You are here: Home / Archives for Evangelism

THE MIRACLE ON 45AVE.

by

miracleBy Ken Blue

Unobserved, and of no interest to those who never knew, That eternal business was discussed on Forty-Fourth Avenue.

A little band that prayed for land, the year of seventy-two, Gave God a reason, it was the season to trust and to do.

The owners replied, and we complied, with witnesses: two. What began continues the plan, on Forty-Fourth Avenue.

 Sacrifice, a will to work, visions Satan could not subdue; The little band that stood on the land, into the hundreds grew.

 Every Sunday, from far and near, visitors come two by two. At invitation time, you will find sinners in line waiting to say, “I do”.

 Hundreds surrendered to serve at home, and some across the blue. The question is, would you respond, “Here I am”, if He called you?

Miracles persist at Open Door, as we stay faithful and true. Windows of heaven remain open, on Forty-Fourth Avenue.

 

HOW TO KILL A CHURCH; A MILE DEEP AND AN INCH WIDE

by

Kill a church

 

By Ken Blue

All of us have heard of the tragic results when doctors make a mistake and give the patient the wrong injection or pills. Many times the results are fatal. That is one reason others should be brought in to assist and assure that mistakes are not made.

I’m sure no pastor or church member would purposely inject a church with ministry concepts that would kill it. In most cases the intended goal is to make the church better. However, many of those decisions are based on preferences rather than on proven methods.

A few years ago, at a preacher’s conference, I heard a pastor criticize churches larger than his own by accusing them of being an “inch deep and a mile wide.” I discovered that his church was neither an inch deep nor an inch wide. I was more like ¼ inch in both directions.

One sure way to kill a church is to put more emphasis on maturity than reaching the lost. When a church becomes more concerned about teaching than reaching, it is only a matter of time till rigor mortis sets in. The leadership then continues to inject embalming fluid, in an attempt to make the corpse appear to be alive. The shift to teaching will kill church growth.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]One sure way to kill a church is to put more emphasis on teaching than reaching.[/pullquote]

Another sure way to kill a church is to have a dead, dull music service. Dr. Jack Hyles built one of the largest churches in America. I personally heard him say that the KEY to an exciting church is atmosphere. Music and decor set the atmosphere. So liven up and mix up your music. You cannot have an Episcopal song service, a Lutheran sermon, and a Pentecostal invitation.

Finally, you kill a church by making sure that your preaching’s only purpose is to fill up the 11:00 hour. The average pastor has no purpose or theme in his messages to reach the purpose statement of the church; if it has one. Can you connect your sermons, lessons, activities, and advertisement to your church purpose statement? If not, your statement means nothing, or your sermons serve no purpose.

If I had to choose, which I did not, between a church that was “an inch deep and a mile wide or a church that was a mile deep and an inch wide,” the choice would be easy. I would take the wider church every time. I have no interest in a handful of “deeper life Christians” that sit around and criticize those of us who have not reached their spiritual depth. Also, there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who gets saved than there is over your deeper life sermon. So, aim at reaching the lost and infuse new life in your church.

MUSIC AND EVANGELISM

by

music and evangelismMUSIC AND EVANGELISM

By Ken Blue

“Music is never used in Scripture as a means of reaching the lost.” (quoted from a “music evangelist” ??)

The argument that music is never use in Scripture to reach the lost is a fallacious argument. Shall we use that same argument concerning musical instruments? Were they used in the early church, according to Scripture?

Evangelistic music has been used for centuries to communicate God’s salvation message. Shall we discontinue the invitation since the early churches did not give them?

All music should bring glory to God, but you don’t know what it is. Will it be liturgical, mass, anthems, motets, sequences, psalmody, antiphons, hymns, contemporary, rap, bluegrass, southern gospel, and black gospel? Or, will it be Christian lyrics set to a waltz, a march, the foxtrot, or the secular tunes as done by Martin Luther and others? All you have is preference. There is music I don’t like or approve; but that does not constitute Scripture or set the standard for you.

God looks on the heart and when the intent is to obey Him, He may cut those a break with whom others can’t find the grace to do so. However, the teaching that music should not be used to reach the lost is silly and cannot be established from Scripture.

I heard the above quote by a “music evangelist” (?) At the close of his message he said,  “let’s sing ‘just as I am'”

God’s Courtroom

by

God's courtroomSomeday we’ll all be brought into God’s courtroom.  We will all answer for our crimes–SIN!

God is the judge of all the universe.  The Bible says that we must all give an account to God (Romans 14:12).  God is the righteous judge.  He will not let sin go unpunished.

For 6000 years, man has passed judgment upon God.  Most of the time man’s judgment on God is based on feelings or prejudice.  God will not so do.  The time will come when God will pass judgment upon man and His judgment will be based on facts alone.

Witnesses will be brought forward to testify either for us or against us.  The vast majority of these witnesses will testify against us.  In doing so, they will reveal the secrets that we thought we had so well hidden.

The witnesses will not be other people.  They will be witnesses such as: conscience, opportunity and sermons.

 

Dr. Blue does an excellent job of painting a picture of God’s courtroom for you to see. You can easily imagine being there as you listen to this short AUDIO SERMON.

This is one of the best sermons ever preached. It is a classic. If it doesn’t move you, then something is deeply wrong with your life.

HOW IMPORTANT IS SOUL-WINNING

by

How Important Is Soul-Winning

Soul-WinningBy Ken Blue

How important is soul-winning? Perhaps the following illustration will help you decide: A storm developed in the Pacific Ocean and for several days the waves crashed against the sandy beaches of the Hawaiian Islands. Thousands of sand dollars washed upon the seashore and were stranded. A lady, walking along the beach, saw them and one by one began tossing them back into the ocean. A man came along and said, “You’re wasting your time. There are too many for you to make a difference.” She picked up one and threw it back into the water and said, “It made a difference to that one.” She picked up another and as she tossed it back into the ocean she said, “It made a difference to that one.”

I ask you, how important is soul-winning? You decide. It will make a difference to that one.