Matthew

2:11 On coming to the
house, they saw the child with his mother Mary and they bowed down and
worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold
and of incense and of myrrh.

Notes:

1. Gold was a gift for a king;
2. Incense, a gift for deity;
3. Myrrh, a spice for a person who was going to die.

These gifts may have provided the financial
resources for the trip to Egypt and back.

MAGI

• Who theywere.      
• How they responded to Jesus.  
• The star they followed. 
• Jesus’ age when they found him.  
• Significance of their gifts to Jesus.  
• Essence of true worship. 

King, priest and prophet:

1. Gold               Material wealth
2. Incense          Prayer
3. Myrrh             Repentance

 Rings and jewels are
not gifts, but apologies for gifts.

The only gift is a portion of you.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

• Your mind
• Your eyes
• Your ears
• Your words
• Your hands
• Your feet
  Your body
• Your heart now!
  
  Sermon ­­­­­_________________

Christ’s Attractability:

• Mothers
(Brought
their children to Him)

• Children
(Were
attracted to Him)

• Sinners
(Came
to Him)

• Men
(Followed Him)

• Soldiers
(Were charmed by Him)

• Centurion
(Confessed Him as Lord)

• People
(Healed by Him)

• Pilate
(Was astonished at Him)

• Samaritan
(Praised Him)

• Shepherds
(Worshipped Him)

• Martha
(Served Him)

• Demoniac
(Wanted to be with Him)

• Crowds
(Gathered to Him)

• Material Wealth                   
(Property, economic value)

• Prayer                       
(Supplication, appeal)

• Repentance             
(Regret, penitence)

Christian’s Riches: A to Z

The Believer’s Riches in Christ from A to Z :

Accepted
in the beloved

Born
of God

Crucified
with Christ

Delivered
from the power of darkness

Enriched
in everything in Him

Forgiven
for Christ’s sake

Grounded
in love

Hid
with Christ in God

Instructed
in the way of the Lord

Justified
by His grace

Kept
by the power of God

Led
by the Spirit of God

Made
nigh by the blood of Christ

Nourished
in the Words of faith

Ordained
to eternal life

Perfected
forever

Quickened
together with Christ

Redeemed
from the curse of the law

Sealed
with the Holy Spirit of promise

Translated
into the kingdom of His Son

Unreprovable
in His sight

Victorious
through our Lord Jesus Christ

Washed
from our sins in His own blood

Xalted
from among the people

Yearned
over by the Holy Spirit

A MAN NAMED JOHN

3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the desert of Judea,

Preach the gospel at all times.

If necessary, use words.

1. Repentance             
   
2. Kingdom
   
3. Prophecy
   
4. Water baptism
   
5. Restitution
   
6. Godliness
   
7. Wrath to come                     
   
8. Against pride
   
9. Heaven and hell
   
10. Spirit baptism
    
11. First advent              
    
12. Judgment on sin
    
13. Salvation
    
14. Love to others
    
15. Business honesty
    
16. Absolute justice                   
    
17. Jesus is the God’s Lamb
    
18. Jesus is the Spirit Baptizer
    
19. Jesus is sin-bearer
    
20. Man’s unworthiness
    
21. Jesus is the Bridegroom
    
22. Greatness of Jesus
    
23. Rejection of Jesus
    
24. Jesus the Anointed
    
25. Jesus is God’s heir

If I knew the Lord
was coming in three years I would spend two years studying,

And one year preaching

Donald Barnhouse

3:2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Repentance is a change of mind.

Conversion is a change of action. 

Repent:

• A turning to God
  
• A turning from evil
  
• A turning to serve
  

D.L. Moody

Man is born with his back toward God. When he truly repents, he turns right around and faces God. Repentance is a change of mind. Repentance is the tear in the eye of faith.

SERMON ____________________

The will of God will not take you

Where the grace of God cannot keep you

He chose you:

• Jesus wants you!
  
• Jesus will have you!
  
• Jesus will bless you!
  

When you have to make
a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice.

William James

SERMON _____________________

Without Jesus I can not;

Without me He will not!

What must I do?

• Stop!
• Stand still!
• Turn around!
• Hurry back!
• Don’t pass by!

Gardiner Spring

It is one thing to mourn for sin because it exposes us to hell, and another to mourn for it because it is an infinite evil; one thing to mourn for it because it is injurious to ourselves, and another thing to mourn for it because it is wrong and offensive to God. It is one thing to be terrified; another, to be humbled. 

Notes:

Confess your sins to the Lord,

And you will be forgiven.

Confess them to men,

And you will be laughed at.

Confess Him as Lord:

• Intellectual    understanding
  
• Emotional      affirmation
  
• Volitional       obedience
  

Charles H. Spurgeon

3:3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the
desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

George Whitefield
said,

“We are all born Armenians.”

It is grace that turns us into Calvinists.

Places of callings:

• Wilderness    the Baptist
• Cemetery      demonic
• Roadside       blind man
• Temple          children
• Night              midnight cry
• Garden          Savior
• Heart              believer

3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?”

The standard for the judgment

Of Christians is Christ.

Wrath of God:

1. Coming in the future
2. Divine in action
3. Lasting in effect
4. Revealing in nature
5. Fierce in separation
6. Crested by sin
7. All deserve it!
   

The divine wrath is
slow indeed in vengeance, but it makes up for its tardiness by the severity of
the punishment.

Valerius Maximus

3:8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

Fruit is not the salvation of souls, that is God’s work.

Fruit is “the fruit of the Spirit,” love, joy, peace, etc.

He produces:

• Fruit of repentance
• Joy for the occasion
• Saint for inheritance
• Vessel for service
• Soldier for conflict
• Praise for the blessings
• Judgment for the sinner

Handel H. Brown

3:9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

To convince and condemn

Is all the law can do.

C.H. Spurgeon

Abraham Known by Many

"Abraham is one of the most renowned persons the world has ever seen. Besides the conspicuous place he holds in the Bible history, he is introduced into the Koran of Mohammed, and is regarded by the Arabians as the father of their nation, and bythe Jews as  theirs.

The ancient Persians pay him the highest honor, and think he was Zoroaster. In India, too, Abraham is honored by some sects as their distinguished ancestor. The people of Egypt,
Chaldea, and Damascus acknowledge their obligations to this illustrious man. But what shall we say of the blessings which he received from God? His believing posterity has been multiplied as the stars of heaven. His venerable name is invested with immortal honor in the history of the church and of the world—second only to Him whose name is above every name.

Canaan, the Land of Promise, was given to his natural posterity for fourteen centuries, as their peculiar inheritance. And, above all, from his seed the divine Savior in due time appeared in the flesh, to ransom, by His sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory, a multitude of immortal souls, whom no man can number."

