Posts Tagged ‘preaching’
I have a good-paying secular job, but what I really want to do is preach
Question: Hello, I am a recent college graduate, and I currently have a secular job with a high salary. I don’t know, but I always feel sad whenever I’m going to work, thinking that this is not the world I wanted to be in, this is not the job I wanted to do. In short,…
Read MoreThe Work of an Evangelist
by Edward O. Bragwell, Sr. I got to thinking about evangelists and evangelism in general. An evangelist (Gr. euaggelistes) is a preacher of good news (the gospel – Gr. euaggelion) and evangelism is what an evangelist does – preaches that good news. An evangelist preaches the gospel to the world to save it from sin. Philip was…
Read MoreTrip Report – 2014 (Singapore, Bali)
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/TripReport2014.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton
Read MoreIs it bad that most members in our church were raised in the church?
Question: Dear Mr. Hamilton, I’ve been emphasizing how important truth is in the Bible to one of my friends. She has been very receptive to the truths I’ve shown her in God’s Word. I’ve taken her to the church I attend and she enjoys it but she says it’s not her thing. Now I tell…
Read MoreWhat authority do you have to teach on the Internet?
Question: If every example of preaching in the first century was done in person by mouth to those that could hear, and the direct command was to go and preach, where is your Bible authority to preach on the Internet? Answer: Here is an example of artificially restricting a command. Communicating by writing is a form of…
Read MoreYou’re right. Christians need a healthy fear of hell
Question: During the five years I attended a church in my area, I never heard the preacher once mention Hell or God’s wrath, or the fact that Christians need a holy fear of God. Your “If I Don’t Preach on Hell” summary was excellent. Is a church that doesn’t preach the full counsel of God…
Read MoreIs missionary work scriptural?
Question: Mr. Hamilton, What is “missionary work” and is that scriptural? Does God call us to a particular occupation, such as God has “called me” to this career or that career? Is all this scripturally sound? Thank you. Answer: Missionary work has come to mean going to foreign countries to teach the gospel. Sometimes it…
Read MoreAre you saying that it is OK for a preacher to tell jokes behind the pulpit if they are of a clean sort?
Question: So in regards to Ephesians 5:4, joking and jesting. Are you saying that it is OK for a preacher to tell jokes behind the pulpit if they are of a clean sort? Answer: “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish…
Read MoreShould I speak at a denominational church?
Question: Hi brother Jeff, I was discussing the Bible with a man who happens to be a member of a denomination. He also occupies a high position in their church. After reasoning with him from the Scripture, he asked me to come and preach in their church. I told him to give me time to…
Read MoreIf I aim to preach or teach, what do I need to learn?
Question: It would seem that not many are even aiming to try and follow the truth, and as such, I would like to someday be a preacher and or teacher in hopes that some might be won over to Christ and the truth. I appreciate that you seem to do that as well. It seems…
Read MoreProfessional Preachers
by Edward O. Bragwell via Biblical Insights, Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2013 The trend toward developing a “professional clergy” among churches of Christ has been in the making for some time now. More and more, both churches and preachers, have come to view gospel preachers as professionals much like the professions of this world. Churches…
Read MoreWhat made you want to preach?
Question: What made you decide to become a preacher? Some people talk about feeling called when they discovered that they wanted to preach, and some people just decide to do it. What made you want to preach? Answer: The decision to preach is one I arrived at when I was 16. It was born out…
Read MoreConversions from a Funeral Sermon
by Etim Abidiak via For a Better Understanding, Vol. 50, No. 5, September / October 2012 Four weeks ago, I preached at the funeral of a late brother who served the Nigeria Police and was of the rank of Inspector. His name was Mbre Jack. His funeral was attended by many policemen and women such as…
Read MoreSome questions about judgments
Question: Please forgive me for taking up your time, but I became so excited when I came across this site! I understand that ignorance is not an excuse, and that transgression of God’s laws is sin. However, this is my question: What if my brother who was just taught the gospel of Christ a few…
Read MoreAny advice for a person aspiring to preach?
Question: What is some advice you have for a person aspiring to be a preacher? Answer: First, study. You can’t preach accurately what you don’t know. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15). If you need…
Read MoreI just realized that the church I grew up in is getting old. Is there something I can do?
Question: Hi Brother Hamilton, I’ve been thinking a lot about moving back home to try to build my home congregation back up. I’m currently going to school, not in the area, and this summer break has really been a wake-up call. My congregation is scantly populated by mostly grey-haired people. I love everyone with grey…
Read MoreWhat Is the Gospel About?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/WhatIsTheGospelAbout.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 49:1-13 I. There is no end to the people who like to tell preachers how to do their job and what they are allowed to say or not say A. For many, they don’t want to hear about things like sin and its consequences, they don’t want to be…
Read MoreYou should be offering a forgiving hand to sinners instead of just throwing Scripture at them
Question: Regarding your website, especially your article, really upset me. You are no greater than I. I am not greater than you. We are both servants who should be humbled by the grace of God not acting like the mighty priests who exalt themselves in the Old Testament. You should be offering a forgiving hand…
Read MoreMy son is interested in online studies and mission work. Where can he find good studies?
