About Andrew Schank

Andrew Schank is an Independent Baptist Missionary/Pastor who loves to blog about spiritual matters! His main ministry website is http://www.togetherinthegap.com. Andrew is also a contributing author to two other blogs/websites including http://linked2leadership.com and http://www.ifbkjv.com. Pastor Schank's Church website is http://www.greatcommissionbaptist.org

How Pastors Can Build Better Sermon Outlines Tip #4

Most every preacher, especially pastors, use a sermon outline when standing before people to preach. Many, including myself, try to produce better outlines by the methods used to prepare them. One way to help you in the long term is to build your outlines on the computer. There are many software programs that lend themselves to this. Microsoft Word is one of the most popular.

**********
Note The Previous Posts In This Series
How Pastors Can Build Better Sermon Outlines Tip #2

**********

Tip #4 – Be Sure To Build Your Sermon Outlines On The Computer… If At All Possible!

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

Highlights Of The Video

  • Putting your outlines on the computer insures that you can actually READ your outline at a later date!
  • Putting your outlines on the computer creates an inventory from which you can pull from when building websites, blogs and other written material.
  • Putting your outlines on a computer makes for faster retrieval and better filing. 

In future posts, in this video series, we will share some tips that could help you build better outlines. By no means are we saying or implying that if you do not do things our way that you are wrong and we are right. These are simply helpful suggestions that have benefited my ministry!

Facebook Fan Page

Enhanced by Zemanta

_______________

10573: Preaching & Preachers Preaching & Preachers

By Martyn Lloyd-Jones / Zondervan

A classic from one of the most dynamic preachers of this century! Originally delivered as a series of lectures, Lloyd-Jones’s essays capture the essence of powerful preaching. His insights on the shape and preparation of the sermon, the preacher’s relationship to the congregation, and more will give you much to ponder as you write your next sermon.

Questions For Pastors When Being Forced Out

Hurricane_off_FloridaImage via Wikipedia

I have not read any statistics on this lately, but I am sure that a vast majority, upwards of 90%, of pastors have faced the situation of being forced out of the church in which they pastor. It is never a pretty picture, and usually ends in a bad way. Why does this happen? Should a pastor ever leave? Though these questions seem to be easily answered, it is not so simple when you are in the middle of the hurricane fighting to strengthen the things that remain!

Sometimes you feel that nobody cares about you. Having faced a form of this on a couple of occasions, I know exactly how it feels when the people that you love, pray for, help, and would die for, want to see you leave. It is also quite amazing how a pastor is treated by his fellow preachers when he does leave. It seems that when a pastor shares all of the gory details, making himself look good, that pastors are quick to get behind him. However, when a pastor tries to keep things “hush hush”, somehow he is always the problem; obviously hiding something. The truth of the matter is that neither scenario is 100% accurate.

Listed below are some questions that a pastor should ask himself when he feels that he is being forced out!

#1 – Pastor, Are You Digging The Hole Yourself?

  • Many times, pastors are the ones who are digging the hole in which they find themselves.
  • Look around and see if there are others in the hole with you!

#2 – Pastor, Are You Doing Right?

  • Sometimes, as pastors, we forget that we are capable of being the problem.
  • Before we dogmatically place blame upon certain members of the congregation, let us be sure that we are not guilty of some sin; public or private!
  • Like God did with King Saul, He might be allowing trouble to come our way to chasten us!

#3 – Pastor, Are You Seeking God’s Glory Or Your Own?

  • Being a glory hound will bring a church split in a hurry.
  • Your agenda, reputation, and will is not what is most important, no matter how spiritual you make think they are.
  • Pride in our own lives can be subtle and hard to detect.

#4 – Pastor, Are You Falling On The Wrong Sword?

  • Sometimes the issues (SURFACE ISSUE) which precipitate the forcing out of a pastor are complicated, but they can be rightly discerned.
  • Is the issue you are dieing over worth it?

