Your Sermon

Your sermon
Jesus said,
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20.
If you claim to be a Christian. A follower of Christ Jesus are you doing this?
If you claim to be a Christian you are whether you like it or not representing Christ Jesus in your words and deeds.
Francis of Assisi rightly said,

"The deeds you do 

may be 

the only sermon some persons will hear today" 

                                                            Francis of Assisi.

So what is your sermon saying to the people around you?
Are you showing the love of Christ to those around you no matter who they are?
Do you correctly represent Christ to those around you?
Are you evangelizing and telling people about what should be the most important thing in  your life?
Are you dealing honourably and faithfully with those around you?
The Talmud while not a Christian book tells this story that I can see happening. It states,
“When a man appears before the Throne of Judgment, the first question he is asked is not, “Have you believed in God?”  Or “Have you prayed and observed the ritual?  “He is asked: “have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?”The Talmud.
On the day you stand before God, if he were to ask you that question, “have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?” What will you say?
Will God say your sermon truly reflected His unconditional love to all you came in contact with?
Please think about it.  

Your Sermon

Your Sermon
Francis of Assisi said,
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today” 
                                                                                                       Francis of Assisi.
Dear Christian, when people see your sermon today what will they see?
Will they see negative things or positive things?
Will they see someone who is judgmental, pushy, bombastic, inconsiderate, or worse a bigot?
OR
Will they see someone who is loving, caring understanding. Someone who is willing to listen to them even if they disagree with them?
Is your sermon based on the teachings of Jesus?
Jesus said,
 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  
This is the first and greatest commandment.  
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 
                                                                         Matthew 22:36-40.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Matthew 5:43-45.
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” 
    Matthew 7:12.
Are you living the life Christ wants you to live.
Francis of Assisi although not a gospel writer got things right when he wrote,

“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love,

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” 

                                                                                                      Francis of Assisi.
When people see your sermon today do they see God’s love reflected in your life?
Please think about it.

Your Sermon

Your Sermon

Francis of Assisi said
“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”
                                                                                 Francis of Assisi.
What is your sermon to those around you? Are you preaching the gospel of Christ at all times?
 What gospel do people see in you? Do they see someone who is forcing their faith on others? Do they see someone who is quick to judge? Do they see a bigot or a hypocrite or worse?
Take a few minutes to look at your life and see how others see you. Ask God to show you how others see you.
All too often Christian especially those who grow up in the church with Christian parents and grand parents. They fail to see themselves the way those outside the church see them.
There are many well meaning Christians out there jumping up and down in public and in the media saying this is the way God wants things. Saying some of the laws that the government are passing are an abomination to God.
What they are saying may well be true. There are laws our governments pass that are against God’s law. Then again so were many laws of the Roman empire.
Yet the apostle Paul could say,
“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.  
Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”  
                                                                                         Romans 13:1,2.
Jesus, Paul and the other apostles took the high road. They did not rebel and protest against Rome.
Paul while in Athens did not protest the temple prostitutes. Instead he did things in a positive way. He talked about the saving grace of Jesus in the market square and anywhere else people would listen. It led to him being asked by  Epicurean and Stoic  philosophers to speak a the Areopagus. A place where exchange of ideas took place. Not only that some people were saved and while others scoffed at what he said, while others and this is important, wanted to hear more. We as Christians should always strive to present Christ in such a way that people want to hear more about Him.
Sadly today many high profile preachers and other Christians in the media would never have got that chance were they in Athens at the time.
They wouldn’t have been invited because the message they purvey in public is so negative and against many things the people of Athens and people today are not against.
When Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples, he did not tell us to protest and judge others. Listen to the words of Paul,
“Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” 
                                                                                              Romans 13:2
That judgement will come from God but it will also come from the people around them. If you are judging others and calling them names you will be judged likewise.
Paul makes it clear
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” 
                                                                                                1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
The writer of Hebrews states,
“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” 
             Hebrews 12:14.
Remember the words of Francis of Assisi who said,
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today” 
                                                                                                         Francis of Assisi
        What sermon is your deeds preaching?
Please Christian think about it.