Eighth Sunday After Pentecost
Preaching
THE WESLEYAN PREACHING ANNUAL 2001--2002
WORSHIP HELPS
CALL TO WORSHIP
Reader 1: Those who love freedom come and proclaim the truth
Reader 2: Tell all the world
Reader 1: He hates the sin of bondage.
Reader 2: He sees the tears of those that cry
Reader 1: And hears their anguished lament.
Reader 2: He breaks the chains of tyranny
Reader 1: And sets the prisoner free.
Reader 2: He makes the people strong
Reader 1: And gives the people freedom and peace.
Readers 1 & 2: God, our God, we cannot thank You enough!
OFFERING THOUGHT
Let us give freely from hearts overflowing with gratitude; not grudgingly or with obligation but with cheerfulness in love. (Based on 2 Corinthians 9:7)
BENEDICTION
Let us depart today recalling the mighty deeds of the Lord and meditate upon the freedoms He bestows on each of us. Amen!
SERMON BRIEFS
The Parable Of The Soils
Matthew 13:1--9, 18--23
A parable is defined as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus tells this story and explains the meaning to us. All that remains is for us to examine it in detail and make application to our own experience.
The sower goes forth to sow. He scatters the seed by hand as was the practice then. Various external forces made sowing difficult. Wind, crooked paths, or uneven ground hindered his planting and in the process, all of the seed does not go where it was intended. Jesus' hearers knew the reality of his story; some may even have experienced it.
The soil along the path represents Those who are defeated by the Devil. Jesus says that the Evil One snatches away the seed that is sown in their hearts because they do not understand it. Understanding can be difficult to come by in today's culture. We are told that there is no absolute truth - everything is relative. The study of formal logic has all but disappeared from our schools, and anyone who tries to present a logical argument against another is said to be intolerant. What does this have to do with the Devil? Remember his words to Eve, "You shall not surely die." Never mind the logical conclusion of disobedience. Pay no attention to the words of God. Eve obviously does not understand God. He surely will not provide a logical consequence for a forbidden action. The Devil is the "father of lies" and the sower of confusion. He uses circumstances and other people to confuse those who do not fully understand. Sinners who hear the gospel once may have to hear it many times before it finally sinks in. The Devil will confuse anyone he can.
The rocky soil represents Those who are defeated by a dilemma. They receive the Word with joy. It speaks to their deepest personal need. It satisfies their longing for meaning - at least for a time. But when trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, they fall away. The key phrase here is "because of the Word." Consider the politician who may hold to a biblical view on a certain issue (opposition to abortion--on--demand, for example), but when an opposite position becomes politically expedient, he changes his mind. He is not willing to stand up for the truth of God's word lest it hinder his career. Such a person does not have a deep--seated commitment to God's word. He is not willing to stand up and be counted in the battle for truth, but instead quickly falls away.
The thorny soil represents Those who are defeated by the dollar. They hear the word, relish it, accept it, perhaps even tell others about it. But then the test comes. Some event, some issue, comes into their experience, and they opt for the path of least resistance. The cares of this world, whether fame, wealth, or happiness, take first place. The house, the car, the job, all legitimate possessions and practices in themselves, become a barrier to service to God. The business transaction is just slightly tainted - it has to be in order to close the deal. The house must be bigger and better to demonstrate one's success in life. The career takes precedence over family and church. More time is spent in the world, and less time in the Word. Soon any spiritual life is choked out. The spiritual fire is not fed the necessary fuel and it soon dies down to embers and glowing coals. There may still be a slight warmth, but the spiritual life is no longer what it once was as the fire has been snuffed out.
Finally, the good soil which represents Those who reap a miraculous harvest. They hear the Word and understand it. They, like the psalmist, meditate upon it. Bible verses are committed to memory. Bible study, alone and with others, becomes a favorite pursuit. There is genuine joy in knowing God. The result is the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace and so on. But the crop is not just a usual harvest; it is miraculous.
Scholars familiar with biblical times tell us that the usual yield at harvest was about seven times the planting - seven bushels of grain for every bushel planted. An excellent harvest would be tenfold. Thirty, sixty, or one hundred times what was sown is nothing short of a miracle. So it is with those who understand and live the Word. Their life is miraculously full of the blessings of God.
Four kinds of soil. Four kinds of people who hear the Word. Which kind are you?
J. Duane Beals
Is That Your Final Answer?
Romans 8:1--11
When I was in elementary school, we used to have spelling tests every Friday. Thursday evening Mom would go over the words with me. Spelling was a good subject for me, but I worried about doing well and not forgetting the correct spelling.
One Friday after having been grilled by Mom, I went to school to take my test. We wrote our tests in an unusual way, not at our desks but kneeling by a chair. Each child had a chair and was given a sheet of paper and the words were dictated.
On this particular Friday I was concerned about some words on the test. An opportunity to improve my score surfaced. I could take my pencil and write these words on a chair, take my test from that chair and then erase the words and nobody would be wiser.
I had a choice and I made it. It was my final answer and I got caught. The embarrassment and loss of trust from my teacher impacted me greatly.
