At Circle Church, after we dropped this uncomfortable dichotomy between a vertically centered Sunday morning service and a horizontally centered Sunday evening service, the Sunday evening meeting floundered for a while without purpose. For those of us who insisted on definition—okay, mainly it was me—who had pigeonholed and demarcated, circumscribed and prescribed, it was a little embarrassing to have this hour just floating vaguely  around.

Finally we became resigned to having one meeting which was basically a catch-all (capitalization might help: Catch-All). It became rather like the homemaker’s proverbial closet—a place of utmost practicality that company is not supposed to open.

Usually we began around 6:30, but the time was not binding. We may have been in the Union Hall, if the anticipated group was large. Or, the church office was often used to accommodate a smaller number. It was more likely, however, that one or several homes would have been used, as they were definitely preferred by the congregation and by our Union Hall janitor.

If many houses were involved, a common topic could tie together the different locations. Or, each did their own thing.

———————————————

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

Between last Sunday and the one coming up, everyone in your congregation will face numerous temptations. As much as ministers might wish it was otherwise, the truth is that almost all of them will fail in one way or another. Where your people will step out of line could relate to greed, anger, gossip, swearing, gluttony, lying, lust, stealing, pride, laziness, cheating, or a host of other sins.

Hopefully, this next Sunday’s service will enable everyone the experience of true forgiveness for such sins, and a new incentive to live righteously in the coming week.

To ignore this need people have of regularly experiencing divine cleansing, as well as the joy of a fresh new start, is to be naive about humanity and the fallen world in which we live.

An additional truth is that between Sundays, pastors have also been known to sin. All ministers should practice daily confession. If in some cases that doesn’t feel adequate, you might want to visit a church where the Eucharist is served daily and someone can minister God’s grace to you for a change.

It is not only important to sense that your relationship with the Lord is right when you are preaching. I find that a right relationship with God is important, as well, in regard to the hours spent in sermon preparation.

God and sin don’t mix well. They never have and they never will. As basic a truth as that is, it seems we need to be reminded of it every now and again.

———————————————

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

Pastors who have been in groups where I have spoken invariably ask, “How can we begin doing what you were doing at Circle Church? We have pews. We can’t change our Sunday school system overnight.”

I try to stress that they not attempt to emulate what we were doing, but adapt our principles to their situation. First of all, they have to make that mental adjustment which insists that meaningful interaction is an important function of the church. Then possibly they can provide some elective classes on an adult Sunday school level which center around discussion. Maybe they can schedule opportunity for the congregation to discuss the sermon with the preacher, and then program further change, in proportion to the response of the congregation.

For us, as we began to interact effectively over a period of time, our name, Circle Church, took on a second, and more satisfying, meaning. We had chosen it originally because of our geographic location. But, now it came to symbolize something deeper, something which expresses the essence of our whole. A poem from Edwin Markham entitled “Outwitted,” which we used often in the worship service expresses this in part.

He drew a circle that shut me out—
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in!

———————————————

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