Mardi Gras Parade Outreach - Jan. 30, 2016

We had a great time of evangelism at the Mardi Gras parade in Monroe this evening. Bro. Charles McGuire, my two sons, and myself gave out around 2000 tracts from 4:30 to 6:30. We saw several people that we knew. We had a few rejects. One man said "We go to church, but we don't believe like y'all do." A woman who Bro. Charles gave a Yolo tract to said that she had got one last year. Bro. Charles was wearing his Vietnam vet hat which opened up conversations for him and several people thanking him for his service. My highlight conversation was with Alex and Eric who were students from Turkey. Eric said that he wanted to shake my hand for what we were doing. He said that his friends would be angry, but he liked the way we were witnessing. I told him and Alex an illustration from Hell's Best Kept Secret by Ray Comfort. Please pray for fruit to come from what was done! 

The 2nd Annual Bezeugen Tract Club Scavenger Hunt

About

For more information see http://www.bezeugen.org/blog/?p=1641

Announcing the 2nd Annual #DailyTractChallenge Scavenger Hunt. Each day on social scavenger-hunt-birthday-partymedia Bezeugen Ministries posts a #DailyTractChallenge to encourage you – challenge you – to share the Gospel in some specific way. The scavenger hunt is a contest to see who can complete 30 such #DailyTractChallenge’s in one single day.

When: January 30th, 2016

Where: Wherever you are!

Register: Meetup or Facebook

During each day of January a #DailyTractChallenge is being posted on social media on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Follow along during the month and “practice” these challenges. Then on January 30th you have 24 hours to attempt to complete all 30 #DailyTractChallenge’s in one day!

In the first year, several people were able to complete all 30! How many can / will you do?

Prizes will be awarded! We will award prizes including tracts, tract holders and other special items to equip and encourage you to share the Gospel!

Rules

Open to members of the Bezeugen Tract Club in the United States and Canada. Not a member yet? Enroll today!
You agree to report your results honestly and accurately!
You must register prior to 11:59 PM Eastern on January 29, 2016 via the Meetup or Facebook events.

Here is the list of challenges for the month of January - 

Scavenger hunt challenges
1. Happy New Year 
2. College football fan
3. Jacket
4. Blue shirt
5. Cashier
6. Ask - Did you get one of these?
7. Name tag 
8. Camo
9. Green shirt 
10. White shirt
11. red box
12. Hat
13. Uniform
14. yellow shirt
15. Hoodie
16. Football fan
17. Sunglasses 
18. Coffee 
19. Cellphone 
20. Sitting down 
21. Standing in line
22. Gas pump
23. Gift Card rack
24.Burgundy shirt
25. Someone walking 
26.Black 
27. Table 
28. Brown
29. orange
30. Convenience store

Mardi Gras Parade - Jan. 30, 2016

Our next big event is coming up this Saturday in Monroe, La. The annual Mardi Gras parade here seems to be growing larger every year. Last year and the year before, we averaged giving out around 1500 tracts each year. We have also had many conversations. This year we will have more with us. I'm praying that we have enough for 4 teams to go in 4 directions. The parade starts at 6:00 pm. We plan on meeting before 4:00. Please pray for God to use us to reach someone for His kingdom. 

The Benefits of Handing Out Gospel Tracts by Geoffrey Kirkland

This was posted originally on http://vassaloftheking.blogspot.com/

The Benefits of Handing Out Gospel Tracts.
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

The Word of God reminds believers to always be ready to give a defense for the faith (1 Pet 3:15). Christians long for the unsaved to hear the gospel and to be converted. The gospel of God’s saving grace revealed in Christ goes forth in a myriad of ways. But one such way in which believers can proclaim the gospel and evangelize the lost is through the distribution of gospel tracts. A gospel tract is a printed piece of literature that presents the biblical gospel of Jesus Christ and calls the sinner to repent of sin, trust in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life, and to follow Him.

In this short write-up, I endeavor to present some reasons why Christians should hand out gospel tracts. That is to say, there are many benefits in the handing out of gospel tracts. I will list fifteen of them. 