Abraham was:

1. Obedient                resigned, subservient
2. Unselfish                kind, sympathizer, patron
3. Courageous           steadfast, bold, daring
4. Benevolent            giving, charitable, generous
5. Incorruptible          changeless, immutable
6. Mighty prayer        effective, persuasive, vital
7. Faithful                  tenacious, persevering

SORRY, I AM STILL FORMATTING THESE NOTES! 

Thomas
Szasz

If he who breaks the law is not punished, he
who obeys it is cheated. Punishment is no longer fashionable. Why! Because it
creates moral distinctions among men; and, to the “democratic” mentality, this
is odious.

SERMON
_____________________

I tremble for my
country

When I reflect that
God is just!

Thomas
Jefferson

God is
able:

Create                        come
to be, materialize

Keep               preserve,
perpetuate

Supply                       provision,
replenished

Power             supremacy,
truth, love

Succor                       shore
up, sustain, favor

Work               bear
fruit, be effective

Uphold                       reassure,
defend, protect

St.
Patrick:

• God’s
       might to direct me.


• God’s
       power to protect me.


• God’s
       wisdom for learning.


• God’s
       eye for discerning.


• God’s
       ear for my hearing.


• God’s
       word for my clearing.

SERMON
_____________________

3:10 The ax is already at
the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit
will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

What I feared to be
parted from,

Was now a joy to
surrender?

Augustine

Good in
Matthew:

• Good
       fruit      03:10


• Good
       works   05:16


• Good
       gifts      07:11


• Good
       tree       07:17


• Good
       cheer   09:02


• Good
       comfort            09:22


• Good
       ground            13:08


• Good
       seed     13:27


• Good
       work     16:10

Watchman
Nee

Show the world the fruits of Christianity and
it will applaud.

Show it Christianity and the world will
oppose it vigorously.

SERMON
_____________________

04-30-2010

3:12 His winnowing fork
is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into
the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

·        
Hell is truth seen too late.

·        
Hell is prepared for those who prepare for it by
rejecting Christ.

·        
There are good parking places on the road to hell.

·        
Every soul winner believes in hell.

·        
Those trying to prove there is no hell usually have a
reason for it.

·        
If more hell was preached in the pulpit, there would be
less hell in the community.

·        
People may laugh themselves into hell but never laugh
themselves out.

Man’s
View:

Augustine

No hell                       reckoning,
chastening

No eternity     forever,
perpetuity

No afterlife    purgatory,
hell, paradise

No conviction           guilt,
fault, complicity, lie

No rules!        lordship
direction, command

Good
Points about Hell

·        
We've been a little unfair about hell. We've talked all
about how bad it is, but there are some good points about it.

·        
There won't be any hypocrites in hell. A lot of people
stay out of church for this reason, but there won't be any there. There, all
souls will act just alike. (All hypocrites here go there, but they won't be
hypocrites anymore.)

·        
There will not be any churches in hell. All the people
who cuss the church, get mad when invited to attend, even hate the church, will
never be bothered again.

·        
There will be no preaching. Those who hate words like
salvation, born again, repentance, joy, and Jesus will be free from ever
hearing them again.

·        
There will be no more Christians witnessing, no more
religious programs to listen to, no Bible.

But to those who think that "religion" is
"social" let me point out this: you fight noise pollution, but it's
nothing compared to the "weeping and wailing" of hell!

Overpopulation? Man, you don't know anything. Isaiah 5:14 says hell had to enlarge itself
to take care of the crowds.

Hell must be pretty bad for Jesus to
come and die to keep us out of it!

SERMON
_____________________

According to a recent Gallop Poll, the number
of Americans that believe in hell is up from 54% in 1965 to 73% today. The
problem isn't that postmodern people don't believe in Hell, it is that they
don't think they will go there. In 1965, 17% thought they were headed there,
today only 6% see it as their destiny.

The national
anthem of hell is,

“I did
it my way.”

SERMON
_____________________

Hell
IS

·        
A Place of Consciousness

·        
A Place of Torment

·        
A Place of Darkness

·        
Eternal Separation from loved ones who are believers

·        
Without the Slightest Hope of Release

·        
The Torment of Memory in Hell

SERMON
_____________________

Abandon hope,

All ye who enter here

Dante

God’s
View:

• Hell
           is real


• Hell
           has people


• Hell
           is eternal

Augustine

The perpetual death of the damned will go on
without end and will be their common lot, regardless of what people prompted by
human sentiments may conjure up.

SERMON
_____________________

3:15 Jesus replied; “Let
it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all
righteousness.” Then John consented.

One
Lord, one faith, one baptism

Ephesians
4:5

It is
proper:

A subjective Savior focused, pointed

Suffering kinsmen   atone, make amend

A holy             priest              self-surrender, pure

A saintly walk                       dedicated, faithful

A corresponding act            equivalent, aligned

Answering life                      accountability,
duty

Epigrams
on Repentance

·        
No man is rich enough to buy back his past.

·        
The
unhappiest place in the universe for an unsaved sinner would be heaven.

·        
True
repentance has a double aspect; it looks upon things past with a weeping eye,
and upon the future with a watchful eye.

·        
It
is better to be 100 feet from Hell headed away from it, than 1000 miles away
headed toward it.

E. Paul
Hovey

A part of the act of baptism in the Church of
India is for the candidate to place his own hand on his head and say, “Woe is
me if I preach not the gospel.” This is part of the baptismal service of new
members, not the ordination of ministers!

SERMON
_____________________

05-06-2010

3:16 As soon as Jesus
was baptized; he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was
opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting
on him.

When a Baptist was
asked

About baptism he
replied,

“It’s all right, but
you mustn’t hang around the river too long.”

Why was
Jesus baptized?

• To
       be an example


• To
       equip the saints


• To
       anoint the apostles


• To
       strengthen the believers


• In
       obedience to the law


• In
       human humility


• In
       answer to prayer

C.H.
Spurgeon

He is not humanity deified, He is not Godhead
humanized. He is God. He is man. He is all that God is, and all that man is as
God created Him.

SERMON
_____________________

John
Vianney

The Holy Spirit rests in the soul of the
righteous just like the dove in her nest. He hatches good desires in a pure
soul, as the dove hatches her young.

Dove:

Quietness                  calm,
tranquility

Peacefulness                       rest,
stillness

Gentleness               soft-heartedness

Harmlessness                      meekness,
simple

Ambrose

I was dead, but because in Baptism I died
together with Christ, I received the light of life from Christ. And he who dies
in Christ, being warmed by Christ, receives the breath of life and
resurrection.

SERMON
_____________________

3:17 And a voice from
heaven said, “This is my Son, Whom I love, with him I am well pleased.

To be brought within
the zone of God’s voice is to be profoundly altered.