God understands that we make choices too. In fact, He talks about two choices of eternal significance in Romans 8.
I. Eternal choices - life in the Spirit (vv. 1--6, 9--11)
All of us make choices and all choices have consequences. The consequences can be good or bad depending on the choice. Paul says in this passage that we can have life in the Spirit or in the flesh. Paul's description of each is a list of the consequences.
Paul first describes life in the Spirit and describes it in verses 1--6 and 9--11. Here are the consequences or benefits of a choice of living in the Spirit:
A. No condemnation (v. 1)
When I got caught cheating on that test I was condemned by my action. Paul is saying that life in the Spirit takes the condemnation away because Christ bore our condemnation on Calvary.
B. Free in the Spirit (v. 2)
I once visited a teenager who had been put in jail on a drug charge. His choice of associates had left him alone in a foreign place. He would call home and talk to his parents. He desperately wanted to be free but his choice had produced a consequence. That time in prison must have heightened his enjoyment of freedom when he was released.
Paul says that when we choose life in the Spirit we are freed from bondage of sin and death. There is a glorious consequence to our choice.
C. Thoughts are changed (v. 5)
Paul says that when we choose life in the Spirit we even think differently. We think the things God thinks about. Our desires change. Our focus changes. We have the mind of Christ.
D. We have life and peace (vv. 6, 10--11)
Where we were dead in our sins, when we choose life in the Spirit we are given eternal life and peace of heart. Wuest says the Holy Spirit takes residence in the believer and is actively at home in him. He lives in him and has a ministry to perform in him. That ministry is to give him victory over sin and produce fruit in him.
When we make the right choice we receive wonderful benefits! Barclay sums it up beautifully when he says, "As a man lives in the air, he lives in Christ, never separated from Him. As he breathes in the air and the air fills him, so Christ fills him. He is Spirit--controlled, Christ controlled, God focused." But there is a second choice we can make.
II. Eternal choices - life in the natural (vv. 5--8)
Paul describes the consequences of this choice and they speak for themselves
A. v. 5 - Unhealthy thoughts and desires
B. v. 6 - Death
C. v. 7 - At war with God
D. v. 8 - Cannot please God
What a horrible choice! Always in bondage to destructive, harmful, troubling thoughts; involved in a war that you cannot win, trying to please a God you cannot please with the realization that you will die as you are.
Conclusion
Isn't God good? He gives us the choice of life or death; freedom or bondage; purity or depravity; war or peace; joy or sorrow. May each of us choose life in the Spirit. Will you make that your final answer?
Brian D. Delbridge
CALL TO WORSHIP
Reader 1: Those who love freedom come and proclaim the truth
Reader 2: Tell all the world
Reader 1: He hates the sin of bondage.
Reader 2: He sees the tears of those that cry
Reader 1: And hears their anguished lament.
Reader 2: He breaks the chains of tyranny
Reader 1: And sets the prisoner free.
Reader 2: He makes the people strong
Reader 1: And gives the people freedom and peace.
Readers 1 & 2: God, our God, we cannot thank You enough!
OFFERING THOUGHT
Let us give freely from hearts overflowing with gratitude; not grudgingly or with obligation but with cheerfulness in love. (Based on 2 Corinthians 9:7)
BENEDICTION
Let us depart today recalling the mighty deeds of the Lord and meditate upon the freedoms He bestows on each of us. Amen!
SERMON BRIEFS
The Parable Of The Soils
Matthew 13:1--9, 18--23
A parable is defined as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus tells this story and explains the meaning to us. All that remains is for us to examine it in detail and make application to our own experience.
The sower goes forth to sow. He scatters the seed by hand as was the practice then. Various external forces made sowing difficult. Wind, crooked paths, or uneven ground hindered his planting and in the process, all of the seed does not go where it was intended. Jesus' hearers knew the reality of his story; some may even have experienced it.
The soil along the path represents Those who are defeated by the Devil. Jesus says that the Evil One snatches away the seed that is sown in their hearts because they do not understand it. Understanding can be difficult to come by in today's culture. We are told that there is no absolute truth - everything is relative. The study of formal logic has all but disappeared from our schools, and anyone who tries to present a logical argument against another is said to be intolerant. What does this have to do with the Devil? Remember his words to Eve, "You shall not surely die." Never mind the logical conclusion of disobedience. Pay no attention to the words of God. Eve obviously does not understand God. He surely will not provide a logical consequence for a forbidden action. The Devil is the "father of lies" and the sower of confusion. He uses circumstances and other people to confuse those who do not fully understand. Sinners who hear the gospel once may have to hear it many times before it finally sinks in. The Devil will confuse anyone he can.
The rocky soil represents Those who are defeated by a dilemma. They receive the Word with joy. It speaks to their deepest personal need. It satisfies their longing for meaning - at least for a time. But when trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, they fall away. The key phrase here is "because of the Word." Consider the politician who may hold to a biblical view on a certain issue (opposition to abortion--on--demand, for example), but when an opposite position becomes politically expedient, he changes his mind. He is not willing to stand up for the truth of God's word lest it hinder his career. Such a person does not have a deep--seated commitment to God's word. He is not willing to stand up and be counted in the battle for truth, but instead quickly falls away.
