We read in Jeremiah 8:20, "The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved." Three things come to mind when I read these words: First, there are millions of people in the world today who are not saved and who are going to hell. Second, some in the church today don't give a "damn " about that. Third, a few folks who are reading this article are more concerned that I used the word "damn" than they are about the millions of people going to hell.

Jeremiah says, "The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved." How does it come to a point where God says to His people that they are not saved? The asparagus was saved, the olives were brought in, the potatoes were saved, but the people were lost. They never thought it would happen, but it did!

Why aren't people saved? Some times they are lost because they don't understand or they just want to stay lost or because no one bothers to "save them." Let's take just this last point.

Several years ago Rev. Dan Deuel (St. Andrews Lutheran Church, Stockton, CA, LCMS), vicared here in SW Denver. One of the things he did was door-to-door canvassing. Dan just emailed me: "Don, I don't know if you have kept in touch with Neil and Jackie Hornick, but we just received this email from them. Praise the Lord!"

A few words from Neil's email to Dan: "A lot has happened to me and if God did not have you stop and knock on my door back in Colorado, I believe I would not be in the position I am now. (He then shares some of his Christian activities.) The main reason I am sending this to you is because you and your family have been on my heart lately and when I think back to where my walk started, it started with you knocking on my door, having Coach McCartney come and talk and turn one hard core atheist into a believer in the Lord. Thank you for the blessing." - Neil Hornick

Summer has ended and Neil and his family are saved. Praise God for Neil. Praise Him for Dan. But there are people living around us whose "summer" has ended and they still are not saved. That is something that will make Jesus weep (Luke 19:41). We believers need to be planting, watering and harvesting for the Lord while we can. If you are a pastor, I encourage you to take just one hour a week to go door-to-door to the homes around your church. It will definitely be a blessing to you. It can definitely be a blessing to some of your church neighbors. Be a blessing to the people where you live. Summer has ended and eternity is dawning.

What do Minoru (Japan), Khurram (Pakistan), Nikali (Soviet Georgia), Uma (Nigeria), and Jose' (Mexico) have in common? They are your neighbors and would like to come to your church!

Years ago, my wife and I were immigrants to Australia. We had never lived outside the U.S. Away from friends and family, we were alone in a different world. When Christian people reached out to us, it was wonderful! As immigrants, we were receptive. When they offered to take us to church, we were glad to go. When they invited us to their home for lunch after church, we were thrilled.

It is a reality of globalization. People everywhere are mobile. The mission field is still "over there." It's also in your backyard.

For many of these new neighbors, their ancestry is not Christian. They are Buddhists, Sikhs, Muslims, or from animistic backgrounds. Most important, many are not practicing the religion of their "old country." They are open - interested to be in your country. They are more excited about learning what you believe than you may suspect!

Focus on these issues:

1. Immigrants are somewhat afraid or nervous about being different than most of the people around them. They are cautious and sometimes skeptical about new ways of life. However, they are open and receptive. Reach out and welcome them.
2. Develop a genuine relationship. Show you're not afraid. Demonstrate that you accept them - since you do.
3. Listen and learn what works for them. For example, I consulted a church in Los Angeles that is reaching Iranians. I asked, "What kind of music do young people in Iran listen to?" They said that most listen to western contemporary pop music via the Internet. That church discovered contemporary music welcomed young Iranians in L.A. better than the traditional music of Iran!
4. Look for your neighbor's felt needs. Help them. It may be they are looking for housing, jobs, or medical care. Often, learning English as a second language is a great platform for developing relationships - and sharing Christ. A church in Walled Lake, Michigan, has become a magnet for Japanese, helping them to learn how to live in American society.
5. Don't be afraid to talk about faith issues. Focus on the difference Christ has made in your life. That is much more important, at first, than sharing distinctives or biblical truths.

The Great Commission, in all its diversity, is being fulfilled among faithful Christian and mission-minded churches across this land. Increasingly, we are seeing ministries that reach out to every "tribe, language, nation, and race." The mission field has come to you!

Dr. Kent Hunter (LCMS) is nationally known as the Church Doctor. You can contact him at (800) 626-8515, or visit his website at www.churchdoctor.org.

The October sermon outline by Pastor Don with text and supporting Scripture verses is on Matthew 11:25-30 and is titled, "The Pleasure of God." It's in Microsoft Word. Feel free to adopt or adapt it. Hit Matthew 11:25-30A for a handout to worshippers. Go to Matthew 11:25-30B for the pastor's expanded outline.

