Love Jesus, Hate the Flesh - Sermon Starter

Sermon Outline

Love Jesus, Hate the Flesh

Scripture:  Varied

Introduced May 2011

Outline of the Sermon

Introduction:  A number of years ago, I attended a Bible Conference in which the speaker said – “Following Jesus is painful, if you love your flesh!”  The flesh wants more food, more romance, more pleasure.  It is a veritable giant of godless passions that always says, “If you give me more than before, then I’ll have enough.”  Our culture caters to our flesh.  Newspaper?  What do we see:

• Lust of the flesh – Leaders in immorality.
• Lust of the eyes – Constant corporate greediness
• Pride of life – look what money does to people.

The same can be said of secular television.  Following Jesus is painful if you love your flesh.  Some of us are in hell today because we vex ourselves with sin and Jesus is trying to work something deeper in us:

1.          We Cannot Serve the flesh

a.      Matthew 19:21 – Jesus asked the rich young ruler to stop loving this world; he wouldn’t.

b.      Matthew 6:24 – No man can serve 2 masters.

2.          We must not pamper the flesh

a.      Matthew 5:27-30 – Cut off yourself from this life; remove the wood from the fires of your passion; don’t let romantic sins entangle you to try you, kill you, and perhaps even prove you never belonged to God.

b.      We must not pamper the flesh – for as a little monster, it will not give up or give in until it wins.

3.          We must trust that God will take care of our needs and legitimate desires.

a.      Matthew 6:29-34 – Apart from God’s provisions, don’t value the flesh.

b.      Romans 7:18 – In my flesh, my lower nature (not just the skin, blood, and corpuscles), dwells no good thing.  The flesh reasons and tries to convince us why we should sin … it philosophizes why feeding it is okay … God tells us, don’t value either its desires or logical reasoning.

4.          If I follow Jesus, it will be painful to my flesh.  Romans 7:21-25:   

a.      There is a war between my mind and flesh … my mind interacts with both the flesh and the spirit part of me.  So, feed my mind God’s word, and then I purify myself.  Romans 12:2.  I become transformed.  We must allow God’s word in us to change us; as contrite as the saying is – the battlefield is in the mind.

b.      The stronger the mind is and the stronger our new spirit man is – the easier it is to say no to the flesh.

Conclusion / Decision / Invitation:

            What does your flesh want today that you want to give it?  How will you stop? Following Jesus is painful if you love your flesh.  We are blind if we are not consciously pursuing a life in God through Jesus Christ.  Let's have an abundant entrance into the kingdom.

Decision / Invitation

Sermon Creation Date:  Can’t remember; it was written, however, during a personal men’s retreat I attended.

                                                                                         

Additions: 

1.  In point three of this sermon – we say:    We must trust that God will take care of our needs and legitimate desires.  Sometimes it is hard for hearers to understand what it means to “trust”.  The ministry of Living Waters has given a good illustration that I use often when given the opportunity to teach.

When you sit on a chair, you simply know, believe, expect that the four legs under the chair will keep you up.  You simply rest on the chair, knowing it will keep you up.  So too, to trust in God means to rest in Him knowing, believing, and expecting He will take care of His own.

2.  Also, if you have been noticing, some of the sermons have my own personal experiences embedded in them.  Not to worry, you can reword the section either with a similar experience of yours or eliminate it all together.  I hope these sermon outlines have been a blessing to you.

God's Fires, God's Desires In Us - Sermon Starter

Sermon Outline

God’s Fires, God’s Desires in Us

Scripture:  Varied

Introduced May 2011

Outline of the Sermon

Introduction:  One day at a men’s retreat, one of the “young” men started a fire.  We all sat in bleachers around that fire.  It sometimes burned brighter; other times, we saw only a small spec of flames.  The only way to get the fire blazing again was to throw more wood, more chips, more ammunition into the fire.

            When we became saved, 2 Cor, 5:17 – We became a new creature; old things passed away and all things became new.  The old man died with the advent of Christ in our lives.  Romans 6:6.  So, we know that this fire is on the new man, not the old.  We also know what we still have “the flesh” with its old habits, desires, goals, sins.  Galatians 5:19.

            Because sin was such a prevalent part of our lives, our flesh very often desires the “old” way of life; yet the old man who agreed with the flesh is dead.

I submit to you that:

a)     The man had to start the fire; God has to start the fire.

b)     If the man did not keep it going, both light and heat die.  If we don’t keep the flame going, we darken our path and hinder our desires.

c)      Or, we have a choice – starve the flesh fire, increase the spirit or vice versa.

