My First Sermon!

I was looking through some old files today and came across the first sermon I preached on November 26, 1989. As I read through my notes (handwritten) I realized that while my thoughts have been refined over the years my passion has remained largely unchanged.

What was the title of that first sermon? "The Kingdom of God."

Let me share a couple of quotes from my first sermon...

"Joining God's kingdom means accepting his sovereign rule in our lives... Christ calls for 100% loyalty to Him and His kingdom, he doesn't expect loyalty to be shared... Christ expects us to live for Him and His glory alone."

"Being a disciple of Christ has never been easy... As David Watson says, "The vast majority of western Christians are church-members, pew fillers, hymn-singers, Bible-readers, even born again believers or Spirit filled charismatics - but not true disciples of Jesus."

"True obedience to Christ could lead to anything, even death... The essence of true obedience and what is required of it is to be found in the Sermon on the Mount."

"God's kingdom is a present reality which is seen wherever God is given authority in people's life."

So there you have it, my passion for Christ, the kingdom of God, and the Sermon on the Mount has been present throughout my entire ministry!