robwestbrook.com » preaching

Struggling with Those Voices

Rob — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:34:47 +0000

Pete Wilson, pastor of Cross Point Church in the Nashville area, shares some thoughts on insecurity, including his own.

Like everyone else I go through seasons where I doubt myself and my effectiveness. When you have a public ministry you constantly have people in your ear saying things like…

I wish you preached more like this…

I wish…

Pete then continues by revealing some of his most recent struggles with insecurity. His post gives some insight into what many in the ministry are struggling with; the struggle of never quite measuring up to expectations. Those of others and those of ourselves.

Take a look at honesty from a man knee deep in ministry. He speaks for many of us with similar struggles.

Link: Voices in My Head

This post Struggling with Those Voices originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

Preacher, Who Are You?

Rob — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:13:49 +0000

Love Matt Chandler and his always well-timed words.

Thanks for the link, Todd Rhodes.

This post Preacher, Who Are You? originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

Your Pastor’s Preaching Deep Enough?

Rob — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 17:00:52 +0000

As a preacher/teacher, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll hear this phrase occasionally from some people in your congregation: “I really would like to hear deeper sermons.” Heard that one before? Thought so.

So here’s a video you should watch. It features the preacher John Piper, thought by many to be a deep preacher, interviewing the preacher Rick Warren, who has been accused at times of shallow content in his messages. After you watch the video, leave a comment with your reaction.

Thanks to Pete Wilson for bringing my attention to this video.

This post Your Pastor’s Preaching Deep Enough? originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

Preachers and Humility

Rob — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:00:56 +0000

About ten years ago, I was asked to preach the main message of a Baptist Association meeting. For those not familiar with SBC jargon, the Association meeting gathers the pastors and representatives of all SBC churches within the region. Speaking at the meeting meant I would be preaching to all the area pastors. It was a huge deal and I wanted to be ready.

So I seriously dug into preparing, getting everything in the message spot on. I sweated over it, prayed over it, and preached it to myself so that I would be ready. The message came together and it was good. I was confident it would be just right when the day came to deliver it.

The night came, I got up to preach . . . and I nailed it.

I mean, it was awesome. Even better than I anticipated. And everyone there knew it was good. There was no shortage of spiritual high-fives and pats on the back. I was the preachers’ hero. I could see it. They envied my abilities at proclamation. The invitations to speak would start rolling in. They would have to have me.

One of my preacher friends came up to me. Oh yeah, my first invitation. And so he asked, “What are you doing next Sunday?”

Yep, there it was. I tried to put on my most humble face and tone. I had to handle my new-found fame carefully.

“I’m sorry but I can’t get away from my church on such short notice. I’d love to preach for you but we’ll have to find a better date.”

As I spoke, he had this bewildered look on his face. He wasn’t taking this letdown very well. Oh well, I couldn’t be available all the time!

Finally he replied, “I didn’t want you to come and preach. I just wanted to invite your family over for Sunday lunch.”

CRASH!!! Back to reality.

Preacher guys, if God can use a donkey to speak His truths, don’t get so over-confident when He might choose you from time to time. Whether you preach to 25 or 2500, it’s His Spirit that makes the Word stick. The gift of preaching is an awesome one. But it is a gift.

You are not the message. You are merely a messenger. Preach the Word with all you’ve got. And then get out of the way and let God have the spotlight. It’s His, anyway.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience . . . (Colossians 3:12, ESV)

This post Preachers and Humility originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

You Have Questions? Ask Them Here!

Rob — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:36:58 +0000

In my previous post, I wrote about how our students at LifePointe and I interact once a month. Each week they drop their questions into a box. Once a month I pull them out to try and answer them from the Bible. The questions are always challenging and force me to dig into the Bible.

I’ve received some feedback about this from adults. Our adults have questions, too. And they’re very similar to those our students ask. In our Sunday Night Prayer and Share, our weekly adult Bible Study, many of these questions surface and we chase them down. But that group is much smaller than our Sunday Worship Service.

So, I’m considering doing a summer sermon series based upon questions adults and students have about God and the Bible. But without questions, it’s hard to build a series.

This is where I need your input. What questions do you have for God? As you read the Bible or hear a message, what questions are raised in your mind?

If you could ask one question, what would it be?

Use the comments section below to ask your question. You can comment using Facebook or use the other comment section below that.

Let me know what questions you have. Just type them in below. And we’ll see how this sermon series takes shape. I think it might be something pretty good.

This post You Have Questions? Ask Them Here! originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

Huge Online Bible Study Resource

Rob — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:30:01 +0000

The web can be an awesome tool for Bible study. There are thousands of websites dedicated to the study of the Bible. Just type in “bible study” at Google and you’ll get almost 17 million websites to choose from. There’s no shortage of Bible study on the Internet.

However, not all of those websites can be trusted. Many are correct in doctrine and content, but almost as many are unreliable. Religious agendas thrive on the web and there’s no shortage of people using websites to twist the Bible to say what they want it to say.

So how can we know the website we’re looking at for Bible study is reliable?

Let me suggest just one website to get started with for online Bible study: Bible.org. Bible.org is a huge repository of Bible study, from doctrine to daily Bible reading calendars to their own accurate, readable version of the Bible. You can spend days on Bible.org and not read everything that’s on the site.

While it’s not the only reliable website on Bible study, it’s one of the first places to start. Take a look at Bible.org.

Visit now. Here’s the link: Bible.org

What are some other Bible study websites you would suggest?

This post Huge Online Bible Study Resource originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

Scriptures from LifePointe Church: Feb. 27, 2011

Rob — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 17:45:59 +0000

I used many Bible passages in my sermon at LifePointe Church, on February 27, 2011. If you would like to review them and use them, I’ve made them available for you in PDF format. Click the link below and you can view them or print them.

Link: LifePointe Church Scriptures for Feb 27 2011: Click to Download

This post Scriptures from LifePointe Church: Feb. 27, 2011 originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel

Rob — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:00:48 +0000

A friend of mine sent me this link. If you haven’t seen this, it’s worth a look.

What do you think of what he says about the so-called Prosperity Gospel? What’s your feelings about this teaching?

This post John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

Free Seminary Courses

Rob — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:00:01 +0000

The Gospel Coalition has over 1,000 seminary courses available FREE online. Interested? Here’s the link.

Link: The Gospel Coalition Courses

(via @joethorn)

This post Free Seminary Courses originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.

Online Greek Interlinear Bible

Rob — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:00:41 +0000

For those of us who are interested in the Greek of the New Testament, but need a little English help, here’s a link to an online Greek Interlinear Bible. Each chapter of the New Testament is available as a PDF file. Very nice.

The link: Online Greek Interlinear Bible

(via @mcProdigal)

This post Online Greek Interlinear Bible originated at robwestbrook.com. See more like this at robwestbrook.com - adventures of a mississippi church planter.