Posts tagged Evangelism
Sermon Poetry – “The Gospel of our Lord and King is Sent into the World”
Feb 18th
Sermon Poetry, 14 February 2010
Sermon Title – “The Great Commission and the Church”
Sermon Text – Matthew 28:16-20
Preacher – Pastor Steve Garrick
Jesus Christ, Exalted King, has sent His Chosen Bride
He sends as One who rules and reigns, as One Who’s earned the right
Both God and Man, the Lamb Who died, our risen Potentate
Our slaughtered Lord, our sovereign King, our God who loves and saves
Our loving Lamb has bound the one who hates the Holy God
This devil’s bound by Jesus Christ and men are being saved
The Spirit moves and men are saved from every tribe and tongue
The Church is sent and used by Christ to call His chosen loves
Our Savior sends His holy Bride into a darkened world
So men are saved and sanctified, submitting to the Lord
Our goal is to disciples make, baptizing growing souls
So they can be more like our Lord, this work’s our worthy goal
The Great Commission’s still our goal, until our King’s Return
The Word proclaimed is till our task, the Church is going forth
Though single souls, we’re saved in One, the Bride of Jesus Christ
You love the Groom, you’ll love the Bride and work so she is saved
The Church is called to preach the Word to lost and deadened men
The Great Commission is our task, to missionaries send
We meet to pray, we hear the Word, we send to preach the Truth
The Gospel of our Lord and King to send into the World
Quote of the Week – David Sills on Finding God’s Will
Jan 14th
The first step to knowing God is to know His Word. He has revealed Himself to us in the written Word. Without the Bible, we would have very limited knowledge of Him … Some people will go around the world to find God’s will for their lives, but will not go to the next room to read their Bible.
- M. David Sills, “The Missionary Call: Find Your Place in God’s Plan for the World“
Sermon Poetry – “Come Save the Sinner’s Heart”
Nov 15th
Sermon Poetry, 1 November 2009
Sermon Text – Genesis 13
Preacher – Pastor Matthew Brennan
Lord give me wisdom to live for You
So that Your name is praised
Your glory loud proclaimed
Please give me strength to plant the seeds
Of Jesus’ Gospel sweet
So men Your mercy see
So sinners might be saved
Lord give me strength to live for You
I am a sinner small
I live with sinners lost
The sins around oppress my heart
Your name is never praised
Few sinners ’round are saved
Pour out Your lovely grace
Lord give me strength to rest in You
The sin about is dark
From dark and rocky hearts
Lord give me speech to speak Your Truth
Come save the sinners’ hearts
Your grace to men impart
Come raise from death to life
Lord give me strength to trust in You
To save the sinners’ hearts
Christ’s righteousness impute
I cannot save the sinners ’round
I just proclaim Your Truth
So men might worship You
Lord thank You for Your Grace
Lord give me strength to mercy show
To others never judge
To trust Your sovereign love
Please sensitize my sinful heart
To think on Holy things
To ponder Jesus’ Grace
To be like Christ my King
Sermon Poetry – “The Father is Seeking”
Oct 1st
Preacher – Dr. Tom Ascol
The Father is seeking and saving and loving
To save all His children He loves
He sent Christ tas Savior to bleed and to suffer
So sinners like us might be saved
He loves us with fervor, ’tis shown on the Cross
christ died so that sinners might live
He sought us as rebels and loves us as son
The Father His Grace to us gives
We’re called as the Body to go to the World
And tell of the Gospel of Christ
We’re called on a Mission, to tell of the Savior
So sinners like us might be saved
Dear Father, please help us to speak of Your Son
To family and friends all around
To witness of Jesus and of our salvation
So sinners once lost might be found
Oh Father, come finish Your plan of Salvation
Your Spirit come send to convert
So sinners believing might have Christ’s Salvation
Together we worship Your Name
Will You Hear the Martyrs Sing?
