2Cor 4:5a "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord."
Dr. Charles L.Goodell wrote, "Let the sermon and service be brief, but make
every minute count." The sermon should remain on track because the content
of the message is most important.
Back in 1886, the Baptist Quarterly Review wrote:
A very intelligent listener to sermons once said, "The length of a sermon has
nothing to do with the time occupied in its delivery; some of the longest
sermons I ever heard were preached in twenty minutes, and some that lasted
over an hour were among the shortest." The remark gives a correct clue to
intelligent sentiment on the subject. It is not brevity that the pew asks of
the pulpit, so much as the point.
Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to
teach and preach Jesus Christ.
A few months ago, we were visiting another city in which we attended a Sunday
morning church service. We had visited that church before wherein the senior
pastor had preached an excellent sermon-- the Word was preached and the
sermon was very structured. (He taught straight out of the Scriptures and never wavered off
the topic. The Lord was moving upon the hearts of the congregation. God's Word was taught for
roughly 45 minutes and yet it seemed like not even ten minutes had gone by. Every minute was
accounted for and Christ was glorified and the people were fed.The Apostle Paul preached until
midnight (Acts 20:7) and we have encountered preachers that we have been blessed listening to for
hours-- for whatever the sermon topic, they remain focused on preaching the Word of God,
glorifying the Lord Christ.) Yet the senior pastor did not preach that morning but the
associate pastor had the blessed privilege of preaching to about 500 people (a
third of the normal attendance.) He opened the sermon by saying, "I struggled
all week long for a topic and could not find one." He then went on to say that
he "finally decided" to preach on John 3:16-- as if it was a last resort because
there was nothing better. Now most Bible believing preachers would have no
greater honor than to preach John 3:16. It is guaranteed to be a good sermon
that would, with the Lord's help alone, stir the hearts of the hearers-- both
saved and unsaved. Believers in Christ would glorify the Lord and praise Him
for what He has done in saving them; and those not yet saved would hear the
glorious Gospel and
have the opportunity to receive Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The Gospel is the greatest story ever told. But yet this "John 3:16" would be a
disastrous first for many listeners that morning. The associate pastor read John
3:16, stopped after reading it, and then proceeded to talk about himself and his
family history with bits of "God's grace" thrown around in passing, about his
brother's suicide with questions of why it happened, about his trip to Los
Angeles, and just when one would think after one hour of talking about himself
that he would somehow get back on track and start to glorify Christ, yet another
story was told having nothing to do with John 3:16. There was no structure to
the sermon-- it was all over the place-- unfocused and the Lord Jesus Christ
was not preached. People in the congregation were sighing, some yawning,
others appeared to be exhausted. His words were his own-- with no life in them.
The Word was not preached, the sermon was not a John 3:16 but a "getting to
know about me" sermon; a long-winded preacher. It was misuse of the pulpit,
torment to the hearers and a travesty to the preaching of the Cross of Christ.
Yet the Apostle Paul declared in 1Corinthians 9:16, "woe is unto me, if I preach
not the gospel!"
Now, I have heard many Baptists and even some Pentecostals preach John 3:16
and never had I heard such a terrible John 3:16 sermon until that day. The
preacher slaughtered the sermon. He neglected to preach Christ and then about
five minutes before the close, he asked if there was any one there who would
like to receive Christ. There was no way a person could come to Jesus-- for the
Gospel was not preached. It became quite clear to us after a few minutes into
the sermon why the church had so many empty seats that morning…apparently
the rest of the Saints did not want to be worn out with storytelling; and yet how
many pastors preach about themselves on a Sunday morning? It is one thing to
relate a brief testimony to support a sermon but it should be brief so as not to
take away from the message. God is to be glorified, not just mentioned in
passing. The Lord Jesus, and no one else, is to be exalted.
We live in the "ME - llenium generation” and that sermon was an "about me"
sermon. How tragic that folks still went to church that morning to hear God's
Word and received nothing more than stories about the associate pastor's life
experiences with bits of "God's grace" thrown around. Yet John the Baptist
declared in John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
The Lord Jesus said in John 3:14-16 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
False conversions are produced from pulpits that neglect to preach the Cross
of Christ. A "John 3:16" sermon requires the preacher to convey WHO JESUS
IS-- The Word who became flesh--, the Second Person of the Godhead;
and the sermon also requires WHY man needs salvation-- because he is a
sinner who has broken God's law-- alienated from God and is on his way to
hell; Romans 3:23 declares: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory
of God."
