New!! Sermon Notes

July 18, 2010

 

SHARING CHRIST (parts 1 and 2)

 
Eph 2:4-6
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!)
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
 
Titus 3:4-5
4 But—"When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.
 
Sharing your faith is difficult…and even more difficult if you’re not ready….most of personal sharing is a matter of thoughtful reflection of your testimony, and a knowledge of God’s word. If someone taps you on the shoulder and says, “I know you are a Christian…could you tell me how to find salvation?” What would you say? At Heartsong, I want all of us to be ready.
What is the gospel? Can you tell it?
4 Spiritual laws
 
1.  God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.
2.  Man is sinful and therefore separated from God.
3.  Jesus Christ is God's only provision for sin.
4.  We must individually receive Jesus Christ as savior and Lord.
 
train....fact, faith, feeling.  The train will run without the caboose.
 
Christ came into your life (Revelation 3:20;
Colossians 1:27).
Your sins were forgiven (Colossians 1:14).
You became a child of God (John 1:12).
You received eternal life (John 5:24).
You began the great adventure for which God
created you (John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17;
 
 
The Roman Road
Romans 3:23
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
 
Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in 
Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 10:9
"that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart 
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; Romans 10:13
"for Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved."
 
Pray like this: "Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner, and I am sorry. I need 
a Savior. I know I cannot save myself. I believe by faith that Jesus, your 
Son, died on the cross to be my Savior. I believe He arose from the grave 
to live as my Lord. I turn from my sin. I ask You, Lord Jesus, to forgive my 
sin and come into my heart. I trust you as my Savior and receive you as 
my Lord. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me."
Believing by faith that God loves me and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die 
for my sin and arise from the grave to live in me, I, _______, do this day,
 ________, repent of my sin and accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord 
and Savior. According to the promise of God in Romans 10:13, I have 
called upon His name and have His word for the assurance of my salvation. 
  
The Maker of all human beings (GOD) is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart.
This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units. This defect has been technically termed "Sub-sequential Internal Non-Morality," or more commonly known as S.I.N., as it is primarily expressed.

Some of the symptoms include:
1. Loss of direction
2. Foul vocal emissions
3. Amnesia of origin
4. Lack of peace and joy
5. Selfish or violent behavior
6. Depression or confusion in the mental component
7. Fearfulness
8. Idolatry
9. Rebellion
The Manufacturer, who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, is providing factory-authorized repair and service free of charge to correct this defect.
The Repair Technician, JESUS, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no additional fee required.
 

No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Jesus will replace it with:
1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Pat ience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self control

Please see the operating manual, the B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) for further details on the use of these fixes.
WARNING: Continuing to operate the human being unit without correction voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded. For free emergency service, call on Jesus.

DANGER: The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent contamination of that facility. Thank you for your attention!

 
Have you heard this?  “Religion is a crutch.”
A: Does that charge characterize Jesus or his disciples? A bunch of cripples that hung on to something while knowing it isn’t true?
A: Christians have problems like the rest of the world, but Christians have a resource, not a crutch. A crutch is something that hold a person up artificially. A Christian’s testimony is that Jesus is the real thing…without whom a person would be a cripple.
 
 
 
July 25, 2010
SHARING CHRIST, PART II
 
2 Corinthians 10:3-4
3 We are limited, weak, and fallible, but we have a greater weapon than mere logic and argumentation.  4 We use God's mighty weapons—like wisdom and discernment--not merely human, to answer irrational attacks and false accusations upon our faith.  (Henton paraphrase)
 
Colossians 3:12-13
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.
 
1 Peter 3:15-17
15 You must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.
 
When you argue with a fool, it’s hard to tell which one is which.
 
In the book of Acts, Paul made several defenses of the faith, but it was more of a presentation than a defense. A defense takes what others are saying, and proving them to be untrue.
Paul’s argument was the resurrection….same thing everywhere he went, Peter too.
 
See, that’s a positive presentation. When someone wants to get you sidetracked on hypocrites in the church, or money grabbing preachers, or something the Crusaders did a thousand years ago…don’t go there….just bring it back to Jesus.
What do you think about him?
 