1. A good gospel tract faithfully proclaims the biblical gospel. A good gospel tract is a piece of literature that faithfully presents the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. It will present man and his sin condition and urgent need for divine grace to rescue him from eternal punishment. It will show forth the person and work of Jesus Christ, His substitutionary work on the cross, and His bodily resurrection from the dead. It will call the sinner to repent of sin, trust in Christ alone, forsake all self-righteousness and follow Christ alone for salvation! Thus, a faithful gospel tract presents the gospel in print and imparts the gospel to people to take with them wherever they go.

2. A gospel tract can go places that you can't go. In the absolute sovereignty of God and in the glorious providence of God, gospel tracts end up in places that we just can’t go. Sometimes they end up in bathrooms, on an employee’s desk, even in a trash can in an office, or in a box of goods that someone purchases and finds when they get home and open that box. Gospel tracts are small and they travel where we often can’t. We can’t travel with people and go from person to person, but tracts can, and they often do. And God sovereignly uses this for His glory.

3. A gospel tract can clearly present the gospel in a cogent way. A well-written gospel tract is a concise and cogent presentation of the gospel that people can read. Sometimes we may forget a Bible verse or not quite remember the exact quotation of a text but a gospel tract never gets nervous and forgets what to say. It has one message and one purpose: to present the gospel in a clear, compelling, cogent and concise manner. And this, a good gospel tract always does!

4. A gospel tract doesn't take much effort to pass out. Going on missions trips around the world can take a tremendous deal of effort in preparation and traveling (and rightly so!). Gospel tracts don’t take much effort to pass out. They are small, simple, easy to distribute and anyone can hand it out. A small child can hand out a gospel tract and a bedridden person in a hospital can distribute it.  Almost anyone can hand out a gospel tract!

5. A gospel tract is often politely received by people (or, politely rejected). There is not anything too offensive about handing someone a piece of paper and often people will accept it. But if not, typically they will kindly refuse. Even still, it’s a diligent, faithful, and wise way to get the biblical gospel into people’s hands. 

6. A gospel tract can find its way into people's homes when we can't. Someone may receive a gospel tract and put it in their purse or their pocket. Then, when they arrive home that night or perhaps the next morning they may find it and read it. We can’t proclaim the gospel in all the homes of the people that we see, but we can give out gospel literature that people can receive and perhaps they’ll find it and read it when they get home.

7. A gospel tract doesn't argue; it merely states the Truth & calls the reader to repent & believe. Quite simply, gospel tracts don’t share truth. They proclaim truth! They don’t argue. They announce the gospel! If people object to the gospel, the tract doesn’t argue, get rattled, veer off course or engage in silly arguments. Rather, the tract sticks to its message and continues to give gospel truth and to urge sinners to repent!

8. A gospel tract can be handed to anyone, at any place, at any time, with a smile. Anyone can distribute gospel tracts. The youngest of children to the eldest of adults and nearly everyone in between can take a piece of paper and hand it out to others. One can hand it out in a grocery store, to a cashier, to a stranger, to a passer-by, to someone sitting on a bench, to a law-enforcement officer, to someone in need, to a co-worker, to someone walking in a park, or an endless myriad of other possibilities. And, Christians can have a smile of warmth and a smile of brotherly-love in handing out the greatest message ever given to man to sinners in need of grace!

9. A gospel tract can allow the reader to refer to it again for Bible references and follow up. A good gospel tract has Scripture references and proves what it says with the Bible. Someone, then, can look up Scriptures that are printed on the gospel tract. And furthermore, ideally, a gospel tract would list a church or a ministry where a person could attend or contact for follow-up. It is simply stated so that follow-up can be had. 

10. A gospel tract can be used by God to convert the lost and encourage the redeemed. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. The power is in the message. This message on a piece of paper can be used by God to convert a dead sinner’s soul or, perhaps, God may use the tract to encourage believers in the faith. Perhaps it may stimulate other Christians to get some tracts so that they themselves may proclaim the gospel!

11. A gospel tract sticks to the point and never gets sidetracked with silly arguments. The gospel tract that a Christian hands out does not get deterred by foolish arguments and endless speculations. It always sticks to the point because its message does not change. It presents the gospel and it keeps presenting that same gospel. 

