Bezeugen Tract Club – September 2021

Chad Prather a Christian “comedian, musician, and armchair philosopher” who is also running for Texas Governor put out a t-shirt that reads “I miss precedented times” on the front. Having been through a global pandemic it is great to know we can that put it another way “God is on His throne”. He is Sovereign. He in in control! Yet when the world thinks of “precedented times”  it is thinking of football stadiums at full capacity, not dealing with social distancing, and throwing out those masks!

With that in mind, we return to our staple September tract—Football Trivia! This year we made a new version, with new questions, that highlight both college and professional sports. Now here is a little secret about our trivia tracts. Whether it is this months football trivia, or others that we send for baseball, basketball, NASCAR, soccer, rock n roll, etc., the little secret is “the answers are all the same”. That’s right, for each of these tracts the answers are “A, B, C, B”. Maybe you are wondering why that is? Well, we want you to look like an expert so you can quiz people and see if they are as smart as they think they are. So when you ask question one of any of the trivia tracts, the answer to all of them is A. So as they guess you can be saying “yes or no” without having to look at the answer yourself on the back.

What we have found is people like to show how smart they are and will readily answer trivia questions. Not only have we used these for conversation starters at football games, but we have used them at many other places as well. One day while standing in line at the post office I asked a guy if he liked football. He said yes. So I proceeded to ask him the questions on the card. He got three out of four! Another time at the train station a guy questioned the answers on the back. I had to use my phone to look it up to show him one answer was correct and his recollection of the answer was not!

The last question is the segway to the Gospel. Ten out of ten people die. Regardless if they get none of the other questions. Even Jessie (see August 2021 letter, or check the BLOG) who claimed he would not die, eventually will. So really, even more important than knowing the answer to any of the four trivia questions, is knowing what happens when you die and more specifically how to get to Heaven through faith alone in Jesus.

Over the years I’ve had hundreds if not thousands of conversations with people about the Gospel. It amazes me still that I can run into people who have never heard the Gospel nor had their own Bible nor read the Bible. I usually take these conversations in a couple directions. First is to use the enclosed bookmark to walk them through “what the Bible says” with the ten questions and having them lookup the ten Bible verses. Second, is to encourage them to read the Gospel of John a chapter a day for 21 days. We even have a website where they can put in their email address and get daily reminders with a link to read, listen to, or watch each day. Finally, if they have a lot of wild ideas or questions I point them to our booklet “The Truth May Impact Your Opinion”.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Bezeugen Tract Club – September 2021

First Thursday Prayer – August 2021

Thursday, August 5th, is the first Thursday of the month. We will meet to pray for our nation, leaders and revival. We currently have four groups. If you have questions about a specific group please contact the group leader directly.

RockwallSunday, August 1, 20217PMRockwall Bible ChurchKeith Neds
CarrolltonThursday, August 5, 2021NoonCarrollton City HallNeil Leary
DallasThursday, August 5, 2021NoonHOBI InternationalCraig Boswell
DenisonThursday, August 5, 2021NoonDenison City HallCarl Kalbfleisch

Suggested A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) verses for prayer are:

Adoration
Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. (2 Samuel 7:22)
Confession
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying,

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you heard my voice.
For you cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
passed over me. (Jonah 2:1-3)
Thanksgiving
But I with the voice of thanksgiving
will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
Salvation belongs to the Lord! (Jonah 2:9)
Supplication
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

National Day of Prayer has this prayer guide for 30 ways to pray for authority. Perhaps you can incorporate it into your prayer meeting.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on First Thursday Prayer – August 2021

Bezeugen Tract Club – August 2021

This is the 155th mailing of the Bezeugen Tract Club.

“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”   Matthew 7:6

Recently Craig and I had the opportunity to meet at the West End Transit Station in Dallas to do some witnessing. For at least ten years now this has been our favorite “fishing hole”. Since I moved to Denison, it’s a little harder on my schedule to get there for weekday lunchtime witnessing. But this day it worked out. I like to hand out tracts and say “did you get one of these?” Most people will take one. I’m basically waiting for some fish to bite and say “what is it?”