Okay:  We want God’s fire in our life.  How do we keep the flames nigh and the fire hot for God?  Our goal is a high blazing “flame”, Galatians 5:22-23 … A flame (here it is called fruit) of love, joy, please, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is now law.

2 parts:

1.          Know there is only one who lights the fire.  God is an all consuming fire.  Exodus 3:2; Deut. 9:3.  You can be consumed now or you can be consumed later. (Job 18:5; 1 Cor. 3:15)

2.          Know there is only one who can daily crucify, put to death the flesh.  Galatians 5:24 – We put to death (crucify) the flesh with its own affections.  We stifle that fire through obedience and walking in the Spirit.  We do not seek our glory because that is what the flesh seeks.  (Galatians 5:24, 5:26)

Conclusion / Decision / Invitation:

            We cannot fake the fire; we cannot keep two fires going because it gets tiring.

Sermon Creation Date:  Can’t remember; it was written, however, during a personal men’s retreat I attended.

Suggestions:  I see this particular mini outline as a launching off point in many applications; perhaps it is not so much fit for a sermon as it is for a women’s Bible study or a men’s prayer breakfast.  The challenge with all outlines, however, is to make it relevant to your particular situation.

Additions:  We all need a rekindling of God’s fire.  Life happens … people’s job become boring or tension thickens at the local church.  Whatever the cases, pray that this sermon would deliver to the heart of the believer a new spark of renewal that will awaken in them the desire to serve God continually.

Time to Get Things Right - Long Version

Sermon Outline

Time To Get Things Right

Scripture:  Matthew 7:24-29

Originally preached:  May 21, 2011 @ Berkshire Hills Baptist Church, Lee, MA

Thorough Outline of the Sermon

[shorter version posted on June 15, 2011; take and edit as necessary]

Capture People’s Attention at beginning of service:  Although it wasn’t time yesterday, it’s time today … time for what you ask … can’t tell you, until it’s time.  So, stick around for our worship time.

Introduction:  The time of Christ’s return will not come with a particular date that is given to us as in May 21, 2011; instead, it will come as a “thief in the night (Matthew 25, 1 Thessalonians 5).  We will not be able to delay our sinfulness until His return and do a quick repentance; instead, we ought to be repenting every day in preparation for a return we do not know of.  Having said this, how we occupy our time, in the meantime … it is time to talk about it.  This message is the crown of all previous messages and all future messages that could be said about being good stewards … it is, hopefully, what you have heard before, but in a different way.

1.          Sermon Time.  When it was the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4), Christ came … while He was here, he preached the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.  People from far and wide came … we know this from the use of the term “multitudes” in Matthew 5:1.  [briefly explain the gospels use of MULTITUDES, DISCIPLES, APOSTLES.]  He preached on several things:

a.      How good it is to be blessed

b.      Being Salt and Light

c.      Learning how Jesus came to fulfill the law

d.      How to love each other correctly

e.      Who is our neighbor and our enemy

f.        Almsgiving and piety

g.      Prayer and fasting

h.     Personal Possessions

i.        Prayer and the Golden Rule

j.         Judging

k.      The strait and wide gates

2.          Listening Time.  Listening to a sermon is important, no question.  We are always listening, considering, contemplating.  One may pat themselves on the back about the time they took from their busy schedules to attend church, love the Lord, serve Him, etc.  However, as we shall see in our text:  Jesus does not regard listening time alone as a good use of one’s time.

3.          Summary Time.  Matthew 7:21 is the summary text, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter in the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”  There is

a.      Hearing &                  b.  doing.  Notice:  The hearing & doing is compared and contrasted:  Matthew 7:21, 7:24; 7:26.  Notice what is said but not approved of:  7:22

b.        

c.      Contrast verse between positives and negatives:  Not every … but he that

                                                              i.      Saith Lord, Lord

                                                            ii.      Doeth the will of my father

d.      Notice; the “works” that are done are actually not equated as doing.  Notice the works:  a) Have we not prophesied in thy name?  b) In thy name cast out devils?  C) In your name, DONE many wonderful works.  Someone might ask:  Didn’t these believers DO.  According to Jesus, they did not “do”; this is all cheap talk and even the works they mention are pointless.  Are these things useless?

e.      Notice the play on words of the Son:  he “professes” that I never knew you. 