#5 – Pastor, Are You Walking With God?

  • Being in the center of God’s will is what is most important!
  • Contrary to popular opinion, it is sometimes the will of God to clear off a spot and do like Moses and Joshua… “Who is on the LORD’s side” – “Choose you this day”
  • No matter how bleak things might seem, knowing for certain, the will of God brings comfort!

#6 – Pastor, Are You In Consultation With Your Pastor Or Another Objective Brother?

  • When in a difficult situation like is being described in this post, one needs help from their pastor.
  • War should not be waged alone, and it should not be waged by twins either. Don’t surround yourself with people who you know to be 100% agreeable with you.
  • A fresh pair of eyes can make the difference between victory and disaster!

#7 – Pastor, Are You Mistaking The Actions Of A Few For The Consensus Of The Majority?

  • When hurt and troubled, the giants seem to be in the majority!
  • No matter how much venom is being spewed at you, take the high road and remember that not everyone is against you!

#8 – Pastor, Are You Looking At The Bigger Picture?

  • The problem you face, when being forced out, is much bigger than you and your family!
  • As hard as it is on family and friends, keep the big picture in mind!
  • There will be another brother to follow you if you do, in fact, leave the church. Please try to avoid a scorched earth policy… for his sake!

#9 – Pastor, Are You Wanting To Leave In The First Place?

  • Are you just looking for an exit ramp!
  • If you are looking for any excuse to leave, then leave and keep your mouth shut!

#10 – Pastor, Are You Willing To Admit Possible Mistakes And Work Things Out?

  • It could be that the whole reason you feel pressure to leave is from a mistake on your part.
  • Regardless of the actions taken by others, try your best to admit your mistakes, bear the consequences and move on WITH the congregation.

Conclusion

Leaving a church voluntarily or by force of opinion/vote, is never easy. In the best of circumstances, when a pastor leaves a congregation, it is difficult to move forward. Often, people are caught in the middle and never recover fully from the unfortunate course of events. Assuredly, if a pastor considers the aforementioned questions, then he possibly can make a better decision about whether or not to leave the church he dearly loves.

Enhanced by Zemanta
_______________

Would you consider purchasing…

482279: Spiritual Leadership: A Commitment to Excellence for Every Believer Spiritual Leadership: A Commitment to Excellence for Every Believer

By J. Oswald Sanders / Moody Publishers

Charles Colson called it “the best book on Christian leadership I’ve read.” Discover why this timeless classic continues to equip tomorrow’s ministers—and challenges today’s shepherds—toward greater effectiveness! Revised and updated, Sanders’s hard-hitting study explores the essential qualities of a godly leader—and offers sterling examples from Scripture and Christian history. Includes study guide.
In these pages, J. Oswald Sanders presents the key principles of leadership in both the temporal and spiritual realms, illustrating his points with examples from Scriptures and the biographies of emenent men of God.

God Is Real

This outline reminds us that God is real. Furthermore, if He is indeed real, then there are significant ramifications. To those who are saved, we must live in light of it’s truth. For the sinner, Hell is waiting if they do not repent and place their faith in God’s Christ.

Title: “God Is Real!”

Text: Deuteronomy 4:35 Read verses 33-40

(Deuteronomy 4:33-40) “Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him. Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire. And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt; To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day. Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever.”  (KJV)


Introduction:

•    The book of Deuteronomy consists of the parting counsels of Moses delivered to Israel in view of their impending entrance upon their covenanted possession. (Scofield’s Notes)
•    In our verses we find the great leader, Moses, instructing the new generation of Israelites that had grown up in the years of wandering.
•    He reminds them of the reality of God in their lives!
•    Many times we hear truths and just implore them as beliefs and yet somehow only understand them as abstract and not really tangible!
•    The Bible is not a history book that gives info from ashes, but is a book alive and real because it is a living book!

