Sermons | The Overflow

I’ve been asked questions like those that make up the title of this blog post more than a couple of times in the past few years.

This morning, I had the privilege of walking the Downtown Church of Christ in Searcy, AR, through a lesson in which I tell a couple of stories about experiences I’ve had since moving to San Francisco. I also share the thought process and convictions behind mine and Airiel’s decision to live and minister on the west coast.

There are two goals I had for this lesson:

I wanted people to grasp the deep level of love God has for all mankind, and His desire to use the church to reach all mankind (I posted several Scriptures that highlight this about God here).
I wanted the members of the Downtown Church to think of missions, not just as work overseas or work in far-off corners of the globe, but also as work right here in the United States. We desperately need to see more evangelistic activity taking place in our major cities. I did my best to highlight the importance and practical benefits of evangelistic ministry therein, and also built a case as to why domestic missions in major U.S. cities should be a leading priority for our churches.

I’ve posted for you the lesson from the second service. I was more relaxed in my delivery, and left quite a bit more pleased with how it went than the sermon delivered in the first service.

Anyway, if you have a few minutes and want to listen to a couple of stories about my work in San Francisco, or if you’re interested in domestic missions in the United States, please check this lesson out.

Have a great day!

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Jun 23 2009

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Devotional Thoughts, Discipling, Leadership, Missional Living, Preaching, Resources, Sermons, Teaching, Theology

Faith IN Works, or Faith THAT Works?

[CLICK HERE to listen to this week’s lesson]

[CLICK HERE to get the PowerPoint]

John 3:16.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 [emphasis mine]

“All you have to do to be saved is believe. All you have to do is acknowledge that Jesus existed – that He lived, died, and rose again, and you’ll be saved.”

I’ve heard that message a lot. I remember listening to the radio as I was driving in Tampa a few years ago, and the broadcaster (his name escapes me) said, “If you have ever believed in God – even if it was just for a split second – you will be saved even if you don’t believe in Him now! 2 Timothy 2:13 says that if we are faithless God will remain faithful, and John 3:16 says …”

I was a brand new Christian at the time. As soon as I got home, I looked up the Scripture the guy on the radio quoted, and was a little confused as to why he hadn’t quoted the verses immediately preceding it … check it out:

“Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” 2 Timothy 2:11-13 [emphasis mine]

Yikes – what that guy was saying verse 13 meant didn’t mesh at all with verse 12, yet he was sharing his version of the message with thousands of listeners. I wonder how many bought it?

Martin Luther

I presented a lesson this past week on faith that works from James 1:21-25 and 2:14-26 (see also Hebrews 11; Matthew 7:21-29; John 14:15-24, 15:10; 2 John 1:6; Revelation 20:12)- something that broadcaster apparently hadn’t thought about much.

Did you know that Reformation leader Martin Luther hated the book of James? He called it an epistle of straw because he thought it contained a message of works-based salvation. In other words, Martin Luther thought the New Testament epistle of James taught people they had to earn their salvation – that they had to be ‘good enough’ for God to love them.

Luther did a whole lot of good for Christianity in general, but he completely missed the ball when it came to the book of James. That’s because Luther didn’t have the best understanding of what faith in Jesus really is.

So let’s ask the questions:

What is faith? Is faith simply a mental belief? Am I really saved if I mentally believe in God, mentally believe that Jesus is His Son, but neglect to follow His teachings? Do I really have faith if I refuse to obey?

I share what I think in the lesson – what do you think?

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May 18 2009

Matt Dabbs: Our View of Jesus Impacts the Way We Live

Matt Dabbs wrote a good article you ought to read: How We View Jesus Impacts the Way We Live.

Yesterday, the question was, “How do you view yourself?” – today, the question is, “How do you view Jesus?”

Just like the question, “Who am I?” has profound implications for how you’ll think and behave in the world, an even more important question is, “How do you view Jesus?”

In order for your identity to be firmly rooted in Him, you need to know the real Him – not what popular culture has turned Him into!

Jesus Christ is the Son of God – the Lord and Savior of mankind and the only bridge that exists, and ever will exist, between man and God. That’s a view of Jesus rooted in the teachings of the Bible – the real view.

The secular view of Jesus is not quite the same as what I’ve just shared. Popular culture teaches that Jesus is nothing more than “a spiritual life coach” (to quote Monte Cox from the Pepperdine Lectures) no different from every other religious leader found in the history of the world.

If your view of Jesus is no different than your view of Buddha, Muhammed, Ghandi, or … the list goes on and on … then it really doesn’t matter if you decide to live a Jesus-centered life or not, because your “Jesus” isn’t real!

Living a Jesus-centered life is only a blessing to you and the rest of the world if your Jesus is the real thing – if He’s a fraud, then so is your faith!

That’s going to sound pretty tough to a lot of people, but that’s the message of the Bible, and that’s what Matt’s article caused me to think about this morning.

If you’re interested in learning more, Mark Driscoll has a couple of good sermons posted online that will help you have a biblical understanding of who Jesus is … check it out:

You may have to spit out a few bones, but Mark does a good job of breaking down theology behind what Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection mean for those who decide to follow Him.

Give it a listen!

Tagged are all religions the same?, buddy jesus, how do you view jesus, kingdom living, Mark Driscoll, matt dabbs, the cross, who is jesus

The Overflow

"For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." -Jesus

Category Archives: Sermons

You’re Moving to San Francisco to Do Ministry Work? Why Bother?

Faith IN Works, or Faith THAT Works?

Matt Dabbs: Our View of Jesus Impacts the Way We Live