Voice
of:

Light               illumination,
reflection

Salvation       extraction,
escape, relief

Healing                      return
to normal, recovery

Deliverance immunity,
rescue, certainty

Provision       sustenance,
daily bread

James
Earl Massey

God wants to get our attention and He knows
how to get it.

SERMON
_____________________

C.S.
Lewis

You never know how much you really believe
anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to
you.

Believers
are:

• Owned                       by the Father


• Anointed        by the Spirit


• Tempted         by the devil

A.W.
Tozer

I do not find in the Old Testament or in the
New Testament, neither in Christian biography, in church history or in personal
Christian testimonies the experience of any person who was ever filled with the
Holy Ghost and who didn’t know it.

SERMON
_____________________

Kenneth
Latourette

As the centuries pass the evidence is
accumulating that, measured by His effect on history, Jesus is the most
influential life ever lived on this planet.

His
personality:

Peerless        superior,
unequaled, great

Powerful        sovereign,
dominating

Persuasive    urgent,
irresistible

Philanthropic            generous,
indulgent, kind

Portentous    promising,
favorable

Proclamation            assertion,
manifesto, point

Pre-eminence           superiority,
priority, success

Abraham
Lincoln

I can see how it might be possible for a man
to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, But I cannot conceive how he
could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.

SERMON
_____________________

05-14-10

4:1 Then Jesus was led
by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

John
Calvin

Satan is an acute theologian.

Satan:

• Attacks
       unexpectedly.


• Attacks
       at the weakest point.


• Is
       deceitfully friendly.


• Uses
       God’s Word deceitfully.

C.H. Spurgeon

He can make men dance
upon the brink of hell as though they were on the verge of heaven.

SERMON
_____________________

Thomas
a Kempis

Temptation discovers what we are.

Temptation:

Doubt                                     disbelieve, dissent

Misuse power                       overbearance

Spiritual pride                       smugness, conceit

Selfish ambition                   status-seeking

John
Chrysostom

When we are tempted to utter a sinful word,
or when we find ourselves being carried away by anger or some other such
passion, let us reflect on what privileges we have been granted, what Spirit it
is whose presence we enjoy, and this thought will check in us those unruly passions.

SERMON
_____________________

Temptations usually
come through a door that has been deliberately left open.

Temptations:

Self-satisfaction                   egotist, conceit

Self-destruction                    suicide, execution

Self-glorification                   pride, selfishness

Charles
G. Finney

When Charles Finney was asked how he could
believe in a devil, he retorted: “Why
don’t you try opposing him sometime and you’ll find out whether he exists or
not.”

SERMON
_____________________

4:3 The tempter came to
him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become
bread.”

J.W.
Jepson

Temptation is the appeal of the emotions to
control the will in opposition to the truth.

Nothing
but stones:

• Physical


• Flesh


• Material

Satan’s pretension is that he is equal with
God. His perversion is two-fold: he tries to pervert what God says to us, and
also to pervert God’s mind about us.

SERMON
_____________________

4:4 Jesus answered, “It
is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that
comes from the mouth of God.”

Fight truth decay.

Read your Bible!

Word of
God:

• God
       cares for you


• The
       person of Jesus Christ


• The
       work of Christ


• The
       Spirit within you

C.H.
Spurgeon

If you find a professing Christian
indifferent to his Bible, you may be sure that the very dust upon its cover
will rise up in judgment against him.

SERMON
_____________________

4:6 “If you are the Son
of God,” he said, “throw yourself down.” For it is written, “He will
command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so
that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

The proud hate pride
in others.

Benjamin
Franklin

Enemies
of Pride:

Psychological           egocentric,
introspective

Power             supernatural,
immortal

Pride               vanity,
boasting, display

When once a man really sees himself as the
Lord Jesus Christ sees him, it is not the abominable social sins of the flesh
that shock him, it is the awful nature of the pride of his own heart against
the Lord Jesus Christ; the shame, the horror, the desperate conviction that
comes when we realize ourselves in the light of Jesus Christ as the

Spirit of God reveals Him to us. That is the
true gift of repentance and the real meaning of it.

SERMON
_____________________

05-21-10

4:8-9 Again, the devil
took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world
and their splendor. “All this I will give to you,” he said, “If you will bow
down and worship me.”

Larry
Grayhill

Without the Holy Spirit, we worship what we
do not know.

Bowing
down is:

• A
       spiritual act


• An
       act of worship


• Obedience
       of the highest order

The pretensions of Satan are clear. He is the
god of this world and he will not allow relationship to the true God. Satan’s
attitude is that of a pretender to the throne, he claims it as his right.
Whenever and whenever the rule of God is recognized by man, Satan proceeds to
instill the tendency of mutiny and rebellion and lawlessness.

SERMON
_____________________

4:11 Then the devil
left him, and angels came and attended him.

W.E.
McCumber

The devil comes without invitation but only
leaves when commanded.

Victory
Over:

Self-satisfaction                   egotist, conceit

Self-destruction                    suicide, execution

Self-glorification                   pride, selfishness

The only soul Satan cannot touch is the soul
whose spiritual life and rational life and physical life is hid with Christ in
God, that soul is absolutely secure.

SERMON
_____________________

4:17 From that time on
Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

God promises a safe
landing

but not a calm
voyage.

It’s here!

Light               illumination,
reflector

Salvation       liberation,
emancipation

Healing                      reviving,
restorative

Deliverance exoneration,
acquittal

Provision       return
to normal, rescue

Joseph
Bayly

God’s people should plan for a voyage

of a thousand years, But be prepared to
abandon ship tonight.

SERMON
_____________________

05-21-10

4:19 “Come, follow me,”
Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”

William
Barclay

The possession of the good news of the gospel
involves the obligation to share it.

Fishermen
are:

Dependent    subordinate,
involuntary

Diligent                      persevering,
unwearied

Watchful        expecting,
on the lookout

Self-denying undefeated,
invincible

Daring                        spirited,
bold, nervy, hardy

Successful    blessed,
thriving, at ease

In order to catch men for the Lord Jesus Christ,
you must love Jesus Christ absolutely, beyond all others. You must have a
consuming passion of love, and then He will flow through you in a passion of
love and yearning and draw men to Himself.

SERMON
_____________________

William
Barclay

The final proof that a man himself knows
Christ is that he can bring others to Christ.

Christian
Life

Shine             beam,
glow, sparkle, dazzle

Run                be
active, stir, agitate, flow

Help                sympathize,
sustain, bolster

Sow                transplant,
fertilize, water

Fight               defend
against, neutralize

Pray                petition,
supplicate, beg

Fish                casting,
baiting, trolling

Saint
Cyprian

It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad
world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and good people who
have learned the great secret of life. They have found a joy and wisdom which
is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They
are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their
souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians and
I am one of them.

