Sermon Outlines for Busy Pastors: Volume 2

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. A Fresh Start - Exodus 2:1-10

2. What Is A Christian? - Acts 11:19-26

3. Abnormal - 1 Peter 2:4-12

4. The Fear of the Lord - Proverbs 1:7

5. The Call, Promise, and Challenge - Numbers 13:26-33

6. The Most Important Exam - 2 Corinthians 13:5

7. Requirements - Deuteronomy 10:12-22

8. What the Lord Supper Means - 1 Corinthians 11:23-40

9. Just Who Are You? - Colossians 2:6-20

10. Jesus - Our Redemption - Galatians 4:3-7

11. The Tempter and Us - Genesis 3:1-7

12. Jesus - The Propitiation - Romans 3:21-26

13. What's the Point of a Right Life? - Romans 12:1-2

14. A Church in Trouble - Revelation 3:14-22

15. Palm Sunday - Jesus is Not Always What We Want Him to Be - Romans 3:21-26

16. The Sacrifice of Atonement - Romans 3:21-26

17. Out of the Blue - Matthew 27:15-26

18. Chasing - Psalm 63:1-8

19. A Woman Who Makes a Difference - Acts 9:36-43

20. Messed Up People - Genesis 9:18-23

21. A Matter of Faith - Hebrews 11:1-6

22. What Faith Has to Offer - Hebrews 11:32-40

23. Something to Glory In - Jeremiah 9:23-24

24. One Eye on the Enemy and One on the Wall - Nehemiah 4:13-17

25. By Our Love - John 13:31-35

26. Crime and Punishment - Leviticus 24:10-16

27. Follow Jesus or Bust - Luke 9:57-62

28. A Challenge from God - Malachi 3:6-12

29. Because of Others - Mark 2:1-5

30. Hope - Mark 5:24-34

31. Purpose in Problems - Matthew 14:22-33

32. Repentance - Matthew 6:25-33

33. Reasons for Our Thanksgiving - Colossians 1:1-6

34. Church on Fire - Acts 2:1-4

35. Church on Fire - Fan the Flames - 2 Timothy 1:5-7

36. The Name of Jesus - Philippians 2:5-11

37. When Did Christmas Begin? - 1 Peter 1:18-21

38. Memorial - Joshua 4:1-7

39. Misconceptions - The Church - Matthew 16:18

40. Misconceptions - Worship - John 4:19-26

41. Misconceptions - Discipleship - Luke 9:23-24

42. Misconceptions - Ministry - 1 Peter 4:10

43. Misconceptions - Evangelism - Acts 1:8

44. Misconceptions - Missions - Acts 1:8

45. Misconceptions - Fellowship - Acts 2:42-47

46. Seriously - Exercise Naked - 1 Timothy 4:6-10

47. Seriously - The Simple Life - 2 Corinthians 11:2-4

48. Seriously - Peace and Quiet - Psalm 46:1-11

49. Seriously - Surrender - Philippians 2:3-8

50. Xmas: What's Missing in Your Christmas? - Amazement - Genesis 3:15

51. Xmas: What's Missing in Your Christmas? - The Supernatural - Matthew 1:18-25

52. Xmas: What's Missing in Your Christmas? - Reflection and Perspective - Luke 2:19

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About the Author

Dedication

To the entire Westbrook clan: my parents, Roy and Shelby; my brother and family, Jeff, Angel, Carley, Jacob, Kylie Beth; my sister and family, Mary, Darus, Garrett; and my in-laws: Becky, Sidney, Michael, and Bill. Thank you for your support of Teresa, Lauren, and me during these years of our ministry. You've always been there, no matter the circumstances. May God continue to bless you all as He has blessed us through you!

Introduction

Pastors are the busiest people in our country.

According to my research, that statement is a fact. Of course, my research is not scientific, but I believe it to be accurate. My most trusted research data comes from my wife. She says we’re the busiest people in our country, and I always listen to my wife!

