Pastor's Sermon
Outlines
March 5, 2006
“SALVATION IS A COME AS YOU ARE PARTY, EVERYONE IS
WELCOME”
SCRIPTURE READING: LUKE 7:36-50
SCRIPTURE TEXT: JOHN 6:37
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
INTRO: A Woman who cleans her house before the
House Cleaner comes. “You can’t expect me to have her
clean a dirty house.”
Often
people think that they must clean up their lives before
they can turn to God.
Who has the right to come to Jesus Christ to be
cleansed from their sins?
Are
there those today who are considered unacceptable,
either by themselves or by others, to come to Jesus?
Are
there those whom God considers unacceptable?
EZEKIEL 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the
Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked;
but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye,
turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O
house of Israel?
2
PETER 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his
promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance.
God
is a compassionate God and desires that all would come
and accept His grace. No one is excluded.
I.
THE SINFUL WOMAN. LUKE 7:36-50
NOTE:
Who was this woman and why was she so unacceptable
to Simon?
She
was living in open sin.
What
brought her to this place?
ILL:
Friday’s front page
There
are those who enter into a life of sin because it is
what they want to do.
But
there are many others who end up in a life of sin
because it seems that it is the only choice they have.
Too
often, we Christians, fail to have the grace and
compassion to try and understand what events may have
lead a person into the life of sin they are in.
She
may have experienced:
-
Molestation by a family member (article in Friday’s
paper about the baby sitter)
-
Rape
-
Date Rape
-
Used by a boyfriend
-
Deserted by her husband
Any
of these experiences could have caused her to believe
she had no where else to turn.
This
woman was in desperate need for Love, Acceptance and
Forgiveness.
She
probably found little support in the religious
community.
If a
person who has suffer these things cannot find love and
acceptance in the Church when can they?
I.
WE WHO HAVE ALREADY COME TO CHRIST OFTEN
FORGET HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS FOR US TO COME.
A.
CONSIDER WHAT IT MUST HAVE TAKEN FOR HER TO
COME TO JESUS?
NOTE: We as Christian often fail to understand how
difficult it is for some to come to Christ.
-
She recognized herself as a sinner.
-
She realized that she could only find Salvation
in Christ.
-
She had to go to a Pharisee’s house to get to
Jesus.
ILL:
Pastor Jim Lyons holding a Staff Meeting in a bar.
B.
SHE WAS WILLING TO COME TO JESUS
NOTE:
Consider how this woman came to Jesus and was
accepted by Him.
HEBREWS 11:6 But without faith it is impossible
to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe
that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.
-
She came in repentance (tears)
-
She came in humility (came behind Jesus)
-
She showed her love (kissed His feet)
-
She came willing to serve (washed His feet)
C. HE HAD A CRITICAL SPIRIT.
LUKE
7:39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him
saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he
were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of
woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
·
He was critical of Jesus for accepting
this woman
NOTE:
The elder brother in the Prodigal Son. LUKE
15:11-32
There
seems to be those within the Church who do not want
certain kinds of sinner to be saved.
·
He was critical of the woman for her
life style
Those who have been raised in the Church or been in
the Church a long time have little sympathy for those
who are outside the Church.
·
He did not appreciate what God had done
for him
LUKE
7:47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which
are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom
little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
NOTE:
Often those who have been kept from a life of great sin
fail to truly appreciate the Grace that has been shown
them.
II.
JESUS WILL ACCEPT ALL WHO COME NO MATTER WHO THEY MAY
BE.
NOTE:
If we fail to see ourselves as sinners, saved by the
grace of God alone, if we see our self as righteous in
ourselves, then God has nothing to do with us and we are
still in our sin.
MATTHEW 9:13 But go ye and learn what that
meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am
not come to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance.
MARK
2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them,
They that are whole have no need of the physician, but
they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance.
LUKE
5:32 I came not to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance.
LUKE
19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to
save that which was lost.
JOHN
6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to
me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast
out.
LUKE
7:48 & 50 And he said unto her, Thy sins are
forgiven. And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath
saved thee; go in peace.
CONCLUSION: The Church must open its doors to the
worst of sinners as well as the best of saints.