Sep 17th
(set to the tune of “Do You Hear the People Sing”, from “Les’ Miserables”)
Have you heard the martyrs sing, singing the praises of the Lord
It is the music of a people who have followed Jesus’ Word
By His blood they have been bought
It is by Jesus they’ve endured
Throughout the peoples of the earth they have praised the Lord!
Have you heard the stories of
The martyrs who have bled for Christ
They have died with Jesus’ love
They witnessed by their sacrifice
Now look at them, ready to pay the penultimate price!
Do you hear the martyrs sing, singing the praises of the Lord
It is the music of a people who now follow Jesus’ Word
By His blood they have been bought
It is by Jesus they endure
Throughout the peoples of the earth they now praise the Lord!
Do you pray for those abroad
Who now today might die for Christ
They will walk that lonely road
Today they’ll give their sacrifice
Be ready to go and to die for the glory of Christ!
Will you hear the martyrs sing, singing the praises of the Lord
It is the music of a people who will follow Jesus’ Word
By His blood they have been bought
It is by Jesus they’ll endure
Throughout the peoples of the earth they will praise the Lord!
Go you Christians, go and sing, singing the praises of the Lord
Go now ye out into the earth and spread the message of the Word
By His blood you have been bought
It’s for His glory you endure
Throughout the peoples of the earth tell of Christ the Lord!
Quote of the Week – Chris Powell on Evangelism
Aug 26th
“I think sometimes we get so focused on getting the message out that we forget that the person we’re interacting with is a fellow human being made in the image of God with all the wondrous design and complexity that entails. We need to treat them with respect as per 1 Peter 3:15 by listening to what they say. We need to pray that God would aid our ears to help us discern how to apply Gospel first aid. Jesus did that and with remarkable effectiveness cut to the heart of the problem - Jesus was talking to a man who had no idea that he was anything else but a human rabbi. In listening to him, Jesus discerned that the man’s (somewhat fawning) pious talk needed to be dealt with immediately. Jesus was after the self-righteousness that thinks you can make yourself “good” and acceptable to God. He is seeking to challenge this man’s whole concept of moral goodness.[Tim Keller's Study Guide on Mark]“
– Christopher Powell
Chosen With Blood
Jul 15th
He dwelt in Himself, in Him are no flaws
The One God of All, the Trinity Pure
Three Persons in One, One God who is Sure
This God then chose some, to all be His own
This God who is Just, and dwells on His Throne
He chose them with blood, the blood of His Son
The blood of the Lord has our vict’ry Won
For sin entered in, by God’s wise Decree
And death conquered man, he had not a plea
This sin’s not of God, He authored it not
This sin that brings death, and reeketh of rot
Mysterious thing, God’s glory we see
When sin entered in, by God’s wise decree
Our God is still just, and holy, and true
Our sin must be judged, or hearts made anew
How will it be paid, how will death be beat
How can we come in, to the Mercy Seat?
What’s our sacrifice, where can it be found?
To satisfy wrath, for death now surrounds
Where now is our Hope, where can it be found?
