The Chronicles

Having the day off from work, I was able preach with Pastor McCurley downtown today at noon. He preached from the end of Psalm 2, "Be wise now O you kings... serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in the way... blessed are all they that put their trust in Him."

Pastor McCurley preached how we are to give reverance to God the Son, whom the Father has appointed to be over all the kings and authorities of this earth. This psalm is especially fitting to us at it speaks to our own time when Jesus the Messiah reigns at God's right hand in heaven. We are to serve King Jesus. Those who kindle His wrath but a little, will perish in their way, but those who trust Him, will be blessed.

When Pastor McCurley was about done, though yet preaching, a fellow from across the street came directly up to him. He was tall, a white guy with a shaved head, and was wearing cut-offs with tattoes on his arms. He did not wait for Pastor McCurley to finish but got his attention and began speaking to him. As I went up to see how things were going, Pastor McCurley turned to me and asked me if I would preach while he prayed with the fellow. It turned out that he had heard Pastor McCurley preaching a block or two away. He wanted Pastor McCurley to pray for him, as he had known the Lord but had become discouraged in life and had not been walking with Him and wanted help.

I began to preach on Romans 14 where it says, "For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's... for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." I preached that to live is Christ, and to die is gain, and that those who trust in Christ are His, and how we shall all stand before the living Christ to give an account unto Him of our lives. The Lord gave both Pastor McCurley and I much unction as we preached, and much good was laid before the people that walked by today.

The Chronicles

Yesterday (Friday) I had the day off from work; it was the first time in over a year that I was able to preach with Pastor McCurley at lunch as we used to do. It was refreshing to to have him with me. I also had lots of energy, which I normally don't have, usually coming from after work. He was going to have to leave right after he finished preaching so I got there 20 minutes before him and began preaching on Psalm 119:81, "My soul faints for your salvation; but I hope in your word."

I preached on how the Christian sometimes finds himself fainting in this life, unable to go on, as he looks to God to save him from his sin and misery; that the Christian's eyes are always looking to his future salvation when God will deliver him from his troubles. For these times, God gives us in the present His word to hope and trust in, which sustains us in this life as we look to the things promised in it and wait upon God. The Christian life is often of this twofold character: of fainting and of hoping. God uses the weakness of faith to strengthen us.

The Lord gave me much liberty in opening up His word and much compassion for the people that heard as they walked by. I continued until Pastor McCurley arrived. He preached on the verse, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins." His preaching was striking in contrast to the people walking by who were minding their own things, who had probably never heard such a message before. God's Son, the Redeemer, was magnified before them.

The Chronicles

The Friday before last I preached on Psalm 46.

The Chronicles

New Years Eve (a Thursday night) I went downtown to preach. There wasn't as many people as I expected, perhaps from the cold. But my hat and gloves kept me warm enough. It was hard to preach. It was so cold I wasn't able to be very loud, lots of various noises crowded my voice out, people went about with their friends and no one really seemed to care about what I was saying. My spirit was heavy before I went downtown that night, and unlike usual, I found little comfort as I preached.

Being depressed and finding little strength in my own heart, I decided to end by preaching on the end of John 17, where Christ says "I have overcome the world".

I think this evening when I go out again in a bit, I will preach on the same thing, and try to find and open up more than I found last time...

The Chronicles

Last Saturday was a day of prayer and fasting for our nation. Our nation has done much to provoke God’s anger and judgements, being full of unbelief, false religions, atheism, and people doing whatever is right in their own eyes instead of doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord. Sin is boasted of and paraded in our society, no longer being a shame to us. Our government does not fear God, nor use His moral law as a standard of righteousness. God’s Word, instead of being reverenced, is mocked, ignored and gladly replaced with the wisdom of man. Christ’s church in this land is little better: split with many schisms, deluded with false doctrine, laden under unbiblical worship, and content with a dead faith unable to change lives to the glory of Christ.

Under such circumstances we did what the Bible directs us to do: hold a public day of prayer and fasting, confessing our nation and our church’s sins in order that in bringing them to the surface the Lord would pardon them and bring righteousness to our land by His Holy Spirit. We prayed that the Lord would bring great reformation to our land, that the civil government would profess and fear Christ as the King of kings, that godly civil magistrates would fear God more than man and would remove false religion and worship from our nation, would enforce God’s 10 commandments in our society and that they church would grow strong and unify herself under the influence of Christ’s grace from heaven, purify herself in doctrine and worship, and be filled with a faith that sanctifies sinners to the glory of Christ.

