Swamp Fox 2008

Cornerstone Church recently participated in our town's local festival called Swamp Fox.

The day started with a parade where we handed out about eight to nine hundred Hey Kids - Test Your Memory gospel tracts plus candy.

The parade was a ton of fun! Thanks to everyone who participated!!

Then...






Cornerstone manned our annual 'What's In a Name?' booth where we gave people the meaning of their name on a gospel tract.

Thank you to all who helped with the booth! Especially to John S. who set up, stayed the whole day and then tore down!

New Year's Party Presentation

To Those Who are Seeking Salvation

Charles Spurgeon's best-selling book. A clear, simple gospel presentation.

An Earnest Word with Those

Who Are Seeking Salvation

by the Lord Jesus Christ
By C. H. Spurgeon

"Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (Romans 5:20).

(click blue link above)

Four Jewish Men

Before I get to the reason for the title, I just wanted to say that I was really blessed by Andria today in regards to fishing. She called looking for a way to make it possible for her to come to the mall tonight when she could have had a good excuse for not going. Sometimes I don't feel like going out witnessing which is why I was blessed by her attitude and willingness. I, myself, wouldn't have been out tonight if she hadn't called.

We talked with one older teen woman taking a break from her clothing store job and were both concerned about her. We walked away and prayed for her right then. It seemed like there was a battle going on for her.

We then talked with two very young teen girls for 20 minutes. That was very encouraging because we seemed to get a lot of Biblical truth to them. As Andria and I were discussing that encounter and getting ready to head to the food court for some dinner, four obviously Jewish young men (head coverings, top hats, long coats and beards) walked by us and at fairly quick pace...

I've really wanted to talk with a Jew and tell them the Good News that Jesus is the Messiah they are waiting for! Yeah! :c)

I made a purposeful move to get by their sides (they were moving fairly rapidly, remember) and say, "Excuse me, sir. Excuse me, sir," before the back two heard me and turned towards me. I asked if I could ask them some questions and they said yes (but I knew I had very little time with them). This is rough b/c of my memory but thought it would be interesting to many...

"Are you Jewish?"

"Yes"

"Are you waiting for the coming Messiah?"

"Yes"

"Do you think that Jesus is that Messiah?"

"No!" (turning from me but and slightly moving away)

"Why? Have you looked into how He fulfilled the prophesies?"

"Because He's not. And I don't care."

"But, have you looked into it?"

"Yes, and He's not."

"Why do you believe He is not?"

"Why should I believe that He is?"

"Because He did fulfill all the prophesies, but, I asked you what made you believe that He isn't?"

"He's not." (angry and walks away as I try to hand him a Why Christianity? booklet who I then try to hand to the non-talking friend but who wouldn't take it either)

At one point for maybe just a few seconds all four of them were near me. The other two had walked up quickly and I had a surreal feeling with them all around me. I think that's the way it happened but I guess Andria had a better perspective. Maybe they weren't all around me even though it felt that way.

We were both surprised by the prideful attitude. Although we really shouldn't be - considering. It was just so neat for me to get this opportunity. Please pray for all these people (God knows who they are). That the unknown woman's battle would be won... That Hillary and Miranda (?) would continue to search out Jesus... That God, in His loving mercy, have compassion on the four Jewish men.

-Sarah

Sergio

The Lord has been disciplining me in a some areas for a few long months. I am very thankful for that, but it is painful (sometimes very much so) and I think I am still in the middle of the discipline.

Pride goes before destruction,

And a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 16:18

Before last week, I hadn't been out purposefully witnessing for a month due to a child's surgery, a miscarriage and Matt going while I stayed home with the children. A week ago today I finally just wrote down four questions that I'd really been struggling with the Lord over. He answered three of them through His Word, the Bible. The fourth He answered that night while 'fishing'...

