Note: Father's Day is almost upon us. I am putting a sermon idea here to stiumlate your thinking about that important day.
Our earthly fathers are important, and I don't want to diminish their role, but on this Father's Day let's look at the ultimate Father - our Heavenly Father. I. He is our Heavenly Father. A. This means that He is holy, perfect - without flaw. B. Look at a description of Him. 1. Omnipotent (all-powerful) 2. Omnipresent (present everywhere) 3. Omnisicent (All-knowing) C. Is He your Heavenly Father? II. He is our loving Father. A. He loves enough to give. John 3:16 is proof of that, plus other places in scripture. B. He loves enough to give us His grace and mercy. 1. He gives us what we do not deserve. 2. Suppose He gave us only what we deserve. (We would be in trouble.) 3. He loves us enought to chasten (discipline) us. C. He loves enough to give us what we need. 1. Everything we have comes from God. 2. That is why we should be good stewards of what He gives us. III. He is our forgiving Father. A. He forgives our sins. 1 John 1:9 1. It is total forgiveness. 2. Accept His forgiveness. B. He cleanses us from sin. 1 John 1:9 C. He sets us free. 1. Free from sin's penalty. 2. Free from sin's grasp. 3. Free from sin's guilt. There is certainly more that we could say about our Heavenly Father, but what we have said should suffice to help us want to accept His offering of His Son for our salvation. We should be more determined to live for Our Heavenly Father.
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Before I go about Sunday duties, I want to share a thought with you that I had this morning in my daily Bible reading. It will be just a sketchy outline, but I think you will get the point.
Our text reveals some of the elements of David's faith. I. Vs. 1 - He loved the Lord. Isn't that the foundation of the faith of all people? II. Vs. 2 - He trusted and depended on the Lord. Vs. 3c - "So shall I be saved from my enemies." III. Vs. 3a - He prayed to the Lord. IV. Vs. 3b - He praised the Lord. All of these are elements of faith that we all need. There is some preaching in these verses!!!! I read Psalm 9 this morning and the first two verses really caught my attention. The emphasis was on praise. Praising God is one of the bedrock disciplines, if that is the right word, of the Christian faith. We talk about praise and we sing hymns of praise, but do we really praise? Our text shows us what true praise is.
I. Vs. 1a - The dimension of praise "I will praise you with my whole heart." We should put our whole hearts into praise. We should do this personally at some point each day. We should do this at church in fellowship with other Christians. When we praise God, we should do it without distraction and not be thinking about all that we have to do that day. II. Vs. 1b - The direction of praise "I will show forth all thy marvelous works." NIV: "I will tell of all your wonders..." Praising God should direct us to witness to others. We should tell other people why we praise God. We should be as specific with them as we are in our praise. We should tell what Jesus has done in our lives, which called us to praise. (At this point, we could give personal experiences.) III. Vs. 2 - The delight of praise "I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most high." Praising God with our whole heart should cause us to rejoice, or delight, in the Lord. The essence of praise is joy and rejoicing. We don't shout "hallelujah" from a depressed heart. Praising God should cause us to sing from our hearts. We can tell from the enthusiasm of singing whether or not real praise is taking place. Praising God should make us recognize the majesty of God: "O, Thou most high." Do you really praise God, or do you just go through the motions? Let our text direct you to real praise of God. Note: I hope that this inspiration which came to me today will come to you when you read this, and that you will be able to make your own sermon out of it. You will probably be able to come up with a better title than I did this morning. This idea is "hot off the presses." It comes out of my Bible study on 1 Corinthians. I love these lists that Paul gives in the form of advice to churches. This one should make
good preaching. Paul is advising the Corinthian church about correct behavior during trying times. It is good advice for us as well. I. Vs. 13a - "Watch ye" (KJV) "Be on your guard" (NIV) This reminds us of the advice given by Peter in 1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." There are pitfalls on every side and we need to be aware of them. II. Vs. 13b - "Stand fast in the faith" (KJV) There are a lot of false witnesses in the world who want to call us away from our faith in Christ to the teachings of some false prophet, or some preacher who is not preaching the Bible, but New Age philsophy. We need to remain untouched by all of this and stand fast in our faith in Christ and all that entails. III. Vs. 13c - "Quit you like men" (KJV) "Be men of courage" (NIV) The society in which we live is increasingly like the society in which Paul lived. It's not as bad yet, but it is gradually getting worse. We live in the "Post Christian" age. It takes courage now to stand for Jesus in a jaded society, and it will take even more in the future. We need to be men and women of courage. IV. Vs. 13d - "Be strong" This does not mean that we are to stand in our own strength, but it means to be strong in the Lord and depend on His strength to get us through life. V. Vs. 14 - "Let all things be done with charity (love)." In the process of serving the Lord, being watchful, standing fast, having courage, being strong, we need do all of it in love. We are not to take vengeance on Christ's adversaries, but we are to love them. Jesus taught us to love our enemies. He also taught us that people will know that we belong to Him when act in love. This makes for good preaching, not because I came up with it, but because it is in the Bible. I hope that you can take it, clean it up, and make something out of it. Bro. Joe Go through Daniel 6 and tell the story of the Daniel and the lion's den. We are asking, "Why did Daniel do it."
