How far are you in your sermon plans for this coming Sunday?

My contention has always been that once you know the answer to four basic questions, the overall direction of your sermon has been set and the bigger part of your job has been done.

So first, what’s the basic subject you’ll be preaching about? Note that I didn’t ask what your text is, but what is your sermon subject? My sermon subject for this coming Sunday is _________________________.

Next I want to know the response you will be calling for. Here’s what I want my people to do or understand or think, etc. The specific response I will be asking of my listeners is _________________________.

Third, do your people know how to pull this off on their own, or will they need further suggestions? For example, the response of them being “more fully dedicated to Christ” could be unclear and probably hard for listeners to get a handle on. The how-to I am suggesting in my sermon is _________________________.

Finally, what about the how-long factor? How long will it take before what you are suggesting becomes incorporated into their lives? Is a one-week time frame reasonable? If not, what is? Listeners have a right to know what is a reasonable amount of time for them to adjust to this challenge. To pull off what I am preaching about should take ____________________.

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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.

For so many of us, the Christmas celebration can be a mile wide and an inch deep. We tire ourselves with an ever-growing list of gifts to buy, activities to complete, and traditions to uphold. And through a maze of cards and calls, outreach and entertainment, we struggle to connect with others in meaningful ways. Our intentions are sincere, but often trivial. When we look back on the season, we’re often left feeling like our holidays somehow lost the Christ in Christmas, and only touched the surface.

Every pastor needs resources to help him or her find appropriate Sermons for Advent and Sermons for Christmas. With Christmas Sermon resources from Mainstay Ministries, you can help your congregation season their Christmas traditions with the flavor of Christ. More than simply helping them to remember that “Jesus is the reason for the season,” you can encourage people to focus on Christ in the very traditions that have become part of our celebration of Christmas: decorating our homes, conveying Christmas greetings, giving and receiving gifts, gathering with family and friends, entering the new year with goals. Click here to see a list of special Christmas Sermon Packages available.

Looking forward to Christmas? Looking for key Sermon Ideas? Wondering what to preach throughout the Christmas Season? Searching for help in preparing for your Sermons on Christmas Day? In addition to the above special offer, Mainstay Ministries has many valuable resources filled with Christmas Sermon Ideas to help you plan for your Christmas preaching and for such Sunday Sermons, including resources for the following: Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermon, Advent Sermon Series, Advent Sunday Sermons, Christmas Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermon, and Christmas Sermon Series. Connect with us on-line by clicking here.

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So, as of October, 1968, and not yet two years old, at Circle Church we were sitting on top of the world. A team had formed and together we were learning to be strong. The congregation was like a coat of many colors, with people from all parts of the world attending. The spirit was to move ahead. All was on schedule.

The association with the Zion church was progressing smoothly. Even some suburbanites were attending and their presence buoyed our congregation. Our relationship with the Teamsters continued to be very good. Publicity (which we had not sought and consequently felt was of God) was beginning to appear about the church in various magazines and periodicals.

Our philosophy (which I will share in future blog posts) had solidified, and our methods of implementing it were working well. It looked like we were chiseling a miracle out of the tough concrete of inner-city Chicago.

It all seemed too good to be true, and I began to consider writing a book. One of the members of our church is a well-established author in the Christian field. Jim Hefley predicted, “Dave, I think you’d better put it off awhile. You might be premature.”

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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.

For so many of us, the Christmas celebration can be a mile wide and an inch deep. We tire ourselves with an ever-growing list of gifts to buy, activities to complete, and traditions to uphold. And through a maze of cards and calls, outreach and entertainment, we struggle to connect with others in meaningful ways. Our intentions are sincere, but often trivial. When we look back on the season, we’re often left feeling like our holidays somehow lost the Christ in Christmas, and only touched the surface.

Every pastor needs resources to help him or her find appropriate Sermons for Advent and Sermons for Christmas. With Christmas Sermon resources from Mainstay Ministries, you can help your congregation season their Christmas traditions with the flavor of Christ. More than simply helping them to remember that “Jesus is the reason for the season,” you can encourage people to focus on Christ in the very traditions that have become part of our celebration of Christmas: decorating our homes, conveying Christmas greetings, giving and receiving gifts, gathering with family and friends, entering the new year with goals. Click here to see a list of special Christmas Sermon Packages available.

Looking forward to Christmas? Looking for key Sermon Ideas? Wondering what to preach throughout the Christmas Season? Searching for help in preparing for your Sermons on Christmas Day? In addition to the above special offer, Mainstay Ministries has many valuable resources filled with Christmas Sermon Ideas to help you plan for your Christmas preaching and for such Sunday Sermons, including resources for the following: Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermon, Advent Sermon Series, Advent Sunday Sermons, Christmas Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermon, and Christmas Sermon Series. Connect with us on-line by clicking here.

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The staff at Circle Church had become an effective team. We had come to appreciate each other with a deep Christ-like love. I experienced much of this unusual closeness when I was working in Youth for Christ. At that time, the emphasis was on training a “Timothy”—a younger person to take responsibility.

Most ministers are not anxious for such a relationship because of their own insecurities. As an associate pastor, I found if I did poorly I was a drain, and if I did well, I was a threat. Later, as an assistant pastor, the same was true.

A close friend, encouraging me to take a church on my own, said, “An assistant or an associate inherits the same abbreviation on the door.” He was right! I vowed never to bind my co-workers by such an arrangement. Now, at Circle Church, I was learning that the trainer of a “Timothy” has as great a learning process to go through as a trainee.