Without much thought into it, I sat down next to Sergio, a God-fearing Christian with a huge faith, who had been planning on spending an hour at Best Buy but thought that he should just sit and wait at the mall instead. Through an almost hour and a half long conversation, Jesus Christ ministered to my soul by just listening to Sergio talk about his faith in Christ.

What did I learn? We can't worry about anything else than 'once saved-always saved' because there is really nothing else... If we don't have Christ, we have nothing. When we don't feel like praying, that is when we especially need to pray. When we don't feel like spending time in the Word, that is especially when we need to spend time in the Word.

So, even though I wasn't really 'fishing,' I'm really thankful that the Lord showed me how much He does care.

-Sarah

Casey

In a previous post, I mentioned talking with a young man named Casey.

Two of us talked to him about a month ago. Well, about two weeks ago, by coincidence (yeah, right!), my wife talked to one of his friends. She told my wife that we had offended Casey with the manner in which we had shared with him.

Since we told him about the book "A Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel, I decided to buy the book for him. I stopped by the place where he works at the mall and gave him the book, with a $5 bill tucked in the middle. I told him that we had heard we offended him, and that it was not our intention to do so. Since we previously talked about this book, I hoped that he would enjoy it.

Pray that God would draw Casey to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

-t

JoAnna: Halloween Night

JoAnna was another "fisher" who went out witnessing at Trunk or Treat on Halloween night...

I have known about The Way of the Master for sometime. In fact, I was in the first classes with Sarah and Lisa. Well, apart from witnessing to a few family members and teens in my youth group, I had little experience.

I was so excited to see God move I was shaking! When I approached a teenage couple that was a little too close for how teens should be touching, I was blown away that he was concerned he would go to Hell! It was great to share with him the good news about Jesus taking our punishment.

There was another group of about 6 that I witnessed to. They had all the answers about Jesus and being "saved" but weren't dressed or acting in a manner worthy of the Holy Spirit living in them as a true sign of a believer. My wonderful husband, Michael, confronted one of the young ladies about her dress and pointed to the Law and the sin of adultery, that Jesus said whomever looks with lust [commits adultery]. He said she was causing others to look with lust and sinning herself. It was encouraging to see her button her sweater and be convicted by the Law.

It was an awesome experience and God is good to allow us to share in that way. Please pray for me, my brother is coming to town from Florida to be here with his best friend who is in a coma with a drug overdose. I know they both need Jesus and I believe the Way of the Master is the best way to see that need. Thanks.


-JoAnna

Have you considered what happens if you're wrong?

Tonight Sam and I paired up. We made several circuits at the mall before we encountered a couple of teen guys. I approached them and told them we were out with our church taking a survey. They were interested, so we launched into the Intelligence Test survey. We learned that their names were Justin and Zach.

It became apparent early on that Justin did not believe in God. I asked him if he had considered the ramifications of his beliefs it it turned out that he was wrong. His answers surprised me. He basically said (this is a paraphrase), "If I'm wrong, I'll burn in Hell." I asked him,"Does that concern you?"
His answer: "I'll deal with it then."

What do you say to someone who understands that the logical conclusion of his beliefs, if he is wrong, means an eternity in Hell? What do you say to someone who is unconcerned by such a thought??

It was an interesting conversation. Perhaps not very fruitful, but interesting. Keep praying for Justin. Also pray for his friend, Zach. He didn't say much, but he seemed more interested in the things of God. Now I wish we would have engaged him more in the conversation...

-Tony

Michael: Halloween Night

The following is from Michael who headed up the witnessing for Trunk or Treat - an outreach put on by his church. Michael was also a 'graduate' of last week's Crash Course. He has two amazing stories about God working through him on Halloween night...

[Paul] must have been 17 when I gave him his first hit of acid 8 years ago. [I] shared the gospel with him tonight. He was the first person I talked to. [He] didn't believe Christ was sinless but walked away astonished; considering its possibility.

The second guy I talked to was an old party buddy from the same group as Paul. I acquired and used drugs with him frequently, too, in the past. He admitted he was unsure if he would go to heaven or hell, when I told him that God said breakers of His law will not enter the kingdom, Cory said he was concerned about the situation and I was able to explain Christ to him as well.

Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life!

-Michael

Jerry: Halloween Night

Jerry attends another church in the area and was a 'graduate' of the Crash Course last week. He and his wife, Anita, were at the Trunk or Treat outreach on Halloween night. This is what he had to say...

God is so good! He is so faithful to answer our prayers! We had prayed weeks ahead of time for nice weather – it was great, and a smaller crowd – it was. When the crowd dwindled down we prayed to the Lord of the harvest to send more people and He delivered. God was so gracious to us rookies (except Matt) fishermen.

We didn’t talk to anyone who was hostile or even unwilling to talk. I think we were all pumped and excited to get started, although our actions didn’t immediately follow. Again, God was faithful in slowly calming our fears by moving us to handing out tracks as we waited on Him. Soon the Spirit led us through all the prayers and training, as we went out boldly two by two. It shouldn’t have been a surprise and yet it was, that so many shook our hands and thanked us.

It’s overwhelming looking back and seeing how receptive and hungry the people are to talk of the things of God and hear His good news. When approached through their consciences and not their intellect, via God’s law mouths were shut and the fertile soil of their hearts was tilled. Only one person Matt and I talked said they weren’t a good person – a fellow believer! Surprisingly all but one had a Bible and he did when leaving.

I am confident as our prayers have gone up to the Father, both before and after, that he will continue to be faithful and gracious to hear them and change the hearts of these we talked with and also those that received tracts. Praise be to God, the author and perfector of our faith.

-Jerry

Anita: Halloween Night

On Halloween evening Anita went to Trunk or Treat at another local church (her own). She was a 'graduate' of the Crash Course last week...

I went as a Prayer Warrior tonight as the others went and fished. At first I thought that I wasn’t doing enough – but then God sweetly reminded me the power of prayer when we all prayed for more to come. I praise the LORD that and thanked HIM for “The Way of the Master” which has touched all of our lives and that we will continue to pursue it in depth. For we are all “fishers of men”.


-Anita

An Awesome Halloween!

I'm not fond of Halloween by any means. But, after last year's Halloween, the Lord seemed to give me a heart for my neighborhood during this Halloween (which was yesterday). Matt and I have been talking off and on about it for a year.

How often do you get people coming TO YOU for free stuff?! Right to your door?! (Answer: Once a year at Halloween) We had Hey Kids tracts and rubber banded them to fun size candy bars, put full-sized Dove and other candy bars to Why Christianity tracts for the parents, and bottles of water, full size pkgs of M&Ms and Good Person Cartoon tracts for the older kids.

Last night was awesome!

Matt went out with some others witnessing so I was the only adult at home with 4 children ages 4 years down to 9 months. So, the three oldest played together...

...and helped hand candy and booklets (telling kids and parents about sin, righteousness and grace through Jesus Christ) out to the trick-or-treators and their parents. The parents, by the way, got a kick out of this and thought it was really nice (no bad reactions).

We handed out 84 tracts to the children and tweens and 48 tracts to the parents. 132 gospel messages total. And... All while staying at home with the kids! THAT is why it was so awesome!

Plus, the kids had a ton of fun!

(I'm positive that they had more fun then if they went trick-or-treating themselves)

Matt, Michael, JoAnna, Jerry and Anita were witnessing at Trunk-or-Treat and it was AWESOME! I hope they get a chance to blog because Matt, who goes out witnessing at the mall, said that everyone was SO open to Jesus Christ last night (even compared to the mall)... That it was even better than the mall. Michael said that he didn't even need to point out specific sins because everyone (except for one) that he talked to knew that they weren't good. They were so humble and ready for the Gospel. It sounds like God did some amazing things last night using these five people out at Trunk-or-Treat!