March 12, 2006
WHAT ARE YOU THIRSTY FOR?”
SCRIPTURE READING: ISAIAH 55:1-13
SCRIPTURE TEXT: ISAIAH 55:1-3
Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and
he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come,
buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?
And your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken
diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and
let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your
ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live;
and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even
the sure mercies of David.
INTRO: Have you ever been thirsty, I mean really
thirsty?
Most
of us have never really experience real thirst.
Most
of us at the first cry of thirst from our body we seek
to satisfy it.
Real
thirst is when our body cries out for satisfaction and
our whole body, soul and spirit thinks only of
satisfying the craving or our body.
·
An alcoholic for that next drink
·
A person hooked on drugs craving for a fix
·
A smoker desiring one more puff
That
is how God wants us to be thirsty for Him.
Too
often the driving thirst that many Christians have is
for the wrong things.
JEREMIAH 2:13 For my people have committed two
evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living
waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns,
that can hold no water.
ISAIAH 55:2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that
which is not bread? and your labour for that which
satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye
that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in
fatness.
Too
often we have only a casual thirst for God when He longs
for us to have a driving thirst.
What
are some of the things that we as Christian should be
thirsty for?
I.
WE SHOULD HAVE A THIRST FOR KNOWING GOD BETTER.
PSALM
42:1-4 As the hart panteth after the water
brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul
thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come
and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day
and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is
thy God? When I remember these things, I pour out my
soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went
with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and
praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.
PHILIPPIANS 3:10 That I may know him, and the
power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his
sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
How
thirsty are we for a closer relationship with God?
Too
often we are content with a causal relationship with
God?
JEREMIAH 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me,
when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
NOTE:
Our faith in the power of God is often limited by
our lack of our knowledge of God.
ROMANS 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God.
The
more we know about God, the more we study about God, the
greater our thirst will be for God.
II.
WE SHOULD HAVE A THIRST TO EXPERIENCE GOD’S POWER IN OUR
OWN LIFE AND IN THE LIFE OF OUR CHURCH.
PSALM 63:1-2
A Psalm of David, when
he was in the wilderness of Judah.
O God, thou art my God;
early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my
flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where
no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I
have seen thee in the sanctuary.
We should have a thirst to see the
Power of God:
PSALM
139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart:
try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any
wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
2
CORINTHIANS 3:18 But we all, with open face
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are
changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as
by the Spirit of the Lord.
PSALM
44:5 Through thee will we push down our enemies:
through thy name will we tread them under that rise up
against us.
ROMANS 8:37-39 Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I
am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
MARK
16:17-18 And these signs shall follow them that
believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they
shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up
serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall
not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and
they shall recover.
NOTE:
The deeper our relationship is with God, the great
opportunities we will have to experience the vastness of
His Grace.
EZEKIEL 47:1-5 (5) Afterward he measured a
thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over:
for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river
that could not be passed over.
III. WE SHOULD HAVE A THIRST
FOR THE THINGS OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
MATTHEW 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and
thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
NOTE:
We labor so much for the natural man, how much are
we willing to labor for the spiritual man?
HAGGAI 1:4-6 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell
in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Now
therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your
ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat,
but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled
with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and
he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag
with holes.
NOTE:
For what are we thirsty for, the blessings of this
life or the blessings of God, they are not always the
same.
To
receive the Blessings of God we must live a life that is
in obedience to His will and purpose.
DEUTERONOMY 7:11-13 Thou shalt therefore keep the
commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which
I command thee this day, to do them. Wherefore it shall
come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and
keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto
thee the covenant and the mercy which He sware unto thy
fathers: and He will love thee, and bless thee, and
multiply thee: He will also bless the fruit of thy womb,
and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and
thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of
thy sheep, in the land which He sware unto thy fathers
to give thee.
CONCLUSION:
God invites us to come and drink from His well of
Salvation.
ISAIAH 12:3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw
water out of the wells of salvation.
The
wells of Salvation never cease to flow and we have only
to drink of their waters.