It didn’t take long and I was in a conversation with two young men. It’s an interesting contrast between Jessie, sitting to my left, who bragged about his name was like Jessie James—a bad guy, and Eli who when I said, that’s a good Biblical name responded, yes, it’s actually Elijah! Okay, so Jessie claimed he would never die. He actually believed through science and medicine, body parts could be transplanted into him to keep his body alive forever. I’m not going to try and guess if he was on drugs, but he didn’t seem to be. Eli on the other hand said he thought about death, had been raised in the church, was open to the things of God, but wasn’t really sure about his eternal destination. I reminded them both that God has set eternity in our hearts.

Eli listened intently and asked a number of relevant and sincere questions seeking legitimate answers that I was able to answer to his satisfaction. Jessie on the other hand would share more radical ideas of things he believed with no basis at all. I finally asked him “what is more important the truth or your opinion?” He claimed his opinion is truth. At this point I wished I had had a copy of the booklet we wrote (read or listen online), but since he really didn’t even want to keep the tract, I doubt he would have taken a copy of the booklet. At this point, I turned the conversation to the Ten Commandments and took them through three of them. I was able to quickly show them where they would spend eternity unless they repent and believe the Gospel.

So, why do we use the Ten Commandments in sharing the Gospel. As I mentioned last month, I am in a sermon series on the book of Exodus. There are two sermons in the series on the Ten Commandments where Skip Heitzig gives four uses of the Ten Commandments

1. A compass. Basically a way to plot your path through life.

2. A Thermometer—check your temperature to see how you are doing relative to Jesus command to obey Him.

3. Mirror—reveals sin in our lives.

4. Road sign—to point to Jesus

You can listen to the sermon or read the transcript online.

We have expanded our social media presence. In addition to the sites listed on the right side of this letter, we are now beginning to post regularly to Rumble, Parler, and MeWe. On MeWe we have a page for Bezeugen Ministries and the Everyday Club.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Bezeugen Tract Club – August 2021

First Thursday Prayer – July 2021

Thursday, July 1st, is the first Thursday of the month. We will be meeting to pray for our nation, leaders, and revival. We currently have four groups located across North Texas. If you’d like to have your group listed please contact us.

CityDateTimeLocationContact
CarrolltonThursday, July 1, 2021NoonCarrollton City HallNeil Leary
DallasThursday, July 1, 2021NoonHOBI InternationalCraig Boswell
DenisonThursday, July 1, 2021NoonDenison City HallCarl Kalbfleisch
RockwallSunday, July 11, 20217PMRockwall Bible ChurchKeith Neds

Suggested verses for A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication) model for prayer are below.

Adoration
I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:32)
Confession
I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah (Psalm 32:5)
Thanksgiving
You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will extol you.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever! (Psalm 118:28-29)
Supplication
I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live. (Psalm 116:1-2)
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on First Thursday Prayer – July 2021

Bezeugen Tract Club – July 2021

This month we are providing the winter themed “Got Peace” tract. Hand it out and wish someone Merry Christmas! In July? Yes, according to Wikipedia “Christmas in July” is a “second Christmas celebration held mainly during July. It is centered around Christmas-themed activities and entertainment, including small gatherings, seasonal music and specials, and shopping, with the goal of getting the public in the “Christmas spirit” during the summer season.” The meaning of Christmas is valid all year round. So whether you find a Christmas in July event or not, you can still hand out the tracts and wish someone Merry Christmas. Then like Linus in Charlie Brown Christmas you can tell people what Christmas is all about!

At the time of writing this letter I am in the midst of listening to a sermon series on the Book of Exodus. I never thought of Exodus as a place to preach on evangelism. But, I was wrong. When Moses was called by God he gave five excuses why he could not go. He said he is Incapable, Unknowledgeable, Fearful, Unsuitable, and finally Inflexible (in other words, he just didn’t want to do it). The sermon is on Exodus 3-4 and you can find it online. Or listen below.

