Restoring The Preaching Of The New Testament Church Series

SERIES: “LESSONS FROM THE EARLY CHURCH”

TEXT: ACTS 2:14-41

TITLE: “RESTORING THE PREACHING OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH”

INTRODUCTION: A. Several years back, the Dallas Morning News did a report on Elvis impersonators.

When Elvis was alive, there were only 34 Elvis impersonators. At the time this

article was written, there were over 8,000 Elvis impersonators

The same article estimated that at the same growth rate, 1 out of every 35 people

will be Elvis impersonators by the year 2037.

1. There are a lot of imitation preachers today

2. Some preach what the Bible terms as “another gospel”

3. They have a form of godliness but deny its power

B. A Bible college student was asked to fill the pulpit of a congregation located not

too far away from the school while their minister was on vacation. He worked very

hard on a sermon for that Sunday and really thought he had an outstanding sermon.

When he stepped into the pulpit that morning, he was surprised to see his

homiletics professor sitting in the congregation. Even though he was a little nervous,

he went ahead and delivered what he considered a good message.

After the service was over, the proud young man asked his professor to critique his

sermon. The professor said, “Young man, I have three things to say about that

sermon. Number one: You read your sermon. Number two: You didn’t read it very

well. And number three: It wasn’t worth reading.”

C. As we study the church of the New Testament, you begin to see that preaching had a

pre-eminent place.

1. The church started with dynamic preaching on the day of Pentecost.

--God poured out His Spirit so that His Word might be declared

2. Preaching is indispensable to Christianity

a. Rom. 10:13-15 – “for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be

saved." 14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And

how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can

they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach

unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who

bring good news!"”

b. 2 Tim. 4:2-4 – “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season;

correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. 3For

the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to

suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to

say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the

truth and turn aside to myths.”

D. Preaching is essential to God’s purposes because it performs two important functions:

a. It tells those who are lost in sin how to find salvation

--It tells those who are stumbling around in darkness and confusion how much God

loves them and cares them and that He wants a relationship with them.

b. It tell those who are saved how to enrich their relationship with Him

--It tells those who are already supposed to have a relationship with Him how to

grow in mercy, grace, and servanthood.

E. Let’s look at God’s Word from Acts and see what elements comprise New Testament

preaching.

I. THE 1ST ELEMENT OF N.T. PREACHING: A RECOGNITION OF GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY

A. Dictionary definition of “sovereign” – “above all others; greatest’ supreme in power, rank, and authority;

independent of all others”

1. Dt. 4:39 – “Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the

earth below. There is no other.

2. Acts 17:24-28a – “"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth

and does not live in temples built by hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed

anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he

made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set

for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and

perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28’For in him we live

and move and have our being.’"”

B. Whether we choose to accept it or not, God is in control

--The gist of Peter’s sermon let’s us see that clearly

1. He tells the crowd that what they are witnessing is an act of God

2. He tells them also that God had promised it would happen

3. He also tells them that what happened to Jesus was not just something done by foolish people but that