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On this page we have provided several written sermons and outlined class material used in our services. Feel free to use any of the material on this page in personal study or lesson preparation. If you have any questions about the content on this page, click on the "About Us" link above for our contact information. Textual Sermons
Topical Sermons Class Material
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 Opening: Acts 16:23-30 – The Philippian jailer asks the most important question “What must I do to be saved?”. The very fact that he asks this question meant that he understood he was not “saved”! Perhaps he heard the songs Paul and Silas sang (25) and knew they were religious men who held the answer to some salvation greater than that of a physical nature. I.“What Must I Do To Be Saved?” Is Not Asked Or Answered Often Enough. A.There Has Never Been A More Important Question... 1.We speak of “matters of life or death”; sometimes seriously, sometimes jokingly. 2.“What must I do to be saved?” addresses the ultimate “life or death” situation (Rom. 5:12; 6:23). A soul's eternity is at stake! B.But Less Important Questions Are Often Given All The Attention... 1.Matt. 6:25-33 – The material questions are often over-emphasized while the spiritual questions are tossed aside! II.Salvation Is Something We Must ACCEPT. A.Salvation Is Certainly A Gift From God... 1.Eph. 2:8 – “For by grace you have been SAVED through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the GIFT of God...” 2.Rom. 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is ETERNAL LIFE in Christ Jesus our Lord.” B.But Just Because It's A Gift, Doesn't Mean That We Can't Reject It... 1.There are plenty of gifts we might reject... 2.And many in this world will reject God's gift of salvation! 3.How so?... III.Salvation Is Something We Must ACT ON. A.Several Conversion Accounts Make This Clear... 1.Acts 16:30 – “What Must I DO?” 2.Acts 2:37 – “Men and brethren, what shall we DO?” 3.These verses indicate action on the part of the one being saved! B.This Is Not To Say That Our Works Merit Our Salvation... 1.We cannot earn our salvation; God saves us through faith (Eph. 2:8-9)... 2.But he has commanded certain actions that He may do His work of saving us! C.What Must We Do To Be Saved? 1.We must believe in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31). That he was the Son of God and our savior. Without faith it is impossible to please the Lord (Heb. 11:6). 2.We must repent of our sins (Acts 3:19). Repentance simply means you are turning away from sin and turning to God with a resolve to do His will. 3.We must confess Christ as Lord (Rom. 10:9-10). 4.And we must be baptized (Acts 16:32-33). There is urgency here as these events happened after midnight (25). A similar urgency is found in Ananias' instructions to Saul (Acts 22:16). Why the urgency? Because baptism saves us (1 Pet. 3:21)! IV.Salvation Is Something We Must EMBRACE... A.We Must Continue Living Faithfully After Baptism... 1.Heb. 3:12-14 – “Partakers of Christ” are those who hold their confidence “steadfast to the end”. 2.Matt. 7:21 – Jesus' kingdom will be rewarded to those who do His Father's will. 3.Rev. 2:10 – Jesus' crown of life will be rewarded to those who are faithful to their death. Closing: Are you “saved”? On the day of Pentecost, Peter urged those in Jerusalem to “BE SAVED from this perverse generation” (Acts 2:40). Many were saved on that day (2:47), and you can be too! Opening: The familiarity with “first principles” in the church can sometimes mislead Christians to think that studying and teaching these things on a regular basis is redundant and fruitless. However, the scriptures clarify the need for consistent study and instruction of first principles both in and out of the church... I.The Lost Need To Be Taught First Principles. A.If Someone Has Not Obeyed The Gospel, There Is A Reason For That... 1.Acts 8:30-31 – Some, like the Ethiopian eunuch, have never been taught. 2.1 Cor. 1:18 – Some may claim not to believe the gospel. 3.Some because they have unsaved relatives who have passed. 4.Some because of the sacrifices demanded of a Christian, etc. B.We Can Not Always Know The Reason Someone Has Not Obeyed The Gospel... 1.But we should always be ready to teach (1 Pet. 3:15). It could be that they've never even heard! 2.And always remember that “God gives the increase” (1 Cor. 3:5-7). We can do our best to teach but it is God who blesses our work! II.Christian Children Need To Be Trained In First Principles. A.Children Cannot Learn Unless They Are Taught... 1.How can anyone learn unless they are taught? (Acts 8:31; Rom. 10:14) 2.Eph. 6:1-4 – Each father has the individual responsibility of bringing up his own child in the “training and admonition of the Lord”. III.Christians Need To Be Reminded Of First Principles (Even “Aged” Christians!). A.Sometimes We Forget Even The Fundamentals... 1.2 Pet. 1:12-15 – After speaking on fundamental subjects (1:5-11) Peter mentions the need to remind his audience “always of these things” even though they knew and were established in the truth. 2.Phil. 3:1 – Paul did not hesitate to repeat himself to his audience; not out of redundancy, but out of necessity! B.Sometimes We Misunderstand Or Need To Be Taught “More Accurately”... 1.Acts 18:24-28 – Apollos was an “eloquent man, mighty in the scriptures”, but he still needed to be taught “the way of God more accurately”! IV.Many Major Divisions In The Religious World Are Over “First Principle” Issues. A.Divisions Over Baptism For The Remission Of Sins... 1.Although Jesus clearly commanded it (Mark 16:16; Matt. 28:19)... 2.Although early Christians clearly practiced it (Acts 2:41; Acts 22:16) 3.Although the apostles clearly taught it (Col. 2:11-13; 1 Pet. 3:21)... 4.The majority of the religious world refuses to accept it! B.Other Divisions Over First Principles... 1.Worship – What is proper and what is not in worship. 2.Sin and forgiveness – What is a sin and how we are forgiven. 3.Faith and works – What saves us and what doesn't. Closing: Consistently studying and teaching “first principles” in both a relevant and interesting manner can be a challenge! Nevertheless, the lost need teaching, children need instructing, Christians need reminding, and the religious world needs the truth about the “first principles” of God. Let's never overlook the necessity of the fundamentals!
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