wealthy young religious leader approached Jesus and asked "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" [continue reading]
