Mission Good Friday Suggested Gospel Springboards

Hello Project Ezra!  It's time to start our readings for this year's Mission Good Friday.  Though today is the official day, any day surrounding the Easter holiday will work just fine.  People will be thinking about Easter this weekend, but very few will be thinking about the death and resurrection of Christ, the true meaning of Easter.  That's why we will be going to the streets, to share that message with many who will not hear it otherwise.  Please pray that God will work in a powerful way, and that hearts will be changed and souls saved.  

Matthew 26 through 28 is the Easter story, so it is the passage we have chosen for this reading.  If you are an experienced open-air preacher, you will likely be able to find multiple points of entry into a good gospel presentation.  For those of you will less experience, here are some things to consider when using this, or any, passage of scripture for evangelism:   

What the passage says and doesn't say - Some pastors, and some open air preachers, will try to shoe-horn the entire message of the gospel into any passage they read.  If you do so, you are not handling the Bible rightly.  What you should try to do, if the message is not explicit, is to look at the passage and see what it's focus is.  Some will cover aspects of sin or judgment, some will talk about God's mercy, or grace, or goodness, some will recount details of the life of Christ, and almost all will have something to tell us about the nature of God.  Try to read the passage with an eye to the original intent of the author, and find the place that point has in a Biblical gospel presentation.  

The Nature of God - The gospel is what it is because of who God is.  His nature and character is why Jesus came to die and rise again.  A good idea is to contrast our nature with God's, and explain why that is a problem.  Then explain the solution.  Consider these:  

God is good, and we are not. What must a good God do with people like us?                                   

God is a good judge and we are guilty criminals.  What must a good judge do with criminals like us?  If He is a good judge, He must insure that justice is satisfied.                                                           

What if someone paid the fine and satisfied justice so we could go free?  What if that someone were God Himself?  God demonstrated His love in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God is a good and loving God.  But because He is just, He cannot ignore sin.  Instead, He paid for it on the cross.

Be sure you cover the basics - Every gospel presentation, and every open-air preaching session, will be different.  This is due to the change in the scriptures used, the audience, the location/situation, and even the convictions of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer at that time.  But regardless of the situation, we want to make sure that we cover the basics of the gospel.  A general outline is below.

            God created this world perfect 

But mankind, out of pride, chose to rebel and fell into sin 

Now, all men are born sinners, in rebellion against their creator 

And because of our rebellion, we are deserving of God's justice 

The scriptures tell us that justice will be carried out in a very real place called Hell 

But because God is not only a just judge, but also a loving Father, He made a way for justice to be satisfied, so we would not have to go to Hell 

Jesus Christ, God the Son, humbled Himself and came to earth 

He lived the perfect life that none of us did, and then died a perfect death on a Roman cross 

On the cross, all God's anger and wrath toward sin was poured out on Him, so it would not have to be poured out on us. 

Then He rose on the third day, as He had prophesied He would, and after appearing to His disciples, ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven. 

He now sits as both judge, and advocate, and if we will turn from our sins and to the free gift of grace offered by our one true savior, then the price of our sins will be satisfied, we will be seen as righteous before God, and we will be free. 

Then we will spend eternity in loving relationship and worship of God, as we were designed to do. 

I pray that this is helpful, and I look forward to hearing how your readings went.  God bless, and have a great Easter weekend!!

All for His glory,

Dan B.

Mission Good Friday 2014

Hello Project Ezra!  I know the group has been dormant for a while, but we are now approaching the 6th anniversary of Mission Good Friday, the event that started Project Ezra, so it’s time to get going again.   

So what is Project Ezra about?  The idea is simple.  We suggest a passage of scripture, along with some ideas on how you can use that passage to transition into the message of the gospel.  You can choose to use that passage, or pick your own.  Then you invite your friends and church family to join you.  People around the country (and often several other countries) do the same.  Then you pick a spot in a public area with good foot traffic, climb up onto a bench, box, ladder or stool, and read the passage aloud.  If there are several in your group, you can split the passage up and each read a section.  If you have people on your team with experience in sharing the gospel, they can do so, either one-on-one with those who stop to listen, or aloud from the box.  And most of all, pray that God’s Spirit will fill you and empower you as you share, and that He will convict and change the hearts of those listening. 

Mission Good Friday, 2009, was the first Project Ezra event.  Evangelist Tony Miano invited others to join him in reading Matthew 26 through 28 on Good Friday.  He posted the idea as an event on Facebook, and hundreds of people responded, going to the streets to share the good news of the death and resurrection of Christ.  Several other events followed, and then, for a number of years, Project Ezra was a weekly event, with leaders taking a different passage each week from one of the Bible book lists used in Grant Horner’s Bible Reading System (which I highly recommend, by the way).  After a while interest waned, and life and church commitments made it difficult to write weekly.  However, many people have been encouraged by the project, and many street preachers stepped onto the box for the first time as part of Project Ezra.  So we are asking you to join us, not only in participating and inviting your friends, but in praying that God will continue to use the group to encourage others to share their faith. 

This event's suggested reading is the true Easter story, told in Matthew 26 through 28, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Easter is just over a week away, and the holiday is on many people’s minds.  But most have no idea what Easter is really about.  They think of candy, the Easter Bunny, or maybe of getting an extra day off work.  But few will realize that the celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ is the celebration of the greatest gift, the greatest act of love and mercy that the world has ever known.  Will you open your mouth to tell them?  Will you step out of your comfort zone, and encourage others to do the same, in the hope that some will be drawn to salvation?  We pray that you will.  Join us next weekend as Project Ezra goes out to share the truth of Salvation through Christ.  Check out our Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1401963423412379/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular Hope to hear of your experiences and see your pictures.  Praying God will be glorified and you will be encouraged.  All for His glory, Dan B.

