Pastor's Corner - Doxological Evangelism

Dear Friends,

What is doxological evangelism?

I'm glad you asked! First, we must understand that there are many ways to do evangelism. Evangelism doesn't have to be a program you enroll in or a group that you sign up to be a part of. Evangelism doesn't even have to be something you are good at. Evangelism should be part of the DNA of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. If we claim to know Jesus and love Jesus, then we must tell others about Jesus!

But what if you are afraid? What if you are not very good at explaining the Gospel? What if you don't know chapter and verse to every question that someone has about Christianity? Is evangelism only for the qualified professionals? ... NO! Evangelism is part of following Jesus!

So how can you, though you may be afraid, though you may not be good at explaining things, though you may not have all the Bible verses memorized, how can you share the Gospel? Let me introduce you to doxological evangelism.

Doxological comes from the word doxology which simply means to give praise to God. And of course, evangelism means to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Therefore doxological evangelism can simply mean inviting someone to a worship service, that gives praise to God, and thereby they are hearing the Gospel and being evangelized. It's that simple.

At Cornerstone, we want to practice doxological evangelism. Our worship service is designed in a very specific and purposeful way (I plan to write more about our order of service in the coming months). It is designed to give praise and focus to the triune God of the Bible and Him alone. In a day and age where many churches are trying to create an "experience" or an "event" that makes people feel comfortable and more welcoming, like visiting a mall or something, we want to do the very opposite. In fact, we want folks who don't know Jesus to feel uncomfortable.

I don't mean you should make them feel uncomfortable. You should be friendly, welcoming and always practicing hospitality to new people. But we don't want people to leave a worship service and have the same reaction they had when they went shopping or watched a movie. We want folks to feel like they participated in something much bigger than themselves. Something that made them uncomfortable to the point that they really begin to ask and deal with some of life's biggest questions like, "Who is God?" "Who am I?" "Did Jesus die for me?"

And that leads us back to doxological evangelism. Every year around this time people who don't normally go to church make an effort to attend a church because it's Easter. And these are people that you know from where you live, work and play. Perhaps you could invite them to worship with us? This is a great way to share the Gospel with someone - invite them to a worship service that will tell them the good news about Jesus Christ and how they can be saved from their sin.

Let me challenge all of you to pray and think about, "Who could I invite with me this Easter?"

Let's all join in this calling to know Jesus and make Him known.

And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3 ESV)

See you Sunday.

by His grace and to His praise,

Wilson

Preparation for Worship - April 14, 2019

This Sunday's sermon: The Urgency of the Gospel: For All the World to See, Mark 11:1-11In preparation for the sermon: "Jesus is the Lion and the Lamb! “It is meet and right that we should never forget the union of the divine and human natures in our Lord’s person. If we saw his divine acts only, we might forget that he was a man. If we saw His seasons of poverty and weakness only, we might forget that he was God. But we are intended to see in Jesus divine strength and human weakness united in one person.” - J.C. RyleClick here for this week's bulletin. Hymn for the Week: Behold the Lamb - Communion HymnWe are podcasting! Catch up on sermons on iTunes or on the Cornerstone App.We are LIVE STREAMING! Click here.

Wilson's Weekly

When Churches Can't Do Everything Five Ways Dads Can Encourage Their Daughters Counseling: Evangelism's Unexpected Friend