Why Do We Have Church Anyway? – Part 19

December 27, 2010 by admin

In I Peter 4:9 it states:

“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”

And, again, in Romans 12:13 it states:

“Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”

As you can see, we are instructed to practice hospitality ungrudgingly toward one another. When a believer realizes that, like preaching, hospitality can be a gift of the Holy Spirit, his or her kitchen can be transformed from a place of drudgery to the nerve center of his or her ministry.

Before, this believer entertained because no one else would, or because as a Christian he or she felt obligated. Now the believer recognizes this opportunity as having come from God and in prayer tells Him of a desire to use this talent in ministry.

Soon the believer begins to notice the natural joy that expresses itself when our gifts are functioning. There is added strength. The believer’s home becomes a place where conversations center about Christ naturally, without contrivance.

The living room serves part-time as a chapel. The dining table is a place of communion. And, according to Scripture, the believer may even entertain angels! This believer has become aware of the difference between a facility for entertaining and a gift of hospitality!

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You can learn how to develop highly relevant Sunday sermons that grab the attention of your congregation and help your listeners respond effectively to the deep truths of God’s Word. David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions. We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

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Why Do We Have Church Anyway? – Part 18

December 24, 2010 by admin

This sermon development process I narrated in the previous post is far from a magic formula. I am sure I work harder in sermon preparation now than before, but I am also very aware of the Holy Spirit’s supernatural guidance.

I no longer need human critics to insure the validity of what I preach. I know I have delivered what God desires, because the very preparation has been fresh and challenging. It must be added that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are intricately interwoven with the fabric of one’s spiritual well being. I am sharply aware that my life and attitude of commitment must be pure before God if I am to have effective use of this sacred conferment.

Let me repeat once again to be certain I am understood. In those areas where I have natural abilities, such as a facility for public speaking, the difference between their being simply human talents or their being actual gifts of the Holy Spirit is found in my attitude.

If I recognize the talent as from God, and in prayer and continual dedication commit it to Him to be used in ministry in a special way, it becomes a gift of the Holy Spirit with supernatural expression. The proof of this is seen in the gradual way God increases this gift for His service. “For His service” is an important phrase. Why? Because talents not used in ministry cannot be considered potential gifts. I Corinthians 12:7 states:

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

Gifts are given for the exclusive use of ministry.

In the sentence quoted about speaking oracles, Peter does not refer exclusively to the professional clergy. Including, by illustration, other members of the church, he finishes his sentence with the words, “Whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies.”

Here is the same principle in operation. If I am given the ability by God to render service, I commit that ability to God and ask Him to use it in a special way. In that act it becomes a gift of the Holy Spirit. I then render service “through the strength which God supplies!”

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Pastor, when “sermon prep day” rolls around each week, do you face the task of preparing another sermon with a frown on your face? If so, you’re not alone. Many pastors literally dread preparing their Sunday sermon. There just doesn’t seem to be an easy solution. The good news: David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions. We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

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Why Do We Have Church Anyway? – Part 17

December 23, 2010 by admin

The conclusion of my sermon preparation always found a desk piled with books and disarrayed sheets of notes and clippings. Attempting to organize the disorder, I would review the basic contents. Once while doing so, I discovered a scrawled thought that was exciting and pertinent. In order to document it, I searched for the source and only after an extended period abandoned the effort.

Continuing my prayers in the following weeks, I gradually became aware of the recurrence of more and more thoughts that came from “nowhere.” They were always the best ideas—a concise statement of the principles I had been agonizing to express; a life application that would bring me, the preacher, on my knees before God; a sentence that would summarize the total effort and give me a handle with which to work.

Then I began to understand! God was answering my prayer, not in an experience of flashing lights or tingling sensations, but in the routine course of sermon preparation. My hand was writing what His Spirit was impressing on my mind as I studied the Scripture. He was quietly guiding my thoughts. When Sundays came I was ready to preach with a new confidence.

Peter speaks about this secret in his first letter when he states in I Peter 4:10-11:

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

The very words—or, in some versions, “oracles”—were to be God’s, not other men’s thoughts, as good as they might be.

Gradually, that massive section of my library, the sermon books and commentaries, began to decrease as unworthy volumes were discarded. And, only a few came to replace them.

Now I spend the greatest part of sermon preparation time with my Bible, a textual commentary to insure accuracy, and in prayer. I feel very confident that I am a person who is speaking God’s words, and since the message is first vital to me, it is very likely it will be to my congregation as well.

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No matter what type of Sunday sermon you need to create, David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions. We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

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Something Special To Share

December 22, 2010 by admin

At the start of 2010, I was given eight preaching spots at a Presbyterian church in California. I was just finishing an intense two-year personal study in the Book of Revelation. So, for the first time in my life, I chose to present a series of sermons on the Apocalypse.

Because the messages were enthusiastically received, I decided to work on a short book that would capture much of what was said. After completing the initial writing, I gave the manuscript to a number of friends, both church and non-church, who provided valuable feedback. What followed was an extensive revision, more feedback and then some final tweaking.

My part of the writing is now finished. I have asked a close friend to write a forward. Then, with further help it will go to print. I have titled the book, To Those I Love, I Leave… It contains 13 sermon-length chapters.

Starting with the Introduction to the book, over the course of the next weeks through the end of February, I will post a chapter a week on my website www.Sermon-Coach.com.

As we move toward the celebration of the birth of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, we proceed through the period of time in the church calendar known as Advent. Advent marks an anticipation of our Lord’s coming to Earth as a babe in a manger in Bethlehem. But, the Season of Advent also looks forward to our Lord’s second coming in power and great glory. So it seemed to me an appropriate time to share the thoughts in my new book with you.

This project has taken a lot out of me. I believe you will sense this as you read the text of my book. Because I reached the age of 74 and do not have to work full-time elsewhere, I was thankful for the hours of time I had to invest in this project. May the Lord use it to His glory, is my prayer.

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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about? Or, what will you preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon? David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions. We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

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