I know, firsthand, all the many different directions we are pulled, every single day. There are hospitals to visit, weddings to officiate, and funerals to preach. There are families to counsel, new believers to disciple, and leaders to train. There are worship services to plan, toilets to unclog, and light bulbs to be replaced. And some of us have these things to do WHILE working another job – doing the bi–vocational thing. There’s enough stuff going on to keep us busy twenty–five hours a day, eight days a week.

Oh yeah, and there’s sermons to prepare. We’ve got to work that in with all the other things vying for our attention. The one thing most of us feel to be our primary purpose, our calling – preaching the Word of God – has to compete with everything else for the one finite element in all of this. Time.

As a seminary student, I remember hearing someone say a pastor should dedicate an hour of preparation to every minute of his sermon. At the time, I thought that was an unreal amount of time to spend in sermon prep. Now, years and sermons later, I can’t even grasp the thought. If our average sermon length is thirty minutes, that equates to thirty hours of prep! For those who have a Sunday night message to prepare, and maybe one for Wednesday night, well, that doesn’t exactly leave time for much else.

There may be some of you who have that luxury of time, but for most of us, that amount of time is simply not there. So we do the best we can with the time we’ve got, and trust God to make something useful from our efforts. And our gracious and merciful Lord often does.

But we want to do better. We want to present our people with well–prepared messages. Messages that will not only fill a thirty minute time slot, but will also feed them spiritually, lift their hearts, convict them of their sin, and call them into a new or deeper walk with the Lord.

That’s why I’ve put this series together. These Sermon Outlines for Busy Pastors books are for those of you who can identify with any of the above. I want to give you something to build on. Something that’s been studied through, that gives you a head–start for your messages this Sunday. Something that will help you make the most of your limited time.

I don’t make any claims these are the best sermon outlines you’ll ever see. They may not be on par with anything you’ve prepared yourself. But they have all been studied over, prayed over, and preached. The outlines are complete, compiled from the sermon notes I take into the pulpit each week. Take them as a whole, or use them to spur your thoughts in other directions.

Another thing I remember hearing in seminary is: The Bible, the Word of God, has been preached by many, many preachers for two thousand years. You’re probably not going to preach anything that hasn’t been preached before. I would say that is an accurate statement. We’re influenced by the preachers and sermons we hear. God speaks to us through them. And He may speak those same words through us in our messages to others. I know that’s true sometimes in my case and I’m fairly certain that’s true for most pastors. And I’m sure many sermons you’ll find here bear the marks of those preachers I’ve heard or read.

Nevertheless, I offer these sermon outlines to you. Use them for your benefit and for the glory of our Lord. I pray this book, and the entire series, provides you with a tool to help you make the most of your time. And to make much of Jesus Christ.

Preach the Word!

