Sermon Outlines for Busy Pastors: Volume 4

By Rob Westbrook

Sermon Outlines for Today's Busy Pastor

Sermon Outlines for Busy Pastors: Volume 4 gives the busy pastor a head start on sermon preparation. With 52 complete sermon outlines, pastors can save hundreds of hours a year.

Here's some advantages Sermon Outlines for Busy Pastors: Volume 4 provides:

These are complete sermon outlines. Each sermon outline is much more than a basic three point outline, these outlines go much deeper, with each main point completely developed with sub-points and more.

Each sermon outline is rooted in God's Word and expository with a wealth of detail, great for spurring your own thoughts.

Every sermon outline is solidly based in the Bible and conservative theology.

Sermon illustrations include enough detail to suggest your own personal or applicable illustrations.

4 complete sermon series, a well as 2 holiday mini-series, are included, saving many hours of advance planning and preparation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rob Westbrook
• Release date: Mar 29, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301172092

Rob Westbrook

Rob Westbrook became a follower of Jesus Christ at the later age of thirty. Called into the preaching ministry at thirty-two, Rob attended New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, earning a Bachelors of Arts degree in Pastoral Ministry. He later earned forty-six hours toward a Masters of Divinity degree.Rob became pastor of his first church, Hebron Baptist Church, in Amite County, Mississippi, in 1998, while attending seminary. By 2002 the time commitments to both seminary and the church became strained, and Rob chose to leave seminary behind for the church. Around 2005, God began preparing him for planting a new church. He left his first church pastorate in 2006 to become a church planter in his hometown of Amory, Mississippi. LifePointe Church had its first service in January 2008. Rob currently serves there, at LifePointe Church.Rob has been married to Teresa for almost 23 years. He and Teresa have one daughter, Lauren, who is engaged to Brandon Britt. They will be married in March 2013.

Book preview

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Boldly Into the New Year - Joshua 1:1-9

