Episode 75: 2024 Solar Eclipse Recap

Well, I'm alone today because 80 got raptured during the eclipse.

It was not true.

That's that's not true.

Oh, yeah, but the eclipse was pretty sweet.

Wasn't it.

It was it was really is really impressive.

You know, it's also true that we're able to record this podcast because Russia or China or whoever

didn't set off an EMP.

You know during the eclipse I'd heard that that.

Theory that lots of crazy stuff was gonna happen when it.

Welcome to the rural church podcast.

I'm your co -host Alan Nelson one of the pastors at Providence Baptist Church in

Perryville, Arkansas and With me is Eddie Ragsdale pastor of

First Baptist Church of Marshall, Arkansas.

You doing okay today, Eddie.

Well, I told you already I'm I was running late today.

Gotta got up a you know Wednesdays are not earliest morning of the week

usually and I woke up about an hour late.

And so miss the meeting this morning and have kind of been rushing around, you know.

How that goes when you when you kind of start everything out late, so you can't say Russian on this podcast

gets picked up.

Yeah.

The Fed starts picking it up.

Yeah swiftly moving around.

Well, what we want to talk about today is the eclipse recap.

Some of the things that we Did as churches things we saw.

First thing I'll say that I think I didn't we say on the podcast.

I'm pretty sure we said somewhere on the podcast that I did not expect the numbers to be.

What they said they were gonna be.

But they were even lower than what I expected.

What about.

What about you?

Oh, yeah.

Yeah it it, you know, we tried to.

We tried to set up and do some stuff on Saturday and There was just

nobody.

Marshall was like a ghost town on Saturday and I've heard several businesses

and different people talk about how that.

That week this past weekend was actually lower Right than

normal because all the local people were staying home and there really weren't.

You know the people coming in for the eclipse.

I suppose that there were a lot of people tried to come in the day of the eclipse.

But it still wasn't anything like the gridlock that they had forecasted.

So we yeah, very very similar here, maybe even lower, but I remember like a year ago.

They said by Sunday, the roads will be gridlocked, you know.

It was like so our big joke was always like how'd you get here so fast?

You know, how'd you get past all the traffic, you know, so we but but I really

want to talk about some things that we did and we had a we just made the best

of the time and I know that if People have listened to the podcast.

They know some of the things that we did if they didn't listen.

Well, I'll just tell you what we did.

We rented a big tent set it up outside right by the road and we just had

four nights of preaching services.

But when you add Sunday morning because we added a sermon Sunday morning, we did four

days of preaching ten sermons in four days and.

It was.

It was it was good brother.

I was I was really really encouraged.

I'm still tired today.

Talking about it, but but but we had a we had a great time.

One of the first things we started doing was on Friday.

Some brothers had come in late Thursday night.

So on Friday we did some street preaching.

Mm -hmm, and we actually went over to Walmart in Marlton and Just

did some preaching and passed out some tracks.

And of course, you know you get your Kind of typical pushback I guess

from some people but what was.

Can you describe a little bit of what that typical pushback looks like for folks that haven't?

Engaged in that kind of ministry.

Yes.

I'll talk more about that because we didn't.

I'll talk more about that in some different settings because we actually didn't get a ton of.

That there's probably different to in a rule setting than maybe what you would run into

on a college campus in a large city.

You don't know you want to know one of the biggest and you can talk to this to any any person that does

evangelism like this, you know, you know one of the biggest demographics of

Demographic of pushback is.

Nominal Christians.

Yeah.

Yeah, people who profess to be Christians, you know.

Stop, you know.

And.

But but I want to tell you a couple of things we had.

Some people pull up in the parking lot and just listen.

We had this one lady.

It was amazing.

She goes to the back of her car pulls out a lawn chair and an umbrella.

Pops it up in front of us.

You know about 50 yards.

Sets it down in the grass puts her umbrella up because of the Sun and just listens to us to to us and

amens.

No Wow.

