I grew up listening to W.R. Jones preach the gospel. My friends and I used to sit on the front row and try to feverishly copy all of his overhead charts. Even though I was very young, six or seven at the time, I can still remember some of his sermons on heaven and hell, the judgment, and the church. One night, while everyone else around me was taking notes, I drew a picture of Brother Jones baptizing the Incredible Hulk. I showed it to him after services. He just smiled and said, “well, the gospel is for all.”

The 26th edition of the Southside Lectures is only six weeks away. What a wonderful opportunity we will have to sit at the feet of men like Paul Earnhart, Tony Mauck, Mark Roberts, and L.A. Stauffer and hear them preach from the word of God. What a joy it will be to have brother R.J. Stevens lead us in spirited congregational singing. What a privilege it will be to have Christians from other places so that we can encourage and uplift and edify one another.

But what a shame if we don’t invite anyone else to come. Wouldn’t it be terrible to think after one of the lectures, “I wish my neighbor could have heard that one” or “that’s just what my friend needs?” Perhaps they would have had the opportunity had you only taken the opportunity to ask.

The gospel is for all. “It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16 LBX). But how is it going to get to everyone when we tell no one about it? How is it going to work in someone’s life when we don’t take time out of our lives to share it? The Lord has entrusted this message of salvation to His stewards. Let’s prove ourselves trustworthy.

Since I’ve been at Southside, each lecture week has had its own special memories. I wonder what this year will hold? Will it be that someone heard these “Ancient Epistles for Modern Man” and decided to obey the gospel of Jesus Christ?

That would be a picture worth painting, a story worth telling. Get it started. And give it your all.