Rodney V Johnson

New Light Faith Ministries, Inc
, Kansas

• Education: B.S. in Business Management M.S. in Operations Management
• Experience: I have been in ministry for 42 years. After being licensed and ordained, I have in several areas of ministry while also serving on the pastoral staff. These areas include the education, music, singles, couples and trustee ministries. My wife and I also served on the Board of Directors of "United Marriage Encounter", an interfaith, international ministry focused on making good marriages better. In 2002 God led me to start New Light Faith Ministries out of which was birthed New Light Christian Fellowship. I am a teacher at heart with a calling to help others understand the Word of God in its fullness.
• Comment to those looking at my sermons: Sometimes you may have to read them two or three times for them to make sense. I sometimes approach things from a very different perspective to make a point, but once the point is made, they generally last. As you read my sermons, please feel free to use any of them for your congregation. God gave the message to me but He did not tell me to copyright them so you do not need my permission if something I have shared speaks to you and you want to share it with others.
• Sermon or series that made a difference: My sermon series on forgiveness. I had to preach it to myself before I could deliver it to others.
• One of my favorite illustrations: How God wipes our sins away. I fill a see through cup with water. I add in red food coloring to illustrate our sins being as scarlet. When I talk about Christ wiping our sins away and the slate being clean, I pour bleach into the cup and the water turns clear again.
• Family: Married for 41 years with two daughters.
• What my parents think of my sermons: They loved them. Before my mother died, I remember preaching my second sermon which was very similar to my first sermon. My mother told me that I basically preached the same sermon. From that moment till now, 32 years later, I make sure I pray about what I am to say and study hard. My father always told me not to make them happy twice: once when I get up to speak and two, when I sat down. In other words, keep the message simple and to the point. He appreciated this approach greatly.
• What my spouse (really) thinks of my sermons: I think she spends a lot of time wondering where I come up with some of my topics. Every now and then she will tell me it was a "good" message, and she encourages me when I share something that is very difficult. She sees me as her husband and because she knows me she understands my heart in a way that others cannot. That gives her a deeper insight (even when we disagree) into my sermons.
• Best advice given to me about preaching: To make sure I studied my topic and was correct in the information I was delivering as God would hold me accountable for whatever I said or taught to His people. If I got it wrong and someone took what I said and shared with others that I’ll never meet, I am still held accountable for what they shared with others as I was the one who gave them the wrong information.
• Books that have had an impact: Bible "The Case For Christ" by Lee Strobel Sparkling Gems from the Greek by Rick Renner
• Hobbies: I love reading; baking and playing a relaxing round of golf.
• If I could Preach one more time, I would say...: That God loves us and for that we should be encouraged. We will continue to face difficult times in our life but by the grace of God He has already provided what we need to make it through each trial and circumstance. It might not work out as we would like, but it will lead to our good.
• Something funny that happened while preaching: My notes got mixed up and I did not realize it until the sermon started making no sense. I apologized to the Church, straightened my notes and continued.
• What I want on my tombstone: He lived his faith in Christ everyday.