So that was that was that was pretty encouraging and then there were some people had posted some stuff

on Facebook.

Like all these crazy people, but actually there was a lot of people who were like Wow, you know, you know

Praise God, but here's the deal Eddie.

This is my opinion.

Look at the state of our country.

Look at the state of Christianity in our country.

Like why do we not want people out preaching the gospel?

Mm -hmm.

So that was Friday then Friday night.

We were probably the look probably one of the lower nights.

Friday night I think it's because we had just got started but but we had a good meeting good messages pastor

West Brown pastor Randall Easter Preached and I thought things things went pretty well

and then Saturday Saturday was a big day.

So Saturday we got up we ate breakfast.

Pastor Jonathan Murdoch led us in a in devotion and then we just we split up in

teams all over Perryville and we're preaching and.

And and now there was somebody and I don't know what what will come of this.

But there was somebody from out of state.

It looked like they were wearing like a press pass around their neck.

It was like recording us and taking some pictures and stuff.

So I I don't I don't know.

What was what was going on there?

But.

You know.

We got a little more pushback From some people that day.

It's just kind of frustrating.

I say you got people that will flip you off or say Terrible language.

I won't even repeat on the podcast, you know.

But then there's some are you out here?

Nobody wants you out here.

Yeah.

Yeah, nobody wants to hear that and it's like right.

That's why we're here.

Because nobody wants to hear but because we believe by the preaching of the gospel.

Now, I want to be clear.

I don't think that street preaching is to be all end all of evangelism.

I don't think that's all there is to evangelism.

And I think if all that's all someone was doing there there ought to be more there ought to be Conversation.

There ought to be door -to -door at times.

There ought to be, you know, it ought to be a way of life.

Yeah, I think I think the main thing is regardless of which

Approach you you employ there has to be an element of going.

Yeah, so much of the church these days Evangelism

has come.

Mmm, come to us.

We have an event.

We have set up tell you about Christ if you'll come to us.

Yeah, we set up an event.

So you come.

So I'll tell you there's nothing wrong with events like you guys had the tent at your church.

We're not saying you can't do that, too but if there's never any going.

Then that's a problem.

Yeah, and I and I think the vast majority of churches today are we're gonna put on an event and you come to it

a beast feast bouncy houses.

Whatever the case may be and I'm not getting into the waiting into all of what's wrong.

What's right, whatever.

I'm just saying if if that's all you're doing you're wrong.

The church has to get out and Go into the community.

There's some like one time I'll just tell you this story real quick and I haven't.

I don't know where this comes from but so we were we were preaching and we come back to the other part of

town to check on the other guys and I notice.

A car stopped and.

Was in and the person was trying to talk to the guy preaching.

Well.

One of the things we try to do is not as Stop that so that the guy can keep preaching and we try to have

someone else talk.

Talk to the person like we want to talk.

We a hundred percent want to talk.

We just don't want the preaching to be stopped and so this person was stopped and

I got out and I tried to go over there to help out what was going on and this lady was land -blasting the guy

preaching Over Calvinism.

But but there was but he wasn't preaching anything.

You know, there's nothing Calvinism specific or whatever.

Like that's not what he was doing and I guess she just looked at our church and

Realized who was out there and made that distinction.

I guess, you know, well, I mean.

According to Spurgeon Calvinism just shorthand for the gospel.

So I'm sure he's preaching gospel.

He was preaching the gospel.

Like, you know, and this lady was upset.

I was I'm like, but we're just we're out here preaching.

She was like Jesus died for everybody.

I was like, man.

We're we're brought here preaching that everyone who repents and believes the gospel can come to Christ.

Like that's what.

So that was kind of frustrating because it's like We're not preaching.

Quote -unquote.

Calvinism.

We're preaching Christ, you know the fact that we're a reformed Baptist Church but we're out here doing

evangelism.

Like and there's something else too Eddie if you drove by someone that was like a.

You knew they were Armenian and you knew they were anti Calvinist, but you drove by and you heard them preaching.

