Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Pray & Never Give Up!”
October 13, 2013
Scripture
Luke 18:1-8
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always
pray and not give up. 2 He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither
feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept
coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' 4 "For some
time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or
care about men, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she
gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'" 6 And
the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring
about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep
putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.
However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
Core Idea, challenge, and summary
Core idea: Pray constantly and never give up until things are as they should be.
Challenge: To encourage people to pray constantly and never give up expecting
Jesus to answer their prayers.
Summary: We should pray constantly and never give up until things are as they
should be. God loves us and wants what’s best for us. God listens to our prayers
and answers them in a way that is best for all involved. When our situations are
bad, we must trust God as we seek justice through prayer. The justice may not
come right away but we continue to pray knowing that the God of justice will
prevail.
This is what the parable of the persistent widow is all about. If a corrupt and evil
judge eventually does the right thing out of desperation, we know that the loving
and just Creator God will answer our prayers and make things right. Unlike the
corrupt and evil judge, God will do it out of divine love.
Sermon
I. Introduction: Pray constantly and never give up until things are as they should
be.
A. This is the main point of this sermon. Get this in your head and then do it.
B. Sometimes, life is rough. Life is often like the frog halfway swallowed by a
bird. His arms reach out and grab the bird’s neck to keep from being
swallowed whole. (Refer to the sermon picture)
1
Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Pray & Never Give Up!”
October 13, 2013

This picture usually has a caption that states, “Never give up!”

I think it’s more appropriate to say, “Pray constantly and never give
up until things are as they should be.
C. This is what the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8) is all about
II. Luke 18:1-8
A. The unjust judge

Didn’t fear God, which is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7)

Consequently, he didn’t care about people, only himself
B. The widow dealing with an injustice

During the days of Jesus, widows and orphans had little power and
influence. Families were dependent on the ‘man of the house’ for
sustenance.

There were no social services. Widows and orphans were on their
own.

According to Old Testament Law, rich and powerful people should
protect and take care of widows and orphans.

So, when the widow is treated unjustly, she goes to the judge
expecting him to help her. But the judge has no fear of the Lord and
doesn’t care what the law says. He doesn’t help her.
C. The widow is persistent

The widow goes to the unjust judge gain, and again, and again, and
again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again.

Have you ever been nagged by someone so much you did what
that person wanted just to get rid of that person?
 Perhaps it was your spouse nagging you?
 Or your children? (Children learn the art of nagging at an
early age)
2
Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Pray & Never Give Up!”
October 13, 2013

You give in to the person nagging you, not because you want to do
whatever it is you’re being nagged about, but because you want the
nagging person to stop.

The unjust judge finally did what the persistent (nagging) widow
wanted just to get her to stop.
D. Now, if the unjust judge can be made to do the right thing by repeated
requests, imagine how our good, righteous, and loving God will respond to
our repeated prayer requests.

It’s impossible to nag God.
 God loves us and wants to hear our concerns.
 As long we have a need, God wants us to constantly go to
Him in prayer.

God will answer the prayers at the right time and in the right way,
not because we nag Him but because He loves us.
E. Important point: The widow went to the unjust judge for justice. In the
same way, we must go to God for justice

Justice can be defined as everything being as it should be. Justice
is present when everything is as it should be.

In a just society, widows (vulnerable people) are protected and
cared for. Widows (vulnerable people) being protected and cared
for is how things should be.
 The widow was being mistreated in some way. That’s not
how things should be.
 She asked the judge to stop the mistreatment. That’s the just
thing to do because the mistreatment of widows (vulnerable
people) is not how things should be.

When we pray to God, we ask God for justice. We ask God to make
things as they should be.
3
Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Pray & Never Give Up!”
October 13, 2013
F. When we consider everything said above, we can summarize the Parable
of the Persistent Widow with: “Pray constantly and never give up until
things are as they should be”
III. Praying constantly and never giving up until things are as they should be.
A. When we lose a job

We pray constantly
 Every day when we wake up, we pray and ask God to
provide us with a job
 Throughout the day we pray for a job.
 Every day when we go to bed, we pray and ask God to
provide us with a job

We never give up
 Every day we fill out job applications.
 Every day we search the internet for job openings

Until things are as they should be – We continue to pray and look
for a job until we have one.
B. When our family becomes dysfunctional.

We pray constantly
 Every day we pray for each member of our family
 Every day we pray for repentance and forgiveness to occur
within our family

We never give up
 We do our part by repenting or forgiving
 We constantly look for ways to demonstrate love towards all
our family members

Until things are as they should be - We continue to pray and do our
part until reconciliation occurs
C. When our church faces financial challenges

We pray constantly
4
Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Pray & Never Give Up!”
October 13, 2013
 Every day we pray for God to provide for the church
 Every day we ask God to help the church be a good steward

We never give up - We continue to tithe (or begin tithing) and
possibly increase our tithe

Until things are as they should be
 This doesn’t mean we should expect God to provide the
church with millions of dollars. Although God can provide us
with millions of dollars, He may decide against it. If the
church suddenly received a lump sum of several million
dollars, we may learn to depend on money rather than God.
 We can, however, expect our income to be enough to pay
our bills and do whatever it is God wants us to do as a
church. That is how things should be. We pray for this and
God will provide this and maybe a whole lot more.
IV. Encouragements to pray constantly for our church and never give up until things
are as they should be.
A. Call for prayer and fasting

From October 9 to November 20 fast, I’m asking everyone in the
congregation to fast, as your health permits, every Wednesday
from 12AM to supper time (Early evening hours).

While fasting throughout the day, pray, “Dear God, show us how to
be better stewards of everything you have blessed us with. How
can I be a better steward? How can the church be a better
steward? In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

On Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at 12PM we will gather in the
Sanctuary for corporate prayer, asking God to help us be better
stewards.
B. Prayer commitment card
5
Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Pray & Never Give Up!”
October 13, 2013

Every Sunday during the “Stewardship is a Lifestyle” sermon
series, we’ll hand out a commitment card for that Sunday’s
discipline. (The disciplines are: prayer, presence, gifts, service, and
witness.) This Sunday it’s prayer.

Each Sunday, each person will fill out the commitment card and
hand it back in.

Everyone will get their cards back on Sunday, November 24 after
we bless the cards during worship service.
6