The thorny soil represents Those who are defeated by the dollar. They hear the word, relish it, accept it, perhaps even tell others about it. But then the test comes. Some event, some issue, comes into their experience, and they opt for the path of least resistance. The cares of this world, whether fame, wealth, or happiness, take first place. The house, the car, the job, all legitimate possessions and practices in themselves, become a barrier to service to God. The business transaction is just slightly tainted - it has to be in order to close the deal. The house must be bigger and better to demonstrate one's success in life. The career takes precedence over family and church. More time is spent in the world, and less time in the Word. Soon any spiritual life is choked out. The spiritual fire is not fed the necessary fuel and it soon dies down to embers and glowing coals. There may still be a slight warmth, but the spiritual life is no longer what it once was as the fire has been snuffed out.
Finally, the good soil which represents Those who reap a miraculous harvest. They hear the Word and understand it. They, like the psalmist, meditate upon it. Bible verses are committed to memory. Bible study, alone and with others, becomes a favorite pursuit. There is genuine joy in knowing God. The result is the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace and so on. But the crop is not just a usual harvest; it is miraculous.
Scholars familiar with biblical times tell us that the usual yield at harvest was about seven times the planting - seven bushels of grain for every bushel planted. An excellent harvest would be tenfold. Thirty, sixty, or one hundred times what was sown is nothing short of a miracle. So it is with those who understand and live the Word. Their life is miraculously full of the blessings of God.
Four kinds of soil. Four kinds of people who hear the Word. Which kind are you?
J. Duane Beals
Is That Your Final Answer?
Romans 8:1--11
When I was in elementary school, we used to have spelling tests every Friday. Thursday evening Mom would go over the words with me. Spelling was a good subject for me, but I worried about doing well and not forgetting the correct spelling.
One Friday after having been grilled by Mom, I went to school to take my test. We wrote our tests in an unusual way, not at our desks but kneeling by a chair. Each child had a chair and was given a sheet of paper and the words were dictated.
On this particular Friday I was concerned about some words on the test. An opportunity to improve my score surfaced. I could take my pencil and write these words on a chair, take my test from that chair and then erase the words and nobody would be wiser.
I had a choice and I made it. It was my final answer and I got caught. The embarrassment and loss of trust from my teacher impacted me greatly.
God understands that we make choices too. In fact, He talks about two choices of eternal significance in Romans 8.
I. Eternal choices - life in the Spirit (vv. 1--6, 9--11)
All of us make choices and all choices have consequences. The consequences can be good or bad depending on the choice. Paul says in this passage that we can have life in the Spirit or in the flesh. Paul's description of each is a list of the consequences.
Paul first describes life in the Spirit and describes it in verses 1--6 and 9--11. Here are the consequences or benefits of a choice of living in the Spirit:
A. No condemnation (v. 1)
When I got caught cheating on that test I was condemned by my action. Paul is saying that life in the Spirit takes the condemnation away because Christ bore our condemnation on Calvary.
B. Free in the Spirit (v. 2)
I once visited a teenager who had been put in jail on a drug charge. His choice of associates had left him alone in a foreign place. He would call home and talk to his parents. He desperately wanted to be free but his choice had produced a consequence. That time in prison must have heightened his enjoyment of freedom when he was released.
Paul says that when we choose life in the Spirit we are freed from bondage of sin and death. There is a glorious consequence to our choice.
C. Thoughts are changed (v. 5)
Paul says that when we choose life in the Spirit we even think differently. We think the things God thinks about. Our desires change. Our focus changes. We have the mind of Christ.
D. We have life and peace (vv. 6, 10--11)
Where we were dead in our sins, when we choose life in the Spirit we are given eternal life and peace of heart. Wuest says the Holy Spirit takes residence in the believer and is actively at home in him. He lives in him and has a ministry to perform in him. That ministry is to give him victory over sin and produce fruit in him.
When we make the right choice we receive wonderful benefits! Barclay sums it up beautifully when he says, "As a man lives in the air, he lives in Christ, never separated from Him. As he breathes in the air and the air fills him, so Christ fills him. He is Spirit--controlled, Christ controlled, God focused." But there is a second choice we can make.
II. Eternal choices - life in the natural (vv. 5--8)
Paul describes the consequences of this choice and they speak for themselves
A. v. 5 - Unhealthy thoughts and desires
B. v. 6 - Death
C. v. 7 - At war with God
D. v. 8 - Cannot please God
What a horrible choice! Always in bondage to destructive, harmful, troubling thoughts; involved in a war that you cannot win, trying to please a God you cannot please with the realization that you will die as you are.
Conclusion
Isn't God good? He gives us the choice of life or death; freedom or bondage; purity or depravity; war or peace; joy or sorrow. May each of us choose life in the Spirit. Will you make that your final answer?
Brian D. Delbridge