4.          Building Time.  If we are to “redeem the time” as our master calls for, he is very specific on what we need to do.  Our “I’s” might not all be dotted; our “t’s” might not all be crossed.  We are not going to be perfect in this life though we are always reaching more and more to perfection.  Our Lord says this.  Without BUILDING, all we are doing is HEARING … and if all we are doing is HEARING, then we are completely wrong and we are not using our time correctly.  Hearing not enough.  Doing is building.  The Lord says we are “wise” because we are building our “house” (our lives, what we believe, our affections, what we love, what we adore, what we worship, what we think) on his teachings.  OTHERWISE – all the words Christ has just said in 3 chapters will mean nothing.

a.      Christ’s word’s not magic and will not absorb through osmosis

b.      Christ’s words are effective and life changing … as we build and practice. The Christian life is one of doing; while we should pray as He taught us, we should do as He taught us as well.

5.          Rain Time.  Storms are coming.  They are mandatory in the life of the Christian.  You cannot be excluded; don’t think the Rapture is some sort of magical escapism in the Christian life.  Though the Rapture will rescue some from God’s wrath, it does not exempt us from persecution or tribulation in general.  Look for example at the Christians in Burma. 

a.      Christians in Burma:  They are gentle people who love the LORD.  The government knows this; the government has said, “Use their gentleness against them.”

b.      Pakistan and other nations where Christians are persecuted just for being close to Christ.  To them, the doctrine of escapism means little.  They are living through incredible turmoil.

c.      Why do American Christians believe they will be exempt.

d.      Rain Time is Coming because …

                                                              i.      Jesus promised it … John 16:33 …

                                                            ii.      Jesus leads people into it …  Matthew 14:22 (Jesus knew the storm was coming, yet He led His disciples into the boat anyways)

                                                          iii.      Jesus prayed concerning it … John 17:15

6.          Safety Time

a.      It so follows that if we both HEAR and DO, we are using our time wisely.  In so doing, WE have built a fortress that will keep us settled.  Of course, it is the Lord’s doing – but it came about because we complied

                                                              i.      The rain descends … the floods come … the winds blow.  In other words – problems come from above, problems come from beneath, and problems come from wherever it is blown in.  It beats upon a CHRISTIAN or a PERSON

                                                            ii.      CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE BEEN HEARING AND DOING:  They are solid; they do not fall; though tempted, their courage is nothing more than fear that has prayed and they do not quit.  All for Jesus, less of them!  More, more about Jesus.  John the Baptist – He must Increase, I must decrease.

b.      Rock:  Rock formation takes some time; they found a key from the 60’s in the ocean in 1994.  Rocks take time to form; we are constantly exposing ourselves to Christ, to His church, to sermons from the church, from daily Bible reading, etc.  This continue exposure wraps us up so when it is time, that which we have learned is not easily destroyed.

7.          Destruction Time, v. 26

a.      What about hearers only?  What of those who just hear good messages or talk a good talk?  They have the right Christianese to say; they heard the right things.  They showed up to church when they were supposed to.  However, they did not actually do what they were told to do.  It went in one ear and out the other?

b.      Guess what?  The storms still came.  Why?

                                                              i.      Jesus promised it … John 16:33 …

                                                            ii.      Jesus leads people into it …  Matthew 14:22 (Jesus knew the storm was coming, yet He led His disciples into the boat anyways)

                                                          iii.      Jesus prayed concerning it … John 17:15

c.      PEOPLE WHO HAVE HEARD ONLY:  They are unwise; in fact, many of them do not know Christ (7:23; 7:27)

d.      End result:  These people were destroyed whether it is spiritually or emotionally, they are not ready or prepared for the coming tribulations of the world.

e.      SAND:  There is sand everywhere on beaches.  Some people are GREAT with their sand castles …. Their sand art work.  Same for many Christians:  they look great; they sound great; the sand artwork is magnificent and better than most.  Yet, what happens to great sand castles when the storm or the tide comes in?  It fails.

8.          Decision Time

a.      Notice, Jesus does not give a typical invitation.  Instead of directly inviting his hearers to actually do something, he has ended His sermon on this note:  “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:  For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” (Matthew 7:27)

b.      Illustration:  A preacher boy, after his college course was finished, went to his Bible professor and complimented him on such a great job he did.  The Bible professor looked at him and said, “What are you going to do about it?”  Shocked, the preacher boy just assumed one polite act should turn around another.  It took some years for the preacher boy to understand his Bible professor.  Was his professor being rude.  Yes.  What he being harsh, taut?  Yes.  But why?  Because his professor was not there to merely sound good, look good, be good … his professor was there to give the preacher boy the Word of God … and if the preacher boy was to receive it – he had to do MORE than HEAR IT … he also needed to RECEIVE IT.

c.      Decision Time:  This is not your typical stewardship sermon on Time.  In the past years, we’ve told you to redeem the time.  In the past years, we told you everyone has 168 hours they are given in a year.  We’ve told you that everyone has a responsibility to do with God’s time what He would have.  We’ve told you that you need to do daily devotions, and daily time.

