Tell of His Love ... [ Northpoint Mission Week ] SERMON NOTES - - PDF document

Show Me Your Scars Show Me Your Scars 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 Pastor Brent Whitefield Intr troduc

• ducti

tion:

• n: What Peter has taught us, Paul here affirms: the crucified Christ is

not only our Savior but our example. The glory and power of the gospel is all the more impressive when showcased in the earthen vessels of our afflicted and persecuted bodies. In the midst of suffering, we believe and we speak; our animus for mission is our faith, not in an earthly reward or rescue, but in our resurrection with Christ. 01. 01. 02. 02. 03. 03. 04. 04.

OCTOBER 27, 2013 SERMON NOTES

[Northpoint Mission Week]

Tell of His Love ...

• 1. What if I do not possess the gift of evangelism? Can I not just live out my faith

rather than articulating it?

• 2. How is the glory of the gospel highlighted by the unprepossessing packaging of
• ur mortal bodies?
• 3. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote: “The last enemy to be destroyed

is death.” How does that insight apply to this passage?

• 4. What is the ultimate goal of our evangelism?
• 5. How does this passage challenge the prosperity preaching of our day?
• 6. V. 12 - “So death is at work in us, but life in you.” What is the relationship

between our death and your life?

• 7. Don’t we believe that Christ suffered in our place? How do we reconcile that

truth with this passage?

OCTOBER 27, 2013 SERMON NOTES

[Northpoint Mission Week]

Tell of His Love ...

Show Me Yor Sca Show Me Yor Scars 2 Cor. 4: 7-15 Pastor Brent Whitefield

• 1. 01. The power of the Gospel is most arrestingly displayed and conveyed as it

is juxtaposed with the fragility of its ministers.

• 2. “Paul has been talking of the sufficiency, glory, and boldness of his ministry, but

the danger is that one might be tempted to reverence the conveyer of this spiritual power rather than the divine source. Putting this treasure in unremarkable household articles keeps the pretensions and accomplishments of the gospel’s ministers from obscuring the fact that the power does not belong to them …” - David Garland

• 3. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” - 2 Cor. 12:9-10

• 4. 02. No cross, no resurrection.
• 5. If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and

follow me.

• 6. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
• 7. I have been crucified with Christ.
• 8. ... that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his

sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

• 9. “The contrasts of these verses underscore that during this evil age it is

endurance in the midst of adversity, not immediate, miraculous deliverance from it, that reveals most profoundly the power of God.” - Scott Hafemann

OCTOBER 27, 2013 SERMON SLIDES

[Northpoint Mission Week]

Tell of His Love ...

• 10. 03. We believe, therefore we speak.
• 11. “For Paul the gospel is not some abstract theory that can be accepted and

hidden away in the heart. It requires proclamation, and proclaiming it in a hostile world is perilous. Paul does not shrink from speaking this gospel boldly to unbelievers and to any believers who get out of line, whatever the consequences, because this is his calling in Christ.” - David Garland

• 13. 04. The communication of the word is both for the benefit of those who are

being saved and for the glory of God.

• 14. “The self-emptying and self-sacrificial character of Jesus becomes operative in

Paul’s life and ministry. Through this, he proclaims the gospel and suffers for it so that the Corinthians may experience the life of Jesus and give glory to God by their thanksgiving.” - Kar Yong Lim

OCTOBER 27, 2013 SERMON SLIDES

[Northpoint Mission Week]

Tell of His Love ...