Skip Heitzig goes on to quote Billy Sunday saying:

We always have excuses; always use the problems as excuses not to do God’s will. Maybe not always, but often. We’re really good at rationalizing. It was Billy Sunday, the evangelist who said, “An excuse is the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.” Isn’t that good definition? The skin of reason stuffed with a lie. I keep that in mind as we go through some of Moses’ excuses.

Billy Sunday

In the midst of this teaching, Skip shares about a time he was out sharing the Gospel. A guy asked him a question he didn’t know the answer to (See Moses second excuse, being Unknowledgeable). He told the guy he would go home and get the answer and come back next week. When he got back he looked for the guy to tell him what he had learned to answer his question. You see having the humility to admit we don’t know all the answers is a good step. If we wait until we know everything about the Bible to go share the Gospel we will never go. As I have been praying about writing this months letter I received an email from a friend asking a question she had been asked while out witnessing. She was already practing the approach we call “study the last question asked”. Leverage your resources. Talk to your friends, small group leader, pastor, etc. The more you share the Gospel, the more you will be driven into God’s word to study. Then next time the question is asked, you’ll have the answer on the top of your tongue.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Bezeugen Tract Club – July 2021

First Thursday Prayer – June 2021

Thursday, June 3rd, is the first Thursday of June. We will meet to have our monthly prayer meetings for our Nation, Leaders, and revival. We have groups meeting in four Texas cities: Carrollton, Dallas, Denison, and Rockwall. Please join one of these locations or feel free to start your own group.

CityDateTimeLocation2Contact
CarrolltonThursday, June 3, 2021NoonCarrollton City HallNeil Leary
DallasThursday, June 3, 2021NoonHOBI InternationalCraig Boswell
DenisonThursday, June 3, 2021NoonDenison City HallCarl Kalbfleisch
RockwallSunday, June 6, 20217PMRockwall Bible ChurchKeith Neds

While each group may structure prayer time as the leader sees fit, below are some suggested verses for the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication) model of prayer.

Adoration
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth! (Psalm 57:11)
Confession
Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. (Matthew 3:8)
Thanksgiving
Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. (Psalm 5:9)
Supplication
Ah, Lord God ! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
(Philippians‬ ‭1:9-11‬)

There are several people close to Bezeugen Ministries in need of prayer for healing. Please remember them in your prayers.

I’d like to call attention to a prayer need for the Southern Baptist Convention. They will meet June 14-16 in Nashville. One agenda item will be the resolution to abolish abortion. Please watch this video, pray, and pass on the information to others in the SBC.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on First Thursday Prayer – June 2021

Bezeugen Tract Club – June 2021

Rather than a guest writer this month, I am sharing an experience relayed to me by a good friend and tract club member Chris Fox. I had the opportunity to introduce him and some others to door to door evangelism a few years ago. While I visiting Ohio and Kentucky we did a day long event in Cincinnati where we had some training and then went door to door sharing the Gospel. After lunch I presented the Basic Evangelism Training Seminar at his church, and we ended the day with an outreach outside the church where the community was hosting a bike race.

Door to Door Evangelism Training – Cincinnati, Ohio – June 2014

Fast forward to this week. Chris sent me a Facebook message  that said, “I have a quick question about door to door for you. What do you do with people that said come back and see us do you do follow up and how did that work?” I replied and explained that yes, I would follow up with them. I suggested that if they want follow up then get their phone number and ask when is a good time to call. I shared with him about a case while going door to door I had someone ask about some supposed contradiction in the Bible. So I did some research, found an article that explained his misunderstanding, and then mailed them the material.

I’ve found follow-up to be tricky. Sometimes people are sincere, ask questions and have a real desire to talk more. Sometimes, they are just wasting your time. It takes prayer, wisdom, and discernment to make sure we are not “casting our pearls before swing”. One night while sharing the Gospel at a concert a man asked a lot of questions. I gave him my business card and suggested he call or email. I never heard from him, but I did get to share the Gospel with 100’s more people that night.

Chris told me that his men’s group was going through David Platt’s “Something  needs to change” and began brainstorming about what else they could do to reach the area for Christ. Since they were already handing out a lot of tracts, standing on street corners with signs, and doing open air preaching. He and Doug Otting decided to start going door to door. At the time of this writing, they have been to over 600 houses in six months. A pace of 1000 houses per year. That’s encouraging! 