They were actually preaching the gospel.

Jesus lived died.

Rose again for sinners, please repent and come to Christ.

Would you stop their preaching?

You know not even yeah.

No, of course not and I'll even say just the last week the week before all

this.

The.

First Baptist Church in Leslie, which is just up the road from us eight miles up the road.

The brother pastors there.

I'm good friends with him.

Love him.

Love that church.

Godly folks there they had brother David Allen in to preach revival services for

them.

Man, I.

Awesome.

I hope the Lord blessed that and that God was glorified in it now.

Look, are we gonna disagree with David Allen about the Atonement?

Yeah.

Yes.

Yes, absolutely.

But I'm not sitting there going off David.

Allen's coming to Searcy County.

I don't want David Allen in Searcy.

No.

Preach the gospel, you know, we want the gospel preach.

That's right.

Yeah, I'm grateful for for that brother I'm not gonna go stop the preaching, you know, so

that was pretty frustrating, you know, and you're like, what are you doing?

And I'll give you another the opposite example.

There was this other guy.

This was on Monday who we know he's from another church in town and and we've had discussions.

He disagrees about these things, but he saw us out there preaching and he came and joined us and encouraged us.

You know, you're like that's what we should see so most of the time if I see someone very angry at the

preaching of the gospel, I'm almost always like look I I don't know what else to say, but that you're you

must be unconverted.

That's my mindset because if you love Christ

you love the heralding of the gospel, right?

Well, I'll tell you a couple providential things about that so one a guy comes over and

He had had a long conversation with pastor Jacob but he comes over and he asked the

guys we're just kind of standing around there while someone else is preaching and I'm yawning.

Excuse me He asked the guys.

Well, you know, will you pray for my parents?

I'm not sure if they're Christians and this guy's probably like 23 24 and we're like,

yeah, and then I just told him I was like man Why don't you bring your mom to the preaching services tonight, you

know, he's I don't know about that.

He's like I I don't know that she would come and I was like, well, let's pray that she would come and I said Just don't give her an

option say mom.

That's what we're doing tonight, you know.

And so we prayed for him and and you know how things go.

I've been told a thousand times people's coming to church.

Yeah, and in it in it ten thousand times and it doesn't happen Saturday night they showed

up Praise the Lord, you know, and I was like, whoa.

Well, then Saturday afternoon.

We are preaching at Walmart again and Saturday night a guy from Walmart

showed up a Guy from the preaching, you know.

But quattro preaching preaching doesn't work.

Yeah, and that's you know that don't you know that quattro?

Yeah, that's the thing brother.

It's like honestly.

Honestly, I'm a little bit frustrated here, but.

They're gonna gonna be nice about it.

But it's like if you're saying preaching doesn't work like I want to know like what are you doing?

What are you doing?

And I'm the first to admit I've been guilty and you know me you've known me for years.

I've been guilty of of poor Evangelistic practice in the past, you know,

I've always tried to be evangelistic but but this idea of like well, what's your evangelism strategy and people

like.

Well, you know, I just tried it you're like no that's not a strategy, you know.

Like so what is it that you're doing?

And if you're gonna complain about the preaching of the gospel.

What are you doing?

And if you're just sitting around waiting on people to come to you and ask about Jesus.

That ain't happening.

Right.

So well, let's pause for a second and just ask you like what about you know.

You said you'd kind of set up and stuff.

But like did y 'all were y 'all able to have any kind of no.

No, and it didn't.

I mean things were just I'm telling you I'm 65.

Any nice weekend on the river 65 would have been 10 times busier.

I mean when we were set up Saturday now, we weren't.

I wasn't even in Marshall on Monday.

I know things did heat up Monday.

But I was it I was at home.

We had a family gathering at her house for the Eclipse and stuff on Monday,

so I wasn't even in Marshall.

But still Marshall it was basically everybody just drove in parked the

cars.

Watch the Eclipse and drove out.

