The Minister's Way: Supports Faith

Introduction

Religious Perspective: To write a sermon or the know-how. This book will give structural guidance to be able to profess the word correctly.

A how-to to writing, expounding, explaining, understanding, discerning, and interpreting Scripture.

John chapter 3 series, Hebrew chapter 10; twelve series, Romans chapter 2; eight series, 1 John series and Psalms chapter 23 series.

These are sermons I wrote; they will help someone to have material that can be useful in ministry.

A Sermon should start with a title, Bible book verse, introduction (should be short), body, then closing:

A subtitle after the Introduction

It’s not necessary to have a subtitle.

Body can be verse by verse, two, or know more than three verses.

What can consist of a body is up to the individual.

Start by saying the title, read the chapter verse, then the introduction, and go back to underline words or lighted portions of the introduction highlighted. Yellow

Yellow is the preferred highlighting: It’s always Yellow.

It will always be noticed.

A Word Underline Means: Come back to that word and expound, explain, give personal experience, interpret, discern, and give understanding. The same goes for any highlighted portion.

Mark Griffin wrote every sermon. These are my words, with maybe a few definitions, a dictionary of words and meanings, phrases, commentary, lexicon, and interpretations.

The verses that are used have a moment of exhorting that follows.

Exhorting can come from experience, the letter, dictionary, but most importantly, the Spirit of God, etc.

Exhorting most of the time should come from thinking about what you think Jesus would like to be said in reference to that verse. Something to be said that has relevance.

For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And people should seek the law from his mouth (Malachi 2:7).

People have personal experiences; some may not, but personal experiences can be exhorting that bring people close to God. The Bible is about storytelling; stories that have value can be very meaningful to bring a person to Jesus.

Dictionary Meanings by Google

Expound: Verb.

Present and explain (a theory or idea) systematically and in detail.

Explain the meaning of (literary or doctrinal work).

Explain: Verb.

Make (an idea, situation, or problem) clear to someone by describing it in more detail or revealing relevant facts or ideas.

Exhort: Verb.

Strongly encourage or urge (someone) to do something.

Interpret scripture: Verb.

Explain the meaning of (information, words, or actions).

Understand: Verb.

Perceive the intended meaning of (words, a language, or speaker).

Interpret or view (something) in a particular way.

Discern: Verb.

Perceive or recognize (something).

Most Assuredly Again

Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’ (John 3:3).

It comes down to what religious or philosophical view you develop in life. Jesus is referring to a spiritual endeavor that will only come to those who accept Him as being sent by God. A person’s mind will be filled with different points of view when they begin to read the Bible for insight. Colleges will only lead you so far; to achieve true awareness of Jesus, you will have to go beyond the normal sense of learning. Being born a new means coming into the knowledge that is logical and based on faith.

Again

Verse 2, This man came to Jesus by night.

Verse 3, Jesus answered and said to him.

Everybody has doubts, even to the degree they don’t believe in Jesus. You have to be willing to accept that Jesus will speak. There are various ways He will reach your soul, and you will know it was Him.

Verse 4, Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’

Nicodemus had a sense of change due to all the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ life at that moment. His question had thoughts behind them that weren’t spoken. Verse 2, Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God.

Verse 5, Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless.

We answer back by saying what you mean, unless. We have no words to say in reference to the kingdom; we can only come to firm resolve through the course of our life.

Verse 7, Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

People have objections, opinions, uncertainness, etc. they just don’t give in to what they hear even if you state it as truth. The spiritual life becomes about discerning Jesus’ Spirit when He reveals.

Closing

Verse 9, Nicodemus answered and said to Him, ‘How can these things be?’

It was stated there are no answers. In the beginning, we are unaware, but over time if you truly become a seeker, what you need to know will come to your spirit.

Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures (James 1:18).

God’s Spirit is central in all matters of being born again; He will intervene in a person’s life (save) within that situation a person will conclude that God helped them.

Short prayer.

Comm: Zond, page 1022

He chose to give us birth. Seeing that this birth is through the word of truth (through the Gospel), this birth must be spiritual rather than natural.

God accomplishes this action by his own deliberate choice. His purpose in regeneration is that we might be a kind of first-fruits. The figure the author has in mind is drawn from such OT passages as Exodus 34:22 and Leviticus 23:10 First-fruits refers to the first portion of the harvest given to God, a foretaste of that which was to come. So it was that the early Christians were a preliminary indication of the great host of people who through subsequent centuries would be born again.

Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for his seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God (1 John 3:9).

(Points of reference: 1 Peter 1:23.)

Know These Things

Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?’ (John 3:10).

Nicodemus, like many other scholars of his time, searched the archives constantly, and the Spirit of God enlightened their thinking, but they did not settle on the information. To this day, many choose to overlook what is obvious about what is necessary to be born of the Spirit. In different ways, the word commands and demands that the changes must be met for the fellowship with the Spirit. Jesus brings about understandings that not only scholars should know, but also anyone will be able to know.

Answered

Verse 10, Are you the teacher of Israel.

Jesus was making known that he should go over the teachings but also the signs. Jesus is telling us to draw into Him from a sincere position of wanting to be with Him. Sometimes abstract words or statements or questionable objections can bring a truth to be known.

Verse 11, Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive our witness.

Jesus is our best source of revelation in heaven, even though He was misunderstood to the degree that most wanted a different kind of leader from God.

Verse 12, If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

People tend to rather not deal with subject matters that deal with controversial knowledge. Our mortality was a very important subject of Jesus even when He directed it to Him.

Closing

Verse 13, No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

Jesus spoke about God like it was second nature to Him. He knew who He was and what was expected of Him, even how He would be perceived.

Verse 14, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.

Know these things, Jesus mentioned heaven in many ways to the point that His disciples and those who come to accept the gospel and believe in Him will know they are real.

Short prayer!

Perish

That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:15).

The gospel contains the life of Jesus and many other perspectives on God and different reference to heaven. The Bible contains stories of tribes and peoples of different nationalities, but within these stories are the lifestyles of some that were contrary to God’s ways. Today the tradition of the Christian is still not being embraced; through the Spirit of Jesus, many are realizing Christianity is the way back to God. Humans don’t have security; we only come to believe our security from God by way of Jesus, who we believe. Each day as we continue to embrace our faith, many thoughts, attitudes, behaviors, distrust, etc., continue to perish from our souls.

Not Perish

Perish/Apollumi: Cause to lose (especially a life).

Verse 15, That whoever believes in Him.

Jesus mentions to never fall out of your relationship with God. There are diverse moments that can come into a person’s life. Within those diverse moments, some can be extreme where your emotions will get the best of you. The word perish can mean different for each person; with that word in mind brings hurt.

Verse 16, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God made it known in a visible form with visible signs and new teachings. The teachings of faith and godliness bring a person close to Him with the extended invitation to always be with Him.

Closing

Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish (Matthew 18:14).

Life will present days when you will be involved in different matters, but the spiritual life is something that you have to manage carefully. It’s easy to get absent-minded about subjects that you don’t have to address tomorrow.

Perish/Apollumi: To destroy (an inanimate object), to kill (by taking a life), cause to lose (especially a life); to die or perish. Violence and strife is often the associative meaning related to this word.

Not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

Godly living just doesn’t get embraced immediately; there will come many repentances before perfecting the way. Being conscient of sin gives you an advantage not to, but there is always the possibility to stumble and never recover.

Short prayer!

Being Not

Condemned

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:17).

Suffering, we don’t always feel we want it or it is of any means. People live in such ways that condemnation is pronounced about them. The gospel has been a message through the ages as a means to know God and understand His ways of delivering those who come to Him. Jesus is speaking here of a mandatory way that has to be in a person’s spirit before the possibility of seeing heaven. The OT has instances where God chose to help a people, but within the course of time, they abandoned their allegiance and felt His wrath. Condemnation began a course for some of God’s people because they chose not to follow His words of advice.

Through Him

Verse 17, But that the world through Him might be saved.

People refer to God giving humanity free choice. To a certain degree, you are destined to fall. We need intervention like Jesus, but He cannot override your influences; He can only advise you on the outcome of your decisions.

Verse 18, He who believes in Him is not condemned; but He who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 11, the words examine yourself are mentioned; we say things like I believe you, but in reality, it takes time to really believe in something. People say to their friends, I believe you, but sometimes they don’t really believe what their friend said was true.

When God speaks in Scripture or a reference to what God said, the Spirit of heaven knows how you are