I. The text tells us that Daniel loved the Lord above all else. A. Jesus is an example of the kind of love for His Father, that Daniel had. 1. He loved God enough to sacrifice His very life if need be. That's what Daniel did. 2. He loved God so much that no one, or no thing, could keep Him from doing the right thing. Daniel loved like that. B. We could say that Daniel was consumed with his love for God. 1.To be consumed is to be so taken up with love for God that nothing else matters but pleasing God. 2. This kind of love is described in 2 Timothy 2:7: "For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and love, and of a sound mind." C. Do we dare measure our love for God/Jesus up against Daniel's? II. The text indicates that Daniel stayed prayed up. Illustration: Someone asked John Glenn if he prayed before he went up in space to orbit the earth. He said: "No, I didn't need to. I stay prayed up." A. 6:10 - Nothing could stop Daniel from praying, not even the promise of death. B. Daniel prayed frequently, at least three times a day. I'm sure that Daniel prayed more often than that. We can pray to God at any time during the day or night. We can go " boldly to the throne of grace. " But do we? C. Daniel's times of prayer were not perfunctory, or from mere habit. 1. His prayers built his relationship with God. 2. His prayers gave him the boldness to stand up against Nebuchadnezzar. 3. Our praying should do the same for us. III. The text indicates that Daniel depended totally on the Lord. A. Daniel's trust was not in the world or public opinion. We need this kind of trust to live in our cynical world today. B. Daniel knew that God could do anything. 1.The great thing is that He still can, but we don't act like it. 2. We depend too much on the flesh instead of the Spirit. C. Daniel trusted to the point of death, if need be. 1. Being thrown into a den of lions puts one in a precarious position. 2. Trusting God might put us in a precarious position, probably not like Daniel's but uncomfortable and trying, nevertheless. IV. The text indicates that Daniel had the courage of his convictions. A. The important fact is that Daniel had convictions. His convictions were thorough and complete. Are ours? B. These convictions gave him courage. Remember: "Courage is fear that has said its prayers." C. We need the same convictions. Could we do what Daniel did? Would we do what Daniel did? We could if we loved God above all else....if we stayed prayed up.....if we totally depended on the Lord....if we had the courage of our convictions. We can live this kind of life if we will. Satan thought he had caught Jesus in a vulnerable position and put Him to the test.
