#1 - Don’t Be Mad - whenever we preach
angry we do not draw people in but rather
push them away.
#2 - Don’t Use Guilt - guilt works in the
short term, but absolutely has devastating
results in the long term.
people in sales do not actually make a
sale is they simply do not ask. I would say
the primary reason so many people in the
church do not give is they have never been
asked to do so.
#4 - Make It Yours - there are messages I
preached in which the Lord used to bring
about amazing results, so, chew up the
meat, spit out the bones and make it your
own.
four rules
Before
Preaching
This Sermon
On Giving:
(This is a message I preached in December of
2015. It was one of the most vulnerable messages
I had ever preached on the subject of giving and
generosity. However, it wasn’t just the message that
allowed us to accomplish our goal. We also had
a follow up plan in place as well. While messages
motivate; follow up is what matters the most.)
I began the message with this statement: “Today
is not a sermon but rather me asking you to go on
a journey with me.”
Have you ever felt alone? (Here is where you can
use an example of when you were a kid and got
lost, or when everyone in your family is out of town
and you are at home by yourself. Use something
that connects with people and gets them to lean in
and identify with you.)
The longer we stay in a season of loneliness, it
can lead us to feeling hopeless, and often times
cause us to play out scenarios in our minds that
will absolutely freak us out!
Over the past three years, as our church has
experienced historical growth, I’ve also had more
and more opportunities to speak and write. And
while I have become way more “known”, I have
never felt more alone.
(Yes, I actually did say this to my church. And
while your circumstances may look different
in regards to growth and/or opportunities, the
pressure you feel as a leader is not any less
significant—especially when it comes to raising
resources—you feel alone!)
I don’t say this to get you to feel sorry for me;
I say this to let you know that I know how you
feel. There are a lot of lonely people in this room
and that is magnified 1000x this time of year
(I preached this message at the beginning of
December.)
sermon
“Emmanuel”
notes
notes
PAGE 4
notes We are known by so many (social media) and yet
we feel so alone.
What leads to loneliness? Divorce, break up,
death in the family, new job, marriage, anxiety
& depression and the enemy wants you to think
you are THE ONLY ONE who has ever struggled
with these things. The purpose of that is so he can
isolate you. Because if he can isolate you, he can
destroy you! (This is why it is so important to not
just attend a church, but belong to one! People
say, “I hate to bother you with this,” but this is
the place where we should be able to do that!)
Christmas was given to us by God as a reminder
that WE ARE NOT ALONE. Matthew 1:23 says
that His name shall be Emmanuel, which means,
“GOD WITH US!”
Everything in this season should point to Him and
to the fact that: Even when I feel alone, I am not
alone!!!
For me, this has become more and more real in
Psalm 46. Specifically, verses 1, 7 and 11. The
Lord is with us...and just because He seems silent,
does not mean He is absent.
I believe the Lord is with our church! We have
seen things happen that are incredible (this is
where you can really make it personal to your
specific church situation.)
However, recently I have felt alone and isolated
even in regards to our church & leading it.
(Which is totally my fault).
By the way, it was essential for me to say: “which
is totally my fault,” because had I not said it,
there would have been some people who could
have begun feeling guilty, or felt as if I were
attacking them.
PAGE 5
notes Transition to the specific challenge I spoke about
in this particular message and while you may not
be able to use the specifics, you will be able to see
how it was constructed.
We announced the start of a Clemson campus in
May 2012.
Why was the Clemson campus so important?
Because as I began traveling to all of our other
campuses around the state -- at the time I
believe we had 15 in the state of South Carolina
-- and having conversations with people in our
church, asking them how they began coming to
NewSpring, there was a very high percentage of
people who would answer,“my son/daughter went
to Clemson and starting coming to NewSpring,
so as soon as you guys opened a campus here we
started going as well.”
At this point in the message I asked, “How many
people here went to Clemson?” (There were a lot
of hands that went up in the air. Then I asked,
“How many of you know someone who went to
Clemson?” (And about 80% of the hands in the
room went into the air!) The thought process
behind this was to get as many people not just to
see the need but to identify with it as well.
All of us know Jesus told us to take The Gospel
to the world; however, throughout this process, I
discovered Clemson is actually where He brings
the world to us.
With this in mind I wanted to share we have had
TWO MAJOR CHALLENGES IN THIS PROCESS:
The first is actually finding a location.
On at least three separate occasions, we’ve
thought we had a place locked in only to see it
fall through for various reasons. We knew the
PAGE 6
notes Lord really wanted us to be there so instead of
giving up we ramped up our efforts and we finally
found an unbelievable location in 2013. We began
making plans to build a worship facility on that
land.
The way we were going to pay for it was “Step
Up!” (“Step Up” was a capital campaign we began.
I literally went to every campus and met with small
groups of people, and the entire campus in general
casting vision, about what the leadership felt like
the Lord was calling us to do as far as our campus
expansion. And after casting vision and asking
our people to step up and have a part in this,
the church responded with $40 million dollars in
pledges.)