                                                              i.      This is the conclusion to all previous messages about stewardship from all past years.  That is not to say there is no more to say … it is to say that all that could be said revolves around this:

                                                            ii.      Chinese Christians came to America; when they returned, they were asked “So how were the American Christians.”  The reply:  “Oh … there is a lot of talkie-talkie and not enough walkie-walkie!”

Decision / Invitation

Sermon Creation Date:  May 2011

Long Version:  If I preached every point on the long version, the sermon would last an hour or more.  I simply publish the long version for you to see the development of the sermon.  While preaching, I will cut things out that suddenly do not become relevant or it is not timely to preach or because the Holy Spirit causes me to "forget" a few things.  Don't be afraid to have "too much" prepared if you are able to seamlessly delete along the way.  Thank you.

Inspiration:  I needed a sermon to conclude the Stewardship of Time series; however, I didn’t want the typical sermon and decided, based on an examination of a devotion done by a Methodist church, to use Matthew 7 and create a different outline.  The original Methodist sermon only prompted me to use Matthew 7 as a message on Time.

Tips:  To ensure I never forgot the outline on my longer 4-page document, I found it useful when I preached this message to place the following words at the top of the sermon in the header area of Microsoft Word so it would appear on every page:

CHEAT OUTLINE:  Stewardship of Time:  1) Sermon Time 2) Listening Time 3) Summary Time 4) Building Time 5) Rain Time 6) Safety Time 7) Destruction Time 8) Decision Time – Matthew 7

Additions:  After the sermon, a faithful church member reminded me that one cannot “build” without the help of others such as in the body of Christ.  I regret not putting this in the sermon and hope future preachers will add it somehow.  Thanks - pjm

Strength in Community - Sermon Starter

Sermon Outline

Strength in Community

Scripture:  Varied

Introduced May 2011

Outline of the Sermon

Introduction:  Lost souls in the Christian faith want to “go it” alone; inevitably, they believe that strength in Christ, but apart from others, is enough.  The truth is that strength comes from the community, the church, of believers gathering together.

1.          Our Leader is Christ.

a.      John 6:67 … Did not Peter realize and speak on behalf of the believers that only Christ has the words of life?

b.      Matthew 16:15-16 … Again Peter says that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

2.          Our Motto is Forgiveness

Matthew 18:22 … Forgive our brothers or sisters indefinitely … for in forgiveness, that is our forgiveness of others, Christ’s forgivness shines through.

3.          Our Duty is to carry the burdens of others.

a.      Galatians 6:2 … Bear one another’s burden and so fulfill the law of Christ.

b.      In bearing another’s burdens, we realize how little we ought to be in our own eyes.

4.          Our responsibility is restoration.

Galatians 6:1 … We are to restore others from sins, weaknesses, burdens … be humble to go to others for help when necessary.

5.          Our lesson is submission.

Ephesians 5:21 … Going with others even at our own expense or allowing others the lime light just to revel in their accomplishment and not our own.

6.          Our Ultimate Aim is Love.  1 Thessalonians 4:9

a.      Love does not fantasize of the pleasure it receives from the person it appreciated … it gives, instead, at the expense of the giver.

b.      The giver counts it joy to give it.

Conclusion:

            Being part of a community of believers may seem to require much.  Community life is not for those who just merely want hugs, kisses, frills; community life is not for those who will play politics to get their own way; community life is not for those who look for romance or to make unhealthy emotional attachments or who (1 Thessalonians 4) want to defraud his brother or sister.

            Rather, community is a place to give and receive genuine love that says – just like Christ is with me always – we will be with each other always.  Through this experience, we are strengthened, commitments renewed, sins destroyed, faith increased, insights received, families bonded, and enemies set right.  Are you willing to be part of a community of believers?

Decision / Invitation

Stop walking the Christian life alone or thinking all you need is Christ and no church; begin gathering together for His glory.

Decision / Invitation

Sermon Creation Date:  Can’t remember; it was written, however, during a personal men’s retreat I attended.

Additions:  I can say for certain that this is a challenge to preach to hearers who really are only at church to get their ‘fill’ for the day.  Preachers, teachers, etc. can sometimes feel an emptiness in their local assemblies even though there are many people there.  Consider preaching this after much prayer and be sure to tailor it to your specific group.  pjm