Never Without a Mission – Always Say Never, pt.7

Matthew 28:16-20.

What is the mission of the church?  To be part of God’s mission which is to redeem the world unto Himself.  One thing that is fascinating about the Greek language, the written language of the New Testament, concerns the word “priority.”  We are always talking about how we need to have our priorities in order, how we need to set our priorities, and how our priorities are so crucial to how we function.  In the Greek language, the word we translate “priority” cannot be made plural.  I think that is theologically sound as well as a grammatical truth.

Never Without Vision – Always Say Never, pt.6

Ephesians 3:14-21.

The words of Proverbs 29:18 can be rather daunting if you think long and hard about them.  “Where there is no vision, the people perish” is the way the King James translates these words.  While I love many translations I have to admit I appreciate how The Message states this verse, “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves.”

A church without a vision or dream from above loses its purpose.  God’s vision for the church is essential for forward motion as we strive to drive on into the center of His will.

Never Without Friends – Always Say Never pt. 5

Romans 12:4-8.

We will soon get to the subject of spiritual gifts and how to discern yours and such other topics that this text can also address.  But sometimes you just read a passage and a certain phrase just jumps off the page at you, commanding your attention.  As I was reading this, I had one of those phrases hit me; “…each member belongs to all the others.”

Never Ashamed – Always Say Never pt. 3

2 Timothy 1:8-12.

A Christmas ministry in the association of my first pastorate was really a good idea.  We provided clothing and toys for the less fortunate in a setting where they “shopped” through our donated goods and were witnessed to and prayed with our local pastors while their gifts were being wrapped for Christmas.  This was the first intentional witnessing event of my life and I was quite nervous.  I think it was the 3rd person I spoke with that accepted Jesus into their hearts.  My life has not been the same since.

Salt Shakers – Sermon Summary

“You are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men,” Matthew 5:13, NIV.

This sounds like one of those “good news/bad news” scenarios.  You are the salt of the earth and that is a great thing – congratulations.  However, if you don’t use what you have been given, its off to the dumpster for you!