Pastors John Sherwood and Peter Simpson were proclaiming the necessity of repentance from sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in the centre of Slough on March 28th.
The pastors entered into conversation with a very knowledgeable man who had quite a good understanding of the many evils of contemporary society, but who was looking for man-made solutions to these evils, and not to God.
He also admitted to being into heavy metal music, which Pastor Simpson expressed grave concern about, because of its well documented occult associations.
The rock band Black Sabbath are usually identified as the pioneers of heavy metal and they were first formed in 1968. Wikipedia states,
“They distinguished themselves through occult themes with horror-inspired lyrics … they released their first single, ‘Evil Woman’ in 1970”.
What a contrast with this focus on evil and darkness is the words of Paul in Philippians 4:8,
“Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report … think on these things”.
In his preaching Pastor Simpson referred to the essential sinfulness of all men. All are slaves to the lusts and passions of a fallen nature. He quoted in particular Jeremiah 17:9,
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
No one is good nature, and only Jesus Christ can bestow a new nature, and this is why He declared, “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7).
Sadly, a very drizzly day restricted the preaching, but may those who heard realise the absolute necessity of the new birth, of receiving a new heart in the wooer of the Holy Spirit by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.