-Sarah

Graduates of Crash Course Go Fishing

On Sunday we had the 'graduates' of the Crash Course go 'fishing' at the mall to practice what they had just learned. Every one of the new fishers talked at least once which was awesome! Matt watched the four children while Sam H. took the guys with him and I took the ladies with me.

All of the new fishers are from another church nearby who we will be doing a Halloween Outreach (Trunk or Treat) with on the 31st. It sounds like they will be bringing the Way of the Master teaching to their church soon and may also start doing a "Fishing Night" at the mall on a different night than when our church goes.

-Sarah

Crash Course Saturday

Way of the Master Crash Course
Saturday, October 27th
Noon - 4:00 p.m.

Bring a covered dish for a potluck lunch

Workbook costs $4.00 (four dollars) payable that day.

Completely Optional Activity:
Dinner that evening at Lindale Mall with a time of practice beforehand. If you're only comfortable watching, that is completely fine!

If you know us in 'real life' you're welcome to join us as Matt teaches this one-day class. Call or email us for location details.

A Plentiful Harvest

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field."

Luke 10:2,3

Tonight's trip to the mall was interesting...

I was a bit shy/nervous and not really looking forward to being there. I felt (like I have these past few weeks for other reasons) that I was to wait on the Lord patiently. I'm glad that I did because...

It turned out to be maybe the most encouraging hour of witnessing I've been given by the Lord yet. Although there weren't tons of people at the mall, it seemed that every time I finished talking to one person, another was available to be talked to. In fact, I know that there were probably three people I could have talked to if I would have transitioned mentally from one to the next faster - I wasn't expecting so many opportunities and will work on preparing for this for next time.

I talked with two male teens, two middle aged men from the Lions Club, two ten year old girls together, two teen girls and a tract to a sales lady. And, there might have been those three others if I had just been able to transition faster! Andria and I walked together which was an encouragement to me - I don't think I would have talked to all the people that I did if she hadn't been there.

Plus, the two teen girls that I talked to... Well, let's just say that it was pretty awesome! They both went to church but thought you could be good enough to go to Heaven. After seeing themselves through God's Law, they were humbled, and were genuinely thirsty for Jesus Christ - our Savior. Then... They thanked me! I told them that I don't usually get thanked and they thanked me again! That was an encouragement.

-Sarah

Know God? Or, know of God?

Matt and I had the amazing opportunity to have a conversation with one of the members of our extended family last night. It was amazing because I had wanted to share what God requires of us, and, the Good News of having a Savior in Jesus Christ, with this person for the past six months but hadn't had a chance yet.

What continues to amaze me is when people tell me that they have a relationship with God or a 'higher power' that is personal but yet they don't know Jesus. I got a similar comment last night so I asked the person to tell me about this relationship they have and who God is. I got a strange look... So I said, "You have a personal relationship with your spouse and should be able to tell me about that relationship and who your spouse is, so, can you do the same thing regarding your relationship with God? What is that relationship like?" The answer was a more general knowing that a higher power exists because of seeing air, trees, birds, etc. (not exact words but the jist of it, I think).

So, this makes more sense to me as to why someone might say that. But, it's not accurate. Here is why... Let's say I was married to a movie star (sorry, Matt!) who was 'known' by many fans because of the popular movies he was in. Would a fan actually know my husband -or- would they just think they knew him (but instead just had an 'idol' or a fictitious version of my husband in their head)? Who would actually know my husband?... His wife? Or, a fan? Wouldn't the fan just know of him but not know him? I know this is a bad analogy but it is similiar with God... If you don't have a saving-relationship with God's Son Jesus Christ, you don't know God the Father (you just know of Him). *gasp* How can I be so bold?! Because the Bible says it straight out! And, if you don't trust the Bible... Keep reading (I've got something for you).