"For broken dreams, the cure is 'Dream again.'" - C. S. Lewis

A bulletin paragraph before your new membership class begins: How would you like to be instrumental in changing for the better the welfare of another human being for the rest of life on earth and forever? You have the opportunity. Next Sunday, __________, at ________ in the ____________ Room we begin a ten-week Bible study entitled, I Have Good News For You, a course that truly changes lives. Some of the people you know may not have many more opportunities to come to saving faith in the Lord. Please invite and bring someone. Thanks!

Wal-Mark is stopping support for gay, lesbian, and bisexual groups saying that it would not make contributions "to support or oppose highly controversial issues." It has been less than a year since Wal-Mart joined forces with the homosexual business coalition.

Know of a church that has a Spanish speaking ministry? You could make a great gift to them. I Have Good News For You, a Biblical course on N.T. Christianity, has sold over half a million copies world-wide. It is now available in Spanish. It contains the full text plus worksheet answers for the teacher. It's presented on CD-Rom in Adobe pdf (requires Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reading - available as a free download from www.adobe.com). Cost of the CD is $49.95 and permits the church to print unlimited copies of the text as often as needed. Hit Good News Spanish Edition to order.

An elderly woman was filling out an application for residency in a retirement village. She was a bit nervous answering all the questions about her health, fearing she might be refused admission. But, she finally finished the form and then signed her name and filled in the place where it asked for her current address. After "Zip" she printed: "Normal for my age."

We are presently evaluating the effectiveness and practicality of this Newsletter for pastors and churches. In the interest of better stewardship should it be discontinued at the end of the year? We are leaning a bit toward the thought that our time would be better spent in developing new materials for churches. We invite you to email us with your thoughts. Thanks!

We've now received thousands of these cards, and nearly 90 percent answer the first question with some variation of this sentence: "I noticed the warmth and friendliness of the people." That response is not an accident. It is the result of an intentional strategy to express love to visitors in a manner they can comprehend.

From The Purpose Driven Church, page 211, by Rick Warren

"You can have the best message in the world, but the person on the receiving end will always understand it through the prism of his or her own emotions, preconceptions, prejudices, and preexisting beliefs. It's not enough to be correct or reasonable or even brilliant. The key to successful communication is to take the imaginative leap of stuffing yourself right into your listener's shoes to know what they are thinking and feeling in the deepest recesses of their mind and heart. How that person perceives what you say is even more real, at least in a practical sense, than how you perceive yourself...

Once the words leave your lips, they no longer belong to you. The act of speaking is not a conquest, but a surrender. When we open our mouths, we are sharing with the world - and the world inevitably interprets, indeed sometimes shifts and distorts, our original meaning. After all, who hasn't uttered the words, 'But that's not what I actually meant'"?

By Dr. Frank Luntz in his new book, Words That Work, pp. 13-14 of the Introduction.

Show your concern!

• Just be there, if even for a few minutes.
• Volunteer to be with family members who are waiting during surgery, but respect their wishes.
• Phone the family or patient, but make it very brief unless they express a need to talk.
• Be ready to listen if the patient or family needs to talk.
• Send cards with a brief note of encouragement to the patient or family.
• Take a tape recording of last Sunday's service or sermon with a tape player.

"When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit You?... I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me" (Matthew 25:39-40).

Who can forgive our sins? And how is it done? I recently saw "The Last Sin Eater," a film about the Welsh practice of trying to cleanse the sins of a deceased person. At the funeral a beggar-outcast of the community, designated "the sin eater," is given ritual food and drink and thereby takes away (absolves) the sins of the deceased person so (s)he can rest in peace. The sin eater is otherwise shunned by the people, for in him they saw the embodiment of all their sins and evil deeds.

This ancient practice is linked with the basic human need to have one's sins forgiven. The Old Testament Israelites for a time had the practice of a "scapegoat," a live goat over whose head the high priest confessed all the sins of the Israelites. This goat was then sent into the wilderness on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), to symbolize the removal of their sins. It was a fore-shadowing of the work of Jesus.

In "The Last Sin Eater" the 1850s Appalachian community finally stopped using this practice after being reminded of the Gospel in which Jesus was the final sin eater, the last scapegoat. Today we know that His words, "It is finished," signaled the end of all such human attempts to remove sin. You and I can't do it. Only God removes sin - no human ritual can do what He does.