March 19, 2006
“RITE OF PASSAGE: CELEBRATING OUR YOUTH”
SCRIPTURE READING: ECCLESIASTES
11:7 – 12:7
SCRIPTURE TEXT: ECCLESIASTES 12:1
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while
the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when
thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
INTRO: Your teenage years can either be some of the
most trying times in our lives or some of the most
adventurous, or a combination of both.
Your
teenage years can be very trying. You are leaving
childhood and are beginning to make the transaction into
adulthood.
Part
of you wants to remain a child and part of you want to
be an adult overnight.
It’s
not always easy leaving childhood where the days are
filled with having fun and little responsibilities.
The
older we become the more responsibilities we encounter.
1
CORINTHIANS 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as
a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child:
but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
This
time can be very stressful in the life of a teenager.
Teenage suicide is the third highest cause of death
among young people.
The
youth today are facing a much more difficult times than
we did when we were teenagers.
-
The lack of morality being taught by family and
schools
-
The lack of discipline (Societies demand)
-
The influence of television and the entertainment
media
-
The availability of drugs and alcohol
-
Permissiveness of sex
-
The corruption of government and politicians.
The brunt of our temptations came after we left
home; today they are right in our teenager’s living
room.
What
advice does Solomon give to the Young?
I.
LIFE IS WONDERFUL BUT AFTER LIFE COMES DEATH.
ECCLESIASTES 11:7-8 Truly the light is sweet, and
a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:
but if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all;
yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they
shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
A.
LIFE IS TO BE ENJOYED.
PSALM
118:24 This is the day which the Lord hath made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
NOTE:
To often people, some Christians included, think
that the life of a Christian is to be endured instead of
enjoyed.
B.
LIFE IS TO BE TREASURED.
PSALM
8:4-5 What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou
hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast
crowned him with glory and honour.
NOTE:
Many habits, both good and bad, that affect our body
and our quality of life, begin during these teen years.
C.
NEVER LOSE SIGHT THAT LIFE WILL END SOME DAY.
MATTHEW 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he
shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or
what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
NOTE:
One of the glaring problems with being young is that
death is not often thought of.
Youth, too often, think of themselves as being
indestructible.
II.
EVERY DECISION YOU MAKE HAS ITS CONSEQUENCE.
ECCLESIASTES 11:9-10 Rejoice, O young man, in thy
youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy
youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the
sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these
things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore
remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy
flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
NOTE: Some of the most important decisions you will
every make in your life will be made while you are in
your teenage years.
One
of the most difficult things for a young person to learn
is that every decision we make will bring certain
consequences, some immediately and some not until many
years later.
GALATIANS 6:7-8 Be not deceived; God is not
mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of
the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the
Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
NOTE:
Sooner or later the bill must be paid.
Consider the student who learns to study and the student
who doesn’t.
ILL:
The Grasshopper and the Ant.
PROVERBS 6:6-11 Go to the ant, thou sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide,
overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer,
and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt
thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy
sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little
folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come
as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
III.
THE TIME TO PREPARE IS NOW.
ECCLESIASTES
12:1-7 Remember now thy Creator in the days
of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the
years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure
in them; while the sun, or the light, or the moon, or
the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after
the rain: in the day when the keepers of the house shall
tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and
the grinders cease because they are few, and those that
look out of the windows be darkened, and the doors shall
be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding
is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird,
and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
also when they shall be afraid of that which is high,
and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall
flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and
desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home,
and the mourners go about the streets: or ever the
silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or
the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel
broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to
the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto
God who gave it.
A.
START PREPARING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION.
NOTE:
Not everyone goes on to college some enter into a
trade.
B.
START PREPARING FOR YOUR LIFE’S WORK.
NOTE:
Go to your school councilor and take some test that
will help reveal what you may be good at doing for a
career.
C.
START PREPARING FOR ETERNITY.
NOTE:
The longer you wait to make a decision for Christ
the less likely you will decide for Him.
ROMANS 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt
be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation.
EPHESIANS 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God: not of works, lest any man should boast.
CONCLUSION: You are beginning a very important
journey; you will find it difficult at time and joyous
at others, travel this journey well by allowing Jesus to
lead you your church to help you.