Despair closes in, it soon will surround
Just read in the Word, the Word of our Christ
The Gift of our God, of infinite price
Read Ephesians one, verse four and verse five
He chose us in Him, He chose us in Christ
Verse seven, verse eight; forgiveness is mine
The price has been paid, I’m no longer blind
We’re chosen with blood, the blood of the Lamb
The blood of our Lord, the blood of I AM
He obeyed His God, the Father Above
With Fellowship Sweet, and infinite Love
He died for His own, the chosen elect
He died for their sins, for every speck
He died for His Church, the Saints of the Lamb
The Body of Christ, the Bride of I AM
A virgin conceived, gave birth to a boy
The angels sang out, with marvelous Joy
The Savior had come, born like any man
A small helpless babe, ‘twas God’s Sov’reign Plan
The wise men then came, they knew who He was
The knew Him as King, the Lord of the Stars
The boy had no sin, perfection was His
The Great Sacrifice, the I AM who is
His life Jesus led, our Savior made man
Obeying God’s Will, His Life Jesus ran
And then it was time for Jesus to show
His power to all, so people might know
The Savior had come, sent by God above
The One Sovereign King, the Lord of all Love
He went up to John, the prophet foretold
And was promptly dunked, in water so cold
He started His work, His great Ministry
With wonders and signs, the blind He let see
The sick Jesus healed, the dead Jesus raised
His pupils He taught, His God Jesus Praised
And then it was time for Jesus to die
This Healer of Men, Hosanna they’d cried
But now all their screams were for Jesus’ blood
The once happy crowd was in a foul mood
They nailed hands and feet, they whipped and they scourged
It was Yahweh’s Will, set down in His Word
The blood trickled down, on down to the ground
And as it fell down, He made not a sound
Then after a shout, Christ’s head bowed down low
His body was dead, He gave up His Soul
We’re chosen with blood, the blood of the Lamb
The blood of our Lord, the blood of I AM
He obeyed His God, the Father Above
With Fellowship Sweet, and infinite Love
He died for His own, the chosen elect
He died for their sins, for every speck
He died for His Church, the Saints of the Lamb
The Body of Christ, the Bride of I AM
Book Review – “The Celtic Way of Evangelism”
May 23rd
“The Celtic Way of Evangelism” by George G. Hunter III is an interesting, somewhat informative, trite and simplistic study of early Celtic Christianity and its historical role in missions and evangelism.
The book begins strong with a solid synopsis of Patrick, the “Apostle to the Irish” and does a decent job of telling the high points of Patrick’s life and ministry. Hunter does an equally good job in describing the community and lives of early Celtic Christianity, expressed in their loves for men and in their hospitality towards strangers. Hunter additionally goes to great lengths to articulate the Celtic Christian’s superb ability to relate to the culture around him and to contextualize the Gospel of Jesus to a lost and dying world. He describes the Celts’ love for art, music and story and he speaks of the Celtic Christian’s ability to craft music and narrative in such a way as to present the Gospel message to the barbarians of their day in the British Isles and to the lost on the European Continent in a meaningful and powerful way.
Hunter spends much of the last half of the book postulating how contemporary Christianity can communicate the Gospel message in the Celtic Way. By itself, this is not a bad goal. Hunter rightly notes the emergence of the post-Christian “New Barbarians”, making a semi-direct correlation between the New Barbarians of today and the barbarians of yesteryear. He notes in these New Barbarians the same worshipful regard for nature, the same disbelief in the God of the Bible and the same self-destructive behaviors of the barbarian. This is not necessarily a wrong correlation to make nor is it unwise to not only learn from past mistakes, but to learn from past successes and ask ourselves how we can use those means to communicate the Gospel. The problem in this book is with Hunter’s approaches to evangelism and Gospel Communication. Instead of asking himself first what the Bible says about missions, Hunter considers the task from a uniquely American and Pragmatic standpoint and asks the dangerous question: “What Works?”.
This faulty approach leads Hunter to trivialize the comparison of the Celtic vs. Roman ways of Christianity and because the Celtic Way “worked” in the British Isles, in Hunter’s mind it so dominates Roman means so as to leave Roman methodologies impotent to affect true change (no matter that Roman Christianity ended up winning and “working” in the long run). Hunter does make a valid point in his comparison, namely that it is better to aim for a people’s heart rather than the outward trappings of culture and society. Yet his pragmatic approach to applying the Celtic Way negatively colors his valid points and leaves the reader feeling his postulations are somewhat lacking.
The book is a good read and is, at the beginning especially, fairly thought-provoking. Hunter’s analysis of the Celtic Way is beneficial and it will cause the reader to desire to study the topic further. Still, the lack of thought given to the Biblical Way of evangelism and Gospel communication is disappointing at best and a dangerous precedent for the serious evangelist.
