KJV Sermon Outlines

Our Church Has a Great Future

Matthew 16:13-20

I. MY FIRST REASON FOR BELIEVING THAT OUR CHURCH HAS A GREAT FUTURE IS BECAUSE GOD DELIGHTS IN USING IMPERFECT PEOPLE
A. When God builds a church, God always uses weak people
B. People that we probably wouldn't have chosen for the job
C. The apostle Peter was a weak person, he had what we call "foot in mouth disease"

(Ephesians 2:20 - 22) And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

God uses our strengths, but often God chooses to use us at the greatest area of our weakness

A. while the church is a divine creation, it is made up of imperfect
human beings
B. the church won't be perfect until the Lord's return
C. the good news is that the Lord chooses to work in our weaknesses to show his glory so that he gets the glory and we don't.
D. that's why I'm confident that our church has a great future
E. we don't have to depend on our own strengths to build the church
F. we don't need a collection of superstars
G. we don't need unusual talent
H. we need normal, everyday people AND the empowerment of the Holy Spirit

The second reason I'm confident that our church has a great future is
this:

II. CHRIST IS BUILDING THE CHURCH V.18
A. It was the act by which Christ established the church
Jesus said, "I will build my church"
Jesus would handle the building process
God chooses to use us as his instruments, but ultimately it is Jesus who is building his church
B. It is HIS church, not our church
C. Our prospects are as bright as the prospects of Christ himself
Christ builds his church in challenging settings
the place Jesus chose for His church was interesting
Jesus took his disciples to Gentile territory, in the region of Caesarea
Philippi
They were about two hundred kilometers from Jerusalem in the northern part of Palestine
He chose a place known for its pagan religions
It had been a center for Baal worship; one scholar counts 14 temples of
Baal worship in the area.
D. We don't build the church
we wouldn't know how to build a church if our lives depended on it
(Psalms 127:1) Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in
vain.

III. THE GATES OF HELL WILL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT V. 18
A. Jesus promised that he would always cause his people to triumph over Satan and his army
B. Satan leads a doomed army
C. You and I have no idea how much Satan fears a church that is empowered by the Spirit
you remember those game shows where the results were rigged
it looked like a game, but in reality the winner had been decided before
The game even began to the outside observer, the battle between the church and Satan might look like a close one
but listen: the winner has already been decided
the church will prevail
the victory has already been won!

Sermon Outline Index

Please sign our Guest Book!