Get Out Of Your Own Way – Share The Gospel

There I was, at the airport on my way to St. Louis for a business trip. Sitting all by myself I had commandeered (unbeknownst to me) the only working power outlet and was charging up my gadgets. I was alone for a while, but soon the terminal started to fill up. A man sat down a few chairs away from me and tried to use the outlets below his chair. But no dice, they weren’t working. He slid down closer and tried the next set with the same result. So I offered to unplug mine so he could charge his phone. I knew this was the Lord’s doing and my opportunity to start a conversation, but I blew it and just let him plug his stuff in and slide back down to his seat.

About 30 minutes went by and I was so convicted it was driving me nuts. But as each minute passed by, the awkwardness increased and it was harder and harder to start a conversation. I couldn’t get out of my own way.

Finally, I just asked, “So, where are you headed?” Seems like such a simple question to ask in airport, doesn’t it? But to me it felt like the hardest question I’ve ever had to ask. It seemed like such an awkward and forced question. Why was it forced? It was forced because the reason I was asking him the question was to get to something. I wasn’t asking because I cared for the answer. Do you see the subtle difference? Do you see the lesson to be learned? I share the Gospel because we care, so I need to care to share the Gospel. I know I’ve learned my lesson, I pray you will learn from my mistake.

Anyway, it turns out his name was Gabriel. He was in the Army (served in Iraq), got out about a year ago and just got the call to go back to active duty and return to Iraq. He went to church “sometimes” and thought he was going to go to heaven b/c he was a good person. He heard the Gospel and it was amazing to witness once again the power of the Holy Spirit convicting him of his sin, and his need for a savior. He had never heard the Gospel like that before. I know the Lord brought us together for a reason that day, please pray for Gabriel.

-W.S.

Is The Gospel Real To You?

I stumbled across another amazing video this AM, and I wanted to share it. It's another in a great series of videos from the folks over at I'll be Honest. There's nothing I can add, except I urge you to watch this video and heed the message.

Is the Gospel real to you? from I'll Be Honest on Vimeo.

You can view this video in HD here.

-W.S.
(mike)

Another Test

This is only a test, if it was a real blog entry it would have been followed by a scripture and some practical story and/or application.

Hebrews 4:12 (NASB)

"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

I told you, this was only a test. You'll have to apply this one yourself. I'm just changed my RSS feed service to feedburner, so I wanted to see if this would show up in my feed reader.

24-Jan....just editing this post again to see if I finally got it to work right....-W.S.

Learn The Ten Commandments In 5 Minutes

I stumbled upon this tonight, and I'm really glad I did. Pastor Steve over at Stone The Preacher put together this quick instructional video on how to learn the 10 commandments in 5 minutes. Now, this isn't something you will want to practice in front of a bunch of people b/c you'll probably look pretty rediculous...BUT I can assure you that if you run through this 5 minute video and follow along you will never forget the 10 commandments again.

If you start watching this and you find yourself saying, "This is dumb, I fell like such a fool doing this!" then I ask you to ask yourself two follow-up questions:

1. Do I have the 10 commandments 100% committed to memory (in order)? (If answer is no, see question #2)
2. What is more "dumb"....not knowing the 10 commandments or going through an exercise that will help you learn them?

I leave the conclusion up to you.

-W.S.
(Mike)

This Is Only A Test

Please remain in your seats, this is only a test. I'm testing a new iPhone application called "lifecast" that will allow me to post directly from my phone.

"why?", you ask? Well, As I walk my walk with Christ each day there are a ton of things that pop into my head that I think would be perfect blog entries...but before I know it life gets in the way and I never get around to it (but mostly I just forget).

So, we'll see how this works out. If my spelling is (even) worse than normal it also provides a pretty good excuse. :P

-W.S.

Posted with LifeCast

"What is Wrong With The World?": Voddie Baucham Sermon Jam - Audio Only

You may have heard, this sermon jam was played on hour 2 of yesterdays "Wretched Radio". I figured I'd make the audio available for whoever wanted it. Here you go, it's for His Glory.

http://www.archive.org/download/WhatIsWrongWithTheWorldVoddieBauchamSermonJam/WhatIsWrongWithTheWorld-VoddieBaucham.m4a

-W.S.
(Mike)

Meet Ronnie: Have you met before?

Have you met anyone like Ronnie before? Think about it, how many Ronnie's are at your church?


Here's a tougher question...are you Ronnie?

Either way, my point here is not to cast stones. As Christians, as true followers of Christ, we must build REAL relationships in our church. This will enable us to begin to have REAL fellowship with our church family. I'm not simply speaking of friendships here, I'm talking about the kind of relationship that is built on a foundation of repentance and trust in Jesus Christ. This is not a hypocritical "churchy" relationship that I know we are all familiar with. The one where you walk on egg shells and are to have conversations that will expose your true hypocrisy. We've all been there, and maybe we're there today. We must get beyond the days of speaking in church cliche's, and start having conversations about our Amazing God using real words.

What kind of conversations do you have with people in your church? Are they any different the typical conversations those of the world have on a daily basis? Are they only about the weather, sports, fashion, or TV? Or are your conversations about Christ? Your Savior. Your God. Your LORD. They should be.

After all, what else is there really to talk about?
-W.S.

What is wrong with the world? - My First Sermon Jam

I've been working on this for a couple months, and I think it is finally ready to be released. This is the first sermon jam that I have actually edited myself (the last one I just added visuals to), and was inspired by a message by Voddie Baucham. I pray you find it powerful and that all the praise and glory will go to our Perfect, Holy & Amazing God.

If you would like to download the sermon jam or to view it in High Definition you can find it here: "What is wrong with the world?" - Voddie Baucham Sermon Jam from Wretched Sinner.

-W.S.

Scientific Fact: Or is It?

I read an interesting article this AM that I thought about posting about soon, but then I came across this related video and realized I should probably post on it today:





You see, all these scientific "facts" that all the "smart" people in the world come up with don't always stand up to the test of time. These articles (Part 1|Part 2) by the British Medical Journal just debunked several scientific "facts" which I know I have bought into over the years. Here are just a couple:

1. Sugar does not cause hyperactivity in children.
2. You don't lose excess body heat from your head. (You can leave your hat at home if you don't want to muss your hair!)
3. Eating at night does not make you fat. (Though the obvious rules still apply—you can't eat more calories than you burn.)
4. Unfortunately, there is no scientific evidence that you can cure a hangover.
5. Shaving does not cause hair to grow back faster, darker, or coarser.
6. Reading in dim light will not destroy your eyesight.
7. You don't need to drink eight glasses of water a day, so save yourself the bloat.

So what's the point, you ask? My point is that we just accept many things from the scientific community as fact. Many of the myths above have been shown on TV as part of educational shows that many of us end up believing. While not listed in the article above, evolution is another "fact" that many people just accept without any argument whatsoever. Why do we put so much faith & confidence in the ever changing realm of science, but yet are so fearful to put the same in the Word of God which remains unchanged and steadfast? Just think about it.
-W.S.
(Mike)