March 26, 2006
“THE BLESSING OF WAITING”
SCRIPTURE READING: PSALMS 37:1-9
SCRIPTURE TEXT: ISAIAH 30:18
And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be
gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted,
that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God
of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
INTRO: One of the most difficult things for me to
do is to wait.
We
live in a hurry up, I want it now society.
Waiting has become a lost art for many of us.
ILL:
Saul waiting for Samuel
1
SAMUEL 13:11-14 And Samuel said, What hast thou
done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were
scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the
days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered
themselves together at Michmash; therefore said I, The
Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I
have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced
myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And
Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast
not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he
commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established
thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom
shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after
his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be
captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that
which the Lord commanded thee.
We
will lose out on many blessings from God if we fail to
wait for His timing.
We
may not always understand God’s delay’s but we can rest
assured He has a reason and it is for our betterment.
GALATIANS 4:4 But when the fulness of the time
was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made
under the law,
I.
THE STAGES OF WAITING:
A.
GREAT ANTICIPATION
PSALM
130:6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they
that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that
watch for the morning.
NOTE:
The first step in waiting is filled with
anticipation and excitement.
ILL:
My hand craved chess set in Germany.
B.
HOPEFUL EXPECTATION
PSALM
62:5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my
expectation is from him.
ILL:
Abraham
HEBREWS 11:8-10 By faith Abraham, when he was
called to go out into a place which he should after
receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not
knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the
land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in
tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of
the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath
foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
NOTE:
Being a Christian does not mean you won’t have times
of doubt and fears, but when they come, you get your
eyes back on the one who made the promise you are
waiting for.
C.
PATIENT RESIGNATION
PSALM
25:5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou
art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the
day.
NOTE:
Waiting requires patience.
LUKE
21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.
ILL:
Joseph waited two years before the butler finally
told Pharaoh.
What
would have happen if the butler had told Pharaoh of
Joseph when he was first released from prison?
PROVERBS 13:12 (HCSB) Delayed hope makes
the heart sick, but fulfilled desire is a tree of life.
NOTE:
There comes a time in waiting where we are faced
with the thought of it never happening and we must make
a choice of either trusting God or giving up.
ILL:
King Joram during the siege of Samaria wanted to give up
instead of waiting on God’s deliverance.
2
KINGS 6:33 While Elisha was still saying this,
the messenger arrived. And the king said, "It is the
Lord who has brought this trouble on us! Why should I
wait any longer for the Lord?"
If we
can get pass this stage of waiting we will gain our
second wind.
D.
QUITE RESOLUTION
NOTE:
God has a plan and we must wait until it is the right
time for His plan to be fulfilled.
HABAKKUK 2:3 For the vision is yet for an
appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not
lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will
surely come, it will not tarry.
ILL:
David twice refusing to kill Saul when he had the
chance, waiting for God timing for him becoming the
king.
E.
JOYFUL FULFILLMENT.
ISAIAH 30:18 And therefore will the Lord wait,
that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he
be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the
Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that
wait for him.
PSALM
40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he
inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
II.
BLESSINGS GOD HAS FOR THOSE WHO WAIT ON HIM:
LAMENTATIONS 3:25 The Lord is good unto them that
wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
-
He will strength our heart (faith) in Him.
PSALM
27:14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and
he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the
Lord.
NOTE:
The more we learn to wait on the Lord the greater
our faith will be.
PSALM
123:2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto
the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden
unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the
Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
-
He will deliver us in times of trouble.
ISAIAH 25:9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo,
this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will
save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we
will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
ISAIAH 33:2 O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have
waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our
salvation also in the time of trouble.
-
We will inherit God’s blessings.
PSALM
37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those
that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
PSALM
37:34 Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he
shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked
are cut off, thou shalt see it.
-
He will renew our strength and give up power to
live the Christian life as we should.
ISAIAH 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with
wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and
they shall walk, and not faint.
LUKE
24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my
Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem,
until ye be endued with power from on high.
CONCLUSION: Do we wait on God or do we turn to the
arm of flesh and try to do it ourselves?
JEREMIAH 17:5, 7 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be
the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm,
and whose heart departeth from the Lord. Blessed
is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the
Lord is.
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