Pastor's Outlines

    Abide-8   TITLE: Standing, Abiding, and Prevailing in Christ. TEXT: John 15:12-17 TONE: Encouragement TARGET: Believers TASK: To encourage believers to continually abide in Christ. TEACH: Ruth was a Moabite woman who married one of Naomi’s sons, but tragedy struck when both her husbands and brother-in-law passed away, leaving Naomi a widow in a foreign land. Despite the difficult circumstances, Ruth close to stay by Naomi’s side and accompany her mother-in-law. In Bethlehem, Ruth gleaned in the fields to provide for Naomi and herself, catching the eye of Boaz, a wealthy landowner and relative of Naomi. Boaz showed kindness to Ruth, eventually leading to their marriage and the redemption of Naomi’s family line. Through her unwavering faith, sacrificial love, and humility, Ruth became a shining example of standing firm in her new identity , living a life of obedience to God’s revealed will , and prevailing upon Naomi to go. Ruth’s example will serve as our illustrat

      Abide-7   TITLE: Living and Flourishing in Christ TEXT: John 15:1-17 TONE: Encouragement TARGET: Believers TASK: To encourage believers to abide in Christ for life, nourishment, and strength. TRUTH: A skillet with burnt eggs will be hard to clean in the morning. An alternative to scrubbing is soaking the dish in hot water and dishwashing liquid. Letting a dish abide in the solution will allow a hard cleaning job to become a lost easier. This is what abiding does for a Christian. TEACH: In the time of Jesus a great golden vine hung over the entrance to the Jerusalem temple. Josephus describes it: ‘The gate opening into the building was, as I said, completely overlaid with gold, as was the whole wall around it. It had, moreover, above it those golden vines, from which depended grape-clusters as tall as a man’ ( Jewish War v.210–212). If the second part of Jesus’ farewell discourse was given en route from the Last Supper venue to the Garden