Pastor's Outlines

    By Faith- 20   TITLE: Faith Wins and Bleeds TEXT: Hebrews 11:33-38 THESIS: To move hearers beyond faith in a preferred outcome to faith in the unchanging character of God—trusting His power when He delivers, His wisdom when He delays, and His goodness when deliverance does not come.   TRUTH: Think of gold in two different states of processing. The Crown. Gold that has been shaped, polished and set into a royal crown. It represents the “winning” faith -visible, triumphant, and celebrated by everyone. The Crucible. Gold that is currently sitting inside a furnace heated to 2,000 degrees. It looks like a bubbling, ruined mess, trapped in the dark fire. To the untrained eye, the gold in the crown is blessed and the gold in the furnace is cursed. But the goldsmith values both equally. In fact, he watches the crucible even more closely. Winning faith shows God’s power in the world ; bleeding faith shows God’s value to the soul as the dross is burned awa...

   By Faith -19   TITLE: A Portrait of Living Faith TEXT: Hebrews 11:32; 1Samuel THESIS: Samuel’s life teaches us that genuine faith is not merely professed; it is practiced through attentive listening, courageous obedience, and persistent intercession.   TRUTH: On May 11, 1685, in Wigtown, Scotland, two ordinary believers -Margret Mclachlan, an older widow, and Margret Wilson, about eighteen years old -were taken to the edge of ocean, where the tides rolled in and were tied to stakes. Their offense was refusing an oath that would have acknowledged the kings authority over Christ’s church. The older woman was placed farther out so that the younger Margaret would watch as the water claimed the older woman first and perhaps surrender. As the tide advanced, Margret was given repeated opportunities to save her life by compromising her confession. She refused. She could not know whether a pardon would arrive, whether the authorities would r...

       By Faith- 18   TITLE: The Faith of a Flawed Man Pt. 2 TEXT: Hebrews 11:32 THESIS: David’s flawed life demonstrates that genuine faith humbly receives God’s grace, honestly repents in brokenness, and willingly offers God costly worship.   TRUTH: I would like for you to consider Robert Morrison this morning. Morrison was a pioneering missionary to China. Morrison was gifted but imperfect -sometimes rigid, overly driven, physically exhausted, and prone to bouts of loneliness and discouragement. He once lamented in depression that “the pioneer is forgotten.” Yet amid government hostility, family grief, illness, and slow visible results, he continued trusting God. After 27 years, he had baptized only ten Chinese believers, but he had translated the Bible into Chinese, produced major Chinese dictionary, and helped lay the foundation for future Protestant missions in China.   When skeptically asked whether he expect...

By Faith -17   TITLE: The Faith of a Flawed Man TEXT: Hebrews 11:32; 1-2Samuel THESIS: David’s faith was not a flawless record but a living trust in God that learned to see differently , wait faithfully , repent honestly , receive promises humbly, and finish by entrusting the future to the Lord.   TRUTH: The book "The Hiding Place" refers to the physical hiding place where Corrie ten Boom and her family concealed Jewish refugees during the Holocaust to protect them from the Nazis. However, the title also carries a deeper symbolic meaning, representing the refuge and safety that can be found in God during times of trouble and persecution. Just as the physical hiding place provided shelter and protection, the book illustrates how faith and trust in God can serve as a spiritual hiding place during life's trials and tribulations. We all find ourselves as different places in different times on our journey, including David.   Hebrews 11:32 names David almost ...