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the GIFT of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord."
A John 3:16 sermon also requires an explanation of why God, the Father,
sent His only Begotten Son into the world-- to die for our sins and that
every person must receive the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior in order to
be saved. The Lord Jesus said in John 3:18, "He that believeth on him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that
believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth
on him.
The Lord of Glory, who knew no sin, took our place and our sins were placed
upon Him at Calvary. Through the shedding of His precious blood, there is
remission for sin. Acts 10:43 "To him give all the prophets witness, that
through his name whosoever BELIEVETH in him shall receive remission of
sins."
The Lord Jesus arose from the dead-- thus proving He is the Son of God and
through Him, all may receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath
made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Romans 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the
spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
Romans 14:9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he
might be Lord both of the dead and living.
The love of God is the greatest story ever told-- the Second Person of the
Godhead became our Savior! He redeemed us! What GREAT love God has for
us! We have eternal life through Christ Jesus.
Col 1:12-14 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from
the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness
of sins:
1John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to
be the Saviour of the world.
If the Lord Jesus is not the center of the sermon, a preacher has no business
preaching-- let alone inviting folks to receive Christ-- for most assuredly it will
not be Jesus Christ whom they are receiving but a false Christ.
Acts 17:3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and
risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is
Christ.
A sermon should be kept to the point-- letting every minute count-- teaching the
Lord Jesus Christ.
©2007 Cobblestone Road Ministries
All Rights Reserved
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, click here
to read about the Free Gift of Salvation.
Further Reading:
POPULAR PREACHERS...Passing Out Candy On The Way To Destruction
FOUR IMPORTANT THINGS That Every Christian Should Know
THE FRIGHTENING FUTURE OF "CHRISTIANITY" - Where Is The Gospel?
THE WAY OF CAIN-- A BLOODLESS GOSPEL
THE HEAVY BURDEN OF THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE
THE SIN OF FLATTERY - A Must-read!
MINISTRY AND SERVICE - ADVICE FOR THOSE IN MINISTRY BY CHM
PLAGIARISM AMONG PREACHERS AND SWAPPING SERMONS?
Dr. Charles L.Goodell wrote, "Let the sermon and service be brief, but make
every minute count." The sermon should remain on track because the content
of the message is most important.
Back in 1886, the Baptist Quarterly Review wrote:
A very intelligent listener to sermons once said, "The length of a sermon has
nothing to do with the time occupied in its delivery; some of the longest
sermons I ever heard were preached in twenty minutes, and some that lasted
over an hour were among the shortest." The remark gives a correct clue to
intelligent sentiment on the subject. It is not brevity that the pew asks of
the pulpit, so much as the point.
Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to
teach and preach Jesus Christ.
A few months ago, we were visiting another city in which we attended a Sunday
morning church service. We had visited that church before wherein the senior
pastor had preached an excellent sermon-- the Word was preached and the
sermon was very structured. (He taught straight out of the Scriptures and never wavered off
the topic. The Lord was moving upon the hearts of the congregation. God's Word was taught for
roughly 45 minutes and yet it seemed like not even ten minutes had gone by. Every minute was
accounted for and Christ was glorified and the people were fed.The Apostle Paul preached until
midnight (Acts 20:7) and we have encountered preachers that we have been blessed listening to for
hours-- for whatever the sermon topic, they remain focused on preaching the Word of God,
glorifying the Lord Christ.) Yet the senior pastor did not preach that morning but the
associate pastor had the blessed privilege of preaching to about 500 people (a
third of the normal attendance.) He opened the sermon by saying, "I struggled
all week long for a topic and could not find one." He then went on to say that
he "finally decided" to preach on John 3:16-- as if it was a last resort because
there was nothing better. Now most Bible believing preachers would have no
greater honor than to preach John 3:16. It is guaranteed to be a good sermon
that would, with the Lord's help alone, stir the hearts of the hearers-- both
saved and unsaved. Believers in Christ would glorify the Lord and praise Him
for what He has done in saving them; and those not yet saved would hear the
glorious Gospel and
have the opportunity to receive Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The Gospel is the greatest story ever told. But yet this "John 3:16" would be a
disastrous first for many listeners that morning. The associate pastor read John
3:16, stopped after reading it, and then proceeded to talk about himself and his
family history with bits of "God's grace" thrown around in passing, about his
brother's suicide with questions of why it happened, about his trip to Los
Angeles, and just when one would think after one hour of talking about himself
that he would somehow get back on track and start to glorify Christ, yet another
story was told having nothing to do with John 3:16. There was no structure to
the sermon-- it was all over the place-- unfocused and the Lord Jesus Christ
was not preached. People in the congregation were sighing, some yawning,
others appeared to be exhausted. His words were his own-- with no life in them.
