| HELLO BELOVED IN CHRIST, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR SERMON OUTLINES WE TRUST THAT THESE RESOURCES WILL ASSIST YOU, IN YOUR MINISTRY AS YOU GO WELL EQUIPT DOING THE MASTER'S WORK. GOD BLESS YOU AS YOU GO, ALL FOR JESUS TED THOMPSON.
(Note: At first, only draw the head and shoulders in
the prison window, then later draw the body outside the prison wall.) Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, my name is ____ and I
am going to do something very interesting with this paintbrush: I will make
yellow letters using black paint! You can see I want to tell you about three
men. They are ordinary people like you and me. Each one has hopes and dreams,
things he really wants, just like us. The first man is looking out of a window. Is he happy? Hard
to tell from the expression on his face. But what if I draw bars on this window?
No, he is not happy now. What does he really want? Yes, freedom! We may not
be looking through prison bars, but there are things in our lives that have
us trapped, bad habits that have us in their grip, and we need freedom. So
let's give this man his freedom. With this paintbrush it is easy. Now he is
on the outside looking in! This second man is standing in a park. He is wearing a blue
shirt. Is he happy? Well, let's see. He has met a young lady who is wearing
a red dress and has red hair. She is very pretty, and now he is very happy
-- see, they are holding hands! All of us want someone to love us: to value
us as a special person and to accept us just as we are. This third man is lying on a bed, but he is not happy to
be having a rest. He is very sick in the hospital. Here are the eyes of the
doctors who are trying to help him. There is a machine near his bed this is
going, "beep... beep... beep..." What does he really want? Yes, he wants to
get better, he wants to live, he want life! But the machine has gone, "beep...
beep... beep... beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep." His doctors are not happy. All
of us want to live, and not a life of mere existence, perhaps lying on a hospital
bed hooked up to a machine. We want a life full of meaning and purpose. Yes,
we all want freedom, and love, and a meaningful life. Now I will tell you about three other men who, like this
third man, have all died. They died the death of criminals on a cross 2,000
years ago. On the two outside crosses were men who were thieves. They are
like us, because we have all done wrong. We may not be thieves, but we know
that we are not perfect, we have all sinned. These men had been caught, and
now they were paying the penalty. But on the center cross was the Lord Jesus
Christ. He had done no wrong. He was perfect. But the authorities did not
like that He had taught that He was the Son of God. So they crucified Him.
He also died to pay the penalty for sin, but not His own sin. He died for
our sins!
But there is something we must do. We must choose. On these
two crosses the thieves had to choose. This thief chose to listen to Jesus
and accept what He said. Jesus said to him, "Today, you will be with me in
heaven." The other thief chose to ignore the words of Jesus. He wanted freedom
from the cross to live in this world. But he did not choose Jesus, so he chose
eternal seperation from God in hell. What will you choose tonight? Heaven or hell? Jesus died,
but He came to life again. The tomb was empty. There were angels wearing bright
shining clothes. Because He is alive, He can hear us when we call on Him.
The Bible says that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Will
you choose Jesus tonight? Short Term Ministry Opportunities If you have a few weeks to spare, why not consider joining us on one of our short-term outreaches? We run programmes in many countries for periods ranging from a week to a year.Break the Culture BarrierYou will learn first hand about another culture. Some of your assumptions may be challenged as you work with Christians from other backgrounds. You will share the joys and frustrations of life in another country. And when you return home, you will find that you have learned about your own culture too! Experience the Missionary ChallengeYou will see for yourself what the Great Commission means in a worldwide context. You will work alongside full-time evangelists. If you are considering a career in mission, this is a great way to start! Learn New SkillsOur outreaches all include a training component. You will learn to share your faith more effectively in a variety of contexts. Preach the Gospel MessageYou can play a part in taking the Good News of Jesus Christ to people who might never hear it any other way. The key cross-cultural, short-term opportunities that we currently have available are on the following pages. Interested? Want to get involved? Need to know more? Looking for alternative opportunities, short or long term? Fill in the Contact us Form on the contact us page with your email address, some basic information about yourself and your specific area of interest. We will try to get back to you as soon as possible. |
