Be a blessing! (Sermon Outline)

In this short outline, you will find important points for reflection and meditation that will help you prepare your preaching message. But don't limit yourself to this outline; research, meditate, and go deeper!

Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to minister to your heart what He Himself wants to teach His people (your listeners). Prepare well to be the instrument that God will use and be a blessing!

Theme: God wants you to be a blessing!

Objective: To understand that God wants us to be blessings in His hands, in contrast to our desire to have many blessings.

Base Text: Genesis 12:1-3

Key Verse: Genesis 12:2

Introduction

The life of Abraham, our father in faith, is an example for every Christian. Truly believing in God, as he did, makes us blessed and, more than that, makes us blessers. Just like him, God desires for us to be a blessing to others.

Questions for Reflection:

1. Have you asked the Lord for a blessing today?
2. We often ask for blessings (and there’s nothing wrong with that!), but have you considered that you can be a blessing yourself (today and for future generations)?
3. What do you value more: having or being?

Development

Contextualization: The life of Abraham when he was called by God: a mature man, married, without children, living among his relatives... (see previous and subsequent passages)

1. Being or having a blessing? God's imperative to Abram was: “Be a blessing” and not “Have a blessing.” Be careful not to invert the values of the Kingdom of God (love, kindness, generosity, selflessness) with the values of this world (materialism, selfishness, consumerism, greed, etc.).

2. Being a blessing implies loving: loving God above all things and others whom we will bless with our existence.

3. How to be a blessing? The life of Abraham gives good indications of how we should proceed to be a blessing:

   • Step out of your comfort zone: Our stability will be challenged by God's demands. By faith, we will have to step out of our comfort zone in some area of our lives.

   • Have a life directed and governed by God: Faith in God requires relevant actions (changes in attitude, values, and priorities), obedience, and submission to the Lord.

   • Obey God and His Word, with faith and love (Genesis 22:18, Deuteronomy 11:13-15, John 15:14, 1 Samuel 15:22).

4. Being a blessing implies looking to others, not just yourself (Proverbs 22:9). However, if we only wish to be blessed and have blessings for our own benefit, it reveals the selfishness of our hearts, forgetting about our neighbor.

5. Those who are a blessing are also richly blessed by God (Deuteronomy 28). This is because they reveal a character of generosity and selflessness, just like Christ, who gave Himself to bless everyone (Romans 8:32).

Conclusion

• More than being blessed, God calls you to be a blessing!
• The focus should not be on the blessings we want to have, but rather on you being what God wants you to be: a blessing!
• Do not hold back the blessings that God grants you. Be a channel of blessing to everyone around you (family, brothers, acquaintances, and strangers).
• God will teach you how you can bless others. Pray, read, and meditate on the Word; He will clarify it for you.
• Leave a legacy for future generations. Certainly, a blesser will always be well remembered, wherever they go, no matter how much time passes.

All who believe in the Lord Jesus, having been reached by His Grace, are part of the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham (Gn 12:3). If you believe, just like Abraham, you are also challenged by God to be a blessing.

You might also be interested in:

• I Am The Bread of Life: What Did Jesus Mean? (John 6:35 Explained)
• The Story of Jesus: His Life, Teachings, Death And Background