You could say,
“I don’t know about that, but let me ask you this…since Jesus is the basis of our faith, let’s start with him.”
Then testify, not argue.
 
I prefer clarity over agreement….it’s hard to get on the same page sometimes, but try. You might have to say, “That’s not what I’m talking about” about a 100 times.
 
Be ready to answer these objections:
 
1.     I’m just not that religious.
2.     I can be good without God.
3.     When you’re dead, you’re dead.
4.     Science has disproved the Bible.
5.     Religion is a crutch.
6.     There are so many religions, how do I know which one is true?
7.     There’s hypocrites in the church.
 
 
We may not destroy these arguments, but if we can shoot a few holes in them, and cause the person to think in different terms about faith in Christ, then we are in a position to present the gospel.
 
Aug. 1, 2010
 
SHARING CHRIST PART 3
 
 
 
Matt 13:3-9
“A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn't have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand."
 
Where the seeds fell…
1.    Path.   Birds ate the seed.
2.   Rocky ground. Shallow…couldn’t root.
3.   Thorns.   Choked out the word.
4.   Fertile soil. Receptive, productive.
 
QUESTIONS
 
1.      What did the farmer know about the seed?
A.    The seed worked the same every time. B. If it didn’t produce, he knew there were other circumstances. C. The seed has a crop in it. D. Oh well, here goes nothing.
 
2.      How many seeds did the farmer plant? 
A: He planted everywhere indiscriminately and non-judgmentally…not just a few seeds, but as many as he had.
 
3.     Did every seed produce? Why or why not?
A: No, but there were circumstances that affected the seed. Programmed in the seed is success. If it doesn’t produce, look to the soil it was planted in, or someone (like the birds) came and stole the seed.
4.     What happened to the seed sown in fertile soil?
A.     It produced 30, 60, and a hundred fold. These were not “spiritual” blessings but crops that were sold for money. The point is, if you’re not a farmer, you can apply this to your finances as well.
 
 
Peter said to be ready to explain your faith, not argue it.
A part of being prepared is to anticipate some objections that your friends might have, and also practice your answer.
1.      With so many religions, how do I know which one to believe?
A: You do an honest investigation…check out the claims of the various religions. How does salvation take place in each one? My personal study led me to this conclusion: Christianity is the only religion with a savior. All the other religions can tell you what you must do to be saved, but Christianity is the only one that tells what God did to accomplish for us what we could never do for ourselves.
 
2.     There are hypocrites in the church.
A: Unfortunately this is true, but they are everywhere. You can’t avoid them…they’re at the grocery store, the post office, and political parties.
At Heartsong we have repented of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy means pretending to be something you’re not. We make no such claims of personal piety and holiness. Whatever we are, whatever we have is a gift of God, not some virtue or accomplishment of ours.
 
3.     I’m too bad to go to church.
A: I don’t go to church because I’m good, but because I’m bad. I don’t go because I’m worthy, but because I’m unworthy. No one is too bad to go to church and no one will ever be good enough to deserve the blessings of God.
 
4.     I prayed once and nothing happened.
A.     Christians also have unanswered prayer, but they also have answered prayer. If there is answered prayer, it means prayer works. There are many reasons in the Bible for unanswered prayer. It would behoove all of us to learn what obstacles there are to prayer and the importance of praying correctly and with faith and fervency. Jesus said he wanted people everywhere to pray and not give up.
5.     I don’t believe in God.
A.     Well, you have more faith than I do. The Bible says that the expanse and majesty of the universe testifies to the handiwork of God. If you can say that doesn’t prove anything, it requires a great deal of faith to say, “Everything came from nothing.”
6.     What’s church?
A.     Church is a spiritual community, not a place to meet for Christians. Jesus said, “I will build my church” not just save individuals from sin and death.
7.     I don’t discuss religion or politics.
A: Okay, let’s leave religion and politics out of the discussion. Now, let’s talk about Jesus and his ideas about having a better life and a better world.
 
Tips for sharing your faith.
1.      Don’t be defensive—try to see things from someone else’s point of view.
2.     Don’t quote a lot of scripture.
3.     Avoid judgmentalism.
4.     Ask the person “What do you base that on?” Also, “How is that working out for you?”
5.     Don’t do all the talking…listen.