In accord with the purpose of the day, after our meeting where we learned from scripture and prayed, I went out to downtown Greenville to preach. It turns out that I got there after a Christmas parade had gone through and people were leaving. The roads were blocked off and there was a festival with rides for kids at the square I normally preach at. So went and stood on the opposite corners and began to preach loudly towards the families and people congregated and walking by, and said,

“Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." (Jer. 2:12,13)

I also preached on Jer 2:19 and 3:12

“Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.”

“Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.”

The Lord gave me much liberty and confidence in God’s Word that night as I preached for an hour and a half or so; many people took notice, and heard, I believe, sufficiently enough to save them. A guy came up to me and asked me how I picked out the corner I was on to preach on. I said that this corner was as good as any. He said that some people preach in front of bars or this or that. I said that it didn’t matter to me. People’s problem is not whether they are drunkards or not, but that they need their sins to be forgiven by God.

The Chronicles - San Francisco

Tuesday afternoon I took the ferry across the Bay of San Francisco. The only thing more beautiful than the weather was the view: rolling hills lining the expansive water, sail boats casually navigating the breeze, big tankers slowly floating along, bridges lining the distance, islands passing by and military strongholds upon the highest embankments protecting the borders. The sight of this great port city, rich with the merchandise and trading of the world made me think of Tyre of old,

"Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste... Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days?... Who hath taken counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffikers are the honorable of the earth? The Lord of Armies has purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory." (Isa. 23:1,7-9)

As soon as one is off the ferry shopping venues and malls immediately present themselves. I walked down the sidewalk along the piers, being taken in with all of the unfamiliar sights and sounds. There was such a diversity of people, activities, buildings, and districts. There was already a line 45 minutes long for the trolley I was going to take for a scenic ride up to Union Square, so I had to change plans. After wondering about a few blocks I found a bus going that way and after asking a few people for directions I made it to Union Square: a sqare block park in the middle of giant buildings surrounding it on every side.

I felt more than a little out of place. Everyone seemed like they were in a rush going somewhere; all types of people were passing by, many of whom probably didn't even know English. I had no idea where I was other than that in a half hour someone was supposed to pick me up to go eat. I felt alone, like a foreigner in a strange land, not knowing what I was doing.

Then I considered that all these people I saw were yet made in the image of God and that in the midst of the hustle and bustle and impressive buildings, the Creator remains the same and that He is as the bright sun that was shining in the sky overhead, and that He would be with me as I sought to preach to His creatures who are all in a hurry doing something else.

I preached on the parable of the prodigal son from Luke 15: how God the Father rejoices and comes running to hug us and weep upon our neck when we repent and come back to Him, rejoincing that though "my son was dead, he is alive again; he was lost, but now is found." The big buildings reflected my voice well so that lots of people could hear. The Lord gave me much help and many people listened to what I said as they stood at the intersection and walked by. After a half hour or so I had to stop and catch my ride to dinner.

The Chronicles

A friend of mine, Wayne, who is also a student at the seminary, came out preaching with me. It was a real encouragement to have him along.

I began preaching on Mark 15, where Christ is beaten and mocked by the soldiers before He is crucified. The Lord gave me much liberty and light in opening up the sufferings of Christ to all those standing and walking by. I preached on what it means where the Bible says, “Christ was made sin” (2 Cor. 5:21), how he was legally accounted and punished as a sinner, how His divine nature renders His human sacrifice of infinite worth which alone is able to repair the infinite glory of God that man has transgressed against, and how His atonement is sufficient to pay for all the sins of all the world, and how this complete redemption is offered freely to all those walking by that they might turn and believe and trust in this Savior that is offered to them and forever find peace and life with God. I think a lot of people took serious interest in what I was saying, as most of them probably had never heard before what I was saying.

Wayne preached after I did on Romans 1, how God’s invisible attributes are known from what appears, how His wrath against ungodliness is revealed from heaven, that man suppresses the truth in unrighteousness and how the Gospel is the power of God to bring men to salvation. It was his first time preaching on the street. A few people came up to him and thanked him for what he was doing, as it was evident that he preached from his heart and set forth the system of truth revealed in scripture to all those walking by downtown that Saturday night.

