“Sharing Your Story”

Series: Gospel Tools for Gospel People [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

March 6, 2022

Introductory Comments:

I want to tell you one of my favorite stories. When I was in seminary, I worked on the maintenance crew at Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Another member of our crew was a professional painter and he and I were tasked with painting a 97,000 square foot building. He was the painter, I was the guy that hauled around the five-gallon buckets of paint all day. Well, one day we were on the roof of this three-story building and we had a bunch of wooden sawhorses that had to be taken down to the first floor. [show picture on screen] It was a lot of stairs and a lot of work. So, we had this great idea of throwing these saw horses off the roof, three-stories above the ground. You see, the ground was kind of soft and muddy and we could throw them in a graceful way and everything would be fine. We discussed it among ourselves for quite a while and then convinced ourselves that we could do it. So, we threw the first one off, it fell to the ground and busted into several pieces. We both belly laughed for a few minutes because we had convinced ourselves that everything would be ok despite all the evidence that pointed elsewhere. That was probably 17 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. 

You see, that’s my story. I told you what happened before the event, then the event (throwing the saw horses off of the roof), and then what happened after the event. 

Today, we’re continuing our series called “Gospel Tools for Gospel People.” This morning, I want to tell you about one of your most important tools, your story. 

Before we go any further, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to speak to us. 

(prayer)

Today’s sermon is entitled, “Sharing Your Story.” [on screen] Your story is one of the most important tools you have for the Gospel because it is your story. This is what has happened to you.

Now as we discuss your story of how Jesus changed your life, some of you will refer to this as your “testimony.” A testimony is a recounting or a retelling of something that happened to you. It is a story. So, when I talk about your story, I’m talking about your testimony of how Jesus changed your life. 

So, if I went around and asked each of you what God has done in your life, each of you would share a little bit different story, because it’s your story. However, for each follower of Jesus, there are some common elements to your Gospel story; there are some common elements to your testimony. 

So, let’s look at some of the common elements of your Gospel story. 

First, let’s talk about your life . . . 

I. Without Jesus. [on screen]

Do you remember your life before Jesus? Some of you have to think back a long way. I have to think back about 32 years. 

As you prepare to tell your story to people, you have to prepare to tell of life before Jesus; life without Jesus. 

You may not remember every detail of your life before Jesus, however, there are certain things that we definitely know about all of us before we knew Jesus: we were sinners! We did not live for God! We lived for ourselves! We didn’t know the purpose for which we were created!

Paul speaks about this in Ephesians 2:1-3: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. [on screen]

Paul says that we all lived this way. Remember, as Romans 3:23 say, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 

We have this in common and it should be a part of our story. We have sinned; we were dead