Category: Preaching

Can A Christian Be Divorced?

Posted in Church Chat, Life Happens, Preaching, Worship1 Comment

I am currently preaching a Summer Sermon Series called Hot Topics. This week’s sermon is entitled, Can A Christian Be Divorced? Several of my pastor friends believe that this week’s “divorce sermon” will be the most difficult message to deliver in the entire series. I suppose they’re correct, but all that I know to do is to explore what the Bible says on the subject.

During this series, I have been reminded over and over that most people want to hear the truth. They want a preacher to stand with a heart full of love and share straight from God’s Word. Even if the topic is difficult, they want to know what God has to say! Well, this summer, I’m desperately trying to share what God has to say on each of these hot topics.

If you would like to hear any or all of the sermons from this series, you can listen to them on our website at http://www.shelbyvillebaptist.com.

The Kind of Person God Uses

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Have you ever wondered why God uses a particular person or a certain church?  Have you ever looked at them and wondered what they had that you did not have?  I believe there are at least four observations we can make about people or churches that God uses….

  • God uses the person who is following His mission. As Dr. Henry Blackaby said in Experiencing God, most of us pray “Lord, bless what I’m doing” when we should be praying “Lord, help me to do what you are blessing!”  God will bless those who are focusing on HIS mission instead of focusing on THEIR mission.
  • God uses the person who is willing to risk failure. Following Jesus is not for the faint at heart.  Acts 15:26 reminds us that Paul and Barnabus “risked their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Erwin McManus says that we have become domesticated Christians, unwilling to risk anything for the cause of Christ.  The truth is, that our lifestyle is far-removed from the Book of Acts.  I’m not saying we should simply take foolish risks for no reason, but we should be willing to go anywhere God leads and attempt anything God says we should attempt, even if there’s no guarantee of success.
  • God uses the person who expects to be used. Jesus told the two blind men, “According to your faith will it be done to you”  (Matthew 9:29).  Rick Warren says that there is one consistent ingredient he sees in every church where God is working — people who are willing to believe God.  In other words, the faith factor.
  • God uses the person who never gives up. Paul reminds us to “not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).  Most people miss the harvest simply because they quit too soon.  The harvest takes time, but God’s timing is always perfect.  We should NEVER give up.  Sometimes the game is won on a last-second shot….on a two-out blast….on a hail-Mary heave.

This past week my mom’s youngest brother went home to be with the Lord.  As I sat and heard his children, my first cousins, talk about what a wonderful father he was and what a Godly example he was, I was reminded that we should serve God passionately.  We should serve Him daily.  We should serve Him to the very end of our life.  We should finish the course and keep the faith.  THAT is the kind of person God uses.

Discover Prayer

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Yesterday at Shelbyville First Baptist Church I kicked off a new series I’m calling Discover. Each week we will take an in-depth look at one of the key elements of the Christian life.  The first sermon in the series I called Discover Prayer.

In the first sermon, I answered the following four key questions concerning prayer:

  1. What is prayer?
  2. Who can pray?
  3. How do we pray?
  4. What can prayer do?

The text was taken from the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7.  The main memory verse from the sermon was Matthew 6:6.

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”  Matthew 6:6 (NIV)

Are You That Man? Woman?

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In his book, The Making of a Christian Leader, Ted Engstrom shares the following, powerful statement about what the world needs to see in Christian leaders:

The world needs men (and I might add women) who cannot be bought; whose word is their bond; who put character above wealth; who possess opinions and a will; who are larger than their vocations; who do not hesitate to take chances; who will not lose their individuality in a crowd; who will be as honest in small things as in great things; who will make no compromise with wrong; whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires; who will not say they do it “because everybody else does it”; who are true to their friends through good report and evil report, in adversity as well as in prosperity; who do not believe that shrewdness, cunning, and hard-headedness are the best qualities for winning success; who are not ashamed or afraid to stand for the truth when it is unpopular; who say “no” with emphasis, although the rest of the world says “yes.”

Are you that man?  Are you that woman?

Sermon Series on Heaven

Posted in Preaching5 Comments

I’m thinking and praying about preaching a sermon series on Heaven.  If I do, I’ll probably kick it off on Easter Sunday.  In all of my years as a pastor, I have never preached an entire series on the eternal home of the believer. 

Does the topic of Heaven interest you?  Do you think others will be interested in the topic?  Do you personally have questions about Heaven?

I need your help with the series.  What are some questions you think I should address?  Thank you in advance for your help.