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;" (1 Timothy 2:5)

"Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also." (1 John 2:23)

"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (1 John 5:11,12)

"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18)

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." (John 3:36)

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)

But, what if you don't trust the Bible as the Word of God? Think about this... Everything historical (as opposed to spiritual) in the Bible has never been proven inaccurate. Archaeologists used to dig to prove the Bible wrong - now they read the Bible to know where to dig (re-read that). Many, many people dislike the Bible with such a venomous hatred and yet nobody has ever been able to prove any part of the Bible as being in error. One more thing, most books nowadays have probably a handful of original transcripts. Homer's Iliad has the most at around 600, I think is the number I heard. Six-hundred... That is an amazingly high number. Get this, though... The Bible has thousands upon thousands (I think I recently heard around 24,000 but I could be wrong here). If every current Bible today were to be destroyed, we would still be able to re-create the entire Bible except for a few verses using original transcripts/manuscripts. Amazing, huh?

Note: I'm going off memory here (never a good thing with me!) so you might want to read A Case for Christ by Lee Strobel to check my facts. He was an investigative reporter and an atheist who went out to once-and-for-all prove the Bible as being false and instead became a follower of Jesus Christ.

-Sarah

Edit (from Lisa)...

The oldest manuscripts we haveof the New Testament are not originals but copies of the originals. Yournumbers of copies were close though - there are more than 5,000 Greek copies of the NT, over 10,000 of the Latin Vulgate and more than 25,000 copies of portions of the NT in existence today. That is overwhelmingly more than any other ancient literature.

Paired with Tony

Tony's post (see below) explains a lot so I won't re-say the same things. But, after we left Casey (Jacob had already walked away earlier saying that he was "an atheist, anyway, and I don't believe in God") Tony talked with two other male teens using the Intelligence Test/Survey which seemed to go really well.

I had been standing right next to Tony waiting for the end of the survey (this is the 2nd set of teens - not Casey and Jacob) so that I could help him transition to a deeper spiritual discussion but a female friend of the boys was standing nearby... I was torn because I wanted to help Tony but I felt like I should really be talking to the girl. So, do I do what I want to do right then or do I follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit?! Uhhh....

Plus, I had no idea how to transition with this girl because she had already been listening to Tony and her friends talk for a few minutes. I noticed that she had a shirt on that said, "Shellsburg," so I walked up to her and asked her about that. After a couple of minutes of me asking spiritually leading questions, she started to clam up on me which I somewhat expected because of the situation where her friends were already involved and she just walked into it.

I then just straight out said to her, "You know, it isn't every day that you run into someone who is willing to have a spiritual conversation with you, right? Is there anything that you would like to talk about?" That got her attention and she turned back towards me, perked up and started actually talking to me. I was able to start going through the Law with her at that point but then her friends and Tony said, "Goodbye," and walked away. I asked her if she needed to go, too, and she said, "Yes," but looked sorry. I told her that was fine and that I could give her something to read. I reached into my purse and grabbed a "A Gift for You" tract with a $5.00 bill in it at gave it to her.

-Sarah

More teens at the Mall, Mt. St. Helen's and "A Case for Christ"

Tonight I paired with Sarah - one of our more "aggressive" witnessers (it that is even a word..). Since I tend to be a little timid in transitioning from the light-hearted questions on the "Intelligence Test" into a spiritual conversation, Sarah was coaching me.

We talked to two young men (Casey and Jacob) who, if left to me, would have walked away when they sounded sort of 'ho-hum' towards the intelligence test. Sarah, however, would not be so easily put off by their lack of interest. The result was a 20+ minute conversation where, at the very least, some seeds were planted.

Sarah asked the guys some fairly direct spiritual question (neither one of us could remember what it was when we talked later). Whatever she said got us going, and she dived in and talked about how all roads do NOT lead to God, using the analogy that 'all planes do not fly to Phoenix.' We talked about Revelation. We talked about creation, evolution and the 'Big Bang.' We talked about how there is no explosion known that resulted in more order. I jumped in and talked about Mt. St. Helen's (my wife and I had just visited there in May).

