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.
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.
