Rev. George E. Findley
The following are sermon notes from over 1,000 lessons prepared by George E. Findley during his 30 years behind the pulpit of small Southern Baptist churches throughout California and Arkansas from the 1940’s until his passing in 1975. He was rarely paid more than $100 a week while raising a family of six with four children. Uncompromising in his delivery of the word of God, his vision and calling are apparent in the sermon outlines he left as his legacy.
There is a Lad Here
John 6:1-14, Mark 6:31-43, & Deuteronomy 6:4-7 What is a boy? New England Mutual Life Insurance Company of Boston — Alan Beck. A boy is the only thing you can make a man out of. I: Only a Lad: 1. Jesus used him to work one of his greatest miracles. 2. Who can measure the possibilities bound up in a boy? 3. “Look at the baby boy in the Bulrushes of Egypt.” Exodus 2:2-7 4. “Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth.” Samuel 1 3:10 5. “Only a boy with a sling shot, but the armies of Israel need him.” Samuel 1 17: 6. “It was just a boy that gave the warning that saved Paul’s life.” Acts 23:16-21 7. The Church in Scotland, n which Robert Moffat was saved, thought they had failed and was ready to ask their...
The Cup which My Father Gave Me
John 18:1-15, Matthew 26: 36-46 I: The Prayer and Victory in the Garden: 1. He prayed alone. 2. He sought another way. 3. He bowed to the Father’s will. 4. He settled the cross and all its shame. 5. “Rise let us be going.” Matthew 26:46 II: What could Jesus have done? 1. He could have stayed in Galilee. 2. He could have had Peter stop Judas. 3. He could have gone some other place to pray. 4. He could have vanished in the darkness. 5. He could have brought death to all. 6. He could have called 12 legions of angels. III: But he drank the bitter drugs of the cup for you and me. Listen! 1. “I came to seek and save that which was lost.” “He knew all the cost of the search.” 2. “Behold the Lamb of God.” Stain from...
Voices of Calvary
John 19:17-22, Luke 23: 1-46 I: If you could have been there and listened. 1. You could have heard voices of fear. 2. You could have heard the voice of betrayal. “I have sold innocent blood.” 3. The voice of one denial. 4. The voice of cursing. 5. The moan of suicide. 6. The silent sobbing of a repentant Peter. 7. The voices of doubt and confusion. II: Voices on the Day of Crucifixion: 1. The voice of Religion: a. “He said he was the Son of God.” b. “Away with him we have no king but Caesar.” c. “He saved others, himself he cannot save.” 2. The voice of Politics: a. Pilates wife: “Have nothing to do with that just man.” b. Pilate: “I find in him no fault, where did you come from? Behold the man....
He Loved Them to the End
John 13:1-17 I: What kind of men were they? 1. Chosen from the grass roots. 2. Trained under the master teacher. 3. Witnessed the miracles of Jesus. 4. Associated with the Prince of Peace. 5. Given a world-wide task. II: What made them hard to love? 1. Hot-headed, prejudiced, and self-centered. 2. He knew they would forsake him in his greatest hour of need. 3. They were fussing about their position in the future kingdom. 4. One would curse and deny him. 5. One would sell him for 30 pieces of silver. 6. All were determined not to be a servant. III: What compelling force moved Jesus? 1. “For God so loved.” 2. With the burdens of a lost world on him, his love for the disciples endured. 3. Knowing the worst about them he loved them. 4. The job they were...
The Call of A Suffering World
Luke 10:25-37 “Crown Him Lord of service.” Christianity is new life from God and it is this new life that goes out to the broken and suffering world. In this story we see the outreach of a saved man’s soul. Here is the way to test our Missionary convictions and call. We have a two fold call. I: The call to see, to understand the condition of a needy, broken, and suffering world. 1. Here a man lies broken, bleeding, and dying. 2. His real condition is… a. A victim of greed and gain. Serves a wake of misery. Here we see the three master passions of mankind. i. An unholy greed for gain: bandit. ii. Cold-blooded desire to satisfy one’s own comfort a Samaritan. a pleasure. Priest and Levite iii. A God-like desire to help others in need...
The Church Body
Corinthians 1 12:1-27 Gifts of the Spirit are capacities for service The Human Body: It contains lime enough to white wash a fair size chicken coupe, sugar enough to fill a small shaker, iron enough to make a ten penny nail, plus water, and worth about 98 cents. Yet it is the most marvelous work of creation. I: The Body is one. 12- (Displaced members): 1. Every gift of the spirit is given to profit the whole body. 2. The spirit melts and molds the body together. 3. When one member fails to function the whole body is hindered. 4. There must be coordination of all parts. 5. Every member must be in subjection to the head. II: There is no room for self-depreciation. Pop Odum – What can I do? 1. The foot cannot say there is nothing for it to do in the body. 2....