Then we got onto people trying to disprove the Bible. By this time, Jacob decided that he had enough of the conversation, so we were talking only to Casey. I told him about Lee Strobel and his book, "A Case for Christ." I asked him if he would write down his address and I could send him the book. Sarah pointed out that a teen might not be comfortable giving a middle aged man his address (duh!!), so I apologized and wrote down the titles to Strobel's book and to Josh McDowell's "Evidence that Demands a Verdict." I wish I had thought to offer to give Casey some money to buy the books.

The funny thing was, during the course of our conversation with Casey, he didn't seem to be bothered by our questions. He seemed genuinely interested in what we were saying (even if he didn't agree with all of it). And his cell phone rang twice during our conversations, and he answered it and said, "Can I call you back?" I thought that spoke volumes.

Pray for Casey - I left him with the challenge to investigate the claims of Christianity. I asked him to consider what is at stake if he is wrong in his belief that being a good person gets you to heaven. He asked me what happens if I'm wrong. I said - if there is no God, or if Jesus wasn't the Savior - when I die, I just cease to exist. If he is wrong, however, the consequences are much more dire.

-t

Turkey and A Tattoo

Today I ate at a sandwich shop with a friend. The woman behind the counter had an unusual tattoo across the side of her neck. I didn't want to be obvious, but when I realized it spelled a word, I stared until I was able to make it out. It said, "Karma".

I asked her, "Why do you have a tattoo that says Karma?"

She nicely replied that she believes in it. I asked her what she thought Karma was. She explained that good things would come back to her with good consequences and bad things with bad consequences.

I asked her, "What do you base that on?" (One of the 4 deadly questions!)

She answered that she just believes it. I said something about not wanting to get paid back for all the bad things I do!

A few minutes later she handed me my food on a tray and the fork caught on something and flew off onto the floor. I said, "What did you do this morning to deserve that??" We giggled at the thought.

I found a "Why Christianity" booklet in my purse and gave it to her before I left. I called her over to give it to her and told her I had something very special for her. She was beginning to read it before I even walked away. Looking up she said, "Thank you very much" with a big smile on her face. Such a simple interaction but one I pray will result in eternal life!

-Lisa

Faithful Witness

I have heard it said before "90 or 99% of life is just showing up. The rest is just details."

I have never truly agreed with this statement. I know that there are many things that can be done in preparation for any task or event and that showing up and asking for the details to just work out doesn't usually work.

So how does this all relate to our fishing trip this week? Well, my talk a group of 4 teenagers brings me to this point. I was able to have a good time talking to them using the intelligence test. What I have found is that even though the test in the second half asks many questions about the persons spiritual beliefs, it is still hard to transition to a deeper spiritual conversation beyond that.

Sometimes I think this is because I am scared or worried about what the people will think. In this case, however, I think it was because of a lack of preparation on my part. I did ask more questions than the survey. But the people I talked to were still open to talking more, if I had been prepared to answer their questions.

I think of what things I can do to prepare for a weekly trip to talk to people and also everyday as I am around others. I need first to understand that I can do nothing alone. I must rely on God for it all. Without him I labor in vain. I can pray for wisdom and guidance each day in how to witness to others through my actions and spiritual conversations.

I can make sure that I am setting aside time for spending with God in prayer daily. To confess my sin and grow in my relationship with Him.

I know especially that I should carry with me a small Bible with highlighted verses that deal with salvation and repentence and about who Jesus Christ is.

My learning from this week is that it is not enough to show up only, I need to be thinking and preparing always for an opportunity that God presents for me to be faithful. I pray that I would be wise in my use of time that He has given to be faithful in my preparation as well.

I am thankful for the opportunity I had with the group of teenagers I met with. I pray that I have planted a seed with each of them.

Matt B.