I mean there was very little Of people spending any time really in Searcy

County on month even on Monday other than just driving their car.

Do you think that?

You think maybe all the hype might have had the opposite effect like some people are.

Maybe it did.

You know, you know what?

I'm one of the things when it comes to evangelism that This kind of struck a chord with

me the way things went, you know I was talking to our our mutual friend or

brother in Christ, Gene Tanner and Fairfield Bay was kind of the same thing.

He said any nice weekend in the summer Fairfield Bay would have been busier than it was

This last weekend and you know, they had done several things to to try to share the

gospel and and Have some things at their church and he was kind of we were kind

of talking about how you know How few people came and everything?

And.

So it just kind of hit me that We just need to get out and take the gospel out in the community and not

look at.

When you know, they they missed on there being a lot of people.

Well, okay.

Let's just go on any weekend.

Let's go pick a day.

It'll be the right day.

We do believe our God is sovereign and.

So.

You know, I'll be honest when some of the things that we were planning kind of fell through I was kind of down.

Yeah coming into the weekend because I was like, ah, we're gonna miss the opportunity.

Then.

It didn't really materialize and I was kind of like well, I guess we didn't miss out but then I was kind of well,

okay.

We just need to go ahead and do this.

We need to go ahead and preach the gospel.

Okay, this this weekend wasn't big but you know, there's still a river here.

There's still gonna be people coming to it.

We still need to get out and preach the gospel in Marshall.

We still need to get out and tell people about Christ.

Eclipse or no eclipse.

There's no wrong day to do evangelism.

That's right.

So yeah, so, you know, I want to say this so we did because of the

nature of what we were doing like we had.

Lots of people coming in.

Let's see if I can name them all.

Michael.

I'm talking about evangelist Michael Coghlan and his wife Mike Stockwell Don Carnes

Robert Gray Jeff Crago Cody Torres.

Those were all the guys that came in.

Wow.

I don't know about I didn't I didn't even know about all those guys coming in.

They came in.

Just for evangelism.

Yeah, like we didn't pay him like we weren't like hey come in and we'll pay you or whatever.

Like they just came in to be with us and do evangelism.

It's pretty pretty amazing and and that's not even and that's not even count.

You haven't yet mentioned Randall.

Yeah the other Randall.

Yeah, so right.

So other guys that did evangelism Randall Eastridge came in but he preached like four times and then and then did

evangelism.

Jonathan Murdoch preached twice.

Led led devotion.

He did evangelism.

And and so man, it was really encouraging to be with all these brothers and I just encouraged people

listening one to either.

A thing about scheduling an event like that or B being willing to go somewhere like that.

It was a show encouraging like so Sunday morning.

So now I'm getting us to Sunday.

Like we were packed, you know, cuz all those folks were in that was great.

You know as encouragement to our church and so Sunday morning we had two services.

So I was gonna ask how did that work Sunday morning?

You said you guys had two sermons.

Yes.

We 930 we did a our 930 our Sunday school hour.

We just turned it into a profession and and I took that slot because I was gonna make

sure that we stayed on time because that was the only one that you're kind of worried about because if

you have people that come normally to your 1030 you don't really want to Mess that time slot

up.

So I preach in the past.

Well, even when you were here that one Sunday.

We we replaced our Sunday school with kind of a joint Sunday school class.

But basically what you guys you just didn't have Sunday school.

That's right.

You just use worship the Lord for two hours.

Yeah, that's right.

So so we did a Scripture reading one song and then I preached and then we broke

for you know, I think is about 10 15 minutes, which is kind of normal and then we we had our main

then our main service was our main.

Service didn't adjust anything with that.

We just did what we normally do except pastor Randall Easter preached and he preached on Making

disciples.

So really good, you know.

It's just talked about and and I would say this to like the street preaching type evangelism or whatever.

Again.

That's not the it's not either or it's both and You're

not making disciples just through that although that's part of the disciple making process.

But that's not in and of itself enough.