The Prayers that God Answers
Probation of Oaths 5:12 Jesus distinguished between oaths. I: A Christian should have the reputation of always telling the truth. 1. His yes means yes and his no means no. 2. His word is his bond. 3. It is a shame for Christians to have a reputation of being doubted in their given promise or word. 4. It is a shame when a Christian’s word is no better than a man without God. 5. James warned Christians against cursing. The name of God should never be taken lightly. II: Encouragement to Pray 5:13-18: 1. Prayer teaches us the proper way to use God’s name. 2. The personal aspect of prayer. 3. The prayer for those that suffer. 4. When we suffer, prayer helps us to place our case before the Judge of all the Universe. 5. Pray when you are happy. 6. Pray the...
The Churche’s Obligation to Reach People
Corinthians 2 3:2, & 5:17-19 I: What is the main task of the local church? 1. “The church is a fellowship of redeemed people. It is none. It is an agency of reconciliation.” 2. Christ established the Church to do his work of Earth. 3. Reaching people is not a question of convenience for the Christian. Ezekiel 3:17-19. 4. Jesus taught and practiced visitation witnessing. a. His personal needs did not keep him from seeking that which was lost. b. The multitudes of Jesus’s day were not attending the regular religious meetings, so he went where they were. 5. A Church’s spiritual life is closely related to its outreach. So is the individual Christian. II: Outreach to whom? 1. One indication of the Church’s outreach is its SS...
The Hour Has Come
John 17:1-12 I: Jesus was a man of prayer. 1. The New Testament records thirteen times when he prayed. 2. His public prayers were brief, but his private prayers often lasted all night. 3. If any man questions the value of prayer, he should study the prayer life of Jesus. II: “The hour has come.” 1. The supreme battle for the souls of men. 2. The hour of the greatest sacrifice. 3. The hour of the lamb of God. 4. The hour to hear the sins of the world. 5. The hour of darkness and shame. 6. The hour of earthquake and grave opening. 7. The hour of man’s greatest sin and shame. 8. The hour of separation from the Father. 9. The hour he would finish the work he came to do. 10. The hour of victory over death, hell and the grave. 11. The hour to bruise...
Now is my Soul Troubled?
An unpleasant job: Too often we refuse to do the unpleasant task or one that calls for sacrifice. John 12:23-33 The Greeks were knocking at his door for admission. Sheep of the other folds were ready to come in. The burdens of a lost world were now laid upon Him. The grain of wheat was ready for planting. He was about to lose his life for others. I: “Now is my soul troubled?” 1. A troubled heart is a troubled prayer. 2. Troubled because of the sins of others. 3. The death of the cross and separation from the father were too much for him. 4. The trouble was crushing his heart. 5. He was walking with: Abraham to Mt. Moriah, sitting with Job on an ash heap. David as he cried Absolem, O Absolem; with Jeremiah as he watched a Nation commit suicide. Elijah...
The Undecided
Kings 1 18:17-24 Our world is in a state of indecision. Christianity limps thru the spiritual marked shopping, but never giving a verdict. Even when the sentence is passed, the penalty is nonely carried out. I: “How long halt we between his options?” verse 21. 1. Elijah faced three kings of people; those sold out to God (very few) the servants of God (many) and a multitude of undecided. 2. Elijah addressed himself to the undecided. 3. The undecided were crippled! 4. They were trying to stay on the good side of Baal and God. 5. The undecided looked back more than forward.They have put their hands in the plow but are plowing a crooked row! 6. To them, religion was a matter of opinion, not conviction. 7. We chance our opinions, but our convictions change...
The Lamb of God
Genesis 22: 1-14, Exodus 12:1-13, Peter 1:18-20 & John 1:2 I: “Without shedding of blood…” Hebrews 9:22. 1. Cain refused this way of cleaning. 2. Many human sacrifices were made to heathen gods. 3. The strange tie of blood and sacrifice in every tribe and nation. II: The Lamb that took Issac’s place. Genesis 12:1-13. 1. “Take now thine only son.” verse 2. 2. “Whom thou lovest.” verse 2. 3. “Offer him.” No greater test. 4. “Abraham rose up early.” 5. “I and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you.” Faith in God’s love and care. 6. “My son, God will provide himself a lamb.” verse 8. III: The Passover Lamb Exodus 12:1-13. 1. “This month...