- Image and reality
- Previously on Corinthians …
- Paul’s testimony to the Corinthians
- God’s comfort in suffering
- God’s strength in weakness
- Integrity in ministry
4. The unknown years ahead
- We can’t be Christians and yet not say anything about it
- Like Paul:
- We know who He is
- We know what He’s done
- We know that He died on the Cross for sinners
- We know He rose again and appeared to 500 at once and on other occasions as well
- We know He ascended to The Father and is seated there right now
- We know He is the King of all creation
- We know the difference He makes in human lives
- We know how He changed us
- We know we have something to say
- Acknowledge our hearers’ religiosity (Acts 17:22)
- Identify a common point of contact (Acts 17:23) (e.g. In Athens it was the altar with the inscription “To An Unknown God”)
- Explain to them how Jesus is the God we know and what he expects (Acts 17:30-31)
- Become familiar with the teachings of our hearers
- Be aware that not everyone will react positively (Acts 17:32-34)
Lord, open our eyes and minds to the ‘fields for harvest’ and give us the courage to ‘get out there’.
Is there anything else that is better worth as along life's way we plod, Than to find some wand'ring soul of earth and bring him home to God. I would rather find a soul that's lost and bring him home again, Than to win all that earth's acres cost or all the wealth of men. How glad I'd be when that day was done in taking my last breath, To know a word of mine had won and saved a soul from death.
Anonymous
Unfortunately the recording of the sermon is of poor quality so is not included here.
- Who are our Samaritans?
- Jesus and the Samaritan woman
- Choosing to move beyond the comfortable (4:1-4)
- Positioning ourselves to encounter the unfamiliar (4:5-6)
- Establishing connections across social and cultural barriers (4:7-9)
- Using the tangible to direct attention to the spiritual (4:10-15)
- Conversing with compassion rather than condemnation (4:16-18)
- Downplaying religious differences to focus on common spiritual aspirations (4:19-24)
- Presenting Jesus as the ultimate answer to every spiritual longing (4:25-26)
- The Disciples were accessible and approachable by the people
- They vividly identified with the people around them
- They turned attention away from themselves and towards Jesus
- The Disciples focused on Jesus’ teaching and His resurrection
- They urged their hearers to respond, repent and follow Jesus
- Our fear of ‘Evangelism’ and ‘Mission’
- Ordinary believers are Jesus’ method of building His Church
- Becoming an Acts 1:8 church
- The Importance of preparing
- We are witnesses for Jesus when we tell His story
Are we:
- too focused on ourselves
- too empty – have nothing to share
- too respectable – don’t want to damage our reputation
- too similar to those who don’t know Christ
- too ignorant of the Good News
- too apathetic to consider the needy and the lost
- too terrified of what others might think
- too insulated within our own Christian ghetto
As Witnesses for Christ, let’s note:
- Jesus calls us to follow Him (Matt 9:9)
- Jesus affirms our existing relationships, in that he wants us to share His love with our friends (Matt 9:10-11)
- We should be focused on people who know they have a need. We should show mercy as Jesus did (Matt 9:11-13)
- Be speaking the Truth about Him, and be loving in our actions like Him (Matt 9:35)
- He wants a deep community passion to motivate us into loving and telling action (Matt 9:36)
- “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few”. Let’s be aware of the need and act for His glory (Matt 9:37-38).
Our apologies that the recording of the sermon is of poor quality.
- Remember that you were once far away
- But now in Christ …
- One new humanity: a church without walls