The Word was not preached, the sermon was not a John 3:16 but a "getting to
know about me" sermon; a long-winded preacher. It was misuse of the pulpit,
torment to the hearers and a travesty to the preaching of the Cross of Christ.
Yet the Apostle Paul declared in 1Corinthians 9:16, "woe is unto me, if I preach
not the gospel!"
Now, I have heard many Baptists and even some Pentecostals preach John 3:16
and never had I heard such a terrible John 3:16 sermon until that day. The
preacher slaughtered the sermon. He neglected to preach Christ and then about
five minutes before the close, he asked if there was any one there who would
like to receive Christ. There was no way a person could come to Jesus-- for the
Gospel was not preached. It became quite clear to us after a few minutes into
the sermon why the church had so many empty seats that morning…apparently
the rest of the Saints did not want to be worn out with storytelling; and yet how
many pastors preach about themselves on a Sunday morning? It is one thing to
relate a brief testimony to support a sermon but it should be brief so as not to
take away from the message. God is to be glorified, not just mentioned in
passing. The Lord Jesus, and no one else, is to be exalted.
We live in the "ME - llenium generation” and that sermon was an "about me"
sermon. How tragic that folks still went to church that morning to hear God's
Word and received nothing more than stories about the associate pastor's life
experiences with bits of "God's grace" thrown around. Yet John the Baptist
declared in John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
The Lord Jesus said in John 3:14-16 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
False conversions are produced from pulpits that neglect to preach the Cross
of Christ. A "John 3:16" sermon requires the preacher to convey WHO JESUS
IS-- The Word who became flesh--, the Second Person of the Godhead;
and the sermon also requires WHY man needs salvation-- because he is a
sinner who has broken God's law-- alienated from God and is on his way to
hell; Romans 3:23 declares: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory
of God."
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the GIFT of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord."
A John 3:16 sermon also requires an explanation of why God, the Father,
sent His only Begotten Son into the world-- to die for our sins and that
every person must receive the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior in order to
be saved. The Lord Jesus said in John 3:18, "He that believeth on him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that
believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth
on him.
The Lord of Glory, who knew no sin, took our place and our sins were placed
upon Him at Calvary. Through the shedding of His precious blood, there is
remission for sin. Acts 10:43 "To him give all the prophets witness, that
through his name whosoever BELIEVETH in him shall receive remission of
sins."
The Lord Jesus arose from the dead-- thus proving He is the Son of God and
through Him, all may receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath
made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Romans 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the
spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
Romans 14:9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he
might be Lord both of the dead and living.
The love of God is the greatest story ever told-- the Second Person of the
Godhead became our Savior! He redeemed us! What GREAT love God has for
us! We have eternal life through Christ Jesus.
Col 1:12-14 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from
the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness
of sins:
1John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to
be the Saviour of the world.
If the Lord Jesus is not the center of the sermon, a preacher has no business
preaching-- let alone inviting folks to receive Christ-- for most assuredly it will
not be Jesus Christ whom they are receiving but a false Christ.
Acts 17:3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and
risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is
Christ.
A sermon should be kept to the point-- letting every minute count-- teaching the
Lord Jesus Christ.
©2007 Cobblestone Road Ministries
All Rights Reserved
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, click here
to read about the Free Gift of Salvation.
Further Reading:
POPULAR PREACHERS...Passing Out Candy On The Way To Destruction
FOUR IMPORTANT THINGS That Every Christian Should Know
THE FRIGHTENING FUTURE OF "CHRISTIANITY" - Where Is The Gospel?
THE WAY OF CAIN-- A BLOODLESS GOSPEL
THE HEAVY BURDEN OF THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE
THE SIN OF FLATTERY - A Must-read!
MINISTRY AND SERVICE - ADVICE FOR THOSE IN MINISTRY BY CHM
PLAGIARISM AMONG PREACHERS AND SWAPPING SERMONS?
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