June 2008

A few weeks ago we talked together on Sunday morning about the call to be witnesses for the Lord, ready and willing to share our faith and God’s love with people we meet. 

For some reason, which I don’t fully understand, it seems like as if it is in Lutheran DNA to remain quiet about the Gospel and keep the message of God’s Love to ourselves.  In that message  I shared some of the reasons I’ve heard Lutheran give for remaining silent;

“I think that religion is a private matter”

“I don’t know anyone who would be interested”

“I’m scared of sounding pushy and of what others might think of me”

But the number one reason I’ve heard is, “I don’t know what to say”. 

In that same message,  I made four points about being an effective witness for the Lord:

First, you must CARE; genuinely love people who aren’t followers and want the best for them.

Second, you must PREPARE, think through what to say about who Jesus is and what he’s done.

Third, you must BE AWARE, notice lost people around you and the needs they have.

Fourth, you must SHARE, take the bold step to enter into conversation, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you.   

On that Sunday we gave out 1000 cards that had a short explanation of the Gospel,  for people to carry with them.  Below is a sample of the card (we have more available if you want some)

In the weeks since that message I’ve heard some amazing stories of how the Lord has opened up doors for “gospel” conversations initiated by members of our church.  So, if you still have your cards in your wallet or purse and God’s love in your heart, considered yourself “prepared” and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you, like Philip was lead in Acts 8, to someone who needs the Lord.

  P astor Doug