You know, so anyway, it was good and then Sunday afternoon there was a

little festival in the park.

So normally we don't do this.

Normally we'd be like It's the Lord's Day.

Let's eat.

Let's rest.

Let's hang out that kind of stuff.

Well, we ate at the church, but then we went to this little thing and preached, you know and passed out

tracks and had some conversations.

Then we came back and in Sunday night.

There was preaching again, and then that brings us to the Eclipse Day on

The on on Monday we had the pancake breakfast and

Guess how many people showed up to that?

I have no idea.

I do know I was.

I was talking to our other brother and they did a pancake breakfast and he said Besides their church people they had

ten people show up.

Well, that's five times as many as we had.

So we had our church people show up and then we had two people and the and the two people that showed up.

They didn't show up for the breakfast.

They.

Randomly pulled in our parking lot to look at direction saw that people were inside.

So they came in and had breakfast.

Oh.

So and and you know what they were Mormons.

Really?

Yeah, and I wish I could talk to them.

Yeah, I wish you would have to because that is hard.

You know because it was like they really try their best to not disagree with you, right?

You know like oh, yeah, that's yeah, we're the same, you know, yeah.

Yeah, we're not the same right.

And of course, they were super friendly.

I gave him a copy of my book from death to life.

They were brothers.

We sat down kind of went back and forth a little bit.

But one of the things that happened and I want to clarify by saying they were brothers.

You mean they were each other's brothers.

That's right.

Good.

They weren't brothers.

That's right.

They were they were.

Physically related to each other.

I just want to clarify.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's good.

Yeah, they they were actually had the same parents.

That's what I'm saying.

Yeah, and they don't got the same father as we but but anyway, the point is

We shared the gospel with them.

Out which I mean we try to just make the best we could like this isn't there's a distinction here

you know.

And then Randall preached the gospel to him and.

And.

So, of course, they were friendly and I thought we were we were friendly to them and it's kind of that balance of

trying to be compassionate and You know, but it's hard.

Honestly, it's sad, you know, because it's like you're so deceived and and there's some

overlap.

Of course culturally that we'd be like, hey, we're we're for some similar values, but it's

just a complete different Starting point and it's an absolutely heretical

Position right?

Oh, yeah, and these guys if nothing changes will Perish and elect the

fire and so we tried to explain, you know we're talking through the Trinity and

anyway, it's just We shared the gospel with them.

So what.

Yeah and at the root of it.

Man at the root of it is.

Is.

Believing in and in authority.

Outside of the scripture, you know, it's it that's.

You know if you're gonna listen to a.

Prophet a.

Speaker outside of the Bible.

You're you're you're you're gonna be wrong.

That's just the reality.

You're gonna be wrong.

There's no way to avoid it.

Well, then we went and did some evangelism.

Surrounding the Eclipse itself and that's where we did run into some hostility.

So we kind of so we went to the park.

And here's the deal in the park like when you do a street preaching stuff in a place like this.

Like there's all this kind of ambient noise.

The same park where we were at the goat fest.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

So there's there's music being played.

There's traffic and There's all this kind of ambient noise.

And then we're also preaching the gospel and it's not like the preaching of the gospel is.

It doesn't necessarily rise above all this ambient noise.

And drowned it all out in some places kind of gets lost in it but

There were some people found it very offensive, you know.

And and and came over and and we're we're pretty belligerent about it,

but I just what that kind of happened to try to stay calm and I

just try to explain like look.

You have your opinion we have ours we disagree we're we're in America we're exercising

our constitutional right and We think that Jesus is worthy of proclamation.

And we love these people here we believe that they're going to hell if they don't repent and believe the gospel

and so, you know, I think The Proverbs say a soft answer turns away wrath

and you can kind of do that sometimes but People also need to remember

this.

It doesn't matter how nice you are.

Yep, if you are proclaiming the gospel.

The true gospel and you're telling people what it demands.

Repentance from sin and putting your faith in Christ.

