Open Air Preaching

One new way we have been getting peoples’ attention is to have someone blow up a latex glove until it’s about two feet in diameter, and twist the end. While the person is blowing up the glove into a large balloon, we ask the gathering crowd to name famous people in the past who have died. People call out “Shakespeare, Napoleon, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe,” etc. Then I say, “The Bible says, ‘For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away’” (James 4:14). When I say "vanish," I stick a pin in the balloon and it goes off with a huge bang. Then I say, “The second you die, no matter who you are, how famous you are, or what you have achieved, it's all going to mean nothing on that day. So please listen carefully to what I’m going to tell you about why we die, and what we can do about it.” It's very visual, gathers a crowd, makes a good point, and goes off with a bang. You can also say that many people believe that they are going to Heaven because they are good, and do good things. Then relate it to a criminal admitting to the judge that he’s guilty of a murderous crime, but saying, “I’m a good person and I do good things.” Then ‘When you stand before God will all your good works, they are going to mean this much (stick the pin in the balloon).” The only way to be saved is to trust in God’s mercy--“Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to Thy cross I cling.” Or you can use the four fingers and the thumb that stick out of the top of the balloon to go through five of the Commandments.