"True Faith, True Freedom": A Sermon Outline for Sunday, July 24, 2011

True Faith, True Freedom

John 8:31-38

Proposition:  We must take great care to ensure we have true faith in Jesus for only such faith results in true freedom.

Transition:  I share with you  3 observations on the matter of faith from our text.

I.  There is a Faith which is False.

A.  This Faith Begins Well. (30)

B.  This Faith Does Not Continue. (31)

C.  This Faith Does Not Free. (32)

II.  There are Many Who have such Faith.

A.  They are Religious. (31)

B.  They Know of Jesus. (30)

C.  They Believe Something about Jesus. (30-31)

D.  They Profess Their Faith. (30)

E.  They Do Not Fool God. (30-31)

F.  They Abandon His Word. (31)

G.  They Will Not Repent. (33)

H.  They are Arrogant. (33)

I.  They are in Bondage.  (34)

J.  They Hate Christ. (37)

K.  They are Not of God. (38)

III.  They Need True Faith.

A.  Such Faith Dwells in God’s Word. (31)

B.  Such Faith Marks Christ’s Followers. (31)

C.  Such Faith Leads to the Truth. (32)

D.  Such Faith Produces True Freedom. (32)

1.  You are Free from Satan’s Power.

2.  You are Free from Spiritual Death.

3.  You are Free from Sin’s Condemnation.

4.  You are Free from Judgment.

5.  You are Free to Serve God.

"You Will Die in Your Sin": A Sermon Outline for Sunday, July 17, 2011

You Will Die in Your Sin!

John 8:21-30

Proposition:  We, like the Jews, are in a serious spiritual condition which, apart from Jesus, will lead us to our destruction.

Transition:  Let us consider the seriousness of our situation by thinking together on 3 matters brought out in our text.

I.  Our Spiritual Condition is Evident in Our Differences to Jesus.

A.  We have a different future. (21)

B.  We have a different nature. (23a)

C.  We have a different world view. (23b)

D.  We have different knowledge. (25-26a)

E.  We have a different authority. (26)

F.  We have a different relationship with God.  (27-29)

G.  We have a different objective. (29)

II.  Our Spiritual Condition Ends with Our Doom.

A.  Our End is Certain. (21, 24)

B.  Our End is the Result of Sin.

C.  Our End is Our Responsibility.

D.  Our End is in the Realm of Sin.

E.  Our End is Not Reversible.

III.  Our Spiritual Condition Must Embrace the Deliverer. (24)

A.  There is Hope!

B.  This Hope is Grasped by Faith!

C.  This Faith Must Be in Christ!

"Witness!": A Sermon Outline for Sunday, July 10, 2011

Witness!

John 8:13-20

Proposition: The witness of Jesus Christ is plain; the question is do we believe it?


Transition: I call upon each of us to consider what you believe concerning the witness of Jesus by making 4 observations from our text.

I. Observe the Accusation Stated by the Jews. (13)
     A. Note Their Charge
     B. Note Their Reason

II. Observe the Answer Supplied by Jesus. (14-18)
     A. His Witness is True Because of Who He is. (14)
     B. His Witness is True Because the Father Agrees. (15-16)
     C. His Witness is True Because the Law Concurs. (17-18)

III. Observe the Argument Submitted by the Jews. (19a)

IV. Observe the Appeal Shared by Jesus. (19b)
     A. Negatively, You Know Neither of Us.
     B. Positively, If You Knew Me, You Would Know My Father.

Pastoral Concern #4 - Baptism

If you wish to read my next pastoral concern on baptism, you may find it here.

Pastoral Concern #3 - Local Church Membership: Part 2

My third pastoral concern is posted here if you wish to read it.

"The Light of the World": A Sermon Outline for Sunday, July 3, 2011

The Light of the World

John 8:12

Proposition:  Even in the 21^st century, Jesus is the light of the world!

Transition:  I present to you 3 considerations on Jesus as the light of the world so we might reflect together on the importance of this statement to us today..

I.  Consider What Jesus Declares.

   A.  He is Light.

   B.  He is THE Light.

   C.  He is the Light OF THE WORLD.

   D.  He, and He Alone, is the Light of the World.

II.  Consider What Jesus Does.

   A.  Without Christ We Dwell in Darkness.

   B.  Christ Promises Light.

III.  Consider What Jesus Demands.

   A.  He Calls for Us to Follow.

   B.  he Calls ALL to Follow.

“Pastor, What Happened to John 7:53 Through 8:11?”

A Brief Explanation

I am a strong proponent of expository preaching, meaning the Biblical text drives the sermon. The message I proclaim must come “out of” the text. Furthermore, if I am going to allow the text to give rise to the message then the best way to do that is to preach straight through a book of the Bible, one verse at a time, in its context. For you who have sat under my preaching for the past two years, you are well aware of my approach. I began our first series together in Colossians 1:1 and went through that book. Next, we turned to Ruth, started in the first verse of that wonderful work, and went through all the verses. Since April of 2010, we have been moving through the Gospel of John, verse by verse, paragraph by paragraph. Last week I completed John 7:52. Some of you were likely expecting the message today to begin with John 7:53 and cover the account of the woman caught in adultery. But, as you see from the bulletin, that is not the case. Why am I, an expository preacher who preaches straight through Biblical books, “skipping” this particular story and moving to John 8:12?

First, let me assure you it has nothing to do with the subject matter, namely, adultery. Our society needs to hear much on that subject. Second, bypassing these verses has nothing to do with any fear on my part to handle these verses. I believe some of you know me well enough by now to realize I am not afraid to deal with the matters addressed by the Scripture.

But, therein is the reason I am not preaching these verses this morning. I do not believe they were part of John’s original Gospel. In other words, I am not convinced they are part of God’s inspired Word and, since I only preach from the Word of God, I will not preach these verses.

While I am not an expert in the field of textual criticism, there are many godly scholars who are. Textual criticism is a field in which scholars use very rigid principles in analyzing various copies of a document in order to determine what the original writing actually said when they do not have that original. This is the case with the Greek New Testament. We do not possess the original Gospel of John, only many copies (manuscripts) of it. I trust the work these scholars do for their goal is to recover the original writing of John so that we may know exactly what the Word of God says. For most of the New Testament, this is no longer an issue. The thousands of manuscript copies have confirmed the contents of the original writing.

However, these verses (John 7:53 – 8:11) form one paragraph in which the majority of manuscripts, including the better manuscripts, indicate this story was not in John’s original work. Most modern English translations contain a note indicating this strong possibility.

I believe the story is very probably true. Certainly the actions of Jesus within these verses are the actions we would expect from our Lord. Nothing in these verses contradicts any other Scripture or doctrinal issue. Furthermore, I see no errors of any kind in this paragraph. Nevertheless, I will not, I can not preach these verses since I only preach His Word and I am convinced they are not part of that Word.

If you would like to discuss this further with me, please let me know. For now, we move forward to John 8:12!