to Christ

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Evangelism need not be complicated.  No less a follower of Jesus than Simon Peter was introduced to Christ by someone who was a rank amateur in sharing his faith – his brother Andrew – who had only recently met Jesus himself.  Let’s look at the text:

One … who … followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.” – John 1:40-42 (NKJV)

Andrew told Peter about Jesus the very day he met Him.  To be sure, Andrew still had a lot to learn about his Lord.  That education lasted a lifetime.  Nonetheless, without a shred of understanding of his apostolic gifts or authority, without ever reading or even seeing a gospel tract, and though he didn’t yet know Jesus very well, Andrew led Peter to Christ. 

This simple act is Part One of the to Christ – in Christ – for Christ vision we have for each believer at Horizon Central.

Leading others to Christ, as we see (again) in John 1:40-42:

One … who … followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.” – John 1:40-42 (NKJV)

It’s true that no one can come to the Father except through Jesus, but it’s also true that people can come to Jesus from anywhere at all.  People only need someone who knows Him already – someone just like us – to introduce them to Him.

Palmer St. Podcast: John 3

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This Chapter is easily one of the most memorable in the Bible.  It starts with a private conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.  Then we’ll hear about Jesus from John the Baptist.  Important verses in this chapter are the well-known John 3:16, which explains the gospel in one verse, and John 3:30, which summarizes discipleship in one verse: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Audio: John03.mp3

Study Notes: John03.pdf

What Are We Waiting For?

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We should be patiently waiting for our Lord’s return.

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” – James 5:7-8 (NKJV)

There is no getting around the doctrine of our Lord’s long-awaited return. Every New Testament author mentions it as a certain future event. The New Testament’s 260 chapters and 7959 verses are packed with 318 references to the future coming of Jesus – or one out of every 25 verses.

All too often this belief becomes a point of argument.  We might better spend our time in application.  An attitude of expectation characterized the early church. May that same joyful hope be a central part of our faith, leading us to live pure and holy lives as we await that moment when we will be eternally transformed.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” – 1 John 3:2-3 (NKJV)

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” – Matthew 24:42 (NKJV)

Long and Short Prayers

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Prayers do not have to be long to be effective.  Perhaps the best example of a super effective short prayer is found in Nehemiah.  In this case Nehemiah offered up a prayer in the midst of a conversation.  The answer he received sent him on the mission that would forever define his life.

“Then the king said to me, ‘What do you request?'”

“So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, ‘If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.'”

“Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), ‘How long will your journey be? And when will you return?’ So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.”  – Nehemiah 2:4-6 (NKJV)

How long was that prayer?  A couple of seconds at most?  Yet under the circumstances, in the presence of the king with Jerusalem lying in ruins, we can be sure this prayer was offered from the depths of Nehemiah’s heart.

We must take care, however, to see this prayer in its larger context.  One chapter earlier, when Nehemiah first heard of the needs in Jerusalem, this was his response:

“So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”  – Nehemiah 1:4 (NKJV)

How long is “many days”?  The text gives us a clue.  Four months elapsed (Chislev to Nisan) from the beginning of Nehemiah’s fasting and prayer until his moment of truth before the king.  No doubt that four months of private mourning, fasting and praying gave that later prayer much of its strength and direction in those few crucial seconds.