What My Pastor Told Me

The gospel is the 'good news' of Christ's redemptive work on the cross. God promises eternal life to everyone who accepts Christ as Lord and Savior. Christ is the only way man can be reconciled to Creator God (2 Cor. 5:18). This message of reconciliation and hope in Christ is promulgated through preaching (1 Cor. 1:21). The Apostle Paul indicates "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things " (Rom 10:14-15). Pastors, preachers, and evangelists disclose God's love and purpose in Christ. They identify man's own inadequacy and need for God. Pastors transmit Christian doctrine and preach Christ as the only way to eternal salvation. Pastors equip believers for godly living, strengthen their faith walk, and assist them in fulfilling their Christian duties and responsibilities. The disciples of Christ are directed by Him to go and "teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matt. 28:19). What My Pastor Told Me: Preaching and Teaching to Strengthen the Believer's Faith Walk focuses on the preaching and teaching of Dr. Horace L. Patterson, Sr., Pastor of Mount Canaan Baptist Church in Talladega, Alabama. The sermons selected for discussion significantly impacted my own individual spiritual growth and that of the congregation. This book also contains material from my own published work and utilizes other biblical resources to enhance, clarify, and illuminate the sermons discussed.