A guy who sat and listened to us for a while came up to me and talked about the things of the Lord with us. His name was Rufus and seemed like a sincere guy. I realized I had met him before at Fall for Greenville. He had come up to Pastor McCurley and I when we were preaching and had encouraged us. He wanted to talk and needed a ride home, so we went back to my place and talked for a while before I gave him a ride home. It was a wonderful blessing to meet him and to talk with him, our friend.

The Chronicles

Saturday night I preached on the angel’s words at Jesus’ birth “I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people! For there is born to you this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord… Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:10,11,14)

I preached on the good news that God has sent a Savior into the world, even Jesus the Christ, and this was a token of His goodwill toward men, that there should be peace between man and God. And this proclamation of God’s goodwill to the world, bringing peace to the door of sinners, brings glory to God in heaven. And that we are directed by God to Christ who is both Savior and Lord.

A guy came up to me. He was tall, middle-aged, had long hair, and began smoking a cigarette. In a composed manner he said that a long time ago he had tried all of that, he had asked God and Jesus for a few favors, and it didn’t do anything for him. He went on about how God had let him down and left him and how he had been a good person for all these years, though by no means morally perfect, yet nonetheless he talked as if God owed him something. I tried to tell him that God owes us nothing, and that we have to take Christ alone without our righteousness. He listened but it didn’t do much good.

He had a lot of lingering anger against God, built up from his past experiences, as if God had wronged him all this time. I find it strange when people know there is a God, and despise Him because they cannot see His goodness and good-will toward them. He began to walk off and turned to me and pointed to me and said with a lot of emotional anger, “God and Jesus and all that, they have forsaken me!"

I began to preach on Rom. 9:3,4: “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes.”

When I finished preaching and left to go home, I looked over and the guy was sitting on a bench a ways away, within hearing distance…

The Chronicles

As I was preaching from Romans 8 Friday night a person in a vehicle got stuck in the intersection immediately before me as the light turned red. A cop was behind her, and put on her lights and pulled the lady over.

I pointed to the scene and said that if you break the laws of Greenville, the police will arrest you. How much more if you break God's law will you surely pay the penalty for doing so. The woman police officer got out and went to the vehicle of the lady to talk to her through the window, and began writing her a ticket. I began preaching, in the hearing of the police officer, the one pulled over and others standing on the corners, that breaking God's law will not simply get you a ticket like that lady is getting now, but that the price for doing so is death, and just as we have all done what that lady has done, so we have all broken God's law. Except that God doesn't come like that police officer with justice, but God comes in mercy to you now to pardon all of your crimes against Him.

Eventually the police officer got back in her car, and both drove away. I began to preach to those standing by observing the whole scene, How can you pay back God for breaking His law? There is nothing you have that is not His, that He has not given to you. Hell is eternal because you are a penny-less debtor with nothing to pay back God in order to satisfy His justice. Your condition is completely undone. You need a substitute. Christ is willing to stand in your behalf and pay that which you cannot. He is willing now to receive you, to account to your credit His everlasting righteousness before God, that you, the criminal, might be freed from the penalty of the law. It is in Christ that His death is counted for ours, and the law's demands are fulfilled. The law has no power, has no claim, and cannot condemn anyone who believes on Christ and are acquitted by Him. Here, offered to you, is everlasting salvation.

Fall for Greenville - Lord's Day Afternoon

Pastor McCurley, I, and another family with some of the kids went downtown after worship in the afternoon on the Lord's Day. We preached where Pastor McCurley usually does on Friday afternoons; it was a really nice day and lots of people were out. People could hear us really well because there were not big trucks going up and down the street as usual, and all the buildings reflect our voice. Even though most people who walked by probably did not hear the Word of God in public worship that morning, they heard it in the afternoon in the street.

Pastor McCurley preached on the 10 commandments, using the law to drive people to Christ. I preached on the significance of the cross: that at the cross is the judgement and mercy of God displayed for sinners.

In the video below, which one of the kids took, the guy was asking us why we find it necessary to preach on the street. The reason is Romans 10:13-14,17,

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed?

And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard?

And how shall they hear without a preacher?...

For faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."

Fall for Greenville - Saturday Night

Pastor McCurley and I went downtown from about 7:30pm Saturday night until about 9:30. This was the busiest time of the festival. We found a spot next to a curb and Pastor McCurley began to preach on the verse that says, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered."




