First Sermon? Not quite.

I am scheduled to preach my first sermon on July 1.  But, not quite, as the service will be held in our Pastor's living room.  The building we use for our corporate Sunday service will be utilized by another group on that particular Sunday.  This means that like my other sermon, it will be in more of a "bible study" format.  A little less formal than standing up in front of a congregation...which could happen on July 15.  I'm not nearly as nervous about July 1 as I will be about July 15.  With that said, I have been struggling with what to preach (teach) on. 

There are several topics that are in my radar but nothing has fastened itself to my mind just yet.  I could do "The 5 Enemies of our Faith: Ignorance, Doubt, Fear, Presumption, and Pride" or The Potters House, or What is Faith? or Time vs Eternity, Overcomers or The shipwrecked, or an exposition of Hebrews12:1(Run with Edurance) or Hebrews 12:7-8 (Illegitimate! What did he say?), What John 3:16 really says, or Limited Atonement vs Universal Atonement, or Satan's Greatest Weapon, or maybe The Best Advice I can Give.  There is lots of potential, but two things are clear, 1. I don't want it to be about me and 2. I want to consider my audience. 

I recently read that the main purpose of a preacher was to "arouse Faith" in the listener.  I agree to the significance of that statement even while understanding that a Pastor's role is much more than that.  At the end of the day, that is what God desires.  If the preacher arouses Faith in the listener, then God will have their attention and they will hear, they will experience God and they will respond, gaining the necessary "experience" with God that builds on the foundation of the Gospel.  Jesus said, "And this is Eternal life, that they may know YOU the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom YOU have sent", John 17:3 NKJV.  Most of the folks in the audience don't study.  They may even suffer from the "i'm ok you're ok" syndrome.  That attitude is not consistent with the teachings and admonishings in the New Testament.  I'm sure they do not understand the significance of this "short" life we have here in this Earth.  This is the proving ground...the test for what our Eternity will be like. 

Bottomline is this: If you are satisfied as a Christian, then we are finished as the body of Christ.  That is really what I want to convey.  Our lives as Christians should be lived with a certain level of urgency, concern, tension and healthy "fear of the Lord".  I haven't been able to find the "take it easy" teachings in the bible, but there are plenty of "watch out!, "take heed", "press on", don't give up, overcome, trust 'til the end, etc. etc.

Lord, put the words in my mouth and help me communicate the message you want presented, Amen!