Sermon Notes and Series Briefs

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Last week, I sent a pretty detailed newsletter on Four Practices to Transform Your Weekly Preaching. The feedback has been super encouraging. It tells me that lots of people are looking to grow as preachers and teachers. One of the things that people asked for is examples of my actual sermon notes. The first of the “Four Practices” was about using a sermon template. But some of you wanted to see it filled out.

• I’ve included two examples of my sermon notes below along with a downloadable PDF version of the notes plus the YouTube of the church service (scroll about 30-min in to get to the message).

• At the very bottom, I’ve provided links to two other Sermon Series Briefs for examples as well.

Sermon 1: The Power of Worship

Download PDF

[CONNECTION/TENSION] 5-min

SERIES RECAP: All4Love // Paul and us

Today: The Power of Worship

STORY: Malaysia— Parents; Hosanna tapes; college in US at 17–piano rooms

Worship has been a huge part of my life!

Switched to teaching/preaching when I started to talk too much between songs!

[TEXT/PARTICIPATION] 20-min

(Philippi map)

Lydia— businesswomen who gets saved and opens up her home

Acts 16:16-22 (CEB)

“One day, when we were on the way to the place for prayer, we met a slave woman. She had a spirit that enabled her to predict the future. She made a lot of money for her owners through fortune-telling. 17 She began following Paul and us, shouting, ‘These people are servants of the Most High God! They are proclaiming a way of salvation to you!’ 18 She did this for many days. This annoyed Paul so much that he finally turned and said to the spirit, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave her!’ It left her at that very moment. 19 Her owners realized that their hope for making money was gone. They grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the officials in the city center. 20 When her owners approached the legal authorities, they said, ‘These people are causing an uproar in our city. They are Jews 21 who promote customs that we Romans can’t accept or practice.’ 22 The crowd joined in the attacks against Paul and Silas, so the authorities ordered that they be stripped of their clothes and beaten with a rod.”

1. The Enemy is real.

• Don't imagine floating demons or dark spirits— levitating dishes and cupboards

• In the Bible evil spirits are attached to people!

• Think of how dark powers work through people (sin is a foothold)

• Think of how dark powers get enshrined in systems and institutions

• Acts 16-- powers blinded eyes and enslaved a girl

• TURN: You are operating in enemy territory // The darkness of the world

• The demonic occurs whenever an image bearer is being dehumanized.

• TURN: Why we do Love Costa Mesa & June 1 meal packing for 35K people

—

Acts 16:23-25 (CEB)

“When Paul and Silas had been severely beaten, the authorities threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to secure them with great care. 24 When he received these instructions, he threw them into the innermost cell and secured their feet in stocks. 25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”

• Pic of prison

2. Worship is resistance.

• The enemy wants to take you out, to get you down

Worship produces hope

• STORY: Researching songs of hope— mostly focused on present not future /// changes: salvation story to personal testimony to experience songs

• When the present is difficult, you need the future to sing about

• Singing about the future was the only source of hope for early Christians

• Slave spirituals were future oriented because the present was so horrible

• cf. Revelation is all about warfare…and it has the most songs of any book in the Bible except for Psalms

Early Christians sang early in the morning

• STORY: Pliny’s letter in circa AD 110: “Christians gather early in the morning and sing hymns to Christ as if to a god.”

• Paul and Silas were living at midnight like morning had come.

• PREACH: Sing at midnight like “morning” has come!

Live like a new day is here!

• ILLUS.: The best way to combat jet lag— adjust your meals!

• TURN: Train your appetites for the age to come

This is what worship does! That’s why worship is resistance!

It’s not the warmup; it’s training for war!

It isn’t just aimed at your experience; it’s for someone else in the room.

—

Acts 16:26-32 (CEB)

“All at once there was such a violent earthquake that it shook the prison’s foundations. The doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 When the jailer awoke and saw the open doors of the prison, he thought the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted loudly, ‘Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here!’ 29 The jailer called for some lights, rushed in, and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He led them outside and asked, ‘Honorable masters, what must I do to be rescued?’ 31 They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your entire household.’ 32 They spoke the Lord’s word to him and everyone else in his house.”

3. Prisoners are waiting.

• Some prisoners are obvious— the slave girl, the prisoners; some are not— the jailer

• Same for us: Some of the most outwardly successful and put-together people are in chains

• Worship opens the heavens and breaks the chains

• Sometimes worship follows salvation (Ex. 15); other times salvation follows worship!

• PREACH: There are people waiting in chains for the church to find their hope. // You might be Paul; you might be the jailer who can set others free