Question: One more question if you don’t mind. My son is interested in online studies and mission work. I only know of the “AIM” program. We have an individual from our congregation that is in the program now, but our church is pretty small, so they can only support one person at a time in that…
Read MoreI think you spend too much time going over questions of conscience and opinion and never get to the preaching of the Gospel
Question: I really think you brothers spend too much time going back and forth over questions concerning conscience and opinion and never get to the preaching of the Gospel of Christ. I think that this only keeps those who are sinners from wanting anything to do with the church those things can’t save. What do…
Read MoreMore Sermon Topic Ideas
by Glenn Hamilton In 1626 a pamphlet was published in London, entitled “A most Delectable, Sweet, Perfumed Nosegay, for God’s Saints to smell at.” About the year 1646 there was published a work entitled “A Pair of Bellows, to blow off the Dust cast upon John Fay;” and another called “The Snuffers for Divine Love.”…
Read MoreHigher Learning
by Bryan Matthew Dockens A common question visitors seem to think appropriate of preachers, at least in this writer’s experience, is “Where did you go to school?” But folks just never seem to know how to react when I tell them about my year at Moorpark College, the community college near my hometown. They expect…
Read MoreIs God preparing me to be a preachers’ wife?
Question: I have been in the body of Christ for nearly a decade. Struggling through it all, I have learned to deny my own will and go with God’s plans for my life and that has made me successful. I had heard the call that anything I do with my career, I do it for…
Read MoreGiving Up on the Little Church
by Robert E. Speer via Think on These Things, April-May-June, 2011, Volume 42, Number 2 Many years ago — Ouch! Has it really been that long? — my family and I responded to a plea from another family to join them in a work they were trying to establish on the southern shores of Lake Superior.…
Read MoreWhat should be done if a visiting speaker starts teaching falsely?
Question: If an elder at a congregation puts a visiting speaker in the pulpit who has no business being there, and you have a lot of visitors in the audience, what should the preacher do or say about that? I might add that the elder’s knowledge is nowhere close to where it should be to…
Read MoreShould I quit preaching to find a wife?
Question: I have been a minister now for almost 30 years. My wife left me after nearly 30 years of marriage. However, I need a helpmate. I want to date but all women are scared of dating a preacher. I understand that too. I don’t want to cause a “Black Eye” on the church so…
Read MoreIs it appropriate to have PowerPoint presentations during sermons?
Question: Is it appropriate to have PowerPoint presentations during services? Personally, I find it very helpful in keeping up with Bible verses during the sermons, but I wonder if God approves it. I don’t know how the brethren feel. This is something I have been wondering about since I began going to the church. Answer:…
Read MoreDo you not know how to treat people?
Question: Do you not know how to treat people? I’ve read many of these answers and you get most of them right, but they all seem so mean! Like I was reading the ones about suicide and you would tell them what they were doing wrong, but you had no love! You didn’t show any care…
Read MoreHow do I preach the gospel?
Question: How do I preach the gospel? Meaning, where should I do it and what should I say? If I do it at work, I would probably get fired. Do I just go up to complete strangers on the street, in stores, etc? I have severe anxiety, and I’m not articulate, but those are not…
Read MoreBeing able to read the sermon outlines has helped my studies
Question: I just wanted to say I’ve been looking over the church website from La Vista and it is very helpful to be able to read sermons online. It is also very encouraging and uplifting to be able to read these sermons. Of course, I’ve been doing studies of the Bible outside on my own,…
Read MoreThe Value of Souls
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/ValueOfSouls.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 15:1-10 I. It is far too easy to lose sight of the goal A. We look at the sin in the world around us, knowing that we are not to get caught up in it – Romans 6:1-2 B. We don’t want to be influenced by the world – I…
Read MoreYour website has helped me a lot in putting together lessons
Question: I felt compelled to write and thank you and any others that may be contributing material to your website. Your sermon outlines and lessons have been very helpful to me these last several months. You see, my brother-in-law, who preached for the small congregation that meets here passed away recently, and as the congregation…
Read MoreYour article on the silence of the Scriptures helps me to understand the issues better
Question: Hello sir. I was born and raised in the church. Just read your article on the silence of the Scriptures and really enjoyed it. I have been faced with some of the “dogmatic” congregations for the first time in my life, and it really raised some questions in my mind as to if I was attending…
Read MoreEvangelism (Anderson)
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Evangelism.mp3 by PJ Anderson
Read MoreTwo Preachers: Amos and Amaziah
by Mark White The Old Testament prophet Amos was a shepherd turned preacher. The crowd to whom he preached was the upper class of Israel, including the King himself. He was not their choice of a preacher, however. They did not choose him — God chose Amos for them. His oratory was not refined eloquence.…
Read MoreShould we just preach the gospel?
Question: Recently one of our members complained to me that one of the men I have been teaching and giving tips on how to present a sermon, often mentions in the Bible classes he teaches and sermons that he preaches, the ungodliness and immorality that a lot of our political leaders are guilty of as well as many…
Read MoreTactics for Defending Our Faith
Tactics For Defending Our Faith Part 1Tactics For Defending Our Faith Part 2 by Taylor Ladd Influence and Evangelism
Read MoreThe Purpose of Our Calling
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2011Spring3ThePurposeOfOurCalling.mp3 by Taylor Ladd Influence and Evangelism
Read MoreLearning to See Souls
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2011Spring2LearningToSeeSouls.mp3 by Taylor Ladd Influence and Evangelism
Read MoreGod’s Captivated Captives
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2011Spring1GodsCaptivatedCaptives.mp3 by Taylor Ladd Influence and Evangelism
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