ECYC 2012

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Eastern Canada Youth Conference

ECYC 2012: Bible Boot Camp

Jean Ross

Preaching for Decisions

I think it's time for us to get started here and welcome.

And today we're going to be talking a little bit about preaching for decisions and it's going to be very practical as we get into it here in just a minute.

It's how do you prepare a sermon, and where do you get your ideas from, and how do you build that.

So that's going to be our focus here for a little bit this afternoon.

All of you are able to see the PowerPoint OK?

Let me move myself over here and make sure you can see it.

OK, well, just before we get going, let me tell you a little bit about myself.

Then we'll have a word of prayer, and we'll get right to it.

How many of you have heard of Amazing Facts?

It's a four-month training program that we have over there in California.

I'm the director of AFCO and the Evangelism Program for Amazing Facts.

I'm also pastoring a church that we started about 4 and 1 1 1 1 years ago in the suburbs of Sacramento.

So we kept pretty busy with everything going on.

So if you pick up a little bit of an accent, that's what it is.

I like to tell people I'm from the South way South but I've been here for a while since about 2000 and no it was 92 I think I came so it's been a little while that we've been here anyway let's just bow heads and we'll start with the word of prayer Father once again we thank you that we're able to be here.

We thank you for this opportunity to talk about how we can effectively and meaningfully prepare sermons that we can share that'll lift up Jesus and will draw people closer to you.

So We pray for your presence and pray for guidance in Jesus name, Amen.

Okay so you go back from the seminar and the pastor comes to you and says you know what we got the special youth emphasis coming up and we would like you to preach for that seminar or the sermon, I want you to do the sermon coming up.

And so you think, okay, well that's great.

How do you actually put something together?

How many of you preach on a regular basis?

How many of you have preached before at some point?

So you're going to have to prepare a sermon.

What I'd like to do in this presentation is we'll keep it real practical I want to talk basically about 2 types of sermons now there's many but I'm gonna just zone in on 2 simple types of sermons and how you'd go about preparing these sermons, putting them together.

So what I've done is this is a sermon, these are actually my sermon notes, a sermon that I preached some time back called Because Jesus is Coming, and it's a fairly simple outline, but I wanted to point out a few things.

Obviously you got your introduction, I'll talk about that in a little bit, and then you got your 3 main points.

My first point was because Jesus is coming we must endure, because Jesus is coming we have hope and because Jesus is coming the best is yet to come.

You got your introduction, you got your 3 main points that you want to bring out and then your conclusion.

Now what I typically do if I do this type of a sermon which is more topical based I will come up with what my general theme is, what I'm going to be preaching on, and then I ask myself a few questions about that.

And the topic is because Jesus is coming.

So I spend some time in prayer, and I ask the question, what does that mean that Jesus is coming?

And from that time in prayer and asking those kind of questions, you come up with your main points.

For me, because Jesus is coming, we need to endure.

Because Jesus is coming, the best is yet to come.

Once you've got your 3 main points together then you begin working on what your introduction is going to be.

I like to write out my introduction because I want to make sure that I say it right just to get started on the sermon and I usually spend a little more time on the conclusion.

Now again this is just a simple format to put a sermon together so you can preach it.

In this case this is what I said for the introduction because Jesus is coming.

For 3 and a half years the disciples had been with Jesus.

They believed Him to be the promised Messiah, the Son of the living God.

So when Jesus told them that He was to lead them and return to His Father in Heaven, their hearts were filled with sadness.

When Jesus saw the sadness on their faces, He said to them, let not your hearts be troubled.

If you believe in God, believe also in me.

We have this hope that burns within our hearts, hope in the coming of the Lord.

Now, I will go through this until I know it.

I don't read the introduction, I will just speak the introduction, I'll just tell the folks the introduction.

And I'll build it up to try and emphasize this general theme, because Jesus is coming again we have a hope that burns within our hearts, hope in the coming of the Lord.

Then I'll say something like because Jesus is coming then I'll bring in my first point, in this case because Jesus is coming we must endure.

Now with this type of sermon it's very structured and it's simple, I will make a point then I'll bring up a passage from scripture to strengthen that point then I will give a Bible story to illustrate that point and then I'll give a general illustration and then I move to the next point and the next point I'll have a Bible verse to emphasize that point I'll have a Bible story and then I'll have another illustration and then I move to the next point you see the simple format that you follow so I use the same structure whenever I do this type of a sermon.

I'll just change this from, because Jesus is coming, we must endure, I'll change it to whatever the topic is.

I'll change the verse, the Bible story, and the illustration, but I even leave these subtitles here to kind of guide me all my way through.

Also, just 1 other thing about the structure of the sermon, I always use this type of a format where you have 2 columns.

And in some cases, some of the sermons might be more than 1 page, and so I'll have 2 pages, but I use the same format.

So when it comes to preaching the sermon, let's say the sermon is this, and I have 1 column here and another column there, I'll fold that over like that, And then I will put it in the inside cover of my Bible.

Now what I'll do is I'll get double-sided tape.

I get double-sided tape and I stick it on the page there and I'll stick it to the cover of my Bible.

