I need a sermon occasionally for a special emphasis in the church I serve. Even after 40-plus years of preaching, I enjoy an outline that sparks my interest and provides me with the basis for a special sermon.
Thankfully our mission organizations and many other collateral agencies provide these special sermons. I am always thankful for their assistance and seek to make the provided sermon my own.
However, there is one type of sermon that I just don’t seem to find and feel so inadequate to pen myself. It is a sermon that deals with the issues of addiction from the perspective of scripture.
As you may know, we are in crisis conditions with addiction and substance abuse. We have long watched the issue of alcoholism in our churches, and now opioid issues are fast becoming the epidemic that we fear.
As ministers of God’s Word, I feel that we are duty bound to give a redemptive word from the Bible about the issues of addiction. Also, once we have crafted a word, it is so helpful to share our work with others who can re-use our effort and add theirs. If we did not believe this, we would only preach our feelings and never source the Holy Word.
The Baptist State Convention of North Carolina’s Christian Life and Public Affairs Committee has been addressing the impact of opioid poisoning this year. We began by studying the effect of this epidemic in our own neighborhoods. I ask each of you to do the same investigation in your community.
We are now in the process of requesting and collecting sermons that can be used by other ministers across our state. Our goal is to have an electronic site in the future for anyone who wants a sermon, but we need your help and participation.
We are seeking a variety of sermons to publish and make available for pastors. As you prayerfully prepare your sermon, consider what needs to be said to the addict. What needs to be said to the enablers of those addicts? What needs to be said to the sleeping church about this issue?
After you have completed your sermon outlines and related thoughts, you may submit them to the committee through the online form available at ncbaptist.org/clpasubmit. A member of our committee will then edit and make them ready for publication.
In addition to sermons, the committee also plans to provide pastors and churches with the names of agencies across our state that provide counseling and treatment.
Again, I need a sermon, and I need it from you. I know you can do this to help fellow ministers of the gospel.
(EDITOR’S NOTE – Robert Jordan is chair of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina’s Christian Life and Public Affairs Committee.)