A Fresh Start

Exodus 2:1-10

I. Intro

A. I don't know if you're aware of this, but we're beginning a new year!

1. It's a great time to think about the year to come.

2. A new year.

3. New opportunities.

4. New hope.

B. For a lot of you, last year may have been the best year in years.

1. You saw great things happen in your life.

2. You experienced new and exciting things.

3. Maybe everything you touched turned to gold.

C. But maybe for more of you, last year was, frankly, a mess.

1. Nothing went right.

2. There was disappointment.

3. You went through pains you never imagined.

D. And the new year may not have much meaning to you.

1. You've lost most hope.

2. You can't see how your situation will ever change for the better.

E. Probably, if no one would actually hear us, we might admit something.

1. It just feels like God has pulled away.

2. You feel abandoned and alone.

3. Maybe you've even caught yourself shouting, Where are you God?

II. Well, if that's you, I want to share a story with you.

A. It's the story of somebody who found himself in a similar position.

1. And I pray that God will use this story to renew hope and peace in you.

B. The story begins in Exodus, chapter 2.

1. The story is about this guy named Moses.

2. Read EXODUS 2:1-10.

III. This is probably a familiar story to most of us.

A. We've heard this story since we were little kids.

1. Two people who were Hebrew slaves in Egypt had a baby, a little boy.

2. The Egyptians had ordered all male Hebrew babies to be killed when they were born.

3. Moses' mom wants to protect her little baby from the Egyptian orders.

4. So she makes a little basket.

5. She puts her baby boy in the basket and floated it in the Nile River.

6. She sends the older sister to keep an eye on the baby and the basket.

B. While the baby was floating in the river, the Pharaoh's daughter, the princess came to take a bath.

1. When she got to the river she spied the basket in the water.

2. She saw it was a Hebrew boy and took him as her own.

3. She even hired Moses' mom to take care of him.

C. Other scriptures and history tell us Moses was raised in Pharaoh's house.

1. He was given the best care.

2. He was given the best education.

3. He was raised as a prince.

D. That sounds like a good life.

1. He had the best of everything.

2. He wanted for nothing.

3. Times were good for Moses.

E. Moses' story continues.

1. Read EXODUS 2:11-15.

IV. In a span of just two days, Moses' life falls completely apart.

A. Moses grew up, but he must have been aware of his Hebrew heritage.

1. He goes walking through the slave quarters.

2. He sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and he kills the Egyptian.

3. Maybe he thought he was doing the right thing.

4. But the next day he walks through the same area and two Hebrews are fighting.

5. When he tries to break them up, they reveal that they know he killed the Egyptian the day before.

6. Pharaoh found out, too.

7. Moses found himself in bad trouble.

8. He escaped from Egypt, and found himself running into Midian, the desert.

B. Just like that, everything he had known just dried up.

1. The good life in the King's house - GONE.

2. The easy life of a prince - GONE.

3. The fairytale life of living in the royal family - GONE.

4. Moses' life fell completely apart.

C. That turned out to be a bad year for Moses.

1. In fact, it turned out to be a pretty bad forty years for Moses.

2. He spent the next forty years of his life in the desert.

3. Tending sheep.

4. He was being raised to be the leader of men.

5. Now, he was just a leader of dumb, stinky, sheep.

V. Your story may not be exactly the same.

A. But the ending sounds familiar.

1. You can remember when life wasn't drudgery.

2. You can remember when times were actually good.

3. Maybe you weren't living in the palace, but there seemed to be things that made life worth living.

B. But like the life of Moses, things changed.

1. Maybe things didn't happen as suddenly as they did with Moses.

2. But things have changed.

C. Maybe you've made a bad choice in life and things changed.

1. Maybe you've committed some horrible sin, like Moses, and the world fell down around you.

2. Maybe things happened that were outside of your control, but the results are the same.

D. You find yourself in the desert.

1. You life is dry.

2. Your life is barren.

3. All your hopes are like the dust and sand of the desert, a wasteland.

E. And the big question now is, Is this it?

1. Is this it, God?

2. Is this all that's left of my life?

3. Am I done?

VI. This is where I think the story of Moses can give you an answer.

A. Believe it or not, Moses' life didn't end in that desert.

1. There was still some life, 40 years worth, left for Moses to become something different.

2. Not to become what the King of Egypt wanted him to be.

3. But to become what the King of Kings wanted Moses to be!

4. God was not yet done with Moses.

5. Moses got a do-over.

6. Moses got a second chance.

7. READ EXODUS 2:23-3:10.

VII. God was not yet through with Moses.

A. Moses still had a full, blessed life ahead of Him.

1. He would argue with God about his qualifications, but eventually he trusted God.

2. He took God at His Word.

3. He went back to Egypt.

4. He dramatically demonstrated the power of God in His life.

5. He led the Hebrews out of Egypt.

6. In the Bible later, He is called God's friend.

B. When all hope seemed lost, Moses found life again.

1. Better yet, God found Moses again.

2. But God really didn't find him.

3. God had never lost Moses.

4. He used those dry times in the desert to prepare Moses for the future.

5. He used the desert to prepare Moses for a fresh start.

VIII. Here's what I believe God wants you to know today.

A. He has never lost you.

1. He's been with you each and every troubled step you've taken.

2. He sees you in the desert.

3. He sees you with the dried up hope.

B. And He's coming to you today to offer you a fresh start.

1. Last year may have been a disaster.

2. And years before, even back to 1999, may have been desert years for you.

3. But God is holding out His hand to you today.

C. Baptism represents a renewal.

1. It represents the death of the old you, and the birth of the new you.

2. It represents the second chance God offers all of us in Jesus Christ.

D. We've brought the trough out today to give you a chance to represent the second chance God offers to in this new year.