Even though most people walk by, they know what we are doing, as is sometimes evidenced by the comments they make. There was quite a diverse crowd, people from many walks of life that would never step foot in a church. As many of them would never otherwise hear the Word of God, God brought it to them on the street.

A fella came up to us and it turns out that he is an elder at Downtown Presbyterian (PCA). We talked to him for a while; he was surprised to hear us preach because we were preaching from Romans and we didn't sound Arminian. He was encouraging to talk to.

I began preaching from 1 Tim. 1:15, that, "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." At one point a woman in the crowd said "there are many ways; that is not the only way." As she walked by I preached in her direction that Christ said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me." She wasn't real happy and kept walking. People took notice of it.



Later, an older fella came up to me, put his hand on my arm, paused, and said real kindly, "This is not the place," and kept walking. I preached as he was walking away that this is exactly the place for sinners to be reconciled to God. He came back put his hand on me gently again, and said very kindly, "no one is a sinner." I preached in his direction as he walked off that the Bible says that none are righteous and he who says he has no sin is a liar. People heard the interchange, and it is through things like this that light is clearly distinguished from darkness. One is forced with the alternative to believe what the Bible says, or what what others say.

Later as the festivities were ending, we went down the road and preached as people were leaving.

A girl came up to us with some friends. She was going on and on how she knew she was going to heaven because she believed in Jesus, and her daddy, a preacher, had always told her that as long as we believe in Jesus, no matter how we live, we'll go to heaven. It turns out that she was drunk, said that she gets drunk all the time and smokes weed, every day, the guy she was with (who goes to church and reads his Bible) is a homosexual, and her father had a cocaine addiction (as a pastor), but is recovering. Pastor McCurley told her that 1 Corinthians 6:9,10 says that drunkards and homosexuals go to hell. She insisted that she believes in Jesus and therefore is going to heaven, because her dad told her that. Pastor McCurley, the following day on the Lord's Day, used her as an illustration in his sermon of someone having false assurance of salvation.

Fall for Greenville - Friday Night

I only found out that Fall for Greenville was happening early afternoon Friday while at work from an off-hand comment from my boss, otherwise I would have completely missed it. The Lord changes our plans. I wasn't prepared at all, but nor were the apostles when the Lord brought opportunities upon them. I went downtown after work at 9pm by myself as Pastor McCurley was not able to go with me. Downtown was so packed I had to park where we meet for church and walk about 7 minutes over. It was slightly warm and lightly sprinkling at times.

The streets were teeming with people, so much so that it was hard to go anywhere at times. Every other person had a beer in their hands.

There were concerts on the side streets, which I tried to avoid because of the noise. The low bass really drowns out preaching.

I made my way towards the busiest intersection I could find.

There were a couple cops nearby. They never bother us, and their presence would ensure no one would try to mess with me.




I found a good spot near the corner and began to preach into the middle of the intersection. Most people are startled when I begin, as they hear a loud voice and don't know what is going on, which is good: it captures their attention. I started saying, "The Bible says, 'Be reconciled to God, for the Father has made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him,'" (2 Cor. 5:20-21).

I preached on how Christ is the only person who has lived righteously before God and is sinless, and God made Him a sacrifice; putting the whole curse of the law upon Him, and that in Christ is redemption paid in full, and offered to them that night in order for them to be reconciled to God. And in the sinner trusting Christ, the only savior, Christ's everlasting righteousness is accounted to him in place of his debts, that he is forgiven of all, and has peace with God.

People often ask us why we preach on the street. Here is a short answer:

2 or 3 people came up to me, and one of them asked why I was only preaching on Christ. He was somewhat hostile and aggressive. I asked him what he wanted me to preach on. He asked why I didn't preach on the church, or the saints, or the Old Testament. I said, I'll preach from the O.T., and I began flipping through it to find a place. He then started talking about Mary and how great she was and how we should pray to her and the saints, and how I should preach about her too, because she was the mother of, and bore God in the flesh. I told him the Bible says Mary was a sinner, and she spoke of God as her savior (Luke 1:47).

That inflamed him. The three of them got in my face. So I took a deep breath, and preached over them so everyone could hear, at the top of my lungs, that no priest in the Roman Catholic Church can forgive your sins; Christ is the only priest that can forgive your sins, and praying to Mary is idolatry, that prayer is to be offered through Christ alone. The guys in my face went off, and 2 cops came in and pushed between us and forced the others away out into the street as they railed against me. Praise the Lord for the civil magistrate doing its job by protecting God's ministers so that they can preach freely.