And if I have more than 1 page for my notes, the second page I will fold and stick on here.

So you kind of have a little book on your inside cover, you turn over here it is and you can put as many pages as you want but that way you keep everything in 1 place and it's right there on the Bible or in the Bible.

Alright so we make our 3 points and the first point in this case is because Jesus is coming we need to endure and then I'll tell the story about Daniel or rather Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that's the emphasis there, how that they endured, they stood firm, they trusted in God, Likewise we also need to endure.

So I spend quite a bit of time in preparing in going through that passage of scripture in Daniel chapter 3.

I go through it several times to make sure that it's very real to me.

I try to imagine the scene as best I can, at least in my mind's eye.

Tell the story as meaningfully and as passionately as you can.

Make it come alive when you tell the story.

So you give the Bible story to illustrate the point and then you go into some other illustration.

Now you can get illustrations from various sources, personal stories are always good and I use several of these personal stories in this.

I just put down the story so that I'll remember what it is.

The Evangelism Cycle

Let's go ahead and begin with a little word of prayer and then we'll get into what we're gonna be talking about.

Dear Father in heaven, once again we thank you that we're able to be here.

Thank you for the opportunity for us to share ideas and study together and learn ways in which we can be more effective in doing the greatest work that can ever be done, that is seeking souls for the kingdom.

So we ask your blessing upon our time together.

Together give us wisdom and understanding for we ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

Okay, this morning we're going to be talking about the evangelism cycle, a practical way of organizing, outreach, and evangelism in your local church.

Now, I'm sure all of us are connected with some kind of a local Adventist church.

What can we do in a practical way to really make a difference?

Those are some of the things we're gonna look at.

Now, You've probably heard this statement before.

It says, Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching the people.

How many methods, according to this quote, will give true success in evangelism?

So if we can figure out what Christ's method of evangelism is and if we would do that, we would have true success in reaching the people.

The Savior mingled with men as 1 who desired their good.

He ministered to their needs and he won their confidence.

So if we take Christ's method and we put it together on a chart, There are 3 main areas that we want to think about.

How did Jesus often win their confidence?

He fed 5, 000 people, but what was it that He did more than any other?

That's following Christ's method to win people's confidence.

And once He won their confidence, then he was able to share the word.

Now out of these 3, making friends, winning people's confidence, and sharing the word, where do you think we as Adventists typically are the strongest out of these 3 areas?

Making friends, winning confidence, or sharing the Word?

I've had an opportunity to travel all over the place and do the same presentation, always ask the same question here, and we always get the same response, sharing the word.

How important is it for us to effectively share the word?

Now how do you think we as Adventists share the word?

What are some of the things we do or some of the things that we have to help us effectively share the Word?

What are some of the resources that we make available?

All right, we have all kinds of books, so there's literature outreach.

Oh, we got television, we got radio, we got media, we got the internet, what else do we do?

Is that an effective means of sharing the word?

I'll be sharing with you later on this afternoon some very powerful quotes with reference to public evangelism and its significance and its importance.

Are there resources available to help us in our Bible studies?

Yes, there are all kinds of Bible studies and resources.

And I think that's good and we want to keep working towards being as effective as we can in sharing the word.

There is power in the preaching of the word.

My wife had a co-worker, she's a nurse, and it was somebody that she was working with who showed an interest in spiritual things, but she was very skeptical.

She would be the kind that would ask questions like, well, if God's so big and so powerful, if he's all powerful, is it possible for God to create a rock that is so big that he can't pick it up?

Have you heard that kind of reasoning before?

Or where did God come from if he made everything?

Anyway, we were going to have a Bible study with her.

My wife had set it all up, so we got together and we started doing the Bible study and she came up with all of these kinds of questions.

And so anyway, in our Bible study, we were looking at the passage of Scripture where God appeared to Moses in the burning bush.

And we read the story how that Moses was leading the sheep in the wilderness and he saw this strange sight, a bush that was burning that was not being consumed.

And Moses went over to the bush and God spoke to Moses and said, take your sandals off your feet for the place where you are standing is Holy ground.

And then God said, I've heard the cry of my people Israel, go bring them out of Egypt.

And Moses says, I can't go, I can't speak.

And then he said, but when I go, the people will say, well, who sent you?

And Moses responded and said, or God responded to Moses and said, tell them that the I am that I am has sent you.

Now we're going through, we're reading through the story with her and we read that verse where Moses comes up with all of the excuses and then God just says tell them the I am that I am has sent you and he's quiet she just listens she begins thinking finally she responds and she says why didn't you show me this verse first because if you had showed me this verse first I wouldn't have asked all of those silly questions.

God doesn't always give reasons, he just says I am that I am and there is power in that.

So there's power in sharing the word, power in sharing the word.

So we want to do preaching, teaching, Bible studies as effectively, evangelism as effectively as it can.

All right, out of the other 2, making friends or winning people's confidence, where do you think we are typically the weakest now?

Making friends or winning people's confidence?

How many of you think making friends, that's kind of where we're weak.

All right, what about winning people's confidence?