Is the Lord calling you to reach your neighborhood with the Gospel door to door. On our website you’ll find more information, training, and testimonials. We also have a supply of door hangers on hand. If you’d like some we will send 50 for a $15 donation. Go to thttp://donate.bezeugen.org/ to donate with PayPal and make your request. For larger quantities please contact us.

We made several videos with testimonials of those who went door to door that day for the first time as well as some door to door training. More information about this months mailing including links to YouTube videos referenced above is available online.

Chris Fox – door to door testimony
John Feathers – door to door testimony
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Bezeugen Tract Club – June 2021

First Thursday Prayer – May 2021

Thursday, May 6th, is the First Thursday of the month. We will have our First Thursday Prayer. It is also this years National Day of Prayer. I encourage leaders to register their event on the National Day of Prayer website. In the past, we have had people come join our May events after finding the event there.

Since May 2010 Bezeugen Ministries has been hosting First Thursday Prayer meetings. As we enter our twelfth year we would like to encourage others to start groups and be committed to praying for our nation, leaders, and especially revival. When we look around at what is happening in our country, we realize is the only hope is Jesus!

We have four locations:

CityDateTimeLocation2Contact
CarrolltonThursday, May 6, 2021NoonCarrollton City HallNeil Leary
DallasThursday, May 6, 2021NoonHOBI InternationalCraig Boswell
DenisonThursday, May 6, 2021NoonDenison City HallCarl Kalbfleisch
RockwallSunday, May 9, 20217PMRockwall Bible ChurchKeith Neds

The theme of this years National Day of Prayer is “Lord, Pour out your life, love, and liberty” taken from 2 Corinthians 3:17. Therefore, we will use that verse as our lead for Supplication this month. With that in mind the suggested verses for the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) model of prayer are listed below.

Adoration
Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and he is to be feared above all gods. (1 Chronicles 16:23-25)
Confession
For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever before me.
I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin. (Psalm 38:18)
Thanksgiving
Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens. (1 Chronicles 16:23-26)
Supplication
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
(2 Corinthians 3:17)
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on First Thursday Prayer – May 2021

Bezeugen Tract Club May 2021

One of our tract club members called on the phone recently. He was very excited to be sharing the Gospel with the homeless by attaching one of our tracts to packets of ramen noodles and handing them out at the local shelter. He also was putting the tracts into bags with small snacks to distribute as well.  As we talked on the phone we were reminded that these are ways to feed the body and the soul at the same time! Perhaps there is a local homeless shelter near you where you could distribute tracts with food. Or perhaps you could make some small snack bags to keep in your car. Put a tract bag in each bag and then when you see a homeless person, maybe at a stop light, hand them the bag. Instead of giving them money you would be feeding their body along with their soul.

This months guest writer is Scott Thompson. Scott and Carl met a number of years ago via the “Everyday Club” BLOG which they later incorporated into Bezeugen Ministries (see www.bezeugen.org/everyday/). Scott runs the social media for Bezeugen including the daily scripture verses and the daily tract challenges. Scott writes:

Sumner Wenp asked one time, “God uses Gospel tracts. Do you?” I have been giving out tracts since the year I was saved, 1993. They are useful in evangelizing the lost. Gospel tracts speak to someone when we can’t. They can go places where we can’t. They are ice breakers when you want to speak to someone about the Gospel. Many have been saved thru reading them. 

I came in contact with Bezeugen Ministries in 2011 when joining the Bezeugen Tract Club through the link on Steve Sanchez”s blog, Stone The Preacher. When I received my first supply of 30 free tracts a month, I discovered that they were an encouragement to give out more. They are business card size, which makes them easy to carry and easy to give out. They can be left anywhere for people to pickup and read.

I ask a lot of people, “Did you get one of these?” Several times someone has told me,”Yes. You gave me one at such-and-such place.” Using that line makes it easier to get tracts into the hands of the lost. If you would ask, “Do you want one of these?” , most people would say no. 

