Is Your Church Sermon HEADLESS?

A good church sermon subject should be interesting to your congregation.  That may seem so obvious it doesn’t need to be stated.  But many times I have worked with trained pastors who come up with topics for Sunday sermons that are textual, but also quite boring.

For example, most scholars feel that Paul wrote Colossians because of a problem with Gnosticism.  For most Christians today that’s not an interesting topic however—Gnosticism.  So I would suggest a church sermon subject that does a better job of drawing in hearers.

Physical fitness buffs diet, jog and spend hours lifting weights and toning muscles in an effort to gain the perfect body.  But the most beautifully shaped Miss America would seem grotesque if she had no head on which to place the crown.  How weird a sports champion would look, despite bulging biceps and impenetrable pectorals, if nothing sat on top of his shoulders.

The church at Colossae was a body that had “lost connection with the head” (2:19).  In spite of many good qualities, these believers made the fatal mistake of removing Jesus Christ from His rightful position.  Oh, they saw Him as a wonderful sin-forgiver who was important in their initial conversion.  But they thought other rules and religious experiences were necessary for continued “body building”.

Lose your head and you lose your life!  That’s a much more interesting approach than “Understanding Gnosticism”.  Create interesting topics for your bible sermons.  Make sense?

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The Title Can Wait for Your Church Sermon Subject

I’m of the opinion that most preachers enjoy coming up with church sermon titles.  I’m not opposed to this.  After all, it’s short, pithy titles that go into newspaper ads, or on the church marquee, in the Sunday bulletin, on the website, etc.

When I work with pastors on their Sunday sermons, however, and I ask them what their sermon subject is, I don’t want a clever title.  I just want to know what the basic topic is they plan to talk about.  Is it jealousy, holiness, scripture meditation, the final judgment, the prayer of confession, evangelism, repentance or what?  I’m not looking for a “catchy” answer, just a clear one.

“So you’re preaching from Galatians.  What’s Galatians about?  What’s the basic subject of Paul’s letter?”

“It’s about responsible freedom in Christ.”

“Good answer.  And how does the passage from Galatians you have chosen to preach on fit into Paul’s overall theme of responsible freedom?”

“It’s the first half of chapter 5 and Paul is warning the Galatians against moving back into legalism with its long list of do’s and don’ts.  That’s law-based living and not the Christ-centered responsible freedom he is advocating.”  “Excellent!”

A phrase like “responsible freedom” may not be all that attractive as a church sermon title, but it makes for great clarity when you start to put a sermon outline together.

When a preacher comes up with his or her sermon title isn’t of great importance to me, but I would advise nailing down what your basic subject is early on in the church sermon preparation process.

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Red Faced About My Sunday Sermon

Early on in my ministry I had a humiliating experience that profoundly affected the way I prepare my church sermons.  Our Sunday service was at 9:30 a.m. followed by a time for fellowship and then classes.  One of the class options was to sit with the pastor and discuss his Sunday sermons.  After introductions I would begin by asking for a volunteer to put into a sentence what that individual thought I was attempting to say.

One Sunday, during a sermon series on Romans, I had struggled trying to adequately cover a certain passage.  I wasn’t feeling too good about my effort; nevertheless, I started the class in my typical way, asking for someone to put into a sentence what that person felt was the point of my message.  After several people tried but had great trouble putting their thoughts into words a bold gentleman said, “Pastor, why don’t you try putting into a sentence what it was you were trying to say!”

Of course, I struggled like everyone else!

But that day I made a vow that I would never again be embarrassed like this.  To avoid a repeat I would always early on in my Sunday sermon preparation write a clear sentence as to what my sermon subject was, plus the response I was calling for.

Decades and some multiplied hundreds of sermon ideas later; I have never failed to do this.

Interestingly enough, I have also never been embarrassed in a similar fashion.  I believe that’s because forcing myself early on to be clear about my sermon subject and response has made me a far more effective preacher.

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What’s the Subject of Your Church Sermon?

For a number of years I have made it a point to ask friends during the week whether they attended church the past Sunday.  Because they know I’m a minister, most of them have come to anticipate my inquiry.  My follow-up question is, “And what was the subject of your minister’s church sermon?”

Would you believe that the majority of people can’t remember?  This embarrasses them because they probably listened politely as the message was given.  But the truth is, since they left the church they probably haven’t even once thought about what they heard.

If I’m honest, I have to admit that this is often the case with me.  Once I leave the sanctuary, seldom do I find myself thinking about what I just heard preached.  There are such times, yes, but those are the wonderful exceptions rather than the rule.  The fact that occasionally a given sermon series, topical sermons or Christmas sermon will really grab me, however, makes me think that the problem relates more to the pulpit than it does the pew.

What makes for Sunday sermons that really stick with listeners?  Over the years I’ve analyzed this matter time and again.  To begin with, the good ones have a clear and compelling subject.  I want to listen because I not only understand what is being talked about; I’m interested in the topic.

On a scale of one to ten, I would say that not only are very few sermon subjects I hear “tens”, most people can’t tell what the actual subject was of the sermon they just heard.  This was never made clear to them by the speaker.

I’m convinced that the main reason for this is because the person preaching never took the time to figure out what his or her precise subject was!

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