evangelism

By Raising Him From The Dead

Our culture influences how we think about religion.  Certainly it has had an impact on the church’s efforts to share the gospel.  Well today in Marin County and the Bay Area, we continue to see this.  One of the things the culture is actively pushing for is a spirit of tolerance in the area of religion.  This call for tolerance can take various extreme forms.  As we look at this passage, we’ll consider some different extremes of this idea of tolerance, and see how Paul balances a proper sense of tolerance with God’s call to evangelize.

Sermon preached on Acts 17:16-34 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 07/12/2009 in Novato, CA.

Manuscript: By Raising Him From the Dead

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Share

They Went Out and Preached that People Should Repent

This passage shows Jesus and his disciples on a revolution — they are out with a radical message and an urgent mission. As we look at this passage, we’ll learn more about that message and how Jesus and his disciples are getting that message out. We’ll see how people respond to this message in this passage. And as we look at Jesus and his disciples sharing this message, we’ll see that we too are both recipients of this message and those entrusted to carry this message forward to the world — we are all part of this revolution of hearts and souls!

Passage: Mark 6:1-13
Author: Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Sermon originally preached during the Morning Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 06/01/2008 in Novato, CA.

Click here for the manuscript.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Share

He Appointed Twelve

Today we return to our series in Mark and see something amazing.  As we have been studying this gospel, we have already been seeing plenty of amazing things.  We’ve seen Jesus perform a number of miracles, which he does more of today in our passage.  In verses 7-12 Jesus heals more people and casts out more demons.  And yet what I think is even more amazing is what follows in verses 13-20.  In those verses Jesus appoints twelve men to be in his inner circle, to be discipled by Christ, with the ultimate goal of evangelism – to use these men in bringing the good news of the kingdom to the world.  Jesus hand picks twelve men, a diverse group full of unlikely candidates, eleven of whom will ultimately become his apostles.  And it will be through these apostles that Jesus builds his church, and brings his gospel to the ends of the earth.

Passage: Mark 3:7-20
Author: Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Sermon originally preached during the Morning Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 03/30/2008 in Novato, CA.
Other Scripture Readings: Isaiah 55:1-7; Genesis 12:1-4; Revelation 7

Click here for the manuscript.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Share