Effective Evangelism

Reason for the hope we have

Announcements

Call to worship

Bible Verse

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death. (Psalm 68:19-20)

The Lord’s Prayer (Sung)

Blessing

Minister:

Grace to you from God our Father, and Jesus Christ our Lord.

Congregation:

Amen.

Hymn No 51: “Holy, Holy, Holy”

Scripture Reading Isaiah 8:11-15

Hymn No 402: “O, Jesus full of truth and grace”

Offering and Dedication

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. (Malachi 3:10)

Hymn: “We praise You, O Father” (Screen) (Psalm Praise)

Prayer for others

Scripture Reading 1Peter 3:13-18

Sermon “Effective Evangelism – the reason for the hope we have

Introduction

Acts precede words

n Acts precede words

– 8 Eager: To be deeply committed

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison. (Acts 22:3-4)

– 8 Good deeds

§ Keep tongue from evil (verse 10)

§ Turn away from evil (verse 11)

§ Seek peace and pursue it (verse 11)

– 8 Good deeds are pleasing to God

n 8 All not always smooth sailing

– Suffer - pain

§ 1 Peter 4:12-14

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. (1 Peter 4:12-14)

– 8 Do not fear!

§ Example of Isaiah (Isa 8:12-14)

“Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.
The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread,
and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. (Isaiah 8:12-14)

§ Fear God - He is a sanctuary

§ He brings the godless to stumbling

n 8 Commit yourself to Jesus Christ

– 8 He died for our sins - forever!

– 8 He made us righteous

– 8 He brought us to God (1Pet 3:18)

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, (1 Peter 3:18)

n 8 Words follow deeds

– Be prepared (ready)

– Give an answer

§ Tell about the hope (1Peter 1:3-5)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5)

§ Should people ask

§ With gentleness and respect (:15)

n Gentleness: humility, courtesy, considerateness, meekness.

n Fear: Reverence

– Your testimony will vindicate you (1Pet 3:16)

Prayer

Hymn No 404: “Let Christian hope and faith” (Tune 395)

Benediction

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)