Why Do We Have Church Anyway? – Part 16

December 21, 2010 by admin

A casual analysis of the various samples of gifts of the Holy Spirit found in Scripture might seem to show that some are supernatural and others are not. Would it not require beyond-normal human capabilities to perform a miracle, accomplish a non-medical healing, or speak in an unknown tongue?

On the other hand, what special touch from God is needed to teach, contribute, or give aid? To correct the error of this type of thinking, let it be stated emphatically that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are supernatural!

From this point on in the discussion, I will not talk about the gifts of the Holy Spirit where it is obvious one needs an extra touch from God in order to accomplish them (such as miracles or healing). Rather, I will center my thoughts on those gifts it would appear we can accomplish on our own without any supernatural aid, such as teaching or doing acts of mercy. The key to the outworking of these human abilities beyond our own natural capabilities is found in the individual’s attitude toward them. An experience from my personal life can illustrate this.

In the early days of my ministry, composing a sermon was only slightly less than traumatic because of my zeal to excel and the natural conflicts this presented. I was aware of an innate talent for public speaking and wanted to use this talent for God. But, I was continually dissatisfied with the effectiveness of my efforts. I longed for a greater sense of the supernatural in my sermon preparation and in my preaching.

As I had more opportunity to preach and was forced to spend more time in Scripture, I unearthed verses that dealt with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and began praying earnestly for the gift of prophecy or of teaching.

Often, while working on a message, I would sense a real need for help. I would again voice my request to God. But, nothing special seemed to happen and I was regularly disappointed. Because assurance of my conversion had come in a dramatic way, I expected the gifts I requested in prayer to arrive similarly. I fully believed that sometime, as I prayed, I would receive a special “sensation” from God that would assure me my prayer was answered.

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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.

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 15

December 20, 2010 by admin

The Gifts of the Spirit

In the Romans 12:6-8, Paul writes:

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he. who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Prophecy, serving, teaching, exhorting, contributing, giving aid, and doing acts of mercy all are listed as gifts of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12, verses 8 to 10, additional illustrations are shared by the same writer:

To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

The word “illustrations” is used purposely, because I do not believe Paul anywhere intends to give an exhaustive list of the gifts. In the fourth chapter of Ephesians, in a paragraph that centers on gifts of the various roles of the ministry, Paul introduces still more examples. If an all-inclusive catalog of gifts had been intended, I believe these passages would contain identical listings, especially since they are written by the same author.

Just as I believe the various aspects of the fruit of the Spirit as identified in Galatians 5 (love, joy, peace, etc.) are representative—that is, the writer does not intend to include every possible virtuous quality—so the scriptural gifts of the Holy Spirit are to be understood in a similar way.

Therefore, it seems obvious to me that there are gifts not included in the New Testament listings, such as music, writing, painting, dramatics, etc.

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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 have a whole range of helpful solutions. Do you need to prepare a Topical Sermon, an Advent Sermon, a Christmas Sermon, an Easter Sermon, a Sermon Series, or any other Sunday Sermon? You can find help on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons. Just click here to visit David Mains’ website.

For so many of us, the Christmas celebration can be a mile wide and an inch deep. We tire ourselves with an ever-growing list of gifts to buy, activities to complete, and traditions to uphold. And through a maze of cards and calls, outreach and entertainment, we struggle to connect with others in meaningful ways. Our intentions are sincere, but often trivial. When we look back on the season, we’re often left feeling like our holidays somehow lost the Christ in Christmas, and only touched the surface.

Every pastor needs resources to help him or her find appropriate Sermons for Advent and Sermons for Christmas. With Christmas Sermon resources from Mainstay Ministries, you can help your congregation season their Christmas traditions with the flavor of Christ. More than simply helping them to remember that “Jesus is the reason for the season,” you can encourage people to focus on Christ in the very traditions that have become part of our celebration of Christmas: decorating our homes, conveying Christmas greetings, giving and receiving gifts, gathering with family and friends, entering the new year with goals. Click here to see a list of special Christmas Sermon Packages available.