These tests (or temptations) are similar to tests we face each day. He wants to test our Christian faith, like he tested Jesus' heavenly purpose. I. Vss. 2-4 - The "Materialism" test. A. Satan knew that Jesus was hungry after 40 days fasting - a weak moment. Satan knows all of our weaknesses and will not refrain from testing us at the weak moments in our lives. B. He was testing Jesus to use His Godly power to produce something for Himself - to be materialistic. C. Vs. 4 gives Jesus' response: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." 1. We cannot live by possessions alone. 2. We cannot live on self-satisfaction alone. 3. We cannot live by our appetites alone. II. Vss. 5-7 - The "Line of Least Resistance Test." A. Do the sensational thing and bypass the cross and the will of God. B. How does this "line of least resistance test" apply to us? 1. You can be just as good a Christian without bothering with the church. 2. You should just mind your own business, live and let live, and leave the witnessing to others. 3. When you serve through the church, if you must, do everything to call attention to yourself. C. Have no doubt that Satan has used this trick on you at some time in your life. III. Vss. 8-11 - The "Whom Will You Serve? Test." A. Vss. 8-9 - Satan lied when he offered to give Jesus what already belonged to Him. Psalm 24:1 "The earth is the Lord's and fhe fullness thereof." B. Vs. 10 - Jesus would not switch His loyalty to Satan, nor should we, but we will if we are not careful. C. Though we are Christians, it is possible that Satan will get us to serve him by getting involved in church quarrels, as one example. Be careful and do not let him get by with it. As Peter wrote, Satan still roams through the earth :seeking whom he may devour. Make sure that he does not devour you. Throw scripture at Him as Jesus did and remember who Satan is - your accuser and your adversary. Our title is taken from vs. 13: "For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee." This verse pictures God holding our hands, which denotes His intimacy with us, holding hands today denotes intimacy. Think of the blessings that can come from holding hands with God.
I. Vs. 10: Look at the "I wills." God is the One doing the holding. A. This tells us that God is with us. Vs. 10a - "Fear thou not; for I am with thee." B. This tells us that not only is God with us, He is working on our behalf: Vs. 10b - "Be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." C. Vs. 13 is a promise of God to us. "I will hold your right hand...." II. Vs. 13 - Great truths gleaned from this promise. A. Holding hands denotes some things that are important to us: 1. It denotes guidance. Psalm 32:8 2. It denotes love. 3. It denotes togetherness. B. Holding hands promises a bright outlook on life: 1. God says: "I will hold thee..." Read: "I will hold onto thee..." John 10:29 2. God says: "I will help thee..." Who can say that they do not help in this life? Isn't it wonderful that the eternal God will help us. C. God is holding, or will hold, your hand. Take this promise as a personal word to you and put your hand in the hand of God. While the "Judaizers" put their faith and hope in their Jewishness, Paul put his in Jesus. In vs. 12, he confessed that he was not yet all that he could be for Jesus. He wanted to be more for Jesus. Paul knew that he was saved, but he wanted to be more. He planned to have more of Jesus and be more for Him. In vss. 13-14 he told how. We would do well to do the same.
I. Forget the past: "Forgetting those things which are behind...." A. Forget past sins and failures. Paul had a lot to forget....... So do we...... B. Forget past successes. 1, Paul had won many to Jesus and started many churches, but he would not rest on those successes. 2. We can wallow in past successes as well as failures, but it will not make us better servants of Jesus. C. Forget past defeats. To be more for Jesus, we have to get up and go again. II. Face the prospects: "Reaching forth to those things which are before. A. Reach forth to new victories. 1. Paul was in prison when he wrote Philippians. Some scholars believe that he was released and went as far as Spain with the gospel. 2. There can be new victories as we "reach forth..." For example, there are still people to be won to Jesus. B. Reach forth to new spiritual growth. 1. Grow in our relationship with Jesus through prayer and Bible study. 2. Grow in our relationships with fellow-Christians. 3. Grow in our joy and gladness. 4. Grow in spiritual power. C. Reach forth to the glory of God that is in store for us. Romans 8:18 III. Forge ahead to the prize: Vs. 14 A. Paul would not let Satan win, so he kept the goal of the prize of heaven and the resurrection ever before him. We are headed for glory, let's rejoice in that. B. We need to keep heaven on our minds and our feet on the ground. 1. We know what's out there before us, but we must press on to new victories, new growth, etc. 2. There is no quitting in the game of life if we are to be more for Jesus! Illustration: Don't get your feelings hurt and quit church. C. Look at Paul's victory statement in 2 Timothy 4:6-8. 1. Paul knew that his life had counted for something - for Jesus. 2. He knew because of what he wrote in our text. 3. We can have a victory statement like this if we will persevere. Do you want to be more for Jesus, and we all need to be. Then forget the past, reach forth to the future and forge ahead to the prize. It will work Note: There are two Mother's day sermons below. Scroll down to "Lois and Eunice."
