The result of all this variation in worship was that it taught each of us to be more open to method, to remain flexible in our attitudes of adoration, and to find meaning in the unusual.

One morning a comical illustration of this occurred. Every so often the Teamsters needed to schedule policy meetings on Sunday morning in “our” auditorium. On these occasions, they would then make the basement area of their new office building available to us. The change of meeting place was good for us, as we had to adjust to the confusion and bustle. The children had to find different Sunday school patterns, boxes of hymnals had to be transported the quarter-block, and we had to change from piano to accordion. It kept us on our toes.

It was on one of these mornings when Ka Tong was praying, that piped-in music began to play over the intercom system. I continued for thirty seconds or so while Ka Tong, who fortunately has his own built-in amplifying system, just waxed louder, until at last someone found the right button and cut the interference.

That evening, a couple dropped by our home for a visit.

“What did you think of the background music in the service this morning?”

I laughed. We all smiled as if this was just a part of the “let’s change locations this morning” game.

Then the husband confessed, “You know, I really thought it was planned. I figured sooner or later we would understand the reason you did it, like so often happens!”

The more we shared his reaction, the more we discovered a similar response from others. The unusual had become an extension of our worship, not a distraction.

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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 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.

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A pastor sent me a CD of one of his recent sermons, requesting my feedback. I listened to it while driving.

He stuck to his text in a way that would have made a seminary professor proud. His illustrations were on target and he used humor effectively.

So, I had no problem coming up with matters on which I could compliment him. But to be truthful, like with all too many sermons I’ve heard, it was one I’ll never think about again. When it was over, for me it really was over. It had no staying power. And it was only honest for me to also include that in my critique.

Why was this the case, I wondered. Was I the problem? I dismissed that possibility because I had closely listened to everything that was said.

Ultimately I came to the conclusion that, at best, he only slightly hinted at the response he wanted from his listeners. Put into his words this was to “in all things depend on God.” But how to do this was not only missing from anything he said, but I had to really search my memory and then replay the CD to come up with that.

Why bring this up? Because in my lifetime I’ve heard hundreds and hundreds of messages I could write the same comments about. I might even feel the same way if I heard a CD of your most recent sermon.

Effective messages with staying power make very clear the response being called for. Hopefully, they also include specific steps in terms of how to pull this off. Then they engage people emotionally so they continue to wrestle with what was heard.

Occasionally, I’ve heard these kinds of sermons, too. And, they can be wonderfully life-transforming!

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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. 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.

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Worship through Variety and Change.

In four years’ time at Circle Church, we utilized literally hundreds of new ideas that helped us to creatively and meaningfully express our adoration. Abandoned forms of corporate worship, such as poetry, once again came alive. The poetry was even more satisfying when it had been written by someone in the church. The more we tried, the more ideas there seem to be to attempt.

We were working our way back to the time when worship was begun by the loud agonized call of a ram’s horn. How could we praise God with the timbrel and the harp? How could we praise Him on high-sounding cymbals? In what way could we properly use dance? Where were the mid-twentieth-century counterparts to our Hebrew forebears, those great men whose daily existence involved concentrated acts of praise to God?

We were discovering undreamed of ways to employ the overwhelming talents of this single congregation to worship and to adore. And, we were anticipating the discovery of more.

Each service continued to be different from the ones before it. But it is imperative to stress that this was not an attempt to be different for the sake of being different. We were not trying to be novel.

Rather, we were trying to be meaningful, to discover exciting forms of worship. We were attempting to give expression to the abundance of gifts that God had given to us. Paradoxically, the simplest services were often the best, because they stood in quiet contrast to those which were most complex. Their beauty and simplicity were deeply touching.

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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.

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