(Hebrews 4:12) “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  (KJV)

•    The Bible, from the very first verse, makes it plain that God is real!
•    Many live their lives as if God is just a myth like the great nations of the past embraced!
•    We say that we believe He is real as Christians but we do not exhibit any proof of that in our lives many times!
•    Consider the following about God:

- God is a spirit – John 4:24; 2 Corinthians 3:17
- GOD IS DECLARED TO BE
    • Light – Isaiah 60:19; James 1:17; 1 John 1:5
    • Love – 1 John 4:8,16
    • Invisible – Job 23:8,9; John 1:18; 5:37; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17
    • Unsearchable – Job 11:7; 37:23; Psalms 145:3; Isaiah 40:28; Romans 11:33
    • Incorruptible – Romans 1:23
    • Eternal – Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalms 90:2; Revelation 4:8-10
    • Immortal – 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16
    • Omnipotent – Genesis 17:1; Exodus 6:3
    • Omniscient – Psalms 139:1-6; Proverbs 5:21
    • Omnipresent – Psalms 139:7; Jeremiah 23:23
    • Immutable – Psalms 102:26,27; James 1:17
    • Only-wise – Romans 16:27; 1 Timothy 1:17
    • Glorious – Exodus 15:11; Psalms 145:5
    • Most High – Psalm 83:18; Acts 7:48
    • Perfect – Matthew 5:48
    • Holy – Psalms 99:9; Isaiah 5:16
    • Just – Deuteronomy 32:4; Isaiah 45:21
    • True – Jeremiah 10:10; John 17:3
    • Upright – Psalms 25:8; 92:15
    • Righteous – Ezra 9:15; Psalms 145:17
    • Good – Psalms 25:8; 119:68
    • Great – 2 Chronicles 2:5; Psalms 86:10
    • Gracious – Exodus 34:6; Psalms 116:5
    • Faithful – 1 Corinthians 10:13; 1 Peter 4:19
    • Merciful – Exodus 34:6,7; Psalms 86:5
    • Long-suffering – Numbers 14:18; Micah 7:1
    • Jealous – Joshua 24:19; Nahum 1:2
    • Compassionate – 2 Kings 13:23
    • A consuming fire – Hebrew 12:29
- None beside him – Deuteronomy 4:35; Isaiah 44:6
- None before him – Isaiah 43:10
- None like to him – Exodus 9:14; Deuteronomy 33:26; 2 Samuel 7:22; Isaiah 46:5,9; Jeremiah 10:6
- None good but God – Matthew 19:17
- God Fills heaven and earth – 1 Kings 8:27; Jeremiah 23:24
- God Should be worshiped in spirit and in truth – John 4:24

(Isaiah 44:6) “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”  (KJV)

(Isaiah 43:10) “Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.”  (KJV)

(Exodus 9:14) “For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.”  (KJV)

(Deuteronomy 33:26) “There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.”  (KJV)

(2 Samuel 7:22) “Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.”  (KJV)

(Isaiah 46:9) “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,”  (KJV)

(Jeremiah 10:6) “Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.”  (KJV)

•    Since God is real, then:

o    Christians need to be Christians!
o    People need to be preached to!
o    Sin must be seen as exceeding sinful!
o    Sinners need to be saved!

Proposition: Understanding that God is real there are four simple truths we must remember this morning!