12. A gospel tract might be read by a person too arrogant to talk but too curious to let the literature pass him by. Perhaps someone with friends may be unwilling, or too arrogant/self-righteous, to talk with a Christian about eternal matters. But they may receive a piece of paper which they may read later on their own time. Perhaps someone next to them may be curious to see what a friend received that they’ll stick out their hand to receive the piece of paper so they don’t feel left out. Those who observe Christians handing out literature may be unwilling to talk (in public) but they may be too curious simply to feel ‘left out’. And so, they may receive one.

13. A gospel tract may be providentially used by God at the right time to sow gospel seeds in someone's soul. The harvest is plentiful, Jesus said. He also asserted that the laborers are few. Believers sow gospel seeds and some plant seeds, some water those seeds, and some see the sinner converted by God’s grace. But it always is God who produces the growth. But God uses His Word at the right time to sow gospel seeds in people’s hearts. 

14. A gospel tract is a loving way to present the gospel to sinners in need of salvation from God's judgment. There really is nothing all that confrontational about handing out a pamphlet to another person. No one forces it upon another. It’s a simple, loving, compassionate, brotherly, and kind thing to do. It can be very warm and affectionate especially when the Christian may give a short statement when handing the tract to another: “Here, my friend, did you receive this yet? It changed my whole life! And I want you to have it!”

15. A gospel tract is an easy way to proclaim the gospel with a smile of brotherly love toward your neighbor. The gospel can be proclaimed with urgency, with passion, with fidelity and with earnestness and yet with a gentle, compassionate smile of brotherly-love. A friend can hand a gospel tract to a co-worker with a smile and express his loving care for his friend. A neighbor can hand out a gospel tract to someone living next door and verbalize his appreciation of him. And endless other possibilities may exist. So then, by handing out a tract a Christian engages in the proclamation of the gospel in a simple, easy, fervent, faithful, and loving manner. 


“When preaching and private talk are not available, you need to have a tract ready. . . Get good striking tracts, or none at all. But a touching gospel tract may be the seed of eternal life. Therefore, do not go out without your tracts.”
    — Charles Spurgeon

“The very first service which my youthful heart rendered to Christ was the placing of tracts in envelopes, and then sealing them up, that I might send them… I used to write texts on little scraps of paper, and drop them anywhere, that some poor creatures might pick them up, and receive them as messages of mercy to their souls.”
    — Charles Spurgeon

Happy New Year - 2016!

Tonight marks the 23rd anniversary of an accident that could have left me paralyzed or in hell. This is my testimony of how I was born again. 

On New Year's Eve '92, I was involved in the party scene. I thought I was living the good life. I had moved to Shreveport to manage the GNC (General Nutrition Center) at Southpark Mall. I had just bought a 1992 Dodge Dakota Sport. I was twenty-three at this time. Before this,I managed the GNC at Pecanland Mall in Monroe, La. I was into working out with weights. I had lost about 65 pounds through exercising and dieting. My friend, John, helped me with working out. In November, my boss asked me if I could transfer to the Shreveport store. I eagerly told him that I could. I was wanting to move up in the company.

