Guess what?

People sin. In this country they sin a lot. Even Christians do.

Church people gossip, brag, nurse hurt feelings, excuse bad habits, cuss, cheat, sin sexually, exhibit racism, lie, steal, waste countless hours, get red-in-the-face angry, spend little (if any) time in prayer, are selfish, hold onto bitterness, get drunk … hey, the list is rather long.

Sometimes when I hear sermons I get the feeling the preacher thinks he/she pastors a church where no sinning is going on. Anyway, the subject is seldom addressed.

This doesn’t mean I feel sin should be ranted about from the pulpit. Just the opposite. I would think that a true awareness of what happens throughout the week in the average congregation would break most ministers’ hearts. It would be like seeing your children getting into trouble because they’re walking contrary to the ways of the Lord, and that’s not a wise thing to do.

When you serve communion, are you conscious that many people who receive the elements will leave church and probably go on committing the same sins unless you challenge them to live differently?

You can preach about the ways of sin resulting in death in a manner that is both compassionate and helpful. But in today’s world you can hardly afford to just ignore the topic.

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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about? Or, what will you preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon? David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help you learn how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons. Just click here to visit David Mains’ website.

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I’m almost certain that what I heard recently was a sermon that was written around an illustration. In other words, the speaker heard what he thought was a great story, so he built a sermon around it.

I admit that the illustration was a good one. It was powerful enough that I don’t want to let you know what it was; for fear that you too will be tempted to do what I think he did.

It took about six or seven minutes for him to tell this story, and the speaker opted to use it as his closing illustration. Unfortunately, it didn’t really fit the text he chose, and his earlier exposition of that passage had little to do with the point of the illustration.

About 20 minutes into the message I whispered to my wife, “What is it he’s trying to say?”

She responded quietly that she didn’t know.

A minute or two later the preacher got to his story and suddenly he was really animated. He told it well, made a quick application, and for the first time he really had the congregation hanging on his every word. My analysis was that his closing illustration worked, but his overall sermon didn’t!

Is it wrong to ever start your sermon preparation with a good story? Not really. But you still have to ask yourself questions like:

• What’s the subject of this illustration?
• What response does it call for?
• Is its point consistent with the teachings of Scripture?
• What specific text works well with this given illustration?

A good story can prove very helpful in a sermon. But, you never want it to end up being “the tail that wags the dog.” That’s what this one was. This tale was too strong a tail. And, I don’t think I was the only person in the congregation with these suspicions.

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Whether you need to create a Topical Sermon, an Advent Sermon, a Christmas Sermon, an Easter Sermon, a Sermon Series, or any other Sunday Sermon, David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.

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