I.    If God Is Real Then Prayer Takes On New Meaning!

A.    We pray because the God of Heaven has put it in our hearts to cry unto Him for help!

B.    Even a pagan will cry out for help when he is desperate!

C.    The child of God has the grand opportunity to engage in solemn and sweet communion with the God of the universe!

D.    People say God is not real, but I say if that is so, then who is answering my prayers?

II.    If God Is Real Then Heaven Is A Real Place!

A.    Everybody wants to believe in a “heaven”, but not all can lay claim on that majestic place!

B.    Some say that heaven is only had here on earth, but that is not really a reasonable hypothesis!

C.    Heaven is described in the Bible in a way that is much more grand!

D.    Consider what R.A. Torrey compiled about Heaven:

- Heaven was created by God – Genesis 1:1; Revelation 10:6
- Everlasting – Psalms 89:29; 2 Corinthians 5:1
- Immeasurable – Jeremiah 31:37
- High – Psalms 103:11; Isaiah 57:15
- Holy – Deuteronomy 26:15; Psalms 20:6; Isaiah 57:15
- God’s dwelling-place – 1 Kings 8:30; Matthew 6:9
- God’s throne – Isaiah 66:1; Acts 7:49
- GOD
    • Is the Lord of Heaven – Daniel 5:23; Matthew 11:25
    • Reigns in Heaven – Psalms 11:4; 135:6; Daniel 4:35
    • Fills Heaven – 1 Kings 8:27; Jeremiah 23:24
    • Answers his people from Heaven – 1 Chronicles 21:26; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Nehemiah 9:27; Psalms 20:6
    • Sends his judgments from Heaven – Genesis 19:24; 1 Samuel 2:10; Daniel 4:13,14; Romans 1:18
- CHRIST
    • As Mediator, entered into Heaven – Acts 3:21; Hebrews 6:20; 9:12,24
    • Is all-powerful in Heaven – Matthew 28:18; 1 Peter 3:22
- Angels are in Heaven – Matthew 18:10; 24:36
- Names of saints are written Heaven – Luke 10:20; Hebrews 12:23
- Saints rewarded in Heaven – Matthew 5:12; 1 Peter 1:4
- Repentance occasions joy in Heaven – Luke 15:7
- Lay up treasure in Heaven – Matthew 6:20; Luke 12:33
- Flesh and blood cannot inherit Heaven – 1 Corinthians 15:50
- Happiness of Heaven described – Revelation 7:16,17
- HEAVEN IS CALLED
    • A garner – Matthew 3:12
    • The kingdom of Christ and of God – Ephesians 5:5
    • The Father’s house – John 14:2
    • A heavenly country – Hebrews 11:16
    • A rest – Hebrews 4:9
    • Paradise – 2 Corinthians 12:2,4
- The wicked excluded from Heaven – Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:5; Revelation 22:15
- Enoch and Elijah were translated into Heaven – Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5; 2 Kings 2:11

E.    Heaven will be gained by the child of God as sure as the turning of the earth!

F.    God is real and Heaven is the place that He has chosen to call home!


III.    If God Is Real Then Hell Is A Reality!

A.    If God is real, then Heaven is real; and if there is a Heaven, then there is a Hell!

B.    Hell is not a place that anyone would want to go to!

C.    The Bible has a lot to say about Hell!

DESCRIBED AS:
Everlasting punishment – Matthew 25:46
    • Everlasting fire – Matthew 25:41
    • Everlasting burnings – Isaiah 33:14
    • A furnace of fire – Matthew 13:42,50
    • A lake of fire – Revelation 20:15
    • Fire and brimstone – Revelation 14:10
    • Unquenchable fire – Matthew 3:12
    • Devouring fire – Isaiah 33:14

D.    Nobody has to go there, but all that reject Christ will be there as sure as I am preaching to you guys!

E.    God is real and Hell is real! Everyone who has a brain between there ears knows that I am telling the truth!

IV.    If God Is Real Then Man Must Repent And Be Saved!

A.    If God was not real then lets go and live it up!

B.    But if God IS real then this is serious business!

C.    Sin has separated man from God since the Garden of Eden!

D.    Man must turn from his sin and be saved by the grace of God if he is to shun Hell and gain Heaven!

E.    The Devil tries to lull many to sleep and gloss over the reality of God!


Conclusion:

•    God is real and we must remember that!
•    Sinner be saved!

  • join our mailing list
    * indicates required

    Powered by MailChimp