by David Gibson<\/p>\n
Something Jeff Hogan said years ago has stuck with me. The sermon that day was on some specific sin. Jeff commented that if we don’t preach on things like that, the members will think it’s OK to do them. He was right!<\/p>\nFrom time to time, we need to be reminded of what we already know (Philippians 3:1; 2 Peter 1:12). Perhaps since the last time we heard a sermon on the sin of greed, we have become enmeshed in material pursuits (Matthew 13:22; I John 2:15-17). A pointed sermon can serve as a wake-up call.
\nOr if we don’t know a certain activity is sinful, we need to be informed and deeply convicted so we can repent and do better.\n
If we’ve never been taught it’s wrong to use pornography or have sex before marriage or have an abortion or use illicit drugs or cheat on tests or use profanity, etc., then a timely lesson on the subject can educate us in a hurry! That is, if we want the truth.<\/p>\n
“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work<\/em>” (II Timothy 3:16-17 NASB).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Just two verses later, Paul says, “…preach the word…reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction . . .<\/em>” (II Timothy 4:2).<\/p>\n
Jeff’s comment was right on target. If we are to learn how God wants us to live, then preaching must always be a vital part of our lives.<\/p>\n
And that’s how God designed it.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by David Gibson Something Jeff Hogan said years ago has stuck with me. The sermon that day was on some specific sin. Jeff commented that if we don’t preach on things like that, the members will think it’s OK to do them. He was right! From time to time, we need to be reminded of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[581,451],"class_list":["post-88512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-patience","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60397,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/thoughts-on-recycling-sermons\/","url_meta":{"origin":88512,"position":0},"title":"Thoughts on Recycling Sermons","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 20, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Steve Mathewson How much life should you get out of a sermon? When is it appropriate to preach it again to the same congregation? How much change should you make when you preach it to another congregation? I've thought about these questions during my sermon preparation this week. I'm\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37541,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-want-you-to-know-the-influence-you-have-had-on-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":88512,"position":1},"title":"I want you to know the influence you have had on me","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Jeff, I want to take the time to let you know of the influence you have had on me. You have helped give me strength, hope, and wisdom. You have aided in giving me a chance at saving my marriage. Through your desire to share the word, and to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61810,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-should-credit-be-given-when-using-someone-elses-material\/","url_meta":{"origin":88512,"position":2},"title":"When should credit be given when using someone else’s material?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Brother Hamilton, I first want to tell you how much I appreciate all of your efforts to serve God and proclaim His word. Although we have never met, your postings and sermon outlines have assisted me in my studies and in my efforts to teach others for several years.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52130,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-use-your-site-as-a-kick-start-in-preparing-sermons\/","url_meta":{"origin":88512,"position":3},"title":"I use your site as a kick start in preparing sermons","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Brother Hamilton, I just want to thank you for the occasional kick-start your extensive index of sermon topics gives me when I'm stumped on a topic for a sermon from time to time.\u00a0 I found La Vista's site some time ago when I didn't have a topic or a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32941,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-writes-the-answers-on-your-website\/","url_meta":{"origin":88512,"position":4},"title":"Who writes the answers on your website?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Who is the minister for La Vista church of Christ? Or, if not the same, who wrote most of the articles for the website? I really enjoy the hundreds of informative and Bible-based articles, commentaries, etc., and am wondering who authored most of them, since no name is mentioned.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57250,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/an-idea-for-a-sermon-topic\/","url_meta":{"origin":88512,"position":5},"title":"An Idea for a Sermon Topic","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 23, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant Sometimes preachers are hard-pressed to come up with a good sermon topic. In reading some of my father's old church bulletins from Norman, Oklahoma, (April 1946), he wrote of a famous preacher in London many years ago who announced his sermon for the next Sunday -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/thinking.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88512\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}