Evangelistic Words - SERMON NOTES

Intro: (1) series recap (2) “communicating the gospel with the aim to persuade” (3) “communicating” → words are necessary (cf. Acts 10) (4) “gospel” → joyful message from God that leads us to salvation (cf. Eccles. 3:11) (5) “aim” → two categories of people (cf. Acts 17) (6) “persuade” → Jesus the specific target (cf. John 14:6) (7) 1 Peter 3:15

Honor Christ: (1) “holy” → OT background (2) 2 Cor. 13:5, 2 Peter 1:10-11 → role of others (3) can have doubts, days where this doesn’t feel true (4) diagnosis → decision vs. commitment, knowledge vs. intimacy, where do you go for comfort, what disappoints/frustrates, what gets you excited, rules over relationship, self-help or Spirit-power, Christ our greatest treasure (5) weak vs. strong faith

Be prepared: (1) two aspects of “preparedness” (2) explanation of gospel → God, man, Christ, response (3) other side is looking for “felt needs” (i.e. doorways) into people’s lives → Jesus’ ministry (4) examples → financial security, physical health, relational struggles, purpose/existence, disappointments, grief from loss, past shame/guilt

Display hope: (1) one of the intended noticeable fruits of being a follower of Jesus is having hope (2) first step → writing your story of coming to Christ (i.e. life before Christ, when/where/how you began following, life since Christ) → my story (3) exercise for membership (4) this is one of the reasons we have suffering (5) where/how can you display hope in Christ?

Be respectful: (1) HOW we talk to others a big factor in evangelism → who are you most likely to be disrespectful toward (cf. good Samaritan) (2) examples → differing politics, levels of education, other cultures, Christians with secondary doctrines/practices (3) understanding “doing church” as evangelism → events vs. relationships

Conclusion: (1) prep for Wednesday (2) community as a tool for advancing the kingdom