I love mass evangelism like parades and fairs. COVID-19 has put a damper on these events, which I miss very much. Carl invited me to go to the State Fair Of Texas Gospel Outreach one year. I was blown away by the number of people who attended the fair that day. We gave out thousands of tracts to the fair goers. Hopefully, we will be able to go this year (since it was cancelled in 2020). It is a thrill to get the Gospel into the hands of those who Jesus died for! 

May the Lord be with you

The original Star Wars movie, Episode IV A New Hope, was released May 25, 1977. As a tie back to this original release date and that catch phrase used in the movie, May the Fourth has been celebrated by Star Wars fans everywhere for years. To connect with this culture we created this tract a number of years ago. It is especially fun to find someone dressed as Vader, Luke, Han or Leia and hand them a tract. But the tract is equally effective for those not in costume and every other day of the year too. In fact it’s a promise of Jesus to all believers that he will be with you always! That’s comforting!

Get out of Hell Free

By far one of the most popular if not the most popular tracts we have made. I still remember vividly the first event I took these too. It was a street art festival in Fort Worth (Texas). Many people go to the festival and drink a bit too much while the spend the day looking at art and listening to music. One of the first Get Out of Hell Free cards went to a young man who as he walked away looked over his shoulder and called out to me, “I might need this tonight” because seeing the design he had mistaken it for a get out of “jail” free card. The thing of it is, that if someone ends up in jail, there is a chance they can get out. But not so, with Hell. Hell is permanent, eternally facing God’s wrath. Let’s not let people go there unwarned!

Thank You Community Version

This version of thank you tract targets community workers. Many of them have been working over time for more than a year as the world responds to the global pandemic. This card is a thank you targeted to them, but can also be handed to anyone else that you want to thank.

Scale 0-10

The Bible says we can know for sure if we are saved. Yet I meet people all the time that when I asked them if they are going to Heaven when they die they will say “I hope so”! 2 Corinthians 13:5 says to “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.“ This can be a non confrontational way to talk with someone who says they grew up in the church or their whole family is Christian without pointing a finger. Maybe they think they are saved but they are not sure. You can then explain the Gospel as “we have all sinned like lying, stealing, hating one another and looking with lust. Can you relate?” And then when they do, go on to why Jesus came, lived, died and rose from the dead to save us. This tract is a great conversation starter to find out exactly where someone stands regarding eternity and then continuing a conversation from there. Or, you can just hand them out or leave them on a table or at a gas pump for someone to find and ponder on their own!

Join the Everyday Club

The Everyday Club allows tract club members to connect with one another online and encourage each other to share the Gospel everyday. You can find us on Facebook and MeWe. For more information on the history of the Everyday Club and how to join go to www.bezeugen.org/everyday/.

More tracts? Less Tracts? Moving?

The Bezeugen Tract Club provides 30 FREE Gospel tracts per month. Some people prefer less frequent mailings. If you find you are overstocked on tracts you can request to receive the mailings bi-monthly or quarterly instead. Please also help us keep our records up to date. If you are moving, kindly provide your new address. You can renew for monthly, bi-month, or quarterly mailings and provide address updates at renew dot tract dot club.  If you’d like to request more tracts to hand out, please complete the order form.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Bezeugen Tract Club May 2021

First Thursday Prayer April 2021

Thursday, April 1st 2021, is the First Thursday of the month. We will be meeting to pray for our nation, leaders, and revival. We have four locations.

CityDateTimeLocation2Contact
CarrolltonThursday, April 1, 2021NoonCarrollton City HallNeil Leary
DallasThursday, April 1, 2021NoonHOBI InternationalCraig Boswell
DenisonThursday, April 1, 2021NoonDenison City HallCarl Kalbfleisch
RockwallSunday, April 11, 20217PMRockwall Bible ChurchKeith Neds

Suggested verses for A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) model for prayer are below.

Adoration
Ah, Lord God ! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
(Jeremiah 32:17)
Confession
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)
Thanksgiving
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. (Colossians 4:2)
Supplication
With my voice I cry out to the Lord;
with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.
I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him. (Psalm 142:1-2)
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on First Thursday Prayer April 2021