MinistryHealth
Sermon Starters

Support and Resources For Pastors and
Christian Ministry Professionals

Thomas F. Fischer, M.Div., M.S.A., Editor


The Festival Of Pentecost
Series B

Option #1: "The Living Water of The Spirit"
John 7:37-39a
Rev. Wayne Dobratz, B.A., M.Div. 

1) It is free in Jesus--Ps 36:8-9, 42:2, 63:1, 143:6; John 4:10, 6:35

2) It gives life--1 Cor 10:3-4, 12:13; Eph 5:18

3) It flows from you to share life--Prov 10:11, 18:4; Isa 12:3-5, 44:3, 58:11; Joel 2:28; Luke 3:16; John 4:14, 14:16ff, Acts 1:4-8; Eph 1:13-14, 4:30-32

Charles H. Spurgeon:

Provision is made most plenteously; all is provided that man can need to quench his soul’s thirst. To his conscience the atonement brings peace; to his understanding the gospel brings the richest instruction; to his heart the person of Jesus is the noblest object of affection; to the whole man the truth as it is in Jesus supplies the purest water. Thirst is terrible, but Jesus can remove it. Though the soul were utterly famished, Jesus can restore it.

Every thirsty one is welcome. No other distinction is made but that of thirst. It is not goodness in the creature which brings him the invitation; the Lord Jesus sends it freely, and without respect of persons.

The sinner must come to a personal Redeemer, who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. The bleeding, dying, rising Savior, is the only star of hope to a sinner. Oh, for grace to come now and drink...

+   +   +

Lamb's Message

Object: bottle of water

I have something in my bag here that you would not have been able to sell when I was your age. Nobody would have paid good money for what I have in this bag. Give up?

It’s a bottle of water. You can buy one of these just about anywhere. It’s better, I know, than drinking all that sugar in a can like this (Pepsi). Today Jesus tells us that the kind of water He gives is free and that He wants us to share it for free. Jesus said: "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink."

People buy water bottles like this to have it handy when they’re on a long walk or on a bike ride. Most of us don’t drink enough water. You can’t live without water.

It’s not just our bodies that get thirsty. Our souls get thirsty too. And Jesus is the water for that thirst. It’s hard to explain this, especially if you’re as young as you are, but we need to know that God loves us--and that’s like being thirsty for cold water. We need to know that we are important and that God has a purpose for our lives--that He wants to use us for something important.

And here’s where the water comes in again. Jesus says that He will help us when we’re thirsty in our hearts. But He goes farther than that. He gives us so much more of this "Jesus water" than we will ever need for ourselves. He gives us more so that we can share it. (Show another water bottle from the bag.)

Today we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. When we share this water from Jesus, the Holy Spirit is right there with us. This living water satisfies us inside the way water quenches your thirst. You have more than enough for yourself; now share it! Jesus said: (John 7:38) "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39) By this he meant the Spirit...

+   +   +
 
Option #2: "Heavenly H20"
John 7:37-39a
Rev. Kelly Bedard, B.A., M.Div.
 
The Point: Got water? 
 
The Problem: We search for and drink from other than God's water(s), from stagnant and self-serving streams.
 
The Promise: Because God made Jesus thirst and die for us, the Holy Spirit continually refreshes our faith in Him and empowers us for service to others in Jesus' name.
 
1.dipsao {dip-sah'-o}, v37: those who are said to thirst who painfully feel their want of, and eagerly long for, those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, strengthened. (Blue Letter Bible)
 
2. pino {pee'-no}, v37: to drink; figuratively, to receive into the soul what serves to refresh, strengthen, nourish it unto life eternal. (Ibid)
 
3.koilia {koy-lee'-ah}, v38: the whole belly, the entire cavity; the upper [i.e., stomach] and the lower belly are distinguished; the lower belly, the lower region, the receptacle of the excrement; the gullet; to be given up to the pleasures of the palate, to gluttony; the womb, the place where the foetus is conceived and nourished until birth; of the uterus of animals; the innermost part of a person, the soul, heart as the seat of thought, feeling, choice. (Ibid)
 
4.potamos {pot-am-os'}, v38: a stream, a river; a torrent; floods. (Ibid)
 
5. zao {dzah'-o} to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead); to enjoy real life; to have true life and worthy of the name; active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of God; to live, i.e., pass life, in the manner of the living and acting; of mortals or character; living water, having vital power in itself and exerting the same upon the soul; metaphorically, to be in full vigour; to be fresh, strong, efficient; as adjective, active, powerful, efficacious. (Ibid)
 
6.At the Feast of Tabernacles, water was poured out daily at the altar to remind everyone of the water God miraculously provided for a thirsty Israel in the wilderness. Jesus boldly calls people to Himself, claiming that He can satisfy the inner thirst in people. But the water of the Holy Spirit not only goes in; it comes out--not only does the believer receive blessing, but s/he becomes a blessing to others. This is the contrast between two contemporary religious movements of Jesus' day: the Qumran sect had no outflow, becoming stagnant and dead; Christianity emphasizes outflow, extending life and blessing to others. (David Guzik)

 

Ministry Health Sermon Starters
Copyright 2006 Ministry Health
All Rights Reserved
http://ministryhealth.net

Go to Main Page

Main Site:   http://ministryhealth.net/


Copyright © 1997-2005 Ministry Health, LLC  All Rights Reserved.

Microsoft FrontPage and Microsoft Internet Explorer are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation
Adobe Acrobat and PDF are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated


Contact Support for any technical issues with this website!

This page was revised on: Monday, November 13, 2006 12:18:13 PM