The Response of Obedience

The third portion of the morning service is the Response of Obedience. This, of course, is the time when we provide an opportunity for individuals in the congregation to respond in one way or another.

As pastors we always ask ourselves, “What is it we want our listeners to do as a result of hearing our words?” If we are unable to answer that question, then most likely the sermon is not worth preaching. One—of the glaring deficiencies of many ministers is an inability to put sermons on a practical level.

On one occasion, my wife and I took a weekend just to refresh ourselves, and had the rare opportunity to listen to someone besides a member of the Circle Church staff preach on Sunday morning. The content of the sermon was interesting because it was packed with numerous stories and illustrations. But, when the man had concluded—his topic dealt with what a minister of God should be—by force of habit I immediately analyzed his words to see if they were practical for those who heard him. I couldn’t think of any way to apply them, nor could Karen!

Once again, I was convinced of the need for disciplining oneself to determine exactly the kind of response desired. Rather than expound empty words of oratory that have no effectual relationship to a congregation, the pastor should make every effort to validate the message. The simplest way I know to do so is to ask, “What kind of response is it I want?”

———————————————

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 can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions. We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

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.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

Share and Enjoy

We were fortunate to have so many students in the congregation with special abilities, and we attempted to utilize them in the services. One Wheaton College senior had worked for months preparing her senior speech recital. She had carefully edited and memorized extensive passages from Catharine Marshall’s bestseller, Christy. Our examination revealed that much of it illustrated the main thrust of the series I was preaching on Christ’s command to love others.

Following one sermon in the series, she performed portions of it in costume, taking about twenty minutes. This proved to be yet another powerful method of reemphasizing the message.

When Ka Tong preached a difficult sermon—“As mature Christians make intelligent decisions about their future, they formulate God’s will for their lives”—we anticipated problems in comprehension. So, we consequently programmed an opportunity to ask questions. We specified that the inquiries were not to deal with response to the theme but to dwell on necessary clarifications.

In order to keep more vocal individuals from monopolizing, cards were included in the bulletin for written questions. The staff collected these during a hymn, sorted them, and directed the most helpful ones to the platform at the appointed time. About fifteen minutes were given to this in the total service, greatly clarifying Ka Tong’s thrust.

Many, many ideas can be utilized at this point in the service, but it must again be underscored that the purpose of any material which follows the sermon is to restate what has been said. If the idea detracts from the thrust of the message, eliminate it.

———————————————

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. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions. We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

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.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

Share and Enjoy

Secular material, both written and musical, can be of help in tying biblical truth to our present-day world. In a sermon which stated that the great need of the world is for love, the very commodity the Christian is supposed to have in abundance, we followed with an intriguing sequence.

To demonstrate that the cry of the world is exactly for what had been preached, the song “Come on now, brothers,” came on via recording. As it continued—“Let’s get together, Let’s love one another right now”—the volume was turned down and Ka Tong, at the back of the auditorium, began reading clippings from the previous day’s newspaper.

Barring last minute developments Sheriff Joseph Woods will resume evicting members of the contract buyers league early next week.

Military sources said guerrillas firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns killed 7 South Vietnamese troops and wounded 23 others in an attack…The de fenders killed 15 of the attackers.

Ralph Bellamy, 33…was sentenced Friday to serve 100 to 199 years in prison for the murder of a Chicago patrolman…last December 27th. Criminal Court Judge Robert I. Collins ordered Bel1amy to serve an additional 15 to 20 years for the attempted murder of another policeman.

Meet the “Chicago Thirteen.” They are not, as you might suspect, a collection of radicals in trouble with the law. Rather, they are an imposing array of some of the city’s bigger private enterprises. They are also Chicago’s biggest individual sources of air pollution.

At this point a recording of “What the World Needs Now Is Love, Sweet Love” started to play with Ka Tong’s voice intoning the names on the newspaper list in the background.

U.S. Steel Corp., Republic Steel Corp., Wisconsin Steel Division

“…It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of…”

Interlake Steel Corp., Commonwealth Edison Company

“…What the world needs now is love, sweet love…”

Then, drowning out all these sounds the choir began to sing the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace;
Where there is hatred let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
Seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.

———————————————

No matter what type of Sunday sermon you need to create, David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions. We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

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.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

Share and Enjoy

It always brings me great pleasure when the sermon and other parts of a church service make easy associations in my mind. If the congregation has been praising God that He is holy, and that’s followed by a sermon about God’s people living righteously, it’s not that hard for me to recognize how the two connect.

What’s disconcerting is when I can’t easily figure out how the hymn or the prayer or the special music or the sermon or the Scripture reading are related. Instead, it’s like a series of individual unrelated elements. Or to put it more bluntly, each person does his or her “shtick,” with little or no communication between the parts.

For there to be a smooth and coordinated flow, it’s imperative that all the participants stay in contact, and the biggest burden is on the preacher. Early on he or she needs to clearly and concisely say what the direction of the sermon is going to be. This should be spelled out at the latest by Tuesday or Wednesday, and if at all possible, a week earlier than that.

This doesn’t mean the sermon has to be finished. It’s just that the subject and response being called for are clearly established. Once that’s been done there can be no changes. The worst thing would be for all involved to work at making their parts perfect, only to hear that the preacher decided to make a last-minute change of direction.

———————————————

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. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions. We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

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.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

Share and Enjoy