I had met a young woman at one of the clubs where I hung out with my friend, Al. We started dating before I moved. She lived in Ruston. I stopped in to see her one day when I was going back to West Monroe to visit. She broke up with me that day. The day before New Year's Eve, she called me to ask us to hold a place for her at the club where we would be at in Monroe.  We all got to the bar that night with partying on our minds. I started drinking mixed drinks. Sometime after midnight, I blacked-out. I remember just bits and pieces of what was to happen after that. I remember walking out to my truck. After that, I remember shutting the passenger door to the truck. Then, I was walking on the other side of the bridge down Trenton Street in West Monroe. Then, I was at the door of Al's apartment. I woke up at 10:00 on New Year's Day. I told Al that we needed to find my truck. I didn't know where it was! We drove around looking for it in West Monroe and Monroe. I finally called the Monroe Police Department to ask If they had towed the truck. The woman on the line told me that it had been towed to Master's Auto Service in Monroe. I went to see it there. The hood and front was crushed in the middle. The owner of the towing company told me that I was fortunate to be alive. I had hit a utility pole on the corner of Pine and Walnut, which was several blocks from the club. The police had pulled some of my hair from the windshield where I had hit with my head. I had walked one mile from where I had wrecked. The officer that worked the accident called me at midnight on January 1st to ask me about what had happened. I lied about what I did, but they knew that I had been drinking. 
I had to go back to Shreveport without transportation. Over the next several months I was dependent  on my parents to come to bring my back home on most weekends. I walked to work sometimes and got a taxi at other times. One day at work I was talking with a regular customer about some of our products. She and her husband worked for the Shreveport Police Department. We ended up talking about church and Jesus. She asked where I went to church. I told her that I was trying to go back to church. She said "You're not doing anything! You better come back to Jesus now! "
There had been others who had witnessed to me before, but her words made me to think. I didn't write the exact date down, but around March the 15th I repented of my sins, asked for forgiveness, and was saved at my apartment in Kingston Village Apartments on Kingston Road! What a change! I got born-again! I told everyone what had happened to me! I couldn't go back to the clubs anymore!
I couldn't listen to the same music anymore! I didn't have the desire to drink anymore! I was a changed man! 
I was able to move back home and get my old job back in April. I started passing out tracts. I went to church whenever I could. I wanted all that the Lord had for me! I wanted to do His will! I met Todd at a revival one night. We passed out tracts at several bars around town. Later, we preached at some of the bars. I was nervous about street preaching, but I was hooked after I did it a few times! I love to tell the story of how the Lord saved me! 
I am thankful that I have had an extension on my life. I should have died and went to hell that night of my accident, but I am alive! I am saved! 
Happy New Year!

Living For Christ The Rest Of The Year

Living For Christ The Rest Of The Year

Luke 1: 46 - 55

It's always a little sad, isn't it? Christmas is over, and soon decorations will come down and be put away in boxes for the next 11 months. It's like we experience this feel-good high that crashes to the ground.

Unfortunately, that's the way many live the spiritual life, just waiting for the next big event so they can get their feel-good fix. But Mary's first Christmas was anything but feel-good.

Mary sang and praised God for the same reasons that we ought to be singing every day of the year: She sang because of her salvation. Mary knew the challenges that were on the horizon and was getting ready to face some severe scrutiny for turning up pregnant and unwed! And never mind the anguish she was going to cause her family, who would be forced to disown her or face the same rejection.

True praise isn't grounded in your circumstances. So as you unwind from Christmas, don't just settle back into business as usual. Take something special from this Christmas like a better appreciation of who Christ is and what he did. Because while you may celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th, you should experience the life of Christ every day as he lives through you.

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE SHOULDN'T BE BASED ON FEEL-GOOD EVENTS BUT ON YOUR DAILY RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST.

From - crosswalk.com

Merry Christmas! - 2015

Christmas Witnessing - 2015

I've had a great time using tracts this Christmas. Mostly everyone took them. I had a few conversations with some. Most of the time you will never know the results after the tracts are taken.We just  pray that God waters the seeds that are planted and that some will respond to the call to repent & be saved! 

The 9th Annual Redneck Christmas Parade - West Monroe, La - 12/5/2015

 We had a great day of evangelism at the Redneck Christmas Parade. Bro. JJ, Sis. Tiffany, and I gave out between 600 - 700 tracts and bookmarks. We walked a little over half a mile of the parade route. The tract that we used the most was the Camo Card. There were many people wearing camouflage jackets and clothing. We also gave out Christmas Trivia tracts, Christmas tracts, and The Legend of The Candy Cane bookmarks. Bro. JJ gave a Camo Card to a man who said that he has picked one up at a laundry mat. I saw several people who I knew. (I grew up in that area.) I met a man named Kenny who was delivered from a life of drug addiction. I gave a tract to Daniel at a gas station. He thought that he knew me from somewhere. We only had 2 - 4 who didn't take a tract. Please pray that these seeds will bloom into salvation for many!

Happy Thanksgiving - 2015