The Chronicles

It was raining softly as I was going downtown Friday night after work. I was wondering whether I should preach or not, as it has been our policy not to preach if it is raining. I didn’t have a jacket either, and it was kinda cool outside. I parked and walked down the street to our normal spot to gauge things better. There were still plenty of people out and about who would be able to hear. I thought about it a while. If I went home, my Bible would stay dry, but I wouldn’t have anything to do at home, and no one would hear the Word of God. If I preached, people would hear the Word of God, but my Bible would get wet and messed up, and I would probably be cold. To the latter I replied to myself, “Who cares?” and went under a couple trees nearby by a bench and began to preach.

I preached from John 5:24-29, “He that hears my word and believes on Him that sent Me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death to life… the hour is coming when all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation.”

One of the saddest things I see is when I look at young people my age in the eye as I preach, and their attention is caught for a moment, and then they consciously look down and away. They are out with their friends, full of the atmosphere and themselves, and they’re not able in good conscience to open their attention to someone preaching righteousness, life, and trust in God.

A Christian came up and encouraged me in what I was doing. He asked me what church I was from. I told him and he asked if I was reformed. I said I was. He said that is surprising, because reformed people are always talking about election, but he doesn’t ever see them evangelizing. I said, “I know.”