When thinking about September 11, the anniversary of the death of nearly 3,000 innocent people, we need to think about forgiveness. Forgiveness does not mean excusing sin or even making friends of those who have offended us. It does not mean letting our guard down. It is laying aside our rightful retribution. It is our decision not to pursue what is justly ours, but to give it to God who balances the scales. Forgiveness is what God did for us in Jesus. He punished Him, made Him the scapegoat, and on the cross absorbed our sins. By the punishment He took we are forgiven.

As much as we might like to, we cannot make Moslems our scapegoat. They are not the cause of evil in the world. All humans need Jesus Christ, for without Him we will but wander in the wilderness of sin and misery. When we trust in the merits of our Lord Jesus, when we have faith in Him, our sins are forgiven and we can also forgive others.

Today I hope you will forgive someone.

Rev. Bob Tasler (LCMS) lives in Castle Rock, CO. He writes a weekly message like the one above and emails it to hundreds of people around the country free. You may subscribe by emailing him.

Cancer is not an easy thing to deal with, but it can give one an opportunity to share the bigger "C" of Christ.

I was having a body scan before my prostate operation. The attendant seemed to be from the Middle East. I asked him what his name was. He said, "Anwar." I said, "Oh, like 'Anwar Sadat.'" He answered, "Yes." I asked him where he came from. He said Patkistan. I inquired, "What does 'Pakistan' stand for?" He said, "Clean place." I politely asked, "Are you Muslim?" He said, "Yes."

I said, "Oh, I have been reading the Qur'an." He asked, "What did you learn?" I replied, "I learned that Muslims believe that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and that he is a great Prophet." He said, "That is right." I continued, "But one thing that puzzled me is that the Qur'an says that he was not actually crucified, it only 'appeared so.'" He said, "That's right." I proceeded, "For me the cross is a 'plus sign' of God's great love. Just as John the Baptist said, 'Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world'" (John 1:29).

With that I was passing through the body scan and our conversation needed to end. But in our brief conversation, I managed to do several important things: (1) I established communication; (2) I used my knowledge of the Qur'an as a door-opener; (3) I turned the cross into a "plus sign." He will always remember this, since for Muslims the cross is despised. They believe that when Jesus returns he will destroy all crosses. (4) The Qur'an has a high regard for John the Baptist (Yahya) as "a prophet of the righteous" (Surah 3:39), (Zechariah, however, is dumb for only "three days").

My Muslim acquaintance will hopefully remember that John the Baptist declared that Jesus is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Let us take every opportunity to share Christ as the bigger "C"!" What a privilege.

Pastor Richter (LCMS) in his book, The Qur'an and the Bible - A Comparison, gives helpful tips on "How to share the Good News with Muslims."

The Prospect File is one of the most important items in the church office. Perhaps it is even more important than the Membership List. Hopefully people on the Membership List have heard the Gospel and believe in Christ as their personal Savior. This is not true, however, of many of the people who should be in your Prospect File. How shall we contact people to share the Good News of Jesus unless we know who they are? What are their names, addresses, etc."

Essential for every congregation is a large, ever-expanding Prospect File. Pastor and people together should do all they can to make the file as large as possible, to keep it accurate, and to keep it up to date.

In preparation for a visit important information must be placed on the Prospect Card in the file. After pastor or people make their visit, they should record their visit and comments accurately and neatly.

There are several ways of filing prospect cards in the file. We prefer the alphabetical arrangement under these classifications:

1. The General File
2. Interest in Adult Class
3. In Church Last Sunday
4. Contacts Made Previous Week
5. Newcomers
6. Daytime Calls

Names of prospects may be gathered from:

1. Pastor's door-to-door canvassing of homes around the church
2. The guest book, attendance cards or pads
3. Sunday School, Midweek Bible School, and VBS enrollment lists
4. Names submitted by members
5. Special services such as weddings, funerals, etc.
6. A church welcome wagon service
7. Public utility companies
8. A community door-to-door survey

Prospect cards should not be taken home so that the prospect may be called on "at a more convenient time." It is too easy to lose or misplace these cards. In most churches the pastor should supervise the Prospect File. In large congregations an Evangelism or Outreach Secretary should work with the pastor. Hit Prospect Card to view the card available from Church Press. To receive a sample card, just email us and ask for a sample card and also ask for a sample canvassing card. Be sure to include your name and address.

The Lord give us the zeal and desire of St. Paul: "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites (the people in your community) is that they may be saved" (Romans 10:1).