"And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."
I was saved when I was six years old in daily vacation Bible school in Birmingham, Alabama. I remember it as if it were yesterday. I was so deeply moved by that experience when I invited Jesus into my heart that I became an instant evangelist. I felt impelled to share my new found faith and experience with my parents, my older sister, and neighbors.
I went from house to house to tell all of my neighbors. That was in the summer of 1938. There were no homes with air conditioners. We all had front porches with swings, rockers, and chairs. The children and youth would dangle their legs and feet off the edge of floor of their porches. Fathers came home from work and had supper with their families. I visited them at the optimum time with my personal testimony. As I recall, I told them that I had confessed my sins to God, invited Jesus into my heart to live forever, and I knew that my sins were forgiven, and my name was written down in heaven,and one day I will go there. Then, I added, you can do the same thing too. No one objected and I was encouraged.
You have to realize I was a stutterer, and found it difficult to talk with people, especially grown ups. I was taught that children were to be seen and not heard. However, when I gave my testimony I discovered that I did not stutter at all. I think that amazed everyone. I know I was elated that I could tell others about Jesus without fear or stuttering. That same desire and driving force is still with me today to tell the greatest' story ever told.
You will thrill today as you read a verbatim sermon that was preached out of the overflow of a Baptist pastor and evangelist's heart who shares the Gospel to some 700 or more people in a large Baptist church near Atlanta at a memorial service for a 26-year-old young man who had died unexpectedly. He gives an invitation that calls for personal action and commitment in a way that did not direct people to walk the isles. raise a hand, or even stand.
This evangelist's sermon touched the hearts of his hearers, and from my vantage point as our scanned the congregation, the people were deeply moved and many people were crying silently with tears flowing down their faces. The Holy Spirit was a work in the hearts of those present, and my hunch is we will hear at some point in time of many conversions that occured in the hearts and lives of the people, young and old alike.
It is my hope that ministers, students, Sunday school teachers, and college and seminary students as well as professors will study this sermon to see how the Gospel is explained in simple terms. You may be helped by it in understanding ways in which to give an invitation for lost sinners to come to Jesus Christ.
Let me know what you think.
You may write me at: hugh@hughsnews.com
Or send me a letter at:
Hugh H. Morgan 17
Sweet Apple Lane
iWinder, GA 30680-3349
Let me thank you in advance for your response.