Go Tell it on the Mountain
What do you do on a summer Saturday?
Pastor Ryan Clark from Reformed Baptist Church of Douglas County
Go and Preach
We sing the song, but do we live it?
Saturday I got to connect with Reformed Baptist Church from Roseburg. They were up in Eugene because they join the Saturday Market and various U of O activities. What do they do there?
They preach the Gospel.
I got to hear them, unbeknownst to me, when I was parked outside the Duck Store while my wife browsed art supplies. Our windows were down, I could hear them preaching, and I knew my girls could hear them too. But that wasn’t all we heard, we could hear people jeering, yelling, mocking. This was important, especially for my daughters, to hear the Gospel preached in spite of how the world hates it.
“But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”
1 Corinthians 16:8-9
Then the next day they did the same thing at the Saturday Market in Eugene. These are significant opportunities to take the Gospel to a large quantity of people, but it is also a space of great opposition. They experienced persecution. They experienced enormous discomfort. Yet, with eyes fixed on Christ and the fate of the lost, they endured.
When I had lunch with them afterward, it was clear that nerves were still tender. Adrenaline was starting to calm down. But, they weren’t discouraged. Fifteen-ish people stood around and debriefed, shared about their experiences. Notably, after a certainly emotionally draining experience, they welcomed me eagerly!
As we began to visit and get to know each other it was so encouraging to hear their story and be encouraged in the work I’m doing. They were thrilled to hear of a Reformed Baptist church being planted in Springfield and even stood and prayed for me in the middle of Coburg Pizza.
I’m so grateful to know that I have brothers engaging in this work and I look forward to joining them soon.
The photos below were some screenshots from their event. That red object is a hand-crank siren in case you were wondering.
Consider three things we know about evangelism, the lost, and God’s unfathomable power to change lives:
The world hates God.
The simple Gospel will change the hearts of those who the Father calls.
We all once hated God, and God changed us.
These truths should empower the believer to trust the power of the Gospel and preach in anticipation of persecution with boldness.
Sunday Sermon
Sunday I got to preach at Calvary Baptist in Albany, pastored by my dear friend Pastor Brandon Ellis. He had provided the text to preach and, by God’s providence, it was the murder of John the Baptist. This was so timely, having just met with the evangelizing brothers the day before. John was a forerunner to Jesus’ ministry as well as to His death, and it was speaking out against evil that got him killed.
Take a listen!
Prayer Requests
Pray for Reformed Baptist Church from Roseburg as they face hostile crowds to share the Gospel with a dying world.
Pray for me as I teach on membership at a college retreat for a sister church. I hope that God’s picture of the church found in Scripture provides a compelling call for the students to commit themselves to the body.
Pray for the elders of Redeemer Fellowship as they are in DC at the IX Marks Weekender to be further equipped and encouraged in ecclesiology.
Continue to pray for us, that God brings the right people for us. That He prepares the hearts of those we will encounter for the Gospel. That He is glorified by our effort to see His Kingdom expanded.
