Sermon Central
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The Urgency Of The Hour Series
Contributed by Michael De Rosa on Oct 2, 2006 (message contributor)
Summary: I want to impress upon the people that every single person we meet or currently know is someone for that Christ died for, and that we just don’t want to get in the way of God, but learn how to be conduits of God’s work.
Introduction:
This illustration of ‘a description of cake’ is to show that each view is important.
It is my intent here to build a connection with my audience as quickly as possible. Thus, I will need to internalize this illustration, use much expression, humor, eye contact in order to get my point across
When my sisters and I were much younger, my mom decided to do an experiment. During the course of one Saturday, she told us that she was going to bake a cake and asked if we, one at a time, would come into the kitchen to take notes on all that we experienced.
We went in birth order, so Mary Angela was first on the scene. When she go there all she saw were the many ingredients that Mom was going to use in baking the cake: the flour, and the bitter chocolate, and the salt, and the baking powder. In fact, Mary Angel’s nose got the best of her and she just had to bite into that bitter chocolate, which promptly exited from her mouth. The idea of cake taking like this turned her off.
Next was Mary Pat. She walked into chaos. The containers of food were all opened up, the old fashioned egg beater dripped with cake mixture, the sink was full of dishes. Out of curiosity, though, she tasted some of the batter, and though not looking pleasant, had a somewhat pleasant taste to it.
My turn came up next. Mom had gotten all the dishes cleaned up, the counters wiped down, and all that I saw was a stove that was turned on. I felt the heat, and smelled the air which was filled with chocolate cake aroma. But it was not ready as I noticed that it was still pretty flat in the pan, and so I left the kitchen bot discouraged and impatient.
Lasty, Mary Catherine went in. The cake had just come out of the oven. It smelled and looked great, and she even was allowed to have a piece just to check it out.
Shortly after this, my mom called us four kids back into the kitchen to ask us how we described her cake. Each one of my siblings stressed the phase that they were exposed to, and began arguing that how theirs was the right one.
Mom, though, had another explanation: they all were correct. And, that thought the finished product is what we like most, it would never have come about without the other steps.
We too must learn to respect the process that individuals, and be able to treat each step of their lives with real, in order to come to that time with them when they readily accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior
Transitional statement:
Because the prodigals are at differing stages of their live journey, and because God seeks that no one perish ….
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3: 9
….we must be ready
I. God desire all to be saved
In this part, I will expect to be telling something to the church that they already know, so I don’t really need to go into much detail
**Those whom God AWAKENS the church must not PUT TO SLEEP!**
a. Biblical support for God awakening the Church (Prevenient Grace)
Long before Rick Warren published his book, The Purpose Driven Life, God had a plan.
I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail.
God is on the move.
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 16 He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. 17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
4"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
b. practical support for God building his church
In regions like Asia, Africa, and Latin America, God is adding upwards to 25000 people each day. (Lost in America, Tom Clegg & Warren Bird) Yet, here in the United States of America, here in the land of the free, home of the brave, we find such a different story.
II. Reasons why North America is not experiencing Christian Conversions
At this point, it is my desire to awaken the audience’s intellect to begin grappling with numbers
