You are here: Home / Archives for Ministry

THE SERMON

by

THE SERMON

 

By Ken Blue

The sermon is never an end in itself, but rather, the means to an end. The question that should be asked concerning every sermon is, “what end do I want to achieve?” I am confident that the only goal of many pastors is to preach another sermon, because that is expected of him. Their only purpose is to promulgate the truth with no other objective in mind.

We must ask the question of ourselves, what do I want people to know, be, or do as a result of this message? The sermon should be developed in such a manner that the above will be achieved. The proposition, ( the point to be discussed or maintained in argument usually stated in sentence form near the outset), should be stated somewhere at the beginning of the sermon. Everything thereafter must support that purpose. Avoid making the sub-points little sermons. Each point must support the title of your sermon. The minor points under these should consist of supportive text and illustrations to illuminate the sermon purpose.

The five major parts of a sermon are:

1. The title of the message.

2. The text supporting the message.

3. The introduction to the message.

4. The body or argument of the message. (The argument will have from two to seven sub-points.)

5. The conclusion of the message.

If one is preaching through a book of the Bible, it will help if he finds a Bible with paragraph markings, and then develop the topic within the paragraph. Don’t assume that the more Scripture one has in a sermon, the more effective it will be. It is best to have one objective to accomplish, and then convince the people to accept it. A running commentary from verse to verse gives more information than one can digest.

Sermons fall into several categories. Most pastors use a computer today. I suggest that they create a sermon folder, and then create folders within it for each book study, topics, series, etc. Save your work for future use. You could also create a template, as below, with the five parts of a sermon, and then use it for each sermon you develop. I hope these thoughts help someone.

 

 Date:

Subject:

Topic:

 Title:

 Text:

Introduction:

OUTLINE:

I.            

A.          

B.           

II.          

A.          

B.           

III.        

A.          

B.

Conclusion:

LEADERS ARE DECISION MAKERS

by

Leaders
©

 

By Ken Blue

Leaders of  great organizations were ask, “how did you become a great leader?’ They responded, “By making right decisions.” To which the novice responded, “How did you learn to make right decisions?” “By making wrong ones;” they all agreed.

Leadership is all about making decisions, and if you are to last in that position, you had better learn to make the right ones. People will not respect or follower a leader for long that cannot make right decisions.

Right decisions require, first of all, some skull work. You must think it through before you put your mouth in gear. A major problem of the amateur leader is that he speaks before he thinks. This character flaw must be corrected. You cannot make comments, and then tell people they did not understand you. You are blaming them for your double-mindedness. Think it through first.

One of the best examples of leadership is seen in the book of Nehemiah. He knew the problem, and the need. Necessity is the mother of invention. He prayed, and was ready if called upon. He surveyed the situation, but told no one what God had put in his heart until he had all the facts. Read his strategy, and learn from him.

Remember, you are not a leader because you make decision. You become a better leader because you make right decisions, and have followers. If you have the aptitude, you can learn to become a better leader. There’s many helps available; take advantage of them.

GLORY TO GOD!!!

by

 By Ken Blue

 

 

When I received the note and picture from Pastor Murphy, I bowed my head and wept for joy. I hope you can rejoice with the great people at Open Door. Here is the message Pastor Murphy sent me.

 

Pastor Blue,

This is a picture from last Sunday night “special recognition service” We had 31 people join the church and 22 people baptized last Sunday night. We had a total of 68 go through the discipleship classes. (Sunday evening).

 

Praise the Lord for what he is doing at Open Door it truly is a miracle on 44th ave in Lynnwood Wa. Warren Wiersbe said, “If you can explain it, than God is not in it”. I am thankful that I cannot explain it. Thanks again for laying such a great foundation at Open Door; it truly has made my job much easier. Feel free to post this picture on your blog and write anything you want to go with it.

Thanks

Pastor Jason Murphy

Open Door Baptist Church

Lynnwood, WA

425.743.4922

 

Pastors, one of the purposes of my ministry is to encourage you, and get you to believe God wants your church to grow. Great sermons, Bible Conferences, A soul winning night, or the kind of music you may have will not do it. It takes more.  I believe God can do the same for you and your church. Contact Pastor Murphy, and discover what they are doing that God is blessing. You will be glad you did.

NOTHING HAPPENS WITHOUT LEADERSHIP

by

This sermon describes the importance of leadership in the church, and in the home. Leaders must have vision, goals, plans and a zeal to get the task done.

EASY BELIEVEISM

by

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Ken Blue

 

“But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:8,9.

Little has changed since the days of our Lord. The Pharisees are still out in full force to get one convert to themselves. It matters not the subject, these cotton picking, nitpickers will distort it so no one will hear you.

One matter I have never understood is what some call “easy believeism.” Do these preachers and teachers purposely make it difficult for the sinner to believe? As I understand the Bible, God has made it easy for the lost to believe Him. Read the following and see how simple and easy it is to get saved. Romans 10:6-9. “But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) 7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) 8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” That sounds rather easy to me.

If you have a full proof procedure, perhaps you would be will to share it with us. I think the sarcasm about easy believeism is an excuse by those who are not getting any believers. Until then, we will K.I.S.S.