Assignment: Write sermon on The New Birth.
I. Preaching The Meaning.
Homiletics is the science of sermon building. Address v. Sermon (based on the Bible) You can borrow brains not ... Preaching is supposed to be teaching.[Preaching is teaching with flames on the lips and tears in the eyes. <-- Evangelist Al Lacy]
Persuasion...Instruction for a response. [Persuade people to action.] Where there in no Summons there is no Sermon. [Invitation: seeking a response.] A. Three (3) Kinds of Sermons. [None are superior.] 1. Topical Preaching--Not restricted to the text or passage for its major or minor divisions. Are you teaching your people the Bible? 2. Textual Preaching--One that must derive its main divisions from the text. Subdivisions may come from other verses and materials. 3. Expository Preaching--One that must derive its main and subdivisions from the text. An organized outline exegesis of a portion of Scripture. [You ought to be going through a book of the Bible one day.] Exegesis--bring out of. [Isogesis--read into.] Be careful of accommodation theology. [Textual Outline.] "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18) [Supportive material from word study.] (1) What are we invited to do? ... Come. Charles Spurgeon illustration. Use the Bible's words. (2) Who is doing the inviting? ... The Lord. We ought to feel greatly honored. (3) What are we invited to receive? ... Sins washed away. [I can make you white as snow.] Find a verse. Where are the natural clevages? "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20) (1) The Position of Christ ... I stand at the door. Where is Christ in your life? (2) The Purpose of Christ ... I will come in to him. (3) The Promise of Christ ... I will sup with him and he with me. Topical Example "And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." (Mark 8:34) Five (5) Steps of the Ladder of Christian Success. (1) Make Up Your Mind ... Whosoever will come after me. (2) Give Up Yourself ... Let him deny himself. (3) Find a Job ... Take up the cross (burden/responsibility). (4) Gather Up Your Loyalties. (5) Keep Up Your Contact ... Follow me. Basic truth of preaching are never going to change. Why spoil the river when there is a bridge. Topical Example "Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes." (Haggai 1:6) Bags That Have Holes. (1) Conflicting Allegiance ... We ought to schedule around the Lord. (2) Convenient Christianity. (3) Concealed Sin. (4) Counterfeit Profession ... Right within the local church is a mission field. (5) Choosing to Remain Unsaved. Textual Example "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) (1) The Source of Salvation ... God. (2) The Grounds of Salvation ... So loved. (3) The Scope of Salvation ... The world. (4) The Condition of Salvation ... Whosoever believeth in Him. (5) The Result of Salvation ... Everlasting life.