Archive for Combined and Assorted
Paul’s Sermon in a Sentence
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Paul’s Sermon in a Sentence
I am currently working on a simple message that I believe can have a big punch. I invite you to join me an to share it with your people. Here goes the bullet list:
Title ideas-
PAUL’S SERMON IN A SENTENCE
THE RIGHT KIND OF LOVE
THE WHOLE PONT OF PREACHING
THE GOAL OF LIFE-LONG LEARNING
PAUL’S PURPOSE STATEMENT FOR HIS PREACHING MINISTRY
THE ONE THING WE BETTER GET RIGHT!
Text-
1 Timothy1:3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. 5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. (NKJV)
1 Timothy 1:3 When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth. 4 Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations,[a] which don’t help people live a life of faith in God.[b]
5 The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. 6 But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. 7 They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently. (NLT)
Main Point Ideas-
1. Love that is from a pure heart. (Free of wrong motives)
Self-interest is not the driving motivation
Listing how it will benefit me is not the motivation
Agreement with the person’s viewpoints is not the reason.
A heart that is not filled with condemnation toward others
A heart that is not proud that it is better
2. Love that is from a pure conscience. (Free of unconfessed sin)
A mind free from self-condemnation
A mind free of true guilt
A mind free of false guilt
A mind that leans on the merits of Jesus
A mind that knows its own propensity to sin but does not excuse itself
A conscience cleansed by the blood of Jesus through repentance
3, Love that is from a sincere faith. (Free of religious hypocrisy)
A faith that is transparent and is not afraid to ask questions
A faith that trusts Jesus and not itself
A faith that weathers storms and becomes stronger
A faith free of clichés and full of trust
A faith that has a walk and not just a talk
A faith that rests in a relationship and not on a religious system
(note verses 6 and 7 above to see what Paul had in mind)
Think about how you can practically illustrate the above points in a way that people can clearly understand.
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Vinegar Christians — Wineskinology 101 (Pt. 2)
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Vinegar Christians
Wineskinology 101 (Pt.2)
This is the second lesson in a series entitled Wineskinology 101 (The study of wineskins). The foundational text for this teaching is found in Matthew 9:14-16. I approached this teaching with the basics of wine making in mind:
The grape is crushed.
The juice is spilled.
Yeast is added.
The juice is put in a wineskin (container).
The contents go through fermentation.(about 6-8 weeks)
The wine is ready.
The top is removed.
The wine is poured out.
People celebrate.
I applied this to the what Jesus went through. Remember in the upper room he told them as they shared what we call the Last Supper that this (wine) represents my blood of the New Testament.
He was sinless, yet he was bruised, beaten, sliced up, trampled upon and his blood was spilled.
Then our sin (yeast) was added to him.
His body was them contained in a tomb.
All kind of shifting was taking place concerning what God was doing in the earth.
After 50 days the new wine was ready to be poured out.
On Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out. People even accused them of drinking too much.
There was a great party that started in the kingdom.
Other insights to bring out: -Jesus first miracle was turning water into wine. He saves the best wine for last. He used the ceremonial handwashing pots that contained the uncleanness of man and filled them with new wine to share with all.
-Question, Do you know what old wine is? It is new wine that was never shared. Jesus is able to make new wine with the qualities of the old wine.He does this because he wants it shared.
You will be one of the three following kinds of Christians in regard to wine and wineskins:
1. A Vinegar Christian
Vinegar is just wine that has soured. This is wine Jesus refused on the cross.Even in his crucifixion he was forgiving and helping others. The Vinegar Christian has been hurt and refuses to heal. The Vinegar Christian pours sour wine on others. It is distasteful and unwanted by most people. It may have some good in it, but you have to put up with a lot to get the benefit of the good.
2. A Victim Christian
The Victim Christian has been wounded and hurt. But because they refuse to accept repsonsibility for their own actions and reactions, they blame someone else for their issues or problems. It’s interesting that Jesus could have blamed others but he refused. Instead he forgave. Too often we try to escape having to deal with our own stuff by blaming others for what has happened to us. Even when someone else has hurt us, we choose whether we are going to heal or pass on the hurt. The cross is all about Forgiveness and new beginnings. The cross is a place of death and letting go.