SERMON
_____________________

5:1 Now when he saw the
crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,
and he began to teach them, saying:

Your are what you are
and

Not what people think
you are?

Christian’s
character:

He is poor in spirit    submissive, lowly

He mourns                grieve,
soothe, cry

He is meek                prostrate,
kneeling

He hungers and thirsts       hope for, aspire to

He is merciful                       tender, forgiving

He is pure in heart   lamb, simple, child

He makes peace      mediator, dove

He suffers persecution       hostilities, conflict

John
Wooden

Be more concerned with your character than
your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your
reputation is merely what others think you are.

Notes:

And Satan trembles
when he sees,

The weakest saint
upon his knees.

The
Saint:

• He
       shall be comforted


• He
       shall inherit


• He
       shall be filled


• He
       shall obtain mercy


• He
       shall see God


• He
       shall be a child of God


• He
       shall be rewarded

Charles
Dickens

Reflect upon your present blessings, of which
every man has may; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.

SERMON
_____________________

A teacher affects
eternity;

He can never tell
where his influence stops.

Consider:

• Place
                    of teaching


• People
                             taught


• Purpose
               of teaching


• Plan
                      of teaching


• Power
                               of teaching

 Our
Lord is not the great Teacher of the world; He is the Savior of the world and
the Teacher of those who believe in Him, which is a radically different matter.

SERMON
_____________________

05-28-10

5:3 “Blessed are the poor
in spirit, for there is the kingdom of heaven.”

Charles
M. Schwab

Have the spirit of conquest; Thus you can
successfully battle and overcome difficulties.

Man’s
spirit:

Broken                       uncovered,
wide-open

Penitent         restoration,
satisfaction

Gentle                        tender,
warm-hearted

Thirsting        un-watered,
parched

Compassionate humane, sympathetic

Pure               transparent,
undisguised

Forgiving       condoning,
un-resentful

C.H.
Spurgeon

Learn this lesson: not to trust in Christ
because you repent, but trust in Christ to make you repent; not to come to
Christ because you have a broken heart, but to come to him that he may give you
a broken heart, not to come to him because you are fit to come, but to come to
him because you are unfit to come. Your fitness is your unfitness. Your
qualification is your lack of qualification.

SERMON
_____________________

True humility makes
way for Christ,

and throws the soul
at His feet.

John
Mason

Highway
to Heaven:          Highway
to hell:

Poor in spirit              arrogant

Mourn                                    smirk

Meek                          brutal

Hunger-Thirst           sin
seekers

Merciful                      cold
blooded

Pure in Heart                        black
heart

Peacemaker              war
maker

Persecuted                persecutor

Victor
S. Frankl

We who lived in the concentration camps can
remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away
their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer
sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but on thing: the last of his freedoms,; to
choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own
way.

SERMON
_____________________

6-04-10

5:5 Blessed are the
meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Meekness is not
weakness.

It is power under
control.

Warren
W. Wiersbe

Blessings:

Satisfaction   fulfillment,
peace of mind

Discretion      wisdom,
discernment

Instruction     learning,
proficiency

Salvation       restoration,
retrieval, rescue

Exaltation      importance,
sublimity

Beautification           transformation, restoration

Valuation       reasoning,
appraisal, cost

Anger Symptoms

The obvious symptoms of
sudden anger are often red face, swollen neck veins, clenched fists, and a
stumbling for words. The angry person's vision may also be blurred, because
anger clouds the visual centers of the brain.

Dr. Walter Cannon,
pioneer researcher in psychosomatic medicine at Harvard University describes
the symptoms more precisely:

"Respiration
deepens; the heart beats more rapidly; the arterial pressure rises; the blood
is shifted from the stomach and intestines to the heart, central nervous
system, and the muscles; the processes of the alimentary canal cease; sugar is
freed from the reserves in the liver; the spleen contracts and discharges its
contents of concentrated corpuscles, and adrenaline is secreted."

Theophylactus

The meek are not those who are never at all
angry, for such are insensible; but those who, feeling anger, control it, and
are angry only when they ought to be. Meekness excludes revenge, irritability,
morbid sensitiveness, and steady maintenance of right.

Anger:

·        
I will not permit any man to narrow or degrade my soul by
making me hate him.

·        
An angry man is seldom reasonable; a reasonable man is
seldom angry.

·        
Don't be angry with the people who are smarter than
you—it isn't their fault.

·        
Speak when you are angry and it will be the best speech
you will ever forget.

·        
A man is about as big as the things that make him angry.

·        
The greatest remedy for anger is delay.

·        
Every moment you are angry, you lose a minute of
happiness.

·        
Anger is only one letter from danger.

·        
When a person strikes in anger, he usually misses the
mark.

·        
A man is never in worse company than when he flies into a
rage and is beside himself.

·        
Some people are like buttons—they pop off at the wrong
time.

·        
An angry man opens his mouth and closes his eyes.

·        
Anger is the wind that blows out the light of reason.

·        
One load that is too heavy for anyone to carry—a grudge.

·        
He who loses his head is usually the last one to miss it.

·        
A fellow with the smallest mind is the one who is usually
most willing to give someone a piece of it.

·        
Hating people is like burning the house to kill the rats.

·        
A chip on the shoulder indicates there is wood a little
higher up.

·        
When we give others a "piece of our mind," we
have no "peace of mind" left.

·        
Some people think they have dynamic personalities because
they are always exploding.

·        
Hatred is self-punishment.

·        
The more you grow up, the less you blow up.

SERMON
_____________________

5:8 Blessed are the pure
in heart, for they will see God.

It is safe to tell
the pure in heart

They shall see God,

For only the pure in
heart want to.

C.S.
Lewis

You
will see:

Purity                          and
promise

Sin                              and
salvation

Opened Heaven      and open way

Spirit                           and
sight

Promise                     and
prospect

Seed                           and
satisfaction

Person                                   and
partnership

Oswald
Chambers

The purity God demands is impossible unless
we can be re-made from within, and that is what Jesus Christ undertakes to do
through the Atonement.

SERMON
_____________________

5:13 You are the salt
of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty
again. It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled
by men.

Service without
devotion is rootless;

Devotion without
service if fruitless

Elton
Trueblood

Calling-Conduct:

• As
       a saint      be holy


• As
       a Christian           be Christlike


• As
       salt                        be
       pungent


• As
       a light       be true


• As
       an epistle be legible


• As
       a soldier   be valiant


• As
       a child      be obedient

William
Booth

“Not called!” did you say? “Not heard the
call,” I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid
you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the
burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help.
God stand by the gates of hell, and hear the dammed entreat you to go to their
father’s house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not
to come there. And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed
to obey, and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and
circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world.

SERMON
_____________________

5:15 Neither do people
light a lamp nor put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it
gives light to everyone in the house.

