Great News

Introduction: Costly Mistakes

There are some mistakes that are more costly than others...

Sermon Outlines on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians Paul and the Gospel (Galatians 1:1–2:21)

Costly Mistakes

A teenager worked as a florist’s delivery boy. One day he had two arrangements to deliver—one to a church for the dedication of a new building; the other to a funeral home. He got confused and took each to the wrong location. The florist received a call from an angry minister. “We’ve got a basket of flowers in the front of our new sanctuary that says, ‘Rest in Peace.’ ” The florist replied, “You think you’ve got problems! Somewhere in this town there is a casket with flowers beside it that say, ‘Good luck in your new location.’ ” Some mistakes are more serious than others, but perverting the gospel is the biggest mistake of all.

There is ONE mistake we don’t want to make…getting the gospel wrong...

If there is ONE thing we want to make sure we have right…it’s the gospel…the good news of Jesus Christ.

THE PROBLEM:

Some of us are TOO FAMILIAR and think we’ve got it

Some of us are simply UNAWARE

Romans 1:16 NLT

16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.

Galatians 1:6–7 NLT

6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News 7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.

Romans 1:16 NLT

16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.

The gospel isn’t a thing to believe in, it’s a person to be changed by

Most people don’t have an academic or philosophical problem with the gospel…they have an operational problem....the gospel NOT in action...

Galatians 1:11–12 NLT

11 Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. 12 I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:11-12

Galatians 1:11–12 NLT

11 Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. 12 I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.

1. Know the MAN not just the MESSAGE

Explain:

Sermon Outlines on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians Paul and the Gospel (Galatians 1:1–2:21)

A. Even in the earliest days of Christianity, false teaching was apparent. Paul did not overlook it, pretending it did not exist; neither did he minimize it, saying it does not matter.

B. The Judaizers were teaching that a Gentile had to undergo circumcision, becoming a Jew before he could be a Christian. This was not the gospel that Paul and his colleagues had preached, but rather a perverted gospel.

C. The truth, as he explained later (2:15–21), is that all people—Jews or Gentiles—are saved by faith in Christ, not by obeying the Mosaic law.

Even in the earliest days of Christianity, false teaching was apparent. He didn’t avoid it and he didn’t minimize it

A. Even in the earliest days of Christianity, false teaching was apparent. Paul did not overlook it, pretending it did not exist; neither did he minimize it, saying it does not matter.

Galatians: The Judaizers teaching that a Gentile had to undergo circumcision, becoming a Jew before he could be a Christian.

Colossians: There was a mixture: jesus plus…idols…law…etc

B. The Judaizers were teaching that a Gentile had to undergo circumcision, becoming a Jew before he could be a Christian. This was not the gospel that Paul and his colleagues had preached, but rather a perverted gospel.

The truth, as he explained later (), is that all people—Jews or Gentiles—are saved by faith in Christ, not by obeying the Mosaic law.

The truth, as he explained later (2:15–21), is that all people—Jews or Gentiles—are saved by faith in Christ, not by obeying the Mosaic law.

C. The truth, as he explained later (2:15–21), is that all people—Jews or Gentiles—are saved by faith in Christ, not by obeying the Mosaic law.

Stone, S. E. (1995). Sermon Outlines on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians.

STORY/ILLUSTRATION: Meeting Pete Williams—-when I intro a friend....

Paul’s Story

Paul’s Story

Paul met Jesus on the road…he encountered Him over the course of 3 years

Jesus’s Story:

Jesus’s Story:

He spoke with authority…like he had actually BEEN with the FATHER

We learn by hearing information about God but we’re changed by our experience with him

If we settle for thinking we know the message of the gospel without knowing the MAN behind the gospel we will miss the point completely

Galatians 4:4–7 NLT

4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

Galatians 1:

Galatians 1:15–16 NLT

15 But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him 16 to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being.

2. Let Christ determine your Course

Explain

The Gospel doesn’t

Judaizers were trying to use the gospel to promote their own agenda

Paul’s gospel wasn’t about pleasing people (1:10)

Paul’s gospel required a response and it took Paul all over the Greco-Roman world

> praying at the House of Reps

The gospel isn’t just a message to be believed but a man to be followed

Some critics of the church say, “Well, the church is just after your money.”

If only we got off that easily…Jesus doesn’t want your money, he wants your LIFE

The same way that I have been pursued by God is the way in which He wants me to pursue others

Story:

The best news is that WE get to be involved in the Gospel...

Conclusion: I’ll have to get involved...

Shalom Aleichem tells the story of an old man who was afraid of getting involved in other people’s lives. The man was on a bus when a young man next to him asked for the time. The old man just turned away and refused to reply. After the young man moved on, the old man’s friend asked him why he refused such a simple request. The old man answered, “If I had given him the time of day, next he would want to know where I was going. Then we might talk about our interests. If we did that, he might invite himself to my house for dinner. If he did he would meet my lovely daughter. If he met her, they would both fall in love. I don’t want my daughter marrying someone who can’t afford a watch!”

Shalom Aleichem tells the story of an old man who was afraid of getting involved in other people’s lives. The man was standing on a bus when a young man next to him asked for the time. The old man just turned away and refused to reply. After the young man moved on, the old man’s friend asked him why he refused such a simple request. The old man answered, “If I had given him the time of day, next he would want to know where I was going. Then we might talk about our interests. If we did that, he might invite himself to my house for dinner. If he did he would meet my lovely daughter. If he met her, they would both fall in love. I don’t want my daughter marrying someone who can’t afford a watch!”

As absurd as that reasoning is, some Christians are capable of employing such logic when they seek to keep themselves free of “over-involvement” in the lives of others.

Hooks, S. M. (1996). Sermon Outlines for Growing Christians. (S. E. Stone, Ed.) (p. 46). Cincinnati, OH: Standard.

Transition to Dance element....

Transition into Communion....