3. A Victorious Christian
The Victorious Christian learns to draw from the life flow of Christ through the Holy Spirit. They walk through their season of woundedness with its pain, its tomb, its period of hiddeness and unseenness until at last resurrection power begins to work. And continuing on from there they learn to accend into the deep place of the Father’s love. It is then they are able to fully recognize the heart of the Father. Then when they pour into someone else, it is sweet wine with a full robust flavor. They are filled with overflowing joy.
Which one are you?
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Show Your Stuff!
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Hey Everybody!
Just launched the brand new Sermon Seedbed Forum. It has several challenges and exercises geared to help preachers prepare sermons and the bits & pieces that make up a sermon. Please visit, post, and interact.
I need you to help me get this up and going and make it a fun watering hole
for preachers to meet and enjoy the art of sermon building.
Check it out Sermon Seedbed Forum!
This is another place where you can get some great ideas and contribute to making some great ideas concerning sermon building. Also, if you could forward it to your preacher friends, that would be cool!
Lots of good stuff in the forum. One example is that I have asked everyone to share their all time favorite sermon title. After we get a bunch of submissions, I will provide a list of these for all our forum members. There will be info in the forum unavailable on this site.
Joining the forum is easy and free, just like this site. As I said, it has just been launched so help me forerun this forum and let’s see how much it can grow! This is your chance to show your stuff!
Thanks,
Eddie
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List of Sermon Title and Starter Ideas!
Posted by: | CommentsOccasionally I will just give you a bullet list of several sermon titles and starter ideas. Enjoy these:
- What do you have to believe to be an atheist? This could be an interesting title and introductory question. The first preposition of the atheist is that all things came into being without any outside creative agency. That takes faith…
- If churches were football teams– which ones would make it to the playoffs? Develop a list of characteristics that a winning team (church) would have.
- The Church and the Chicken that Crossed the Road—We all have heard the joke “Why did the chicken cross the road?” Answer: To get to the other side. Sometimes the church seems to focus only on getting to the other side and doesn’t see the need to touch all the hurting people going up and down the road.
- When little boys hear what old men can’t– The story of Samuel hearing the voice of the Lord during the days of Eli. The word of the Lord was rare, yet God chose to speak to a little boy. A good message on learning to hear like a child could be very powerful.
- Requirements for an open heaven- Study the occasion that Jacob had his dream. Compare this to what Jesus taught about the angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. Some great lessons to encourage people to focus on Jesus so that the Heaven will open and God will speak and the angels will minister.
- What makes the Devil Mad? Good question that could lead to a very interesting sermon. It could be followed by a message on what makes the Devil Glad or what makes God glad. Have fun with the idea…
- Reluctant but Obedient–Jesus tells the story of a son who said would do what his father wanted him to do, but he didn’t do it. Then the son who said he wouldn’t but then he did. You get the drift. It is better to obey when you don’t want too than not to obey at all. People need to know it is part of our humanity to struggle with doing what is right. Reluctance is just proof that we are still this side of heaven. It is doing right anyway that is proof that we have obeyed. Most all of us have been in such a place many times. There should be no shortage of ways to apply this and illustrate it.
- Finding Diamonds in the Rough—Research how diamonds are mined as an introduction. The eye has to be trained to see what the a diamond in the rough. Talk about the value of a diamond and how they have to be broken for their brilliance to shine forth. The New Testament is filled with examples where Jesus saw diamonds in the rough. It will be easy to pick three of them out and apply them to your audience.
- Unsolved Mysteries—If the staff of the TV show by the same name where to go the Bible, what mysteries could they use to make a great series of programs. Might make a good series of sermons too.
- Three minutes with Moses—This could be another great series. If you had three minutes with Moses, what would you want to ask him? Think of other Bible characters and apply the same question.
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