When I met Christ,

I felt that I had
swallowed sunshine.

E.
Stanley Jones

Lamp on
its stand:

Lighted                       illuminated,
brightened

Essential       crucial,
vital, imperative

Useful                        practical,
functional, able

Shining          glow,
bright, brilliance,

Burning         defrost,
catch fire, ignite

Necessary     indispensable,
mandatory

Glorious         beautiful,
sight for sore eyes

Edith
Wharton

There are two ways of spreading light: to be
the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.

Robert
Alden

There is not enough darkness in the entire
world to put out the light of even one small candle.

SERMON
_____________________

5:22 “But I tell you that
anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again,
anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But
anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”

Anger is momentary
passion,

so control your
passion or it will control you.

Horace

Angry
with God:

Stubbornness           self-will,
resolute, fixed

Idolatry                       cultism,
demonism, icon

Murmuring    allegation,
whisper, gasp

Pride               self-admiration,
conceit

Self-will                      stubborn,
resistant, fixed

Adultery         illicit,
forbidden, infidelity

Rebellion       confrontation,
contempt

Backsliding   relapse,
recidivism, lapse

Sinning                      heinous,
criminal, corrupt

Spiritualism   paranormal,
scientology

Hindering      hampering,
interfering

Wickedness foul,
shameful, infamy

Epigrams:

• Anger
       is one letter short of danger.


• Men
       with clenched fists cannot shake hands.


• Anyone
       who angers you conquers you.


• The
       man who cannot be angry at evil usually lacks enthusiasm for good. 

SERMON
_____________________

5:39 But I tell you, do
not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn
to him the other also.

Martin
Luther

A Christian man is the freest lord of all,
and subject of none; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and
subject to everyone.

Jesus
tells us:

• Do
       not retaliate


• Do
       more than required


• Be
       kind and generous

Charles
H. Spurgeon

Let us go to Calvary to learn how we may be
forgiven. And then let us linger there to learn how to forgive.

SERMON
_____________________

5:36 “And do not swear by
your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.”

You deny Christ

When you fail to deny
yourself for Christ

Your
inability to:

Change                     improve,
make better          

Cure               make
better, restore

Answer                      plea,
refute, clear up

Save               unravel,
relieve, free

C.H.
Spurgeon

Augustine well said, “Good works, as they are
called, in sinners are nothing but splendid sins.”

SERMON
_____________________

5:43 “You have heard that
it was said ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

In necessary things,
unity;

in doubtful things,
liberty;

in all things,
charity.

Augustine

With
His love:

• Bless
       not curse


• Good
       for evil


• Pray
       for them


• No
       retaliation

Mother
Teresa

Because we cannot see Christ we cannot
express our love to Him; but our neighbors we can always see, and we can do to
them what, if we saw Him, we would like to do to Christ.

SERMON
_____________________

5:48 Be perfect,
therefore, as you’re heavenly Father is perfect.”

Epigrams:

• If
       the Church were perfect, you could not belong.


• A
       man who knows his imperfections is just about as perfect as anyone can be.


• If
       you insist on perfection, make the first demand on yourself.

Perfect
spirit:

Broken                       faulty,
defective, frail

Meek              exposed,
innocent, subject

Humble                      harmless,
undistinguished

Merciful                      forgiving,
attentive, humane

Pure               virginal,
spotless, chaste

Wise               sensible,
perceptive

Patient                       reconcile,
no malice, forgive

Living             survivor,
individual, soul

Joyful             optimism,
play, exuberance

Gracious        attentive,
welcoming, polite

Norman
Cousins

To talk about the need for perfection is man
is to talk about the need for another species. The essence of man is
imperfection; imperfection and blazing contradictions, between mixed good and
evil, altruism and selfishness, cooperativeness and combativeness, optimism and
fatalism, affirmation and negation.

SERMON
_____________________

The Christian is a
person who makes it easy for others to believe in God.

Christian
Living:

• Salt
       of the earth


• Light
       to shine


• Teacher
       of truth


• Keeper
       of truth


• No
       hypocrisy


• No
       selfishness


• No
       grudges


• Be
       a peacemaker


• Free
       from lusts


• A
       godly family man

Thomas
Jefferson

To the corruptions of Christianity I am
indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a
Christian in the only sense in which he wished any one to be; sincerely
attached to his doctrines in preference to all others; ascribing to himself
every human excellence; and believing he never claimed any other.

SERMON
_____________________

Epigrams:

• The
       Christian who is pulling the oars doesn’t have time to rock the boat.


• Christians
       are the light of the world, but the switch must be turned on.


• To
       feel sorry for the needy is not the mark of a Christian; to help them is.

Christianity:

• Charitable


• Neighborly


• Christlike

Woodrow
Wilson

No man is a true Christian who does not think
constantly of how he can lift his brother, how he can assist his friend, how he
can enlighten mankind, how he can make virtue the rule of conduct in the circle
in which he lives.

SERMON
_____________________

6:6 “But when you
pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is
unseen. Then you Father who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

A sinning man will
stop praying.

A praying man will
stop sinning!

How to
pray:

Secretly          in
private, silently, untold

Watchfully     diligently,
responsibly

Believingly    unhesitatingly,
trustfully

Unceasingly continually,
all the time

Abidingly       changelessly,
as usual

Directly                       point-blank,
squarely

Effectually     forcefully,
powerfully

C.H.
Spurgeon

Public prayer is no evidence of piety. It is
practiced by an abundance of hypocrites. But private prayer is a thing for
which the hypocrite has not heart.

SERMON
_____________________

Jean
Ingelow

I have lived to thank God that all my prayers
have not been answered.

An
Acrostic:

Pleads                        the
name of Jesus

Regards         the
work of Jesus

Abides                        in
the person of Jesus

Yields                         to
the will of Jesus

Expects          the
promises of Jesus

Remembers  the
commandments

Roy
Pearson

Prayer is not a lazy substitute for work. It
is not a short cut to skill or knowledge. And sometimes God delays the answer
to our prayer in final form until we have time to build up the strength,
accumulate the knowledge, or fashion the character that would make it possible
for Him to say “yeas” to what we ask.

SERMON
_____________________

6:7 “And when you pray, do not keep on
babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their
many words.”

Cicero

Of all villainy, there is none baser than
that of the hypocrite, who at the moment he is most false, takes care to appear
most virtuous.

Vain
things:

• Repetition      in prayers


• Imaginations
                   in thought


• Wisdom
                in carnal reason


• Words
                               in speech


• Deceit
                               of actions


• Jangling
              in discussion


• Babblings
            in talk


• Talkers
                             in church


• Questions
            in debate


• Religion
               in profession


• Help
                      in man


• Oblations       in worship

A
Trappist Monk

There are two main pitfalls on the road to
mastery of the art of prayer. If a person gets what he asks for, his humility
is in danger. If he fails to get what he asks for, he is apt to lose
confidence. Indeed, no matter whether prayer seems to be succeeding or failing,
humility and confidence are two virtues which are absolutely essential.

SERMON
_____________________

6:8 But so that you may
know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” then
he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”

Oswald
Chambers

The authority we blindly grope after is God
Himself, not a tendency making for righteousness, not a set of principles.
Behind reality is God Himself, and the final authority is a personal
relationship.

His
Authority:

• To
       lay down His life


• To
       forgive sins


• To
       be over demons


• To
       be over sickness


• To
       judge


• To
       be over all men


• In
       heaven and on earth!

Pulpit
Preaching

The Christian faith is firmly rooted in the
incarnation, in the conviction that, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto himself.” To believe in Christ is to believe that God has come to earth to
dwell with men. In Jesus, we meet the living. Jesus is more than a religious genius
or a holy man or a spiritual pioneer. To believe in Christ is to believe that
the living God has come.

SERMON
_____________________

6:9 “This, then is how you
should pray,”

Henry
Ward Beecher

I think it is the most fearful prayer to pray
in the world.

The
Disciple’s Prayer:

Personal        internal,
mind, heart, soul

Faithful                      committed,
courageous

Worshiping   respectful,
steadfast

Expecting      imminent,
impending

Submitting     nonresistance,
surrender

Petitioning     find
a way, appeal to,

Confessing   remorseful,
shamefaced

Depending    tenacious,
persevering

Acknowledging        recognition,
tribute, praise

Martin
Luther

The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer above all
prayers. It is a prayer which the most high Master taught us, wherein are
comprehended all spiritual and temporal blessings, and the strongest comforts
in all trials, temptations and troubles, even in the hour of death.

SERMON
_____________________

6:13 “And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Every temptation is,
among other things,

an opportunity for
getting closer to God.

Temptation:

• Falling
       through


• Praying
       against


• Enduring
       in


• Delivered
       from


• Succor
       in


• Taken
       out of


• Christ
       our example

Thomas
Secker

To pray against temptation, and yet to rush
into occasion, is to thrust your fingers into the fire, and then pray they
might not be burnt.

SERMON
_____________________

6:19 “Do not
store up for you treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where
thieves break in and steal.”

Men are nailed to the
things of this life.

Chrysostom

Safeguards:

• Do
       not save up earthy things.


• Does
       not trust own understanding?


• Do
       not let your heart be troubled.


• Do
       not lose what you have in Him.


• Do
       not love the world.


• Do
       not lie to each other.

Malcolm
Muggeridge

Riches make people decadent and they behave
accordingly. When, as in our affluent society, there are many rich, there is
much decadence.

SERMON
_____________________

6:20 “But store up for
you treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where
thieves do not break in and steal.

William
Barclay

The danger of prosperity is that it
encourages a false independence.

Storing
up:

• Unbreakable
       bank ignored


• Portion
       for Him denied


• Parent’s
       duty neglected


• Mistakes
       of rich men


• Fool’s
       blunder repeated


• Sinner’s
       Legacy Judged


• Fire
       of earth’s future

Oswald
Chambers

In times of prosperity we are apt to forget
God, we imagine it does not matter whether we recognize Him or not. As long as
we are comfortable clothed and fed and looked after, our civilization becomes
an elaborate means of ignoring God.

SERMON
_____________________

Cicero

Can anything be more absurd than to make so
much the more provision for life’s journey, as there is less of that journey
left?

Upward
Life:

• Treasure
              laid up


• Faith
                     looking up


• Love
                     building up


• Life
                       springing up


• Power
                               lifting up


• Believer
               mounting up


• Caught
       up     to meet Christ!

William
Penn

He that does well for good’s sake seeks
neither praise nor reward, but he is sure of both in the end.

SERMON
_____________________

6:22 “The eye is
the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of
light.”

Ralph
Waldo Emerson

The health of the eye seems to demand a
horizon. We are never tired so long as we can see far enough

The
Body:

• Single
       eye


• Pure
       heart


• Right
       spirit


• Straight
       paths


• Willing
       heart


• True
       heart


• Faithful
       hand

Oswald
Chambers

If our body has been the slave of wrong
habits physically, mentally and morally, we must get hold of a power big enough
to re-make our habits and that power lies in the word “Regeneration.”

SERMON
_____________________

6:25 “Therefore I tell
you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about
your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the
body more important than clothes?

The misfortunes
hardest to bear are those which never happen.

Worrying:

• Sinful
       and produces fear


• A
       disease that causes other ills


• Borrowing
       trouble


• Creating
       misery


• Mental
       suicide


• Wastes
       valuable time


• Disgrace
       to God


• Crime
       against God


• Mental
       cruelty

George
Sweeting

Bishop William Quayle, awake at night because
of fruitless worrying, heard God say to him, “Quayle, you go to bed; I’ll sit
up the rest of the night.” Whimsically put, that experience symbolizes a matter
of major importance in the cure of worry.

SERMON
_____________________

A lot of people who
are worrying about the future ought to be preparing for it.

Don’t
Worry:

• Trust
       in the Lord


• Remember
       to pray


• Live
       by the day


• Recall
       His faithfulness


• Be
       aware of His presence


• He
       will provide your needs

Robert
Burdette

There are two days in the week about which I
never worry. Two carefree days kept sacredly free from fear and apprehension.
One of these days is yesterday and the other day I do not worry about is
tomorrow.

SERMON
_____________________

What worries you
masters you.

Anxiety
and Committal

• Commit
       yourself to Him


• Commit
       your soul to Him


• Commit
       your spirit to Him


• Commit
       your way to Him


• Commit
       your works to Him


• Commit
       your burden to Him


• Commit
       your care to Him

Fulton
Oursler

We crucify ourselves between two thieves;
regret for yesterday and fear of tomorrow.

SERMON
_____________________

7:7 “Ask and it will be
given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to
you.”

A.B.
Simpson

We cannot ask in the behalf of Christ what
Christ would not ask Himself if He were praying.

Seek
and Find:

Attitude:        

• Knock


• Seek


• Ask

Promise:

• Find


• Receive

Dwight
L. Moody

Spread out your petition before God, and then
say, “Thy will, not mine, be done.” The sweetest lesson I have learned in God’s
school is to let the Lord choose for me.

SERMON
_____________________

7:13 “Enter through the narrow
gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to
destruction, and may enter through it.”

Oswald
Chambers

Men defy, but they cannot frustrate, and in
the end they come to see that Jesus Christ’s is the only way.

Gate:

• A
       way into life


• A
       open way


• A
       narrow way

Kelly
Peters

Christians are called to actively respond by
showing that they are people who do not live according to the ways of this
world, but according to the ways of God.

SERMON
_____________________

Herbert
V. Prochnow

There is a time when we must firmly choose
the course we will follow, or the relentless drift of events will make the
decision for us.

Wide:

• Broad
       way


• Crowded
       way


• Fatal
       way

C.H.
Spurgeon

Who can tell the hideous shriek of a lost
soul? It cannot reach heaven. But if it could, it might well be dreamed that it
would suspend the melodies of angels, might make even God’s redeemed weep, if
they could hear the wailing of a damned soul.

SERMON
_____________________

Heywood
Broun

Nobody talks so constantly about God as those
who insist that there is no God.

Wide
Gate:

Darkness       oblivious,
blind, unconcern

Hell                 eternal
damnation, abyss

Fool                backward,
unthinking, weak

Broad             spacious,
boundless, ample

Thief               prowler,
terrorist, stealer

Lies                 perversion,
distortion, twist

False              deceitful,
unreliable, fraud

Wicked                       evil,
villainous, heinous

Liar                 slanderer,
habitual, perjurer

C.H.
Spurgeon

The road is so wide that there may be many
independent tracks in it, and the drunkard may find his way along it without
ever ruffling the complacency of the hypocrite. The mere moralist may pick a
clean path all the way, while the immoral wretch may wade up to his knees in
more throughout the whole road. Behold how sinners disagree and yet agree in
this, that they are opposed to God! It is such a broad road.

SERMON
_____________________

Choice, not chance,
determines destiny.

Gates:

• Strait
       gate      of salvation


• Wide
       gate      of sin


• City
       gate        of sorrow


• Luxuriant
       gate          of sadness


• Beautiful
       gate           of need


• Closed
       gate  of opportunity


• Iron
       gate        of deliverance


• Knocked
       gate           of gladness

Herbert
V. Prochnow

There is a time when we must firmly choose
the course we will follow, or the relentless drift of events will make the
decision for us.

SERMON
_____________________

7:16 “By their fruit you
will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from
thistles?”

He who plants thorns

Must never expect to
gather roses

False
Fruit:

Bitter               spiteful,
malicious, hateful

Natural                       uncultivated,
fallow, simple

Selfish                       self-centered,
egotistical

Deceitful        fraudulent,
delusional, false

Corrupt                       malicious,
revengeful, base

Fleshy                        decadent,
indecent, vile

Oswald
Chambers

Fruit is not the salvation of souls, that is
God’s work; fruit is “the fruit of the Spirit,” love, joy, peace, etc.

SERMON
_____________________

7:20 “Thus, by their fruit you will recognize
them.”

Matthew
12:33

Make a tree good and its fruit will be good,
or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its
fruit.

True
Fruit:

• Repentance Mat 4:17


• Faith               Mat 5:3-12


• Sanctification           Mat 7:13


• Yieldedness Lk 14:25-27


• Obedience    Mat 7:21


• Glorification Rom 3:23

Charles
H. Spurgeon

I would not give much for your religion
unless it can be seen. Lamps do not talk, but they do shine.

SERMON
_____________________

7:21 “Not everyone who
says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who
does the will of my Father who is I heaven.”

C.H.
Spurgeon

Verily I say to you, you cannot have Christ
for your Savior unless you also have him as your Lord.

Lordship
Salvation:

• No
       justification without regeneration.


• Faith
       without works is dead faith.


• Justification’s
       proof is perseverance.


• Faith
       in a Savior who is not Lord is false


• To
       follow Christ you must bear His cross


• No
       one will see God without holiness.

Colonel
Ross

He that is not saved is under sin. He that is
saved is above sin. And he that is sanctified is without sin.

SERMON
_____________________

The Church knows you!

The world knows you!

Does Jesus know you?

Christians:

• Believe
       in Christ


• Repent
       of sin


• Live
       holy lives


• Love
       one another

Blaise
Pascal

The Christian religion teaches me two points;
that there is a God whom men can know, and that their nature is so corrupt that
they are unworthy of Him.

SERMON
_____________________

7:23 “Then I will tell
them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

All that is necessary
for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Away
from His:

Friendship     harmony,
solidarity, Spirit

Fellowship    togetherness,
one accord

Paradise        heaven,
Zion, City of God

Presence       being,
life, existence, body

Heaven                      paradise,
Zion, City of God

Glory               splendor,
elegance, luxury

Face               demeanor,
appearance

Jonathan
Edwards

The devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping
for them, the flames gather and flash about them. When you come to be a
firebrand of hell you will appear as you are a viper indeed. Then will you as a
serpent spit poison at God and vent your rage and malice in fearful blasphemies.

SERMON
_____________________

7:24 “Therefore, everyone
who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice, is like a wise man
who built his house on the rock.”

The most essential
element

In any home is God.

His
House:

Shelter                       retreat,
refuge, haven

Rest                peace,
freedom, quiet

Fellowship    togetherness,
hospitality

Fireplace
Motto:

The
beauty of the house is order;

The
blessings of the house are contentment;

The
glory of the house is hospitality;

The
crown of the house is godliness.

SERMON
_____________________

8:2. A man with
leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you
can make me clean.”

A stiff neck usually
supports

An empty head

Spiritual
Leper:

Sin                  fall
from grace, lapse

Deep              deep
rooted, pervasive

Pervading      exhaustive,
thorough, vivid

Corrupting     dirty,
sordid, noxious, stale

Destroying     corrupt,
vulgar, lustful, base

Death             no
life, crossing over, final

C.H.
Spurgeon

If you do not believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, you set aside the witness of apostles, saints, and martyrs. You also
impute foolishness or deceit to your dearest friends, some of whom died in
faith, exhorting you to believe in Jesus Christ. Indeed, you make all of us who
preach the gospel to be liars, and we are not so. Neither do you think so badly
of us when we speak in everyday life.

SERMON
_____________________

People who are afraid
of death

Are usually afraid of
life

The
Living Death:

• Deeply
       rooted


• Slowly
       spreading


• Loathsome


• Infectious


• Incurable


• Fatal

C.H.
Spurgeon

Avoid anxiously the double sin of unbelief.
If you do not believe Jesus, you do not believe God If you reject his Son, you
reject him. If you give the lie to the teaching of Christ, you give the lie to
God. Flee from this deadly sin!

SERMON
_____________________

God is stripping me
of everything

To give me everything

The leper came:

Humbly                      surrendered, defeated,
faint

Respectfully polite, reverent, in awe

Confident      expectant, optimistic, hope

Believing       convinced, certain, trusting

Submissive   surrendered,
unresisting

It is more important, more thrilling, more
satisfying and infinitely more valuable to know the Healer than to be healed.

SERMON
_____________________

8:3 Jesus reached out
his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said, “Be clean!”
Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.

C.H.
Spurgeon

I hope there are none here who claim a right
to healing. For if so, the Lord will not listen to them.

His
eight touches:

Cleansing     sooth,
purge, heal, cure

Cooling                      restorative,
invigorating

Opening        overture,
offer, invitation

Assuring        heartening,
inspiring

Loosing                      freeing,
deliverance, parole

Blessing        happiness,
favor, success

Quickening   burst
of energy, thrust

Healing                      reviving,
recuperative

Sandra
L. Douglas

To have a curable illness and to leave it
untreated except for prayer is like sticking your hand in a fire and asking God
to remove the flame.

SERMON
_____________________

Confidence should
arise from beneath,

And power descends
from above

Put
forth His hand:

• Power
       to heal          


• Power
       to send


• Power
       to sow


• Power
       to manifest


• Power
       to direct


• Power
       to evidence


• Power
       to return


• Power
       to reward

Gordon
Chilvers

The Holy Spirit is God resident on earth. All
divine power resides in Him. He is looking for those who are honest enough to
be trusted with the power He can give them. They alone will use it for God’s
glory and not for themselves.

SERMON
_____________________

Prayer is the

Recovery of the
soul’s breathing

What
prayer is?

• Empty
       hand of need


• Cry
       of despair


• Key
       to open heaven


• Hedge
       of protection


• Life’s
       blood


• Sap
       of fruitfulness


• Companion
       of praise

Arlo F.
Newell

When praying for healing, ask great things of
God and expect great things from God. But let us seek for that healing that
really matters, the healing of the heart, enabling us to trust God simply, face
God honestly, and live triumphantly.

SERMON
_____________________

8:26 He replied, “You
of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the
winds and the waves and it was completely calm.

Mother
Teresa

God didn’t ask me to be successful; He asked
me to be faithful.

Which
Master?

• Have
       you been born again?


• In
       whom do you trust?


• Whose
       work are you doing?


• What
       company do you keep?


• What
       is your conversation?


• What
       have you learned?

Os
Guinness

Find out how seriously a believer takes his
doubts, and you have the index of how seriously he takes his faith.

SERMON
_____________________

8:27 The men were amazed
and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey
him!”

When Jesus comes, the
shadows depart.

His
Humanity:

• Divine
                              in His origin


• Faultless
              in His character


• Powerful
              in His actions


• Loving
                              in His grace


• Wonderful
           in His teaching


• Perfect
                             in His offering


• Unchanging
                   in His priesthood

I.M.
Haldeman

If Jesus Christ were not virgin born, then,
of course, He had a human father; if He had a human father, then He inherited
the nature of that father; as that father had a nature of sin, then He
inherited his nature of sin; then Jesus Himself was a lost sinner and He
Himself needed a Savior form sin. Deny the virgin birth of Jesus Christ and you
paralyze the whole scheme of redemption by Jesus Christ.

SERMON
_____________________

He who has nothing to
say about

Jesus Christ has
nothing to say.

The
Man:

Personality    identity,
uniqueness, self

Love               tenderness,
devotion

Holiness        moral
excellence, virtue

Example        representative,
example

Reception      sociable,
friendliness, cheer

Life                 participation,
interaction

Resurrection renaissance,
revival, eternal

Return                        new
beginning, resumption

Richard
Halverson

Men who fear God face life fearlessly.

Men who do not fear God end up fearing
everything.

SERMON
_____________________

8:28 When he arrived at
the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men
coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that
way

We cannot do evil to
others

Without doing it to
ourselves

Evil:

• In
       man


• Is
       death


• Hates
       freedom


• Hates
       Jesus

Unknown

You cannot always prevent people from
speaking evil about you, but you can live so that their stories will be false.

SERMON
_____________________

8:34 Then the whole
town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him
to leave their region.

We are restrained
from lawlessness

Chiefly through
reverent fear

Criminal
Justice System

Prison staff:

• Jail
       builders


• Politicians


• Police


• Jail
       employees


• Psychologists


• Social
       workers

Ecclesiastes
8:11

When the sentence for a crime is not quickly
carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong.

SERMON
_____________________

9:5 “Which is
easier: to say, ‘Your sins are
forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?”

Blessed is he who
forgives

Without remembering
and who receives forgiveness without forgetting.

Forgiven:

• Palsied
       sinner


• Diseased
       sinner


• Weeping
       sinner


• Trespassing
       sinner


• Iniquitous
       sinner


• Transgressing
       sinner


• Atoned-for
       sinner

Oswald
Chambers

When we have experienced the unfathomable
forgiveness of God for all our wrong, we must exhibit that same forgiveness to
others.

SERMON
_____________________

9:4 Knowing their
thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?”

He that will not
command his thoughts will soon lose command of his actions.

Woodrow
Wilson

Their
Thoughts:

Hopeless       despairing,
dejected, futile

Hurting                       tortured,
agonized, pained

Hungry                       dilapidated,
impoverished

Thirsty                        parched,
withering, drained

Weak              superficial,
meaningless

Weary             laborious,
punishing, hard

Broken                       defective,
out of order, unfit

Shattered       incomplete,
vague, rough

Desperate      despondent,
dejected, bleak

Unworthy       inferior,
obscure, lowly

Lost                 incorrigible,
obstinate

Unregenerate           un-repented,
un-regretted

When my gasoline tank registers empty, I know
it is full: that is, full of air. But the automobile was not built to run on
air. To displace the air, I must fill it with gasoline. God’s cure for evil
thinking is to fill our minds with that which is good.

SERMON
_____________________

9:9 As Jesus went on
from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the at collector’s booth.
“Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

Oswald
Chambers

The one striking thing about following is we
must not find our own way, for when we take the initiative we cease to follow.

When He
calls:

• Hear
       Him attentively


• Rise
       up quickly


• Respond
       immediately

C.H.
Spurgeon

The proud flesh wants to serve Christ by
striking out new paths. Proud man has a desire to preach new doctrine, to set
up a new church, to be an original thinker, to judge and consider and do
anything but obey. This is no service to Christ. He that would serve Christ
must follow him. He must be content to tread only where Christ has led the way.
It is not for you and me to be originals; we must be humble copies of Christ.

SERMON
_____________________

9:36 When he saw the
crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and
helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Pity weeps and turns
away;

Compassion comes to
help and stay.

His
Compassion:

• Covenant


• Incarnation


• Living
       in the flesh


• Bearing
       the Cross


• His
       return

Doyle
Brannon

Sinners can set themselves against the most
eloquent preaching, stubbornly resist all logic, stay away from revival
meeting, and scorn all truth. But true, heart-felt compassion on the part of
the Christian releases a power that in time proves irresistible.

SERMON
_____________________

10:22 “All men will hate
you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

The mark of true
justification

Is perseverance in
righteousness?