You just you're not going to be seen as a friendly to the world.

Mm -hmm, and that speaks volumes of why so many churches and professing Christians are seen as friendlies to the

world.

And we have this idea in our mind in our mind 80 this like, you know, we just need to the

world is watching and we just need to befriend the world and we need to show them that we love them and that we care and

it's like but You do that.

Some places do that to such an extent that they ultimately just wind up looking like the world they have

no gospel.

Mm -hmm.

Mm -hmm, and that's the problem brother.

Yes, so can I ask you a couple questions?

Yeah for sure.

So One is Thinking about

when we're out doing evangelism preaching the gospel, especially street preaching.

Of course, we don't want to roll over at the first person that comes by and says why are you here, you know,

right?

You're bothering us.

Nobody wants you here, you know, you're gonna hear that but at the same time.

What would you say to someone that was thinking through how do we discern?

When I've been like you didn't want to walk up to somebody in the middle of totality.

Hey, I'm well, this is a once -in -a -lifetime thing.

They're watching now.

Do they need to be saved from hell more than they need to see an eclipse?

Absolutely.

But they're probably not gonna listen to you.

You know, I mean, they're only gonna be offended then so.

Good.

And can you speak to discerning?

Hey, this is this is not a time to Christ is always

worthy to be preached but This wouldn't be helpful to the gospel as opposed to

these other times when they're gonna be upset.

But we're still gonna preach because yeah, I think that's good.

So we preach so what we did is We we went with the band

so if the band was playing and People are like, well, you know, we want peace and

quiet.

We're like guys the bands playing Yeah, so preach so so we don't

really feel like That's consistent, you know, but when the band when you know when the

band stopped we stopped.

Mm -hmm, and and and then but I will tell you this Yeah, this

wasn't for anything other than just worship when totality happened We started singing turn your eyes

upon Jesus, you know as a big group of us and not not amplified or anything

Worshipping that was correct.

That was wow.

You know that that that Eclipse it was.

There was something else, you know, and and we were we were just giving God the glory, you know but but I do think it's

right but so like the so the gospel is offensive and

We want to do the best we can to not add to that offense.

Hmm.

So let let's let the gospel be offensive not you know, I guess there's you know, I could run out

in the middle of a football game with a loudspeaker and start preaching on the 50 -yard line like

Okay, that's that's not wise, you know There's aspects of

like a little league baseball game or something the lots of crowds there We could take and blast everybody

out, but it's like well That's not probably wise or kind, you know, if you're going to

event like that probably more like Handing out tracks, although I have thought about this on a

Sunday afternoon going and preaching Had a baseball, you know, cuz I get so tired of the

of the desecration of the Lord's Day with with Activities, but anyway, that's a different thing.

But yeah, I know you're right I've been in situations before where someone's come up and said hey, it's

been acid.

It's a little too loud, you know a police officer.

Did you turn it down and I think you know, I mean you have a choice at that Juncture to be

Staying your ground like no, I'm not turning down or you like.

Hey, yeah, I'd turn it down.

Usually haven't we turn it down a little bit and and then just keep going.

It's and everybody's okay, you know, yeah I've been asked before.

Could you move down?

You know, whatever ten yards.

Well, that's okay.

Yeah, that's okay.

You're not you're not.

Compromising by doing those things, right, you know the second question I had.

And you've done more of this the street preaching ministry than I've done.

But what experience I have had.

I was telling a brother the other day who's not really experienced it at all.

We're kind of planning some things in the future and I was telling him in my

experience actually some of the best.

Richest part of the gospel opportunity is not just the this the preacher

but the brothers around who when people stop to listen can come alongside and

Say hey, what what do you think about what that guy's saying and then involve them in those gospel conversations.

Would would you.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's true that you that the preacher draws the.

Those people come but then you get to have good gospel conversations.

That kind of flow out of that.

I think a yeah, I think that's a rule of thumb is to always go and at least a pair.

Because.

