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(Clip) Useful to the Lord in Winning Souls
Bob Jennings

Bob Jennings (January 2, 1949 – November 6, 2012) was an American preacher and pastor whose ministry focused on biblical fidelity, prayer, and preparing believers for eternity, leaving a profound impact within evangelical circles. Born in Kirksville, Missouri, to a family that shaped his early faith, he surrendered to Christ as a young man and began preaching in 1978 alongside Charles Leiter in Kirksville. In 1983, he became an elder at Highway M Chapel in Sedalia, Missouri, where he co-pastored for nearly three decades, emphasizing sound doctrine and a vibrant church community. Married to Terri since around 1970, he raised five children—Jared, Zachary, Evan, and two daughters—instilling in them the same spiritual devotion. Jennings’ preaching career gained wider reach through conferences, such as those with HeartCry Missionary Society alongside Paul Washer, and university outreaches in the U.S. and Eastern Europe, where his sermons on sin, grace, and Christ’s return resonated deeply. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2010, he chronicled his journey in an online journal (bobjenningsjournal.wordpress.com), offering meditations like “The most important thing in life is to be ready for death,” preached at a 2008 funeral. His final sermon, “Behold the Lamb of God” (2012), and a farewell letter to Sedalia reflect his unwavering hope in Christ. He died at 63, his sons having built his casket, buried in a rural Missouri cemetery after a life of humble, resolute ministry.
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Sermon Summary
This sermon emphasizes the privilege and honor of serving the Lord, comparing it to the story of a young boy who felt honored to work for a farmer without expecting payment. It encourages believers to be willing and ready to be sent by God, to be fishers of men, and to steward the grace and gifts given by God. The sermon also highlights the impactful lives of historical figures like William Bramwell and Thomas Collins, who dedicated themselves to being useful to God and saw miraculous conversions through their obedience.
Sermon Transcription
It says useful to the master. We're serving the best of all masters. One time somebody told me how somebody had hit him up, you know, what are you doing working for him? What are you doing working for that guy? He's not worthy of your service. Well, we're talking about working for the best of all the masters. I remember I told this story just last week down there. When I was a boy, I suppose maybe five, six years old, there was a neighboring farmer. He was a big farmer. And he came over and asked my dad, do you think the boy can drive the tractor for us for the rock-picking crew? And sure, go ahead. And so there I was, driving tractor for this crew all day. And come to the end of the day and hear that man. He paid me. It was the first pay I ever got. And he shelled out four quarters. And I wrapped those quarters up, mom did, in some masking tape, and I kept them for quite a while. But sure enough, they made wings like eagles, and somehow they took off too. But I remember thinking, you know what? You're going to pay me? Well, it's just an honor to work for you. I don't need to be paid. It's just a privilege. I'm saying, brothers and sisters, what a privilege to serve the Lord. Can you hear the words of Isaiah, that prophet of God? After he was cleansed and renewed, he says, here am I, here am I, send me. Send me to do something. Send me across the street. Send me to the campus. Send me to somebody today. Here am I. Send me. Put your commission on me. Give me a job to do. Don't let me be idle in the marketplace. Don't let me twiddle my thumbs in my tires. Don't let me sit there and wear rust out, I'm saying. I remember early, I was about two or three years old, and the Lord God quickened Matthew 4.19 to me. Follow me and I will make you fishers of men, a fisher of men. Follow me and I will make you a fisher of men. That's something we could pray every day. Lord, help me to follow You, and I'm going to believe You to make me a fisher of men. There's nothing more important, nothing more precious in this world than to catch men, than to win souls. What compares with bringing somebody to Christ? Would You use me, get me somewhere, somehow, where I need to be to be a winner of souls? 1 Peter 4.10, it says that we need to be good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Lord, You've given me something. You've given me more than I deserve. You've given me something. Now I want to be a good steward of what You've given me. I've been reading this book. It's entitled, Wesley and the Men Who Followed. And so a lot of it is about the generation after John Wesley. One of the names was William Bramwell. You just can't believe the way God used these men. I mean, they gave all to Christ, and He gave Himself to them and put His seal on their ministry. He said, I cannot bear to live without being made useful to God. Another man, Thomas Collins. I mean, these men, they generally saw people converted every day in their ministry. This Thomas Collins, he'd back his horse up. He'd go into a Catholic community and he'd back his horse up against the Catholic cathedral so that they wouldn't be as likely to throw stones at him because they'd be breaking their own windows out. But they said sometimes the power of God was on that man so much that he could, with a single word, bring a drunken sinner to his knees in repentance. And he was asked, somebody came and said, what gifts have I? And Thomas Collins replied, you've got time and you've got truth. Let them both be well used, and your crown will be bright. Now this we're talking, you understand, not just about preachers, not just about pastors, but all of us. All of us in being used in advancing the kingdom of God. Whether a school teacher, farmer, janitor, mother, daughter, we all should be thinking of this. How to be a workman useful to the Master.
(Clip) Useful to the Lord in Winning Souls
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Bob Jennings (January 2, 1949 – November 6, 2012) was an American preacher and pastor whose ministry focused on biblical fidelity, prayer, and preparing believers for eternity, leaving a profound impact within evangelical circles. Born in Kirksville, Missouri, to a family that shaped his early faith, he surrendered to Christ as a young man and began preaching in 1978 alongside Charles Leiter in Kirksville. In 1983, he became an elder at Highway M Chapel in Sedalia, Missouri, where he co-pastored for nearly three decades, emphasizing sound doctrine and a vibrant church community. Married to Terri since around 1970, he raised five children—Jared, Zachary, Evan, and two daughters—instilling in them the same spiritual devotion. Jennings’ preaching career gained wider reach through conferences, such as those with HeartCry Missionary Society alongside Paul Washer, and university outreaches in the U.S. and Eastern Europe, where his sermons on sin, grace, and Christ’s return resonated deeply. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2010, he chronicled his journey in an online journal (bobjenningsjournal.wordpress.com), offering meditations like “The most important thing in life is to be ready for death,” preached at a 2008 funeral. His final sermon, “Behold the Lamb of God” (2012), and a farewell letter to Sedalia reflect his unwavering hope in Christ. He died at 63, his sons having built his casket, buried in a rural Missouri cemetery after a life of humble, resolute ministry.