2. The Choice is Yours - Psalm 1:1-6

3. Too Busy for Jesus - Luke 10:38-42

4. Perform and Impress? - Proverbs 29:25

5. Lessons from the Thorn - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

6. Proud or Humble? - Isaiah 66:1-2

7. The Atoning Blood - Leviticus 16:1-9; Hebrews 9:7-14

8. Blindness - 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

9. The Road to the Cross: Who Then Can Be Saved? - Luke 18:18-30

10. The Road to the Cross: He's Coming Back - Matthew 24:36-44

11. The Road to the Cross: The Haves and the Have-Nots - Luke 18:9-14

12. The Road to the Cross: The Big Picture - Isaiah 53:1-10

13. The Road to the Cross: It Is Finished - John 19:16-30

14. Second Chances - 2 Timothy 4:11

15. Taking a Risk - Luke 8:43-48

16. The Book Will Bring Revival - 2 Chronicles 34:14-21; 29-33

17. The Woman God Blesses - 1 Samuel 1:1-2:2

18. What it Takes to do the Work of the Lord - Judges 7:1-15

19. Men on Fire - Colossians 1:3-8; 4:12-13

20. Identity Confusion - Luke 22:54-62

21. At the Crossroads - Jeremiah 6:16

22. A Building Dedication - 2 Kings 6:1-7

23. Thanksgiving – Psalm 73:1-28

24. Thanksgiving – Psalm 100:1-5

25. Thanksgiving – Psalm 96:1-13

26. Christmas – The Big Picture – Luke 2:1-14; John 1

27. Christmas – The Incarnation – Luke 2:1-14

28. Christmas – This Baby's Life – Isaiah 53:1-12

29. Following God into the New Year – Genesis 12:1-4

30. Life: What's the Point? - What's the Point of a Church in My Life? – Acts 2:42-47

31. Life: What's the Point? - What's the Point of a New Life? – John 3:1-3

32. Life: What's the Point? - What's the Point of a Right Life? – Romans 12:1-2

33. Life: What's the Point? - What's the Point of My Life? – Jeremiah 1:5

34. 40 Days of Prayer – Week 1 – Acts 1:1-13

35. 40 Days of Prayer – Week 2 – Exodus 34:1-9

36. 40 Days of Prayer – Week 3 – Acts 4:23-32

37. 40 Days of Prayer – Week 4 – Matthew 5:13-16

38. 40 Days of Prayer – Week 5 – Acts 18:1-11

39. 40 Days of Prayer – Week 6 – 2 Chronicles 7:14-15

40. 40 Days of Prayer – Week 7 – 2 Chronicles 7:1-10

41. Questions from Corinth – Reminders – 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

42. Questions from Corinth – What About Divisions in the Church? – 1 Corinthians 1:10-11

43. Questions from Corinth – Flee Immorality – 1 Corinthians 6:13-20

44. Questions from Corinth – What About the Lord's Supper? – 1 Corinthians 11:17-30

45. Questions from Corinth – Who's The Most Important? – 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

46. Questions from Corinth – What About Temptation? – 1 Corinthians 10:6-13

47. Questions from Corinth – What about Gray Areas? – 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

48. Questions from Corinth – Is Marriage Important? – 1 Corinthians 7:1-16

49. Questions from Corinth – The Do's and Don'ts of Love – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

50. Questions from Corinth – What About the Cross? – 1 Corinthians 1:17-25

51. Questions from Corinth – What is the Gospel? – 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

52. Questions from Corinth – What About the Resurrection? – 1 Corinthians 15:12-19

Busy Pastor Sermons Newsletter

Free Sermon Outlines Book

Sermon Outlines for Busy Pastors: Volume 1-4

Sermon Outlines for Busy Pastors: Sermon Series

Bible Study and Apologetic Books

About the Author

Introduction

Pastors are the busiest people in our country.

According to my research, that statement is a fact. Of course, my research is not scientific, but I believe it to be accurate. My most trusted research data comes from my wife. She says we’re the busiest people in our country, and I always listen to my wife!

I know, firsthand, all the many different directions we are pulled, every single day. There are hospitals to visit, weddings to officiate, and funerals to preach. There are families to counsel, new believers to disciple, and leaders to train. There are worship services to plan, toilets to unclog, and light bulbs to be replaced. And some of us have these things to do WHILE working another job – doing the bi–vocational thing. There’s enough stuff going on to keep us busy twenty–five hours a day, eight days a week.

Oh yeah, and there are sermons to prepare. We’ve got to work that in with all the other things vying for our attention. The one thing most of us feel to be our primary purpose, our calling – preaching the Word of God – has to compete with everything else for the one finite element in all of this. Time.

As a seminary student, I remember hearing someone say a pastor should dedicate an hour of preparation to every minute of his sermon. At the time, I thought that was an unreal amount of time to spend in sermon prep. Now, years and sermons later, I can’t even grasp the thought. If our average sermon length is thirty minutes, that equates to thirty hours of prep! For those who have a Sunday night message to prepare, and maybe one for Wednesday night, well, that doesn’t exactly leave time for much else.

There may be some of you who have that luxury of time, but for most of us, that amount of time is simply not there. So we do the best we can with the time we’ve got, and trust God to make something useful from our efforts. And our gracious and merciful Lord often does.

But we want to do better. We want to present our people with well–prepared messages. Messages that will not only fill a thirty-minute time slot, but will also feed them spiritually, lift their hearts, convict them of their sin, and call them into a new or deeper walk with the Lord.

That’s why I’ve put this series together. These Sermon Outlines for Busy Pastors books are for those of you who can identify with any of the above. I want to give you something to build on. Something that’s been studied through, that gives you a head–start for your messages this Sunday. Something that will help you make the most of your limited time.

I don’t make any claims these are the best sermon outlines you’ll ever see. They may not be on par with anything you’ve prepared yourself. But they have all been studied over, prayed over, and preached. The outlines are complete, compiled from the sermon notes I take into the pulpit each week. Take them as a whole, or use them to spur your thoughts in other directions.

Another thing I remember hearing in seminary is: The Bible, the Word of God, has been preached by many, many preachers for two thousand years. You’re probably not going to preach anything that hasn’t been preached before. I would say that is an accurate statement. We’re influenced by the preachers and sermons we hear. God speaks to us through them. And He may speak those same words through us in our messages to others. I know that’s true sometimes in my case and I’m fairly certain that’s true for most pastors. And I’m sure many sermons you’ll find here bear the marks of those preachers I’ve heard or read.

Nevertheless, I offer these sermon outlines to you. Use them for your benefit and for the glory of our Lord. I pray this book, and the entire series, provides you with a tool to help you make the most of your time. And to make much of Jesus Christ.

Preach the Word!

Boldly Into the New Year

Joshua 1:1-9

I. Intro

A. We are in the last week of the year.

1. The ball in Times Square will drop soon.

2. Next year we'll be in a new year.

3. The New Year lies ahead.

4. The future starts today.

B. Read Joshua 1:1-9.

1. In this Scripture, Joshua was facing a change in the future.

2. He was about to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.

3. God assures Joshua that he can go boldly into the future.

C. We're facing a future that is uncertain.

1. We don't know what the future holds.

2. But this passage assures us we can face the future boldly.

3. This is a message for the CHURCH.

4. I want us to see how we can go boldly into the New Year.

II. Remember the Past is Gone. (v.2a)

A. Moses was dead.

1. He would no longer be the spokesman for God.

2. He would no longer be leading the Israelites.

B. Many things had happened in the past.

1. Some good things had happened.

a. The exodus from Egypt.

b. God's provision - manna and quail, water.

2. Some bad things had happened.

a. They turned against Moses and God.

b. All the original Israelites had died.

B. This year is gone.

1. Many good things have happened.

a. Many new families since last January.

b. We've seen people saved.

c. We've seen people grow in their walk with the Lord.

C. The past is gone.

1. Leave it there.

2. Don't look back.

3. It's all been done, whether good or bad.

4. What's done is done.

5. God doesn't stop. We've got to keep moving and following Him.

III. The Future is Ahead (v.2b-5)

A. Get Ready.

1. God tells Joshua and the Israelites to get ready.

a. To get ready for the land He was giving them.

b. He was giving them more than they ever imagined.

c. No one would be able to oppose them.

d. God would always be with them.

B. We need to get ready.

1. God's message to us today is to get ready.

a. Getting ready means making preparations.

b. We need to be preparing ourselves to follow Him.

c. We need to rid ourselves of excess baggage.

d. We can't be successful in the future carrying baggage from the past.

e. We need to travel light.

f. God wants to use us for more than we've ever imagined.

g. If we follow Him, nothing can oppose us.

h. God will always be with us.

IV. God Tells Us How to Prepare.

A. God gives us 5 ways to prepare for the future as a church.

1. Be strong and courageous.

2. God says this 3 times.

V. #1 - Be strong.

A. The dictionary has several definitions for strong or strength.

1. Power

a. We need to move in the future in God's power.

b. Not in our own power.

c. Submit to God's leading.

d. Put our own ambitions away.

2. Resistance to Force

a. Resistance to the forces of evil.

b. Resisting division.

c. Keeping Jesus the center of everything.

3. Purity

a. Keeping our motives pure.

b. Doing nothing out of line with God.

c. Keeping our actions and ourselves pure.

VI. #2 - Be courageous.

A. The dictionary defines courage as fortitude.

1. Fortitude means Persistence.

2. Never stop following God.

3. Endure all things for the promises of God.

VII. #3 - Keep God's Word

A. Preach it.

1. Teach it.

2. Read it.

3. Study it.

4. DO IT!

5. THEN we will prosper and have success.

VIII. #4 - Don't Be Afraid.

A. We don't know what lies ahead.

1. But we don't need to walk into the future in fear.

2. We can go forward in hope and expectation.

3. We can go BOLDLY INTO THE NEW YEAR.

IX. #5 - Don't Be Discouraged.

A. Don't let other people discourage you.

1. You don't serve them, you serve God.

2. God has great plans, despite what people say.

3. If it's just you, that's OK.

4. The Lord will be with you wherever you go.

X. Let's put Jesus back to the center of everything we do.

A. Let's go boldly into the new year, knowing God is already there, waiting on us.

1. Make a new commitment today to follow God in the New Year.

The Choice is Yours

Psalm 1:1-6

I. Intro

A. When I worked at a tire manufacturing plant, one of the first machines I worked on was called a Banbury Unit, which was a mixer.

1. It's a large machine.

2. It went down several levels below the floor.

3. The further down you went, the darker and nastier it got.

4. It also extended up several levels.

5. The higher up you went the lighter and cleaner it got.

6. During shutdowns, we would have to decide who would work where on the mixer.

7. You had a choice, go down into the pit or go up where work was cleaner and easier.

B. That's a lot like life.

1. We stand where we are today, looking to the future.

2. We're looking at where we want to head from here.

3. We have the choice of going down into the pits of living.

4. Or we have the choice of going up in our lives.

C. Now most of us don't see that today is a very significant day in our lives.

1. Today is just like most other days we wake up to.

2. Everything's not really too good or too bad, but it's OK.

3. You may not really anticipate making some really big, life-altering, life-changing decision today.

D. Well, you may not make a big decision today.

1. But you will head in one direction or the other.

2. That first little step in one direction or the other may alter your life forever.

E. That's what we learn in Psalm 1.

1. Read Psalm 1: 1-6.

F. We learn that the little, seeming insignificant decisions we make today can alter our lives forever.

1. God's Word gives us insight as to how the little choices of life today can alter our life in the future, even our eternity.

2. Our direction in life is not usually determined by the big decisions, but the little, everyday choices.

3. There are two directions we can head in life.

II. Direction One: Going Down

A. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked...

1. The man who does not walk in the way described next will be blessed.

2. So the man who does walk this way is not blessed, and becomes an ungodly person.

3. A person who lives according to verse 1 has made his choice.

4. He has chosen his way of life.

5. And his direction in life is called wicked.

6. Most people don't set out to be wicked people.

7. But through their gradual, everyday choices, they end up headed downhill.

8. It begins slowly and ends up in the pits.

9. We can see the gradual decline into ungodliness here in verse 1.

B. The first step toward ungodliness.

1. walks...in the counsel of the wicked...

a. The Hebrew word for counsel means to get advice, to get counseling, to consult with, to get guidance, to get purpose.

b. We could read it as walks...by the advice...guidance...direction of the wicked.

2. The first step toward ungodliness is following the wicked or ungodly.

a. A whole culture of self-help guidance has sprung up in this country.

b. Go to Barnes and Noble and check out their books.

c. They have rows and row of self-help books.

d. Probably 15% of their store was full of books giving people advice on how to live their lives.

e. People will never open the cover of a Bible but they have home libraries full of books on How to.

f. And most of what's out there in the how-to department is ungodly and unbiblical.

3. There are plenty of people out there who are more than happy to tell you how to live your life.

a. Their lives may be falling apart but they can tell you how to keep it all together.

b. And there are plenty of people out there who will follow what others say.

c. You know these people.

d. One week they're high on one thing, the next week they dump that for the new greatest thing.

e. You may be one of these people.

f. You may not have awakened up one day and said, Forget God. I'm going the other way.

g. But you may find that the direction the world is taking you feels better, sounds better, bring faster and quicker results.

h. It is not a big leap, but small, little steps.

i. When you get your direction from any other place that Almighty God and His Word, you are walking in the counsel of the wicked, the ungodly.

j. When you forsake the counsel of God for the counsel of men, you have made the first step toward ungodliness.

C. The second step toward ungodliness.

1. ...stands in the way of sinners...

a. At first this person was walking along, seeking advice from the wicked and ungodly.

b. He was ordering his life according to the guidance of those who are not God-followers.

c. But now he's reached a new level in his descent downward.

d. He's standing with sinners.

e. He's no longer kind of just hanging around ungodly people.

f. These folks have gotten his full attention.

g. Now he's on the same road as sinners.

h. Those bits and pieces of direction he was getting at first have now got him on the road to a life marked by sin.

i. Those first few choices have now put him on the path of sinners.

j. He's not a tag-along anymore. He's joined them.

2. The second step to ungodliness is joining the wicked or ungodly.

a. Joining means acceptance.

b. Joining means you accept the wicked and they accept you.

c. When you get to this second step, you have moved into the realm of accepting the sin of the ungodly.

d. The actions of the ungodly don't bother you anymore.

e. The line of sin is not so clear anymore.

f. Sin seems like such a harsh word and besides, it's their life, let them live it.

g. And you find that you enjoy doing the same activities (don't call them sins) they're doing.

h. Besides, everybody's doing it.

3. Read Matthew 7:13b.

a. The Bible says that many are doing it.

b. And the path they are on leads to destruction.

c. When you are standing in the path of sinners, you are on Broadway.

d. There maybe many people on the path with you, put the end is destruction.

e. When we're talking about the things of God, this ain't no democracy.

f. The majority doesn't rule.

g. Joining the others on the path of sinners will lead to your destruction.

h. When you join the ungodly, you have made the second step to ungodliness.

D. The third step to ungodliness.

1. ...sits in the seat of scoffers...

a. At first this person sought guidance from the ungodly.

b. Following their guidance, he accepted them and joined them.

c. Now he's one of them.

d. There is no difference between them and him: He is them.

e. He didn't all of a sudden decide to become ungodly.

f. But the little choices he made throughout his life led him there, to the bottom.

g. Now he's a scorner, a mocker, taunting God.

h. He has no respect for God and the things of God.

i. God has no meaning and