Just in our day and age.

I'm not saying you have to I mean you can go out by yourself.

There's nothing to stop you.

I'm just talking about logistically but it's even better when you can kind of go in a little bit of a group because you can

kind of have one guy.

Kind of hang around the man preaching and then you can have a couple guys what we usually do is have

a couple guys either holding up a sign for people driving by and.

On the sign we try to have scripture or just you know.

Like ours either have scripture like whoever has a son has life or on the back says repent and

trust Christ for salvation.

You know, it has our church website on it.

But then you got guys that can go out and give of tracks and like you say have these Conversations

and I've not been doing street preaching but like a couple of years really and I I can

tell you that I've seen.

It works.

I mean number one it works in the sense of Crisis, I'll do it.

Yeah, and in that I rejoice.

But I've actually seen and here's something else too.

I've seen you see people like in the Walmart parking lot, especially but I know it happens at harps and you see

people listening and You just don't know what God's doing with that.

You have no idea.

They never come talk to you.

But you see they're pulled over window down.

They're listening.

Sometimes they're videoing you never know what happens and maybe they're just making fun of you.

But you never know what happens two weeks from now when they're you know

Boyfriend leaves them or whatever the case may be.

They're drunk and.

And and and all of a sudden they remember those guys preaching they remember that gospel, you know.

So you just never know and you have to be content with that.

So if you're trying to do an evangelism that you have to see fruit and baptism in your own church and your own

church exploding growth.

I think you misunderstand evangelism, right?

So you just continue to to cast the net as it were wide.

And and see you have but anyway back to your question.

I Think that's great I think it's very important to bring Guys, because yeah a lot of good conversations like that one guy

that walked up and he brought his mom that night.

You know that happened through conversation.

But the conversation wouldn't have happened without the preacher, you know, it all it all kind of

goes together.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's good.

So you meant we were talking about the eclipse a little bit.

It.

Was amazing, you know.

So there's a couple different things going on you know, they had this this big forecast of

all these people that were going to come that didn't Completely materialize.

It wasn't the kind of gridlock and everything.

So that was kind of the hype was way overdone.

And then I'd heard a lot of people talking about the hype for the eclipse and and I my experience with the

eclipse I thought it was very impressive.

It was amazing.

It was amazing display of the heavens declaring the glory of God, right?

It was an awesome thing.

It was not life -changing.

You know, I almost feel like some of the people that it oh, you're never gonna experience anything like this.

I Almost came away thinking well, it wasn't like I'm a new person because I saw the

eclipse.

However, one thing that really struck me was just how

If there was an eclipse every day, we wouldn't think it was so amazing if there was one every day at noon.

We'd be oh, yeah, it's clips time.

But it's because of how rare it is.

Mm -hmm Monday afternoon.

You know what at sundown I was kind of watching the sunset is a beautiful sunset at our house

Monday afternoon and I thought this sunset was amazing too, but because it

happens every day.

We tend to not To not give it to not remember to look at it and

say this is also declaring the glory of God and so I was just struck by

how I'm not gonna say we I'm not gonna say everybody else, but how I

Need to be Even more noticing every day

The way that God is being glorified in the creation in the thing in the things around us

and using that Even more as a springboard to preach the gospel all

around me.

Amen.

Amen.

Yeah, I think that I think that's that's good brother.

And like so yeah I'll tell you the same about the Eclipse like I thought it was great and I

would probably drive.

Maybe an hour to go see it, you know.

But I would drive to Springfield or bright right there.

We met a couple from Germany who had been planning for years, you know, yeah this

you're right.

Okay, that's a little excessive.

Yeah, but It was great.

But like I don't know for the Christian. It's like God is amazing.

This is creation is right pointing to him, but I see I found.

So so for us the Eclipse is an arrow.

Mm -hmm, but for a lot of people the Eclipse was the end.

It was like we got to get there and experience this spiritual type.

Special moment that we'll never have so it's like for me and I'm not minimizing the Eclipse.

