Promises- the Power to Change Ezekiel 36:25-27

Note: This is a simple but effective message I wrote in 2000. It works brilliantly in prisons, but can be adapted for use in rehabs and youth facilities. I have even used it for healing meetings. It already deals with sin, idols and addictions. After you’ve dealt with peoples souls say, ‘the one who forgives our sin also heals our bodies’ then simply quote Psalm 103:3 “He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases” …now call up the sick up for prayer.

Note: This is a fun message to preach. You could preach it with or without a set of scales. You could use this message almost anywhere you can preach the Gospel. It works well in the open-air and prisons and can be adapted for gospel healing meetings to. It will work with or without testimony. If you want a bit of fun first you could weigh a few people before you preach and give a prize for the lightest, the heaviest etc.

This is my favourite message at the moment. In 2013 I shared this with 20 hardened policemen and every one of them received Christ as their Lord and Saviour. I also shared it at a barrio in Cebu, Philippines- everyone responded (approximately 200 people) and a church was planted. There is a lot going on in this message so if you are a novice preacher this message is probably not for you- YET. Because this is longer than most of my messages and has a lot going on I have committed it to memory. Committing a message to memory allows the message to flow better and lets you maintain eye contact with your audience. If you’re experienced and like a challenge then this message would serve you well.

This is a fun message to share. It lends itself well to humor and can be given in a semi-casual way. It works well at cafes’, prisons, youth gigs and even women’s sewing groups. Once when I spoke at a café I shared the first half leaning on the counter. The prerequisite for sharing this message is, you must have at least one tattoo (and maybe a railroad spike) because you need to be able to tell the story/meaning/significance of the tattoo and relate it to Isaiah 49:15-16. The strength of this message is also its limitation, your visuals can only be seen by so many people. You will learn a lot from just using this message just once; I was amazed to see how quickly people warmed up to me when I shared this message. Don’t preach this message just share it; use humor and stories but don’t take too long. You will notice the atmosphere change a little as you transition from the story to the scripture and finally to the Gospel and invitation. When you get to the invitation plant your feet, stand square on and go for it - now’s your chance to preach!!! .... I have included my stories below just to show you how to use the tattoos to “hook” the “audience.”

This is a fun message to preach, it was originally a sketch-board message but I have taken it, changed it a bit and adapted so anyone can use it. You will need to use 3 x A2 size card. Have a commercial printer put a red or black border around the edges and put each spelling separately on each card-as large as possible. If you want to you can have the card laminated. It is not cheap to do it this way $80-120 NZ, in Asia or even the United States you might be able to do it a lot cheaper. Be bold when you preach this message, but be careful you don’t come off looking judgemental, critical or arrogant. Non–Christians find this message interesting so you probably won’t have a problem holding a crowd-just make sure you adapt to the size of your crowd- there is no need to yell if you have 10 people standing 2 or 3 metres away and this message comes across well when you “talk” it.

This is my spin on a reasonably well- known Gospel presentation. This message works well with older children (12 plus), youth and adults. Because this is a visual presentation using a smaller object, it works best with smaller groups-up to 30; a good communicator might manage a few more. This is not an open-air message but if you are invited to speak somewhere this message is easily adapted and can be used at a youth-group or business group, a small jail-house or even someone’s home- this message would be fine for all. It can be presented sitting down at a table or standing up. You will need a tea-bag and a lighter – a good quality tea-bag will have all the components you need: an outer packet/sleeve, a string with a paper label attached, and a staple. You must practice this message several times to be able to present it well. I usually present this after sharing my testimony and sometimes I will even use a short presentation of The Law (Gods Commandments) before my testimony. Make sure you are not yelling at your listeners –if the group is small, there is no need for a micro-phone either.

This is a strong Gospel message I borrowed the points off a message I saw years ago and rewrote the whole thing. Because this message starts from creation, it’s a great message for those who know nothing at all about God, sin etc. Because this message gives people answers and/or introduces “new’ concepts it has wide appeal. I originally wrote it for a gig at a youth prison but have since adapted it for use in the open-air and Gospel/ healing meetings. It can be used with or without the “pig story”. It could be used as a sketch-board message using ladder lettering to right FORMED, DEFORMED, REFORM, REBORN and drawing large stick figures using paint or a large chisel edge pens of a man in various stages- formed, deformed (missing body parts)…I’m sure you could work it out.