Since we launched “Step Up” we’ve were able to
see the Lord do some incredible things:
• Our Myrtle Beach campus moved from a
portable facility to a permanent facility.
• Our Charleston campus moved from a
portable facility to a permanent facility.
• Our Florence campus moved from a
portable facility to a permanent facility.
In addition to this, we were also able to launch
three addition campuses: Boiling Springs,
Powdersville and another in Lexington.
Also, we were able to pour into missions unlike
never before! Here, I shared the stats about how
the Lord had allowed us to partner with churches
overseas and assist with them launching
campuses all over the globe.
It really has been an incredible journey.
However, this leads to our second challenge
PAGE 7
notes We are going to fall short of the $40 million that
was pledged. In fact, we are on pace to take in
around $23 million.
(Let me pause here and say when I shared this
information, I did so with a compassionate, not
condemning tone. I shared with them the reasons
why I felt like we fell short. The main one being
that I did not do a good enough job at keeping the
vision in front of everyone. In my opinion, it’s the
biggest mistake we make as leaders in a capital
campaign. We do an awesome job of launching
it - but have an issue with actually sustaining it
because we want to move on to the next thing.)
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to discover that
40 minus 23 equals 17...In other words, we have a
$17 million shortfall.
However, the good news is that giving in regards
to our regular offerings have actually increased.
And our finances team has done an incredible
job of managing budgets and making sure we are
spending every dollar wisely.
In addition to this, our leadership team has
worked tirelessly with the construction contractor
and has been able to significantly reduce the cost
of construction without compromising the vision.
The bottom line is: we need $3 million dollars to
complete the Clemson campus.
“Three million dollars is A LOT of money.” I
thought when the figures first came in.
I felt so alone when I found out. Honestly, if I had
$3 million, I would give it. Why? Because I have
personally seen the impact our church has had on
Clemson students (here I took the time to share
some specific examples.)
PAGE 8
notes I know what a difference our church is going to
make in Clemson.
And I desperately want us to break through this
stronghold that has up until this point, kept us
all so discouraged in our efforts to finally get a
campus in Clemson.
Just this week, I was reading Matthew 7:7-8
where Jesus said, “7 “Ask and it will be given
to you; seek and you will find; knock and the
door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone
who asks receives; the one who seeks finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be
opened.”
After I read this text, I asked God for $3 million
dollars and I really felt like He told me to get up
here today and ask you for it.
(Let me pause and say I am VERY careful with
statements like this - I will not say, “God told me”
unless I feel He has confirmed it over and over
again so when I said this there wasn’t a doubt in
my mind the Lord had spoken this to my heart, it
was the truth!)
I have not done anything to this magnitude since
late summer of 2001 when our church needed
$45,000 to move from a building that sat 150 to
a facility that sat 1,100. We were able to raise a
large amount of that money (and had to borrow
the rest) - and in the facility we moved into we
went from 315 our first Sunday there to averaging
over 4,000 in less than three years.
In other words, once we had the space to grow, we
grew (which meant more people met Jesus, which
I always believe is a good thing!)
So, today I am asking big again. I want everyone
at every campus today to begin to pray about
what the Lord would have you do financially
PAGE 9
notes towards our three million dollar goal. We are
calling it our, “Clemson For Christmas Offering.”
Keep in mind that right now, the University of
Clemson is doing $176 million in renovations, as
well as new athletic facilities. Let me pause and
say: I am NOT against them having new and nicer
facilitates. I can actually remember the very first
football game my dad took me to over there. (Here
I took the time to actually show the ticket stub
I’ve managed to keep for years as well as let them
know what the weather was like that day...as well
as the score of the game!)
Now if this is what I remember about a football
game in 1984 -- one that Clemson lost by the way
-- then what are people going to remember about
a place where eternities are impacted, where
prodigals come home, and where people who feel
broken down and used up actually find hope in
Christ.
Here’s the deal: we can do this. We are not alone.
Three million dollars is NOT A LOT if ALL OF US
will do whatever we can.
At this point, I read Psalm 46, and followed it up
with a video of people who had been impacted as
a Clemson student while our band played the song
by Shane & Shane, “Psalm 46—Lord of Hosts” - it
was one of the most powerful worship moments
I’ve ever experienced.
At the conclusion of the service, I brought it back
to how none of us need to feel alone.
Side Note: We didn’t raise $3 million that
December. We actually raised $3.2 million,
construction on the Clemson campus was able to
continue and it officially opened less than a year
later.
PAGE 10
notes Follow up is HUGE! We made sure to design a
follow up campaign that included social media
and email reminders so people could see the need
and ne invited to become a part of the journey.
Follow up is EVERYTHING after a message like
this. You can see how to put together a follow
up campaign with our free resource entitled,
“Christmas Offering PDF” – which is absolutely
free!
In Building a Generous Culture, Perry
Noble shares the insights, lessons,
and strategies that helped him grow
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You can purchase this full resource for
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• A video overview of this sermon
• Discover five fears associated with
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overcome them.
• A theological outline to help you
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