The Theme of All Great Preaching
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Acts 3:19 -
The theme of all great preaching – the theme of life giving preaching - is Christ and Christ alone. There
is no other theme.
This theme runs throughout the Bible.
Jesus said,
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except
through me.
Peter preached Christ. When confronted by the religious leaders he told them:
Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by
which we must be saved."
The apostle John said:
1 John 5:11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
1 John 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Paul, who wrote most of the NT under the inspiration of God said –
1 Corinthians 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified…
1 Corinthians 2:2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him
crucified.
1 Corinthians 2:5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
1 Corinthians 3:11 For no-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus
Christ.
The “good news” is that Jesus Christ has paid the price for our sins and came to bring us salvation.
Romans 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from
God’s wrath through him!
Hebrews 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may
serve the living God!
1 Peter 1:18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were
redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,
1 Peter 1:19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
Further, He is our righteousness. What that means is that when our sin was put on him, then his
righteousness was put on us.
Our comfort and assurance in life is that he is with us.
Matthew 28:20 … And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
The goal of the Christian life is that we might become like Him.
Romans 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
So, you see, everything begins and ends with Jesus. He is our only hope in this life and our only hope
for the life to come.
God’s ultimate purpose is to bring all things together in Him.
Ephesians 1:10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment—to bring all things
in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
Every good thing we have in life comes through Christ. Every benefit comes through Christ. He is
revealed as the beginning and the end. All things were created by Him.
The ultimate event in history will be when he returns to the earth to collect those who believe in Him.
Then he will take us to heaven where the church will be united with Him like a marriage.
The main scene in heaven will be Jesus in the center of the throne.
Why then, do we get so distracted by other things? Jesus is the basis of all life. Listen to what the Bible
says about him in the letter to the Colossian church:
“ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he
loves,
- in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
- He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
- For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
- He is before all things, and
- in him all things hold together.
- And he is the head of the body, the church;
- he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead,
- so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
- For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him,
- and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by
making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:13-20 niv)
Jesus is greater than any prophet who ever lived.
He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
- The way, the truth, and the life.
- The doorway to heaven.
- The light of the world
- The good shepherd
- The great physician
- The Messiah, the anointed one, the promised deliverer
- Our advocate
- The author and finisher of our faith
- The bread of life
- The living water
- The captain of our salvation
- The prince of peace
- The mediator between God and men
- The rock on which I stand
And so, Peter, preaching to the crowds in Jerusalem, said,
Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing
may come from the Lord,
God promised to send a savior for man in the 3rd chapter of the Bible. All through the scriptures he
reminded men of his promise. And finally, at just the right moment in history, God sent his Messiah – his
savior – his son.
The great apostle Paul said that the soul desire of his life was to know Christ and become like him:
Philippians 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in
his sufferings, becoming like him …,
Someday in the future, and it could be soon, he will come back to the earth in a very dramatic way.
Revelation 1:7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced
him…
Ultimately, all of creation will gather around his throne:
Philippians 2:9 - 11 … God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every
name, at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and
every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The theme of all great preaching – the theme of life giving preaching - is Christ and Christ alone. There
is no other theme.
This theme runs throughout the Bible.
Jesus said,
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except
through me.
Peter preached Christ. When confronted by the religious leaders he told them:
Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by
which we must be saved."
The apostle John said:
1 John 5:11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
1 John 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Paul, who wrote most of the NT under the inspiration of God said –
1 Corinthians 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified…
1 Corinthians 2:2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him
crucified.
1 Corinthians 2:5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
1 Corinthians 3:11 For no-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus
Christ.
The “good news” is that Jesus Christ has paid the price for our sins and came to bring us salvation.
Romans 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from
God’s wrath through him!
Hebrews 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may
serve the living God!
1 Peter 1:18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were
redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,
1 Peter 1:19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
Further, He is our righteousness. What that means is that when our sin was put on him, then his
righteousness was put on us.
Our comfort and assurance in life is that he is with us.
Matthew 28:20 … And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
The goal of the Christian life is that we might become like Him.
Romans 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
So, you see, everything begins and ends with Jesus. He is our only hope in this life and our only hope
for the life to come.
God’s ultimate purpose is to bring all things together in Him.
Ephesians 1:10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment—to bring all things
in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
Every good thing we have in life comes through Christ. Every benefit comes through Christ. He is
revealed as the beginning and the end. All things were created by Him.
The ultimate event in history will be when he returns to the earth to collect those who believe in Him.
Then he will take us to heaven where the church will be united with Him like a marriage.
The main scene in heaven will be Jesus in the center of the throne.
Why then, do we get so distracted by other things? Jesus is the basis of all life. Listen to what the Bible
says about him in the letter to the Colossian church:
“ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he
loves,
- in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
- He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
- For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
- He is before all things, and
- in him all things hold together.
- And he is the head of the body, the church;
- he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead,
- so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
- For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him,
- and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by
making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:13-20 niv)
Jesus is greater than any prophet who ever lived.
He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
- The way, the truth, and the life.
- The doorway to heaven.
- The light of the world
- The good shepherd
- The great physician
- The Messiah, the anointed one, the promised deliverer
- Our advocate
- The author and finisher of our faith
- The bread of life
- The living water
- The captain of our salvation
- The prince of peace
- The mediator between God and men
- The rock on which I stand
And so, Peter, preaching to the crowds in Jerusalem, said,
Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing
may come from the Lord,
God promised to send a savior for man in the 3rd chapter of the Bible. All through the scriptures he
reminded men of his promise. And finally, at just the right moment in history, God sent his Messiah – his
savior – his son.
The great apostle Paul said that the soul desire of his life was to know Christ and become like him:
Philippians 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in
his sufferings, becoming like him …,
Someday in the future, and it could be soon, he will come back to the earth in a very dramatic way.
Revelation 1:7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced
him…
Ultimately, all of creation will gather around his throne:
Philippians 2:9 - 11 … God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every
name, at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and
every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.