On Tuesday at Woodridge the team had many conversations. It is often that when there is less traffic flow from the train stations that people are more willing to stop and chat. The first man to stop was Michael.
He was a past drug user, who had recently returned from prison and was actually quite interested in talking. He did struggle to concentrate through the conversation but chatted as we talked through the law and saw his sin. He mentioned that upon his grandmother passing a few years back his whole family (other than him) had started going to church.
This conversation turned toward explaining the Gospel as the solution to sin and its penalty but sadly he didn't get to hear it in full as his bus arrived. Please be praying that Michael wouldn't just desire to go to Church to it in with his family, but would take to heart the Gospel upon hearing it and desire to know God as a result.
Through the rest of the afternoon a range of other conversations took place. King an Aboriginal talked about how he had gone to some JW meetings but in the end had left quite quickly because he didn't think they were telling the truth. This also meant that he was very skeptical about talking with the team and didn't stay around long enough to hear the Gospel.
A conversation was also had with Matthew, a Muslim. The primary issue that he had was that he was so ingrained in his Islamic worldview that he couldn't even comprehend the Gospel. This was really hard to deal with. The team tried many different ways of explaining it, trying to use pictures, different analogies and yet he was unable to understand that we aren't saved by our good works.
Another JW and Mormon were spoken to and they both sadly said, "I don't want to believe in a God like that".
The last conversation of the afternoon began almost an hour after usual pack up time. The team were having many good conversations and so a few members had decided to stick around and keep talking. This enable a conversation with Tea.
She was a young lady who had a background in an atheistic family but had gone to a large church during her teen years but had subsequently left. She had a long and in many ways sad story through her life but the big point focused on was her leaving the Church.
She was actually really upset over it. She was moved to tears on three occasions as she reminisced on how distant she felt from God. Through the course of the conversation it came out that she had slowly drifted from God. At first she missed a few Sundays here and there and slowly became more and more distant from the Church.
There was a range of reasons that she mentioned as to why it occurred by it boiled down to a self-indulgent sin issue. Over the course of a lengthy conversation she came to understand why sin separates us from God, what the solution is and she was challenged strongly at the end to consider counting the cost of forsaking her sin and trusting in the Saviour.
Please be praying for all those who heard the Gospel or were challenged even briefly in what they believed, that God would be working in their hearts.
Please also specifically pray for Tea that she would come to know God and start attending a local Church, worshiping God in the gathering of the saints.
View previous Woodridge (QLD) report (8 January 2019)
Woodridge Team (QLD)
Meets 2-5pm every Tuesday afternoon at the Woodridge train-bus interchange on Station Rd.
Contact Ryan Hemelaar for more information.