True Gift of Christmas 2013 - A Project Ezra Event

Hello all!  I’d like to ask you, and encourage you, to join us for our next Project Ezra reading event, this year’s True Gift of Christmas reading.  For those of you not aware, Project Ezra is a group dedicated to sharing the gospel through the public reading of scripture.  Since we are doing our readings less frequently now, I’m very excited for this reading, which has traditionally been one of our best attended.  Once again, we will be heading out to read the Christmas story.  Most towns and cities have a park, or square, or some common area or special event where people gather to celebrate Christmas (or “The Holidays.”)  Our goal is to gather a group of friends and church family members, a few stacks of tracts and Bibles, and to find a spot where people can gather and listen to the story of the birth of Christ.  So, here are our guidelines:

First, choose a public area near a popular Christmas event. This could be a fair, a parade, outside your local mall on a weekend, or any other place that draws groups of people. You know your area, so pick a place you would want to visit with your friends and family.

Second, get together a group of like-minded believers to participate with you. This is the ideal time to get additional people involved, since the reading will be long and can be easily divided up. Call Christian friends and family, and see about announcing it in church on Sunday.  If you can’t get a group together, then there’s nothing wrong with going by yourself.  Just be wise about time and location.

Bring a small ladder or box to stand on, and consider making a sign stating the name of our group and what you will be reading for listeners who arrive mid-reading. You may or may not use amplification, depending on personal preference and local laws.

Be sure to spend time in prayer as a group before you start!

Read the Christmas story.  The suggested passages, in order, are John 1:1-18, Luke 1:1-80; Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:1-38, and Matthew 2:1-23.  Consider picking one translation that everyone will read.  It’s not a requirement, but can help the reading flow more smoothly. You also might want to consider printing the reading in larger type and putting in into a binder that can be handed from one participant to another, or bringing a large-print Bible. You can get the whole reading here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201:1-18;%20Luke%201:1-80;%20Matthew%201:18-25;%20Luke%202:1-38;%20Matthew%202:1-23&version=ESV

The link leads to Bible Gateway, and you can either just print it online, or cut and paste it to a document program.  This particular link is for ESV, but all you have to do is go to the top of the page, and you can select you Bible version of choice.  It will change to the whole passage to that version.  If you will be out in the evening, be sure to consider the lighting level too.  You may need a reading light.

If you have a more experienced open-air preacher in your group (or even if you don’t) consider following the reading with a simple gospel presentation

Make sure you have plenty of tracts and bibles to hand out!

When should you do your reading?  Anytime between now and New Years is fine.  People will still be in the Christmas spirit, the decorations will still be up, so there will still be a

The official Facebook event is up here: 
https://www.facebook.com/events/1434195403465494/?context=create and we are putting this note to our blog as so you have someplace to send your friends for more info. Please let us know your thoughts, be sure to RSVP the event.  We look forward to lots of pictures, video, and stories!



All for His glory,
Dan

Black Friday Suggested Readings/Verses - Acts 17

Hello Project Ezra, and for those in the States, Happy Thanksgiving!   I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing day.  I also hope and pray that many of you are getting prepared to head out tonight or tomorrow morning to share the gospel with the Black Friday crowds.  For those of you who have not chosen to brave the crowds to snap up that really cheap Christmas present or latest TV/Computer/Game System/Smart Phone, Black Friday is by far the busiest shopping day of the year, and the evening/morning crowds at your local Walmart or Best Buy can provide a good opportunity to share the gospel through tracting or open-air preaching.  Do be careful, since some of the crowds will be on private property, and some late night shoppers can be cranky (DON’T go alone), but don’t miss the opportunity.  Millions will be out, many of them seeking to further support their idolatrous, me-centered lifestyle, and desperately in need of Christ,  the only true source of meaning and purpose.

We have used Acts 17 as our Black Friday/Thanksgiving suggested reading in the past, and it is still a great choice.  While those at the Areopagus spent their time looking for new ideas and beliefs, many in our day spend their lives looking for the newest fashion, the newest electronic device, or one of a host of other things that promise fulfillment that they cannot and never will satisfy.  They are really very much alike, below the surface, so this passage provides a great message.  I’ve also included a couple other passages, which you may want to use in place of (or more likely along with) Acts 17, which address some of the same issues.  You may also want to include several passages regarding being thankful to God for what we have already received, and particularly for the greatest gift of all, salvation through the blood of Christ.

I’ll be heading out for Black Friday myself soon (I work in the retail industry, and don’t have an option), and I look forward to hearing your testimonies and seeing your videos and pictures when I get back, sometime tomorrow.  I’ll be praying for the outreach, and God willing, will be heading out Saturday evening to share with and preach to those visiting a local Christmas event.  I’ll be praying for all of you, and would appreciate your prayers as well, for Black Friday and the outreach as well.  May God be glorified as His word is preached!!

All for His glory,

Dan

Paul in Athens

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.

So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for

“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

as even some of your own poets have said,

“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.  The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Proverbs 30:7-9 - Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of God.

Matthew 6:19-34 - “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.