The city is rough on churches, and to go it alone would be very hard. I know many urban pastors, and the great majority of them are discouraged, defeated, and negative. When I get that way, several of the other fellows are always high, and they seem to draw around the one who needs encouragement. When we all face a problem, we work and pray it out together. It’s laughter and hilarity, as well as struggle.

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You can learn how to develop highly relevant Sunday sermons that grab the attention of your congregation and help your listeners respond effectively to the deep truths of God’s Word. David Mains and Mainstay Ministries have a whole range of helpful solutions. Do you need to prepare a Topical Sermon, an Advent Sermon, a Christmas Sermon, an Easter Sermon, a Sermon Series, or any other Sunday Sermon? You can find help on 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.

For so many of us, the Christmas celebration can be a mile wide and an inch deep. We tire ourselves with an ever-growing list of gifts to buy, activities to complete, and traditions to uphold. And through a maze of cards and calls, outreach and entertainment, we struggle to connect with others in meaningful ways. Our intentions are sincere, but often trivial. When we look back on the season, we’re often left feeling like our holidays somehow lost the Christ in Christmas, and only touched the surface.

Every pastor needs resources to help him or her find appropriate Sermons for Advent and Sermons for Christmas. With Christmas Sermon resources from Mainstay Ministries, you can help your congregation season their Christmas traditions with the flavor of Christ. More than simply helping them to remember that “Jesus is the reason for the season,” you can encourage people to focus on Christ in the very traditions that have become part of our celebration of Christmas: decorating our homes, conveying Christmas greetings, giving and receiving gifts, gathering with family and friends, entering the new year with goals. Click here to see a list of special Christmas Sermon Packages available.

Looking forward to Christmas? Looking for key Sermon Ideas? Wondering what to preach throughout the Christmas Season? Searching for help in preparing for your Sermons on Christmas Day? In addition to the above special offer, Mainstay Ministries has many valuable resources filled with Christmas Sermon Ideas to help you plan for your Christmas preaching and for such Sunday Sermons, including resources for the following: Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermon, Advent Sermon Series, Advent Sunday Sermons, Christmas Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermon, and Christmas Sermon Series. Connect with us on-line by clicking here.

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We soon developed a very collegial and constructive sermon development pattern. Each sermon is now a composite of the thoughts of the five. Whoever preaches goes over his thoughts with another member of the team on Monday, or before. If anything basic needs changing, it should come out at that point.

On Tuesday the entire staff hears, in summary, the emphasis of the sermon. Again there is criticism and added perspective from the various backgrounds and viewpoints. Once or twice more the speaker meets in private sessions with other staff members as the week continues. We try to contribute ideas for illustration or application. We listen carefully for thoughts which detract from the main thrust rather than enhance it. We watch for improper English. We attempt to ask how this applies to Fred, or Jack, or Betty. Will it meet their needs where they are?

On Saturday morning the whole staff has breakfast together, listens to the sermon, goes over the various parts they will play in the total service, and then prays. By Sunday morning the material has been well-polished and should prove helpful to our people. The individual differences of the team have been channeled to become its strengths!

Through the team approach we can relate now to more people. There are five instead of one for hospital visits, phone calls, counseling, and all the other pastoral tasks. More people can speak with us on Sunday after the service, as well.

Once when Ka Tong had preached, my wife heard a voice behind her comment to a friend, “Would you like to meet Ka Tong? He is my favorite on the staff.” It didn’t bother Karen, because this is as it should be. Some will feel closer to Al, or Larry. Their personalities will mesh with one another. It is a natural thing and certainly not a basis for petty jealousies.

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Pastor, when “sermon prep day” rolls around each week, do you face the task of preparing another sermon with a frown on your face? If so, you’re not alone. Many pastors literally dread preparing their Sunday sermon. There just doesn’t seem to be an easy solution. The good news: David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help, 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. 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.

For so many of us, the Christmas celebration can be a mile wide and an inch deep. We tire ourselves with an ever-growing list of gifts to buy, activities to complete, and traditions to uphold. And through a maze of cards and calls, outreach and entertainment, we struggle to connect with others in meaningful ways. Our intentions are sincere, but often trivial. When we look back on the season, we’re often left feeling like our holidays somehow lost the Christ in Christmas, and only touched the surface.

Every pastor needs resources to help him or her find appropriate Sermons for Advent and Sermons for Christmas. With Christmas Sermon resources from Mainstay Ministries, you can help your congregation season their Christmas traditions with the flavor of Christ. More than simply helping them to remember that “Jesus is the reason for the season,” you can encourage people to focus on Christ in the very traditions that have become part of our celebration of Christmas: decorating our homes, conveying Christmas greetings, giving and receiving gifts, gathering with family and friends, entering the new year with goals. Click here to see a list of special Christmas Sermon Packages available.

Looking forward to Christmas? Looking for key Sermon Ideas? Wondering what to preach throughout the Christmas Season? Searching for help in preparing for your Sermons on Christmas Day? In addition to the above special offer, Mainstay Ministries has many valuable resources filled with Christmas Sermon Ideas to help you plan for your Christmas preaching and for such Sunday Sermons, including resources for the following: Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermon, Advent Sermon Series, Advent Sunday Sermons, Christmas Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermon, and Christmas Sermon Series. Connect with us on-line by clicking here.

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