It is easy to be discouraged in the business of ministering and preaching the word of God. It can happen to both preachers in the pulpits and church members in the pews. One of the things that kept the Apostles going in New Testament times was the basic message of Christ crucified. Christ centered preaching should be the passion of every genuine God called preacher and every true New Testament Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the central theme of the Bible. The O.T. says He is coming. The Gospels say He is come. The Epistles say He came. The Revelation says He is coming again. C.H. Spurgeon told young men studying for the ministry to “Take a text and head for Jesus.” We notice five things in 1Corinthians chapter one as we think about preaching Christ and Him crucified. The Call of Christ. 1Cor.1:1. 1. God called men cannot help but preach Christ and Him crucified. 2. God called and chose Paul unto his Apostleship. Acts 9:11-16. The Church of Christ. 1Cor.1:2. 1. God’s local New Testament congregations are called and sanctified in Christ. 2. God called the local congregation to preach the whole counsel of God. Acts 20:17-21. The Coming of Christ. 1Cor.1:7. 1. God would have us looking and longing for the soon return of Christ. 2. God always keeps His word. 2Thess.2:1-14. The Communion of Christ. 1Cor.1:9. 1. God called us unto the fellowship of Christ. 2. God gives special blessings to the faithful in Christ. 2Tim.1:8-12. The Cross of Christ. 1Cor.1:23. 1. God’s power and wisdom are found in Christ. 2. God gives grace and get glory in the cross of Christ. Gal.6:14-16. Conclusion: Havelock Ellis, a British Psychologist who died in 1939 said, “Jesus Christ was a lunatic. If there were an insane asylum in Jerusalem, he should have been locked up in it.” Well, to the unsaved, the cross of Christ is pitiful and ridiculous but to us who are born again, it is something altogether different. Rom.1:16. Believers see three things when we see the cross of Christ. First, The Cross is a Vicious Scene. Isa.53:3-5. Christ took the full impact of our sin upon Himself, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Second, The Cross is a Vicarious Scene. 2Cor.5:21. Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross is one of the dearest truths in God’s word to the elect of God. Third, The Cross is a Victorious Scene. John 19:30. It is FINISHED! The Battle is over. The victory is won. The victory of the cross is done and the glorious resurrection only adds glory to it and seals it’s validity. Look to HIM now, by faith, and be ye saved. AMEN. 7-12.

07-15-12
Speaker: Larry Killion
Topic: Evangelism
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:23