The Way It Should Be

December 14, 2011 by admin

I was deeply, deeply moved by a sermon I heard this past Sunday. Several times I found myself on the verge of tears. This surprised me because the speaker wasn’t telling stories that in any way would have prompted such a response.

On Sunday afternoon I had time to process the occurrence. The conclusion I came to regarding the reason I was so emotionally stirred was that the speaker had captured the message of Jesus in such a marvelous way that I was almost experiencing what listening to Jesus Himself was like. I don’t know how often people have similar feelings when I preach, but I know it would be a high honor if that happened at least every once in a while.

I was reminded of various verses in Scripture that record the response of people who actually heard our Lord preach. For example, here’s Matthew 7:28-29, which follows His Sermon on the Mount: “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.”

Were our Lord to preach again today, I believe the response would be similar. And, my prayer is that the same could regularly be said of us, as we attempt to substitute each Sunday on His behalf.

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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, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will 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 Saturday or 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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Daring to Dream Again: Introduction – Part 2

December 13, 2011 by admin

I warmed to the approach of an industrial psychologist who had volunteered to host a meeting with a Chapel of the Air board member, one of my executives, and me. I soon felt at ease. Then, as he continued, I heard an expression I didn’t understand. “Hopefully,” he said, “we’ll break glass before long. That’s one of my desires.”

“Break glass?” I stopped him. “I don’t know what that means.”

“Most people don’t see their dreams fulfilled, their visions become reality, because their thinking has become restricted,” he explained. “It’s like being in a great room such as this one, only with a glass ceiling overhead. You can see above you, but you can’t get into that new horizon unless you break the glass ceiling and open up for yourself that greater world.”

“Will I know when that happens?” I questioned.

“You’ll know when we get to such a place,” he responded. “Then you’ll have to decide what to do. Hopefully we can break glass a couple of times today. That’s one of the gifts I can give you. But first, tell me what the Lord has called you to do, David. What’s He laid on your heart? What are His dreams for you?”

Now it was my turn to talk. But, it wasn’t as easy as I had thought. Again, I wasn’t in a dreaming mood. We were operating with a “survive another week” mind-set. My ministry world was shutting down, not expanding. Still, I tried to put the immediate aside and talk about what the Lord had laid on my heart in the earlier days of my ministry. Mostly that related to seeing the church come alive.

Words came out about our being a ministry that was a servant to the church, that encouraged pastors, that helped laypeople discover and use their gifts, even as this man wanted to do. As a ministry, we dared to believe that Christians cared deeply about seeing another great spiritual awakening—a revival of faith that would begin in individual lives and then affect marriages, enhance family relationships, touch the workplace, build up our churches, beautify our cities, and make our nation strong in every way.

As time passed, I told my host about our annual 50-Day Spiritual Adventures, how they were tools for accelerated spiritual growth, that those who participated could measure their progress, and how the number of individuals and churches involved had grown year by year.

“Are your Adventure materials offered overseas?” he asked.

“To a limited degree,” I replied. “We’ve done extensive experiments in India with over a hundred thousand participants. The materials have been translated into Spanish and also tested in …”

“I would think they could be even more effective overseas than they are here,” he postured. “From my observations, missions organizations are better at evangelism than they are at discipleship. Your Adventurejournals would be perfect in places like Nigeria, the Philippines, Honduras …”

“But you don’t understand,” I interrupted. “We’re scrambling just to make it in North America. The cost of purchasing airtime is very high. Over half the Christian programmers on the air don’t pay for their time on many of the commercial stations, but the Chapