These are my notes on the Sunday morning sermon by Dr. Jack Graham at Prestonwood Baptist Church for 27 August 2006.
Focal passage: 1 Corinthains 3:6
God is looking for people He can use.
Warren W. Wiersbe said, “If you can explain it, God didnb’t do it.”
Our vision at Prestonwood is:
- To engage in the worship of our Lord Jesus Christ which is life transforming.
- To boldly proclaim and teach God’s inerrant Word without compromise, with conviction, and with compassion.
- To share the Good News of salvation with as many people as possible by every means possible.
- To provide a church in which people are cared for, nurtured, and born.
- To provide a church that will equip families to live in Godly, wholesome relationships.
- To help Christians grow in their faith and apply biblical principles to their lives.
- To provide ministry opportunities which enable Christians to discover their spiritual gifts and use them; maximizing them in Christian service.
- To send and support missionaries to the nations and to our neighbors.
Acts 2:42-47
We must engage in dynamic, life changing worship. What is worship?
1) Consecration
Romans 12:1
God has set eternity in our hearts. He created us to know Him and make Him known. We are created to worship God.
John 4 – worship in spirit and truth
2) spiritual – it is a lifestyle in which we worship God. It is the giving of our lives.
- Passionate
- Heartfelt
3) sacrificial
Rick Warren said, “The heart of worship is surrender.”
The worship service is not about what you are getting from it but what you are giving to it.
4) Sincere
God looks on the heart.
5) Sensible
Worship is service. Everyday is a day to worship.
Someone said, “Praiseis where God lives.”
Song by Matt Redman (“Heart of Worship”):
I’ll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the ways things appear
You’re looking into my heart
Not what you give, but what you remove your hands from that is already His.
6) Celebration
Psalm 100:2; Psalm 21:6; Psalm 42:4
Joy in Worship
7) Connection
Communication
Psalm 40:3
Worship and witnessing are often connected in Scripture.
2 Comments
31 August 2006 at 9:44 pm
Dear Brother Sean,
I would like to prod you a little bit regarding this sermon. If the points you posted are solid, great! If they are mushy, I’d like both of us to know it.
What about this statement: “God is looking for people He can use.” Is that true? Is God looking for anyone? No, God does not have to look for us; He knows right where we are. Are there certain people God would like to use, but can’t? No, God can purpose to use any person, and work in that person’s life to use him, regardless of the person’s present character or situation in life. So, what do you think—is God really looking for people He can use?
How about this one: “To share the Good News of salvation with as many people as possible by every means possible.” What does Dr. G mean by “every means possible”? What are the means described in the New Testament? Would Dr. G, and would you, say that we are to use those means only, or any means we can imagine to try?
How about those two purpose statements that start with, “To provide a church . . .” How do you do that? What does it mean to provide people with a church? I understand that we can provide customers with a good product. We can provide our children with food and clothing. But how do we provide people with a church? What does Dr. G mean by this? Is it an authentically biblical concept, or a consumer-marketing concept?
I hope your time at Prestonwood and your hearing of Dr. G’s preaching are extremely edifying for you. But I encourage you to be very Berean regarding what you hear.
Love in Christ,
Jeff
11 September 2006 at 5:58 am
You can check out the video of this sermon at http://www.powerpoint.org. Go to “Watch/Listen Online” and select “Prestonwood Sunday Service.” This message will be available on the Powerpoint site for another week or so. You want to select “8/27/2006 – Engaging in Dymanic Worship.”