1. (We use a large cattle watering trough for baptism)

2. We place it here for you to come before the God of second chances and repent of your past.

3. We place it here for you to come and solidify your recommitment to Jesus this year.

4. We've placed it here to begin this year as the year of the second chance.

What is a Christian?

Acts 11:19-26

I. Intro

A. You ever see the man on the street interviews on TV?

1. There was a movie out several years ago called Super Size Me.

2. It's a documentary about a guy who decided to eat nothing but food from McDonald's for 30 days.

3. Occasionally in the movie, they have these man on the street type interviews.

4. They stopped people on the streets and asked them their opinion about food.

5. Some of the answers were very funny and some were very sad.

6. And none of them agreed with the other.

B. With these interviews, if you ask 30 people their opinion on a subject, you usually get 30 different answers.

1. Everybody's got their own opinion and they all think they are right.

2. It's really good when the questions have to do with politics.

3. Everybody's got an opinion about politics and politicians.

4. But not all of them are always right.

5. Sometimes none of them are right - at least that's my opinion!

II. What if you saw a man on the street interview asking this question, What is a Christian?

A. What kind of answers and opinions do you think you might get?

1. I think you might get some doozies!

2. Here are a few I think you might hear.

B. A Christian is someone who believes in God.

1. I believe there is a God.

2. He or she is out there somewhere watching us.

3. There's a higher power and I believe there's a higher power.

4. A Christian is someone who believes there's a God.

C. A Christian is someone who tries to live a good life and treats other people right.

1. They do the best they can.

2. Their good parts outweigh their bad parts.

3. They try and help other people occasionally.

4. They don't judge others.

5. A Christian is someone trying to live and let live.

D. A Christian is someone who has Christian parents or Christian spouses.

1. I'm a Christian by birth.

2. My parents are Christian and I'm their child.

3. I'm a Christian because my family is Christian.

4. It's kind of like a birthright, I got it because they have it.

5. I'm a Christian because my family is Christian.

E. A Christian is someone who gives money to a church.

1. I like what the church does so I give them money to support them.

2. They have good causes and I'm a good person so I give my money to do good things.

3. I'm a Christian because I support the church financially.

F. A Christian is someone who's been baptized.

1. I've been dunked or sprinkled.

2. I've been through catechism, I've been confirmed.

3. I've got certificates that attest to this.

4. I'm a Christian because I've done all the right stuff.

G. A Christian is someone who goes to church.

1. They may have somehow joined a church.

2. They have their names in a church record book somewhere.

3. I'm a Christian because I go to church.

H. Those are all opinions and answers you might get with a man on the street interview asking What is a Christian?

1. I've heard all of these answers before.

2. There are other answers you can throw in there, too.

3. What I want us to do today is CONSIDER WHETHER THESE ARE GOOD ANSWERS.

4. Are these really the answer to What is a Christian?

III. To find an answer to the question, What is a Christian, we're going to see what the Bible says.

A. The Bible is the book for Christians and those wanting to know more about Christianity.

1. The Bible tells us about itself.

2. The Bible says it is God-inspired.

3. The Bible tells us that God speaks through its words.

4. So, if there's a true, definitive answer to What is a Christian? it ought to be in the God-inspired, God-speaking Bible.

B. So let's go to the Bible and see if we can find an answer to the question: WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN?

1. Read ACTS 11:19-26.

IV. These three paragraphs tell us about Christians in the ancient town of Antioch.

A. Verse 26 says that people were first called Christians in Antioch.

1. So, if these people were Christians, maybe their story can answer our question.

2. Can we look at the experience of these people and find out what made them Christians?

3. Can what made them Christians be the same thing that can