I'm just like look at this arrow.

Wow, that's neat.

That's pointing to the glory of God a lot of people like we've got experiences one once -in -a -lifetime thing.

I'm like, well, this is great, but I got better things coming up in my life.

Christ is coming back, you know, right?

That's I can't wait I got this.

You know.

And there's so many analogies say like even when there is one sliver of Sun showing you still had to have those glasses.

Mm -hmm.

Oh, what are you gonna do when Christ comes back?

You know people think that they could just live how they want and then look at Jesus.

Like no, they'll be obliterated as it were.

Obviously, I'm not teaching annihilation.

Annihilation is I'm just saying they'll they'll be they'll be destroyed.

It was amazing how.

At the end of Totality when that first little bit of light gets around the Sun.

I mean it got light so fast.

Yeah, it was like you flip the switch on there.

I mean The the it does not take much of the Sun's light.

To light us up.

Yeah, you know.

And like you said the Sun pales in comparison to the glory of God.

Yeah, I mean the brilliance of the glory of God.

Outshines a billion Suns.

Yeah, that's right.

And it's just a small foretaste of You know the glory that we will see and it's very

sad for people To build their that people have built

Like I said years or at least months a lot of people around this big thing and then it's over and it's like, yeah

Okay now back then another one's gonna come in around this area.

I think in 11 years or something.

But but you know It's just like how can you live your life from those things to those things and not

and not for the glory of God?

So anyway, I encourage churches to think through Things and to have

Specific times specific weekends if you can of Focused evangelism then also

encourage that we should just evangelism should be part of our DNA.

Making disciples should be part of our DNA.

Reading books with people teaching, you know, these this is should be part of this while we're here.

Yeah, make disciples and and and.

Like I said, I'm really struck by.

The.

The thing I learned was man, I don't got to wait for some event.

Because what good is that gonna do.

Just just go do it.

You know, let's take the Nike approach to evangelism.

Just do it.

The great theologian.

Nike.

Yeah.

All right, brother, I think I Think we've had a good discussion.

I don't know.

I've enjoyed it with me and you just kind of rehab.

Recapping things.

I hope hope people have been edified and encouraged to just think through these things, you know.

One of the big takeaways I want to.

I guess a couple big takeaways I would pull up as we wrap wrap up this show.

One is we should be doing evangelism.

No matter what we should be going outside the walls of the church and proclaiming Christ.

Number two, I was really struck by.

The encouragement of the partnership, you know of the people coming in the cooperation.

You know, we believe and it's like we never do that.

It's like in the SPC I was like, it's all it seems so and I know they were talking about acts 1a.

What about that and all kind of formulaic kind of stuff?

But like this was so much deeper and richer than that because it was like a.

Real.

Bond a real fellowship.

It wasn't just about an event.

It was it was like worship, you know, not so proud of our church.

They oh man.

Up late cooking up early cooking clean and jumping in everybody just involved and it was

very very encouraging now.

We're wore out but all for the glory of God.

So.

What about you brother?

You got anything to close?

You know the the.

We don't have enough time to dive off into a new topic, but you know just thinking about

Evangelism think about the Eclipse thing, but all of it.

You know the you know.

God is constantly giving us opportunities to share the gospel if we if we'll just open our

eyes and see them.

Well, we need to engage in that.

Wow God and and sometimes God does open up lays opportunities in our lap.

But sometimes I think the Lord wants us to also like go seize this opportunity.

Yeah, go get them.

That's right.

Yeah.

Yeah, so anyway, well brother as always it was good chatting with you and

I will put the in the description I'll put the links to all ten sermons

and a lot of good stuff to listen to for folks and so.

It's it's it's good.

Good brother I I hate to highlight anything because you start highlighting stuff and you leave someone out.

But I'll say Randall Easter had a great message on propitiation.

So maybe that's one place for folks to start.

But anyway, brother, why don't you sign us off?

We'll see you guys next week.