Monday, April 23, 2018

The Sidewalk Preacher Man

Dedicated to all God's street evangelists like Ray Comfort. 
"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor 
he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the increase."
1 Corinthians 3:6-7

© 2018 Michael L. Alumbaugh
 
First time I saw him 
Down on Beggar and Grand
Sleeping on a park bench
A bottle in his hand.
Next time I saw him
He had a fire in his eyes,
He talked about a Saviour
Who would split the skies!
So I had to ask him, “Tell me,
What changed you, man?”
He said,
“It was the Sidewalk Preacher,
The Sidewalk Preacher Man!
The Sidewalk Preacher Man,
Sidewalk Preacher Man!”

(Interlude)

She was walkin’ the “Death Walk”
Toward the “Butchers’ Mill”
With both hands on her unborn
Crying, “Is it right to kill?”
Next time I saw her
She held a little hand
Despair had fled her life
And Joy had filled her land!
So I stopped to ask her, “Tell me,
What changed your plan?”
She said,
“It was the Sidewalk Preacher,
The Sidewalk Preacher Man!
The Sidewalk Preacher Man,
Sidewalk Preacher Man!”

He offered them more than just a way to cope.
He gave a Ray of Comfort and a heart of Hope!
In their “Well of Troubles”, he threw them down a rope.
They got "Living Water" for their thirsty souls!

(Interlude)

The first time I saw them
They were bangin’ guitars
Screaming angry lyrics
In some sleazy bar.
The next time I saw them
Their bloody words had flown!
They had a brand new message
They sang a Gospel song!
So I had to ask them, “Tell me,
What changed your stand?”
They said,
“It was the Sidewalk Preacher,
The Sidewalk Preacher Man!
The Sidewalk Preacher Man,
Sidewalk Preacher Man!”

When all the others had only offered lies
He told them of the Way, the Truth, the Life!
He showed them how to live a brand new way.
He’d turned their darkness into a shining day!

It was the Preacher Man,
The Sidewalk Preacher Man!
The Sidewalk Preacher Man!
The Sidewalk Preacher Man!
The Sidewalk Preacher Man,
Sidewalk Preacher Man!

Cooky and the Circuit Ridin' Preacher and the Snake

By Michael L. Alumbaugh, © Oct. 16, 2010, 2023 (Words to Amazing Grace by John Newton (1725-1807) Artwork "Apache Ambush" by Frede...