After preaching on and off for an hour and an half, I went back to my car to go home. It is important to pray not only before we preach, but after also, that the Lord would bless His Word to those that heard it,

Fall for Greenville

We urgently need your prayers! Fall for Greenville is this weekend. It is the largest outdoor festival in the South Carolina upstate area for the whole year. All of downtown Mainstreet Greenville and the side streets will be blocked off for vendors and festivities. Thousands upon thousands of people will be crowding the streets Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday.

We will be preaching Christ's everlasting Gospel to the multitudes rushing down the broad path to destruction, urging them to turn to the narrow way: to Christ. Pray fervently that as we preach the gospel into the gates of Hell that Christ would draw many out into His kingdom forever.

"Look unto me all the ends of the earth, and be saved: for I am God, and there is none else."

- Isaiah 45:22

The Chronicles

By the street here is where we preach at night

Some people crossing the street that hear us

Here are some of the people that walk by

Saturday night, as I started preaching, there were a few guys sitting on a bench nearby, facing the other way, that kept turning around and telling me to shut up. In my book, thats grounds for me going over to them and telling them the gospel. Most people are not comfortable with direct confrontation; fortunately I am not one of those people. I went over to them and asked if they wanted to talk, they said no and told me to go away. So I stood in front of them and told them that we all fall short of the glory of God and deserve to be punished and go to Hell for breaking God's law. They consciously looked down as I talked and kept smoking their cigarrettes and then looked up and said, Hallelujah. We know all of that, we both used to be religious. I said that the only way we can be right with God is by trusting Christ to save us from our sins. They said that they were already right with God, that one of them used to go to church. I tried to tell them more, and then I saw it was to no use, so I went back to my place to preach, and they eventually left.

I preached from some verses in Hebrews, that Christ "is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing that He ever lives to make intercession for them." I preached that we need a priest to stand before God for us, to reconcile us to God, and that Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead and is in heaven at the right hand of God is the only mediator between God and men. And that Christ is the only one able save them from their sins; no one else can. And that He saves us not from some of our sins, or most of them, but all of them.

God's ministers are to preach in season and out of season. This was out of season. I struggled for things to say and motivation to continue. My heart didn't rise much to what I was preaching, but the Lord sent more than a handful of people that night to come up to me and encourage me and sincerely thank me for what I was doing.

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.”

The Chronicles

"Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love" - 1 Peter 1:7,8


I went downtown Friday night after work, about 10 o'clock; at first there were less people out than usual as it was kind of damp and cool, but the traffic seemed to pick up some as I preached. The change in weather, especially the humidity, was hard on my voice for the first 15 minutes, and I wondered if I would continue, as I was having to stop constantly. But I decided to preach on anyway and the Lord helped. As I did, my voice became stronger and more adapted to the conditions, and He gave me much assurance of the things I was preaching.

I preached from 1 Pet. 1:7,8, that Christ is to be our chief love, and is to have all the affections of our heart. And in perceiving and trusting Christ, not by sight, but with faith, it causes the sinner to "rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." And that those that look to Christ as the end of their life will "receive the end of their faith, even the salvation of their souls." I then continued preaching on 1 Peter, starting at verse 3, about the unchangable and eternal blessedness of God who is abundant in mercy, and how in believing the sinner is risen from the dead to spiritual life by virtue of union to the risen Christ, and will receive an incorruptible inheritance in heaven.

The last part of the hour I was preaching from later in the chapter (v.15,16) where it says that we deal with a holy God, and we must be holy as He is holy. And that it is only by the blood of Christ (v.19), the Son of God, that the one who believes on Him is forgiven completely and fully of all of his or her sins. I closed with the last few verses of the chapter, that though all men die off as the grass, the Word of the Lord endures forever.

A number of people stood on the opposite corner listening for a while. More than a handful of individuals at various times came and sat down on some nearby benches and listened for 20 or 30 minutes. Many people walking by seemed affected by what I was saying, and the Lord was kind to send His Spirit along with His Word to testify to their heart the truth of it. The contrast between people going out to have a good time to please themselves and what I was saying seemed to be striking at times. A few people came up to me and talked with me for a while. One seemed to be a sincere fella a few years younger than me who appreciated what I was doing. Probably a few hundred people heard the gospel last night. One guy sitting on the bench listened a long time with his head in his hands and tears. Christ knows His own, and will manifest Himself to them.