Looking forward to Christmas? Looking for key Sermon Ideas? Wondering what to preach throughout the Christmas Season? Searching for help in preparing for your Sermons on Christmas Day? In addition to the above special offer, Mainstay Ministries has many valuable resources filled with Christmas Sermon Ideas to help you plan for your Christmas preaching and for such Sunday Sermons, including resources for the following: Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermon, Advent Sermon Series, Advent Sunday Sermons, Christmas Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermon, and Christmas Sermon Series. Connect with us on-line by clicking here.

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Why Do We Have Church Anyway? – Part 14

December 17, 2010 by admin

A friend in her fifties recently commented that years ago it was natural to assume that when a person made an initial commitment to Christ, miracles would happen. He or she would be delivered from drink, broken relationships would be restored, personal affairs would untangle. “We expected these things to happen naturally at conversion,” she pondered, “and they did.”

I wonder if we have so intellectualized our theology that we can no longer believe. Maybe we have become too desensitized to care. At any rate, in eliminating the activity of God’s Spirit in the message we proclaim, we have stripped the message of its power.

Have we forgotten that an essential truth of Christianity is that we no longer need to live with defeat? Have we forgotten that the Christian is supposed to be different in power from the world around him? Do so many of us no longer believe in the miraculous change of a life style that we have hindered its occurrence?

Not only did God forgive us the ills that blocked us from Him, He imparted His Holy Spirit to dwell within us to help us. So much is this the case that Paul calls our bodies “temples of the Holy Spirit.” Through this indwelling each of us has also been given a gift or gifts by the Holy Spirit with which to serve Christ as a part of His church. These gifts must now be explained clearly before returning to the discussion of how God speaks to and through the church.

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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, whether you need to create a Topical Sermon, an Advent Sermon, a Christmas Sermon, an Easter Sermon, a Sermon Series, or any other Sunday Sermon. 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.

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Why Do We Have Church Anyway? – Part 13

December 16, 2010 by admin

As a youngster I can remember listening avidly to the Lone Ranger series over the radio. The program invariably ended with someone asking, to the accompaniment of distantly fading hoof beats, “Who is that masked rider, anyway?”

My response to that question was always an incredulous “How could anyone not know? After all, how many men disguised by a black mask ride a great white stallion, shoot silver bullets, and travel with a faithful Indian companion?”

The same response rises within me now when I see the ignorance behind so many questions about the person of the Holy Spirit. His work and characteristics are so obvious in Scripture, how is it that we don’t know who He is?

One day, a young man wandered into our offices. Disheveled and dirty, he had been mercilessly beaten the night before by an acquaintance, and his face was an assortment of welts and bruises. After a period of conversation, I felt that he was not posturing for a handout, but had truly reached the point of no exit. Someone had told him that the people at Circle Church were Christians, and he was grabbing feebly for some faint straw of hope.

As his story unfolded—abandonment by parents, a history of street affairs, alcoholism—I responded with the message of a relationship to God in Christ Jesus. Carefully I explained the role of the Holy Spirit and made a point of remarking that God was willing now to make his body—as misused and neglected as it had become—a home for His Spirit. We then shared in one of those thrilling moments of conversion when a man casts himself upon the mercies of his Creator and knows without hesitation that an encounter has occurred.

A job was located along with temporary housing. In an effort not to abandon this young man to a shaky future alone, the staff welcomed him to shadow us as we carried out our various responsibilities. In one of these moments he confided this thought, which is such a pathetic thermometer of our problem: “You know, I had always heard that God wanted to forgive my sins and save me from hell, but no one ever told me about the Holy Spirit and how He can empower an individual to live a meaningful life.”

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Whether you need to create a Topical Sermon, an Advent Sermon, a Christmas Sermon, an Easter Sermon, a Sermon Series, or any other Sunday Sermon, David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. 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.

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