Wow! This thread was originally started back in September 17th, 2016 and its still going!
I want to write that what I read from a little bit of each one's post is my experience of evangelism last weekend while sharing the Gospel to about 125 men, women and children during a wedding.
I married a young couple just last Saturday the 18th. Three weeks before the wedding the couple was evacuated from their separate homes in Clearlake, CA because of the fires in Northern California. A little less than one week before wedding day they were allowed to return home. The couple and their immdediate families were scrambling to get everything done.
When we arrived last Friday for the wedding rehearsal we could smell the smoke from the wildfires. The families from both sides of the couple came in from New Jersey, Tennessee, Alabama, Arizona, the Philippines and those of us from the SF Bay Area, but it was not an elaborate wedding but very humbling.
I learned very quickly that 98% of the 125 families and guests were unreached. They had heard of "this Jesus" but didn't know He is our Lord and Savior. I personally reflected from the Gospels how Jesus ate with "everyone" without judgment. His evangelism shared His Gospel and what was most profound to me was this;
Jesus' evangelism put Truth, LOVE and Acceptance within my heart as I shared the Gospel to the men, women and children at the wedding. The homily I prepared was changed as I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to use the wedding homily to share about Jesus and the Gospel.
I spoke on the Love Verse from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
The wedding vows were directed at the bride and groom but I was led to direct the Love Verse message to both families. Though not all may have known Christ, I wanted to uplift them how they loved, nurtured, supported the married couple back when they were both children and through the years the couple carried that with them in early adulthood until one day they met and fell in love.
I praised God how both families came together from across the United States as far as the Philippines to witness the couple's survival of the wildfires, how the married couple brought the nurturing they received from their respective families into their relationship and wedding day.
The wedding was a joyous day. The next day my wife and I headed back to Daly City, CA to get ready for Sunday Worship service. At the end of the service before I closed with the benediction, I looked at my entire church family and I was so blessed because each one of them experienced at one time, an evangelist who shared the Truth, LOVE, and Gospel of Jesus Christ. For most of them I was there to witness that day, and when they gave their lives to Christ Jesus.
Your posts on this profound topic did have discussions sprinkled throughout, and there is always room for everyone of us to continue learning, but overall you are correct in what the scriptures teaches us and I was able to remember this thread and take what I read with me. For this my wife and I thank you!
God bless you all and your families.