Okay, now it's probably close, but my leaning is more to winning people's confidence, and here's why, because I think most of us have somebody that we know, maybe a family member, maybe a neighbor, maybe a work colleague that's not an Adventist, and they're good friends, we're good friends with them, but they're not interested in spiritual things.

How do you awaken an interest in spiritual things?

How do you win somebody's confidence so that you can begin to share with them the Word of God?

I'll give you an illustration of how we can do this.

We had just moved to a new home in Sacramento and a few houses down from where we were staying, there was a family, Nick and his wife, and their children were, let's see, they were at upper high school, and we struck up a friendship.

Characteristics of a Healthy Church, Part 1

Well good, we're going to go ahead and get started with our afternoon.

We've got a number of interesting things that we're going to be looking at.

Just before we get started, let's bow our heads with a level word of prayer.

Father once again we thank you that we're able to be here.

Thank you for this opportunity to learn and we do pray that we'll be able to apply the things that we've learned to make a difference for your kingdom and for our own personal spiritual growth.

This afternoon we're going to be looking at some characteristics that make for a healthy church.

Now what's interesting about this is these characteristics are not only true for churches but they're also very true for individuals.

What makes us a healthy Christian, a healthy Adventist Christian?

There are these 10 characteristics that we're going to be looking at.

The first characteristic is this, we need to have a clear identity.

Characteristic number 1, we need to have a clear identity.

Revelation chapter 12 verse 7, these are familiar words, and the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the remnant or the rest of offspring who keep the commandments of God and they have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Dragon is Satan right and he's off to make war with the woman.

Why is it that in prophecy a woman represents a church?

Why does a woman in Bible prophecy represent a church?

Yes, Paul speaks of Christ as being the groom and the church as being the bride.

And you can find that theme several times in scripture all the way back to the Old Testament where God speaks to Israel and saying I'm your husband and you've left me type thing.

Now something else about the idea of a church representing a woman, of course in Revelation you've got 2 women described.

The 1 is in Revelation chapter 12, the same chapter.

Early on in the chapter it describes a woman standing upon the moon clothed in white.

Now who does that woman represent in chapter 12?

The 1 standing upon the moon represents the pure church, right?

What do the 12 stars in her crown represent?

The number 12 is significant in prophecy.

Leaders, the church, you've got the 12 tribes of the Old Testament, you've got the 12 apostles of the New Testament.

So the woman has a crown of 12 stars representing God's true church.

In the Old Testament era, it would be the 12 tribes.

In the New Testament era, it would be the 12 apostles.

Now what's the significance of a garment?

Being clothed, a garment, she's clothed in the sun.

What do you think the significance of that could be?

The Old Testament says the sun, S-U-N, shall arise with healing in his wings, speaking of Christ.

What do you think the moon would represent in Revelation 12?

And if the sun is Jesus, where do we find the clearest reflection of Jesus?

You can get a reflection of Christ, but where would you find the clearest?

So the clearest reflection of Jesus is found in his word, and what is the woman standing upon?

It's the Word of God, where we find Christ reflected.

Okay, something else interesting about woman in prophecy, it's all over the place, even in the New Testament, especially in the New Testament, you find a number of interesting points here.

If you look in Luke, Luke chapter I believe it's 17, yes, Luke chapter 17, and if you look at verse 34, Luke 17 verse 34, we're still talking about the church representing, or the woman representing the church.

Luke chapter 17 verse 34, would someone read that verse for us?

Okay, now what is Jesus talking about here in this parable?

What event is he describing or speaking of?

And Jesus says it's going to be like it was in the days of Lot And then he goes on and he says, in that night there will be 2 men in 1 bed, the 1 will be taken, the other will be left.

How many of you have heard this verse used to support the idea of a secret rapture?

Okay, this is 1 of the favorite verses that's been used.

But if you just take a little step further and think about it, what does sleep in the Bible often represent?

There are 2 men asleep, the one's taken, the other's left.

What event do you think has been highlighted in that verse?

The 1 will be taken, the other will be left.

And in the second example that Jesus used in verse 35, there are 2 women grinding at the mill, the ones taken, the others left.

In Bible prophecy, What does a woman represent?

So there's 2 kinds of churches when Jesus comes.

What does the grinding at the mill represent?

So there's 2 groups of churches, 2 churches both claiming to be preaching the Word of God, but Jesus says the 1 will be ready and will be taken, the other will be lost.

And then the third example that Jesus used, verse 36, 2 men will be in the field.

The field represents the world, the 1 is taken and the other is lost.

So Jesus is emphasizing that at the second coming there are these 2 distinct groups.

Something else that's interesting still on the theme of a woman representing a church in the gospel of Mark you have the story of a man by the name of Jairus who comes to Jesus 1 day and he says please come with me my little girl is at the point of death.

So Jesus says, okay, I'm going to come with you.

So Jesus is on his way, and there's a big crowd of people around Jesus, and they're all bumping into him and they're pressing up against Christ.

And while he's traveling to Jairus' house, there is another woman, or there's a woman, that comes to Jesus who has a flowing of blood.