This is a sermon idea that "hit" me this morning as I read in Matthew. It will be skimpy, but maybe you can take it and do something with it. Bro. Joe.
The rich young ruler, rich young man, came to Jesus with a valid and important question. Let's take a look at what this text can teach us. I. Vs. 16 - The young man knew that he needed more than he had. He was rich, financially secure, and lived a good life, but he was dissatisfied and knew that he needed more than he already had. There are a lot of people like him in our world today. They are dissatisfited with: religion politics worldly goods entertainment, etc. He was empty, as are many today. II. Vss. 17-21- To get more, he would have to learn to do with less. He had the commandments down, and probably all of the Jewish traditions, along with being financially secure. But something was missing from his heart. There was a void in his life that the law could not fill. Jesus told him that to be complete, he would have to get rid of what was holding him back from giving his life, his heart, to God by faith in Jesus. Jesus doesn't tell everyone to do this, only those whose riches are choking them and keeping them away from God. The word "perfect" means complete, meaning that at that time his life was incomplete. Is your life complete in Jesus? III. Vs. 22 - He settled for less. We hope that this young man came to his senses, but I have never read anything that told me that he did. It greives our hearts that many today are settling for less and do not really know it because they think that what they own completes them - a lie from Satan. A serious question: Are you settling for less???? Note: My prayer is that you can take this idea, make a sermon out of it and call many in your church to completeness. That's why I am doing this for you without charge. You are free to use all of the materials on this website in your ministry without giving me credit. IF I GIVE IT TO YOU, YOU ARE NOT STEALING IT! Bro. Joe
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One of the greatest fears of an athiest is that no one is in charge. Sometimes we are "practical athiests" because we forget who is in charge and live our lives as though we are in charge. The text tells us who is in charge.
I. Verses 15-17 - Christ is in charge of our world. A. Vs. 15 - He alone is the visible expression of God in the world. B. Vs. 16 - He alone is in control of all authorities and powers in the world. C. Vs. 17 - He alone holds it all together - the world and our lives. II. Verses 18-20 - Christ is in charge of our church. A. Vs. 18 - He is the head of the church. B. Vs. 19 - He is the source of God's fulness in the church. C. Vs. 20 - He is the heart of the ministry of the church. III. Verses 21-23 - Christ is in charge of our lives. A. Vs. 21 - He delivered us from what we could have been. B. Vs. 22 - He intends to present us to the Father whole and complete. C. Vs. 23 - He expects us to remain faithful to Him as He works in us to complete the process. Christ is in charge. Does this fact shape our view of the world? Does it shape how we face the world? Is it evident in the ministries of our churches? Does it inspire us to a deeper level of faithfulness to Christ? Psalm 36:1-12
The text contains a clear delineation between wickedness and righteousness, and a clear call to follow righteousness. I. Verses 1-4 - The Folly of Wickedness A. Vss. 1-2 - "There is no fear of God before their eyes." B. Vs. 3 - They speak iniquity and deceit. C. Vs. 4 - They love evil and think of it all of the time. (We need to keep in mind that wickedness is not just adultery, stealing, etc. It also comes from wrong attitudes, etc.) II. Verses 5-12 - The Wisdom of Righteousness A. Vss. 5-6 - The wisdom of righteousness is based upon the mercy and faithfulness of God. B. Vss. 7-10 - The wisdom of righteousness is based upon the compassion of God. C. Vss. 11-12 - The wisdom of righteousness is realized in continually seeking to live close to Jesus and to remember the folly of wickedness. All of Romans 5 tells us what God does for us, but the four verses we will examine gives us a vivid picture of what He does for us.
I. Verse 8 - He loves us. "But God commends His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." He loves us in spite of the fact that we are sinners. We are all sinners. No one is exempt. Christ died on the cross out of God's great love for us. John 3:16 II. Verse 9 - He saves us. "Much more then being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." God's wrath is a terrible thing. Think of Sodom and Gomorrah as an example. Only through Christ can we escape it. III. Verse 10 - He reconciles us. "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled we shall be saved by His life." Without Christ, people are separated from God, which is a terrible place to be. We are saved by His death and reconciled by the life of the resurrected Christ. IV. Verse 11 - He gives us joy. "And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." John 15:11 Notice that He gives us all of this through Christ. "These are the things that you shall do; speak every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates. 17. And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against your neighbour; and love no false oaths; for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord."
Zechariah 8 is an island of tranquility in a sea of negativity. (This is a reference to all of the prophets, not just Zechariah.) There is judgment and hope in most of the prophets in the Old Testament, but this chapter is a treasure of hope for Israel. But they are reminded of what God's expectations are for them in this tranquil time. In other words, God would bless but they had responsibilities too. This is a good lesson for us as to what God's expectations are for us. I. Vs. 16a - Be Truthful. (Another good word here could be trustworthy.) II. Vs. 16b - Be fair in judgment. ("gates" = courts) III. Vs. 17a - Be kind to your neighbor. IV. Vs. 17b - Be honest - don't lie against people. A "false oath" is perjury. These are not things that we do to be saved. We are saved by faith in Jesus. These are things that we should do because we are saved. We can't be self-righteous about those who stray. Paul tells how to treat them.
I. Verse 1 - Be Gentle - "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted." II. Verse 2 - Be Helpful - "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." III. Verse 3 - Be Humble - "For if a man think himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself." Someone has said that "the church is the only army that shoots its own wounded." These verses help us to avoid that. "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before. 14. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
I. "Forgetting those things which are behind." There are surely some things that you and your congregation want to forget that happened in 2011. II. "Reaching forth to those things which are before." This give you a good opportunity to share what you want to accomplish in 2012. In case you haven't gotten Sunday's sermons together yet, I am sharing with you two ideas that I think would be good texts for New Years. _ _ In preceding verses the Lord reminded Israel that He wanted more from them than their ritual sacrifices. He wanted their hearts and gave His requirements.
I. The Lord requires us to act justly toward others. II. The Lord requires us to be merciful - "love mercy" III. The Lord requires us to be humble. "walk humbly with your God" _ The Shepherds Response
(For want of a better title. You could probably do better.) Luke 2:8-18 The focus of the sermon is on vss. 15-18 I. Vss. 15-16 - They found Jesus. (That's where it starts.) You might say that since the angel directed them, they were found by Jesus. II. Vs. 17 - They told others about what they had found. (witnessing) III. Vs. 18 - Others were affected by what they told. (response) __GOD IS A BIG AND GREAT GOD. AND TO THINK HE PUT HIMSELF IN A HUMAN BODY AND CAME TO THIS LITTLE PLANET WHERE WE LIVE REALLY STRETCHES THE MIND. I'M PREACHING ON THAT SUNDAY.
"HE CAME" I. WHO CAME? USING SOME OF THE BIBLE NAMES OF JESUS TO EXPLAIN JUST WHO CAME. II. THE RESPONSE [1] THE JEWISH RACE [2] THE INN KEEPER [3] THE KING [4] THE SHEPHERDS [5] THE WISE MEN III. THE ONE WHO CAME--INVITES THE LOST WORLD TO "COME" TO HIM: MENTIONING SEVERAL OF THE GREAT INVITATIONS IN THE BIBLE. GOD BLESS BROTHER ANDY |
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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