TEACHING MISSION
“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: whereunto I also labour, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily” (Colossians 1:27-29).
In coming alongside the settled pastor, or ministering unto a congregation that is currently without a pastor, our preaching can come in the form of special meetings or conferences, speaking engagements, Sunday school classes, home Bible studies, or expositional preaching on Sunday or Mid-week services.
Treatable or Incurable Diseases and Death…
When first faced with the symptoms of ALS and the very real possibility that I may only have as little as 24 months left on the planet, I was shocked to find that, apart from the believers at Scammon Bay Covenant Church, there were so few professing Christians that really understood what true Biblical Christianity is all about. I had become so grieved that so many people who called themselves Christians placed such a high and prominent value on life in this present age, and had given such blatant disregard and dishonor to the truth that the believer who dies goes immediately into the glorious presence of the ascended Lord seated at the right hand of Majesty.
In speaking upon things surrounding life, death, illness, natural disasters, many who profess the name of Christ need a real wake-up call. We need to ask, “Is my allegiance wholly and completely to Christ, or is it somewhere else?”
CLICK HERE to view some of the sermon titles and subject topics within this category.
Missions…
As my girls were growing up, besides reading the Scriptures together in our family devotions, in the evening we would read biographies of missionaries: Hudson Taylor, Mary Slessor, Brother Andrew, and so on¾ therefore, when a congregation wants to hear about what God is doing among the Yup’ik people of bush Alaska, it is certainly my pleasure to oblige them…
We witnessed the Lord do some amazing things in the short time we were in Alaska. CLICK HERE to read more about our previous mission to Scammon Bay.
An even greater blessing, both to us and the congregations hearing about Alaska missions, is the preaching and teaching of God’s Word with regard to missions. When preaching and teaching about what the Bible says about missions, there will be many illustrations drawn from our time in the Alaskan bush.
CLICK HERE to view some of the sermon titles and subject topics within this category.
Evangelism…
Here’s a church growth strategy for you: PREACH THE GOSPEL! I actually say that tongue in cheek, so to speak. The thing is, I don’t think about church growth techniques of strategies because when I think of the church growth movements and marketing church methods, it rather makes my blood boil.
We have been given the glorious honor and privilege to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ crucified, buried, risen, ascended and coming again; yet, we live in a time and age when too many church leaders are so snake-fascinated with visible results that we have forsaken what is most important and most glorious, or at the very least made the preaching of the gospel of Christ as casual as reading census statistics.
Preaching the gospel is foolishness to the intellectuals and a stumbling block to the religious because the preaching of the Cross of Christ is absolutely absurd to the world. Its absurdity is what gives God the glory when He saves a soul by His sovereign grace and efficacious power.
CLICK HERE to view some of the sermon titles and subject topics within this category.
Hebrew Perspectives…
Hebrew perspectives in Scripture can actually be an accident waiting to happen, so to speak. Because of the total depravity of man’s fallen condition, even the regenerate man can have a tendency to fall into legalism and all sorts of mischief when certain aspects of Hebrew or opened to our studies. Nevertheless, to neglect the valuable insights that Hebrew studies can bring to our understanding, robs us of very rich opportunities to glorify our Lord. Our messages in this category will help the saint negotiate through the mind field of falsehoods that Satan has laid.
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Lordship & Stewardship…
It’s been said that, statistically, 80% of the ministry within the church is accomplished by 20% of the congregation. We actually fall short in stewardship because we fall short in Lordship.
We don’t make Jesus Christ Lord; HE IS LORD. He didn’t need my help or yours to raise Him from the dead, to help Him ascend into heaven, or to seat Him at the right hand of majesty on high. Jesus Christ is Lord and we need to humbly submit to that truth. When we do, our stewardship begins to fall into place.
CLICK HERE to view some of the sermon titles and subject topics within this category.
Family…
The family is such an important part of God’s economy. He instituted the family from the very beginning when He created man and woman and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply. God refers to heaven and earth as a family. We are called children of our heavenly Father. It is in the seed of Abraham, the promise of the Messiah, shall all families of the earth be blessed.
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Worship…
When my family and I returned to Southern California from the Philippine mission field in 1995, the language among many attending church was that one immediately thought of the musical or singing portion of the service when worship was mentioned. Although the part of our service that allows us to sing praise, adoration, and thanksgiving to the Lord is certainly a part of worship, however, true, spiritual worship is much more than that.
Worship today in many places seems to have set sail for a course it was never designed to travel. Some congregations have gone as far as to use the musical/singing portion of the church service in order to attract unbelievers to their gatherings. This is not Biblical worship. Worship, generally speaking, is a response to that which we esteem valuable.
True, spiritual worship is an appropriate, Holy Spirit prompted response to the revelation of God’s holiness in His infinite glory, graces, majesty, and excellencies. Therefore, in our worship, we should honor God and esteem Him infinitely valuable above all else. The reality is that we fall short; nevertheless, we should desire to grow with increasing maturity in order to honor God and glorify Him with that due His infinite and eternal Majesty.
CLICK HERE to view some of the sermon titles and subject topics within this category.
