Category Archives: Preaching

by

Sermon: The Freedom of an Unhurried Life


Last Sunday morning, I shared a message with Sun Grove Church in Elk Grove, CA on the theme of my current writing project for InterVarsity Press. The title is “The Freedom of an Unhurried Life.” You can get a feel for the book in this message. Enjoy…

“The Freedom of an Unhurried Life” – Alan Fadling from Sun Grove Church on Vimeo.

Click here to make any Amazon purchase in support of this blog.
This does not add to the cost of your order, but provides a referral fee to this ministry.
[Click to learn more]

by

Guest Preaching: Advent God With Us


On Sunday, December 4, I had the treat of preaching on the theme of “Advent: God With Us” at Crossway Church in Orange county. I’ve enjoyed being connected with this community since my friend, Paul Kim, launched it. My scripture focus was John 14:6-14. You can listen to or download it here, and download powerpoint slides here.

CLICK to Listen

by

A Prayer for God’s People


I had a wonderful time preaching the three services (9am, 11am and 6pm) at Ventura Vineyard yesterday. I have renewed respect for my friends who preach multiple services every week!

As I mentioned here yesterday, I preached from Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21 on the theme of “Prayer as Relationship with God.” The recording will be available on the church’s media page sometime tomorrow.

Someone asked after the first service for a copy of my personal paraphrase of this prayer that I closed the service with. I told her I’d make it available here (Thanks for asking):

I humble myself before You, Father—Father of all fatherhood—and I ask that You would richly strengthen us with power through Your Spirit in the deepest places in us. Do this so that together we would know Christ at home in and among us. Rooted and foundationed in this place of unfailing love, enable us all to share together in the expansive width, the enduring length, the unreachable height, and the unfathomable depth of Christ’s own love for us. Open our hearts to know the love that what we can never fully know. As a result, may the life of God overflow our lives together in community. Do this and even more, God, in a way that surprises and even overwhelms us we pray, in Jesus’ name.

May God answer this prayer in my life and yours, in my community of faith and yours. Amen.

by

Looking Back: What Do We Expect From Prayer?


I’m up and out early this morning to preach two morning and one evening service up at the Ventura Vineyard today. I’ll be returning to the church next Saturday, May 22, to lead “An Unhurried Day with Jesus” day retreat there. My message is “Prayer: A Relationship With God” and my text is Ephesians 3:14-21. One of my favorite insights about prayer comes from one of my mentors, Chuck Miller: “Prayer isn’t so much something I do as much as Someone I’m with.”

Last October, during a day retreat I was leading, I reflected again on this prayer, imagining what it would look like in a Christian community if this prayer was richly answered.

(And at some point soon, the MP3 for my sermon should show up on the church’s media page).

Read more of “What Do We Expect From Prayer

Share

by

Psalm 23: The Lord is MY Shepherd


This morning, I preached my second of eight sermons this month and next at Orange Coast Free Methodist Church. I shared insights from Psalm 23 that I enjoyed preaching in the Dominican Republic last November. What David says in verse 1, in many ways, helps me most.

First, as David begins, he doesn’t say, “The Lord is a Shepherd” (in a general way), or “The Lord is the Shepherd” (in a definitive way), but “The Lord is my Shepherd” (in a personal way). He doesn’t just shepherd the world of Christians, but He shepherds my life in the midst of my relationships and my work.

The question I began with today was: “

How is the Lord wanting you to know, to feel, and to be confident that He is shepherding your life in this season?”

The rest of the psalm helps answer that question. No one is a better guide, a better companion, a better counselor, or a better shepherd that He is.

And after affirming that the Lord is his shepherd, David then says, “I shall not want.” What does that mean?

1) When I allow myself to be well shepherded by the Lord, I experience deep contentment. I don’t feel a desperate want for anything (or anyone) but Him.

2) When I respond to the Lord’s shepherding, I begin to realize that I really don’t want anything (or anyone) more than Him. I remember the insight of another psalmist who says, “I have no one in heaven but you, earth has nothing I want besides you (Psalm 73:25-26).” I think of the words of Jesus Himself when He said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given you as well (Matthew 6:33).”

So how do you sense the Lord wanting to shepherd you in this new year? What are some places of want or need you want to entrust to Him to meet as He wishes? Where is He wanting to lead you? These would be good questions to ask Him prayerfully.

[For next Sunday, I’m working on a sermon based on the whole book of Habakkuk, but especially focused on 3:17-19. They are powerful words for those of us facing challenging times.]

by

Good Words for a New Year


The title of this blog post is the title of my sermon for the morning at Orange Coast Free Methodist Church. I’m preaching there through the end of February (except January 31). The dumb little speaker’s trick I used for the outline was B.E.S.T. (as in, what are the best words we can speak in 2010).

Blessing
Encouragement
Scripture
Thanks

In the “blessing” part of the message, I’ll be sharing a few scriptures I’ve used in the past as a word of blessing for my sons for for others:

May the Lord hold you in his hands
for all to see–
a beautiful crown
in the hands of God
[Paraphrased from Isaiah 62:3, NLT]

The LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.
[Numbers 6:24-26, NIV]

May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
[Psalm 20:1, 4]

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.”
[2 Thessalonians 3:16]

“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”
[1 Thessalonians 3:12-13]

May you grow and become strong in spirit.
May God fill you with His wisdom
And cause His grace to be upon you.
May you grow in wisdom and stature,
And in favor with God and with people.
[from Luke 1:80; 2:40, 52]

How might God be inviting you to speak words of blessing—good words—to the people in your life?

by

Preaching in the New Year


This Sunday, I’ll preach my first of eight Sundays at Orange Coast Free Methodist Church (the first four Sundays of January and the four Sundays of February). My friend, Shin Asami, has served this church for ten years as senior pastor, but is in transition to another position. This will be the first time in quite a while that I had a weekly preaching gig. I am really looking forward to it.

This first Sunday, I’ll share a few thoughts about the words we speak to one another. It felt like a good theme for a new year. And in that spirit, let me share a “good word” from recent reading and research on the theme of unhurried life:

“Humility is a very slow business if it is authentic. It’s another instance of a spirituality that is not in a hurry.” (Dennis Okhold. Monk Habits for Everyday People. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2007, p. 71)

Buy a copy of Monk Habits for Everyday People on Amazon.com

by

A Good Word: Listening When We Speak


IMG_7321

“A sermon cannot reach the level which spiritual religion demands unless the preacher is continuously sensitive to the needs of those about him, so that he is ready to shift either subject matter or emphasis on a moment’s notice. The true minister is not simply one who comes to the end of his openness to the leadings of the Holy Spirit.” (Elton Trueblood. The Essence of Spiritual Religion. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1936, p. 132)

 

I think this is what I am learning in preparation for retreats and presentations. Often, in the midst of retreat speaking or church preaching, I will feel “Spirit-nudged off-topic” moments. I sometimes wish I could capture those insights, but I might be tempted to rely on past insights and wisdom rather than welcoming fresh insights for fresh circumstances.

Buy a copy of The Essence of Spiritual Religion on Amazon.com

by

Speaking Live Words


IMG_7317“The vessel God wants for his work is not prepared by hearing a lot of things, but by seeing and receiving and being satisfied. Its understanding is based on the life of Christ within, not on information about him. We must beware of just passing on to others what we hear. No matter how precious or profound the teaching may be, we are not to be disseminators of information.” (Watchman Nee. Changed Into His Likeness. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1967, 1978, p. 51)

A. W. Tozer distinguished between scribes and prophets. Scribes are experts on what someone else says. Prophets have living words to speak. (Gem talked about this in a recent blog post). Too many times we say things about God without enough personal knowledge of God. God invites us to intimate encounter, to experienced grace, to actual participation in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). If I am not actually walking with God, what difference will information I pass on about Him make? The world has enough scribes spouting religious ideas without any life in them.

As a voracious reader, my great challenge is to guard against first teaching what I read. I must live it first. I must teach from experienced truth, not just from someone else’s experienced truth. The Pharisees managed to make a living word into a dead letter. Lord, protect me from such an awful fate.

What insights into who God is, how He works and what He says have been most encouraging to you lately? How might He be inviting you to live those insights today before you talk about them?

Buy a copy of Changed Into His Likeness on Amazon.com

by

Personalizing Scripture


Tomorrow morning, I am preaching from Isaiah 30:15-18 at Crossway Church in Santa Ana, CA. I’ve spent quite a bit of time reflecting on this passage over the last week at The Journey. Whenever I am preaching, I work on reading it for myself before I preach it to others. As an example, here is my personalized version of the passage. (“Personalized” is not a paraphrase, but more of a prayed passage, listening for how God might apply it to me). Why not read it for yourself before you read on?

“Listen to what King God, your Holy God, says to you: ‘You would find the rescue and deliverance you need if you would turn to Me and rest there. You would find strength and courage when you learn to stay with Me in quiet trust. But you weren’t buying it. Your strategy was to run from your troubles. I’m not stopping you. And when your troubles are still there, you try running harder. You never outrun your troubles. Instead, running only multiplies fear. Fear feels bigger when run from rather than faced. More horsepower as a strategy just ends up leaving you isolated and vulnerable. I won’t chase you down to show My grace. Stop. Turn towards me. Rest in me without excuses, promises or resolutions. I care deeply for your hurts and fears. I will always treat you fairly and well. The good life you’re hungry for is here with Me…in Me. Wait for Me and My initiative in those places you feel threatened and weak. You’ll find the favor you deeply need.”