While He was here on earth, Jesus loved children. He still does today. In fact, if you will read verses 14-15, you will see that He wishes we were more like them. Our text tells us at least two things about Jesus: I. Vss. 13-14 - Jesus does not exclude children. A. Jesus was angry with His disciples for rebuking the parents who brought their children to Him. 1. People still say there is no room for children at the feet of Jesus. 2. We worry about their understanding of Jesus. Childen understand a lot more about Jesus than we know. (Surely, these children who can teach us about computers, can fathom the love of Jesus.) B. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and forbid them not. 1. Children should be encouraged to go to Jesus, to pray and read about Him in the Bible. (We have confused "walking the aisle" and "joining the church" with coming to Jesus.) 2. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that faith in Jesus is only for people who have reached the magic age of 12. C. We need to be careful that we do not make Jesus a forbidding person to children. Our text certainly doesn't encourage that thinking. II. Vss. 14-15 - God's kingdom is made up of people who come to Jesus as children. Why? A. Children have a greater capacity to believe - to trust. 1. Much of life's experiences make us wary of trusting. 2. We should, must, put all of that "junk" away and trust Jesus. B. Children have the quality of humility. 1. We must come to Jesus humbly, for no arrogance, or pride, will suffice in His presence. (Luke 14:11) 2. There might have been some, but I have never witnessed a child who was arrogant about Jesus. C. A childlike (not childish) faith has the quality of wonder and amazement. 1. Life's experiences often kill our sense of wonder and amazement. If this has happened in your life -- stop it. 2. In order to really worship and serve Jesus, we must stand amazed in His holy presence and wonder. 3. When is the last time that you "stood amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene"? Vs. 16 - Let Jesus take you up "in His arms" today. Let Him touch you and bless you, as He did those children so many years ago. Note: There are two Mother's Day sermon ideas below. Scroll down to "Lois and Eunice." Bro. Joe
Giving is not the most popular topic in the Bible, but it is an integral part of Biblical teaching. We are not just to give, but to be giving people. Giving should come from within us, and be part and parcel with who we sre as Christians. Are you a giving person? I. Vs. 38a - Giving is pervasive. (It covers every area of our lives.) A. We should give money. (Uh Oh!) 1. Give at least a tithe. 2. Give cheerfully. 2 Corinthians 9:7 3. Give gratefully. We will give gratefully if we remember that all things belong to God, and He shares them with us. 4. Give because of the good that it does, and the good that will not happen if we do not give. B. We should give our time. 1. Take time to pray. 2. Take time to read the Bible. 3. Take time to serve the Lord through your church and in your community. a. The church's work needs to be done, and you are the one to do it. b. The Lord needs to be known in the community, and we need to take the time to make sure that it happens. C. We should give our talents (gifts). 1. God has given all of His people gifts of the Holy Spirit. 2. We should give our lives to what the Lord has gifted us for. II. Vs. 38b - Giving has a promise. A. Giving is reciprocal: "and it shall be given unto you...." 1. Our motive for giving should not be to get back, but that is the nature of giving. 2. We never miss what we give from our hearts in the will of God. B. Giving reciprocates abundantly. "...it shall be given you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom." 1. It appears here that people do the giving, but God is the cause. 2. We can't outgive God. C. Giving reciprocates proportionately. "For with the measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." 1. For example, if you give forgiveness, it will be given to you. 2. The same could be said about a number of things, such as, compassion, love, money, etc. 3. God has ordained it so that we get back as we give in. Are you a giver? Better yet, are you a giving person? Luke 6:38 gives us good reason to be giving people. Let's do it. |
All of these materials are free of charge. There is no copyright on them and you are free to use them as you see fit. I am happy to be of assitance to you in your preaching/teaching minstry.
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