The Rechabites are a relatively obscure group of people, found only in Jeremiah 35. Descended from the Kenites, the Rechabites were given a very important commandment from their ancestor: Don’t drink wine.

As Jeremiah found out, they still followed this commandment nearly 300 years later. As for the Israelites? They wouldn’t even listen to a command by God given five minutes ago.

Obedience matters, but obedience begins with our willingness to listen in the first place.

A message from the series “Toolbox for Evangelism.” It’s super common for people to say that “the church is going away” or “people aren’t interested in the Gospel anymore,” but I don’t think that statement is 100% accurate. Churches may be closing their doors, but I believe people are still interested in God.

Even if that weren’t true though, I should still believe it. Why? Because once I start to doubt that people aren’t interested in the Gospel anymore, my evangelism will cease. And when that happens, I’ll lose heart.

Christians have to be optimists. There’s simply no other option for us.

“Cancel culture” – a culture in which people are “cancelled” when considered offensive — may be a new term, but the idea is nothing new. Paul dealt with this in 1 Corinthians 8 when he talked about eating meats: Some people stumbled, some didn’t, but they both had to coexist in the same church.

Practically speaking, how can that even be possible? How can two people who have two completely different viewpoints on a certain matter of opinion worship and grow together?

One word: Patience.

The story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac is — on the surface — absurd. What kind of God would ask a human being to sacrifice their child, especially when later in the Bible, sacrificing your child to a “god” is one of the most heinous sins that people would ever commit?

Fortunately, God stopped Abraham from going through with it, but the simple fact that Abraham was willing to do it says a lot about the depth of his faith. According to Hebrews 11, Abraham knew that God would raise Isaac back up in order to fulfill the other promise He had made to Abraham, which was to “bless all the nations” through Isaac.

I wonder sometimes — would I have had the same kind of faith in God to sacrifice my son as well?

A message from the series “Toolbox for Evangelism.” At some point in our conversations with other people to bring them to Christ, we have to talk about Hell. The same Bible that speaks about Heaven also mentions Hell, so it’s a necessary part of the Gospel, even if it is uncomfortable.

When do we broach that conversation? And, just as importantly, how do we talk about Hell? Ultimately, it requires our judgment, but we have to make sure we talk about it in the right way to have the desired effect — leading people to Jesus.

There is absolutely zero way that Calvinism can be explained in 30 minutes. It’s too deep, too intricate, and too complex for most of us absorb completely in such a short amount of time.

If we take the parts that are especially relevant in today’s world, then its much more doable. In this lessons, we look at some of the more common parts of Calvinism that people believe in today’s world and compare them to what Scripture says.

A message from the series “Toolbox for Evangelism.” We all (hopefully) know that anyone can be saved at any point in time. That no one is unreachable, no matter how much they may *feel* like they’re unreachable.

But do we actually believe that, or do we rely on stereotypes to “write people off” as “not a good candidate” for being a Christian. We have to believe — to our core — that anyone can be saved, or else we’ll miss vital opportunities to help save people’s souls.

A message from the series “Toolbox for Evangelism.” In the words of one of our members, visitors are a gift. They come into our assembly simply with the intention of worshipping with us. Prayerfully, if possible, we can help them get closer to God as well.

We need to be intentional about the way we treat our visitors. Not just with a handshake and a smile, but a desire to actually get to know them better.

In a room full of Christians, it goes without saying that most of the people there love being a Christian.

But is it possible that someone can love *being* a Christian more than they love Christ Himself?

It happened to the Jews when they became so infatuated with their religion system that they completely lost track of what it meant to be a part of God’s family.

And if it can happen to them, it can happen to us too.

A message from the series “Toolbox for Evangelism.” Despite being around for over 30 years at this point, the internet is still considered to be a new frontier for evangelism. There are all sorts of ways to harness this medium to advance the Gospel: social media, paid ads, websites, and more.

What are some things we can do to spread the Gospel online?