Pastors Peter Simpson and John Sherwood were preaching the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified in the centre of Slough on January 10th.
As a group of schoolboys went by as a group of school boys went by Pastor Simpson asked them, are you a good person ? One of them responded, ‘Yes I am’. The minister replied, ‘Well, that means then that you are guilty of the sin of pride’.
Sadly the group of boys did not stop to pursue the conversation, but hopefully the preacher’s brief response will make one or two realise think that they do indeed have to question any reliance which they might have on their own goodness, because all people are basically sinful by nature, and the essential corrue heart of man was one of the major themes of Pastor Simpson’s preaching.
The Penn minister also entered into conversation with a middle-aged Muslim gentleman about what happens when we die. The Muslim openly admitted that he would spend thousands of years in hell, but would then come out of it because Allah is merciful. The minister challenged him as to why he did not seem particularly worried about the prospect of any length of time in hell. He tried to explain that the Christian has an assurance of salvation, of going straight to be with the Lord upon death, not because of any goodness in himself, but because of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for him on the Cross.
May the Lord help this Muslim man to realise the horrors of hell and the reality that no good works can ever cancel out any sins. May he and many others who heard the gospel in Slough upon this day realise that the only way that they can receive an assurance of eternal life in heavenly glory is by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ.