Evangelism and an Introduction

This is my first evangelistic post.  What is evangelism?  Evangelism is the spreading of Christian gospel by personal witness.  So basically, I'll be telling you the good news about Jesus.  If you don't know who Jesus is, don't worry; I'll tell you: He's God's son, the Savior of the world.  If that answer brings up more questions, this is the place for you!  I'm planning a series of posts in which I'll ask questions, answer them, ask follow-up questions, and answer those!  Super exciting, right?  If you have questions that I didn't answer (or ask), or if you don't understand the answers I've given, or if you don't agree with my answers, please leave a comment.  I'll do my best to answer your comment and/or direct you toward finding the answer in another way.  I plan on starting simple.  Here are some subject areas I have in mind for posts:

• The Bible
• Death
• Baptism
• Holy Communion/the Lord's Supper/Eucharist
• Church/worship
• Sin
• Forgiveness
• Sexual immorality
• Repentance
• Different religions
• Apostles/disciples
• Who's who in the Bible
• Christian freedom

At this point, you may be wondering who I am.  What are my qualifications?  What religion am I?  Why should you listen to me?

I am Molly Kuxhaus.  I am a sinner.  I am a saint.  I am a Christian.  I am God's child.  It is by grace I have been saved, not by anything I have done.  I have done horrible things, thought detestable thoughts, and sinned in many ways.  Jesus, my Savior, never sinned.  I deserve punishment for my sins; Jesus does not/did not deserve punishment.  I was declared innocent because Jesus was declared guilty.  He paid for my sins.  He took the punishment I earned.  God loves me so much, he was willing to accept Jesus' death as payment for my debt.  I am not perfect.  I am forgiven.  Jesus' perfect life and innocent death paid for the sins of the whole world, including yours.

What are my qualifications?  I have not attended seminary.  As a woman, I am not permitted authority over a man, and thus may not pursue a pastoral ministry that includes men as members.  Many women may consider this to be sexist and an outrageous inequality.  God created Adam (man) first.  God created Eve (woman) to be a helper and companion for Adam.  In doing so, he established man as the head of the household, and head of the church.  I respect God, and I respect his establishments. I am a laywoman, which basically means I am a female member of a church.  I attend church on a regular, weekly basis.  I read the Bible daily.  As for secular education, I graduated magna cum laude from the University of South Dakota with a BS in English.  I minored in mathematics.

What religion am I?  I am a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, commonly referred to as the WELS.  There are many Lutheran churches, and the beliefs vary.  To merely say I am Lutheran may misconstrue my beliefs, since some Lutheran denominations have veered from the Bible.  The WELS has a very nice website, and is full of information and devotions.  It has a WELS locator link at the top of the home page so that you can find the closest WELS church in your area.  There are other churches (not in the WELS synod) where the truth about God may be preached, but the WELS reliably trusts in the Bible.  Not what the minister thinks or believes, but what the Bible says.  WELS ministers are trained in the languages that the Bible was originally written in (Greek and Hebrew), so that they are not misguided by errant or unclear translations of the Bible.  They are sinners, just like you and me, and they struggle with sin, as we do.  Their job is to point you to the One who has never sinned (Jesus) for forgiveness.

Why should you listen to me?  I would prefer you go to church and hear the Word of God preached.  I would prefer you spent your time reading the Bible instead of my posts.  If you are afraid of going to church because you don't think you know enough about God to attend, hopefully my posts will prepare and encourage you to go.  You don't really need to know anything before going to church; there are no preparations you need to make.  It helps to know what God says in his Bible, so that you find a church that preaches the true Word of God.  The WELS is a great source.  If you are intimidated by the Bible (it is a rather large volume), hopefully my posts will make you more comfortable with it.

 Please keep in mind that I have not attended seminary, and I am not an authority.  I am merely trying to share my faith in hopes that you will come to know the One who loves you so much He died for you.  Consider this a preschool of sorts, something like a wading pool.  I'll try to keep things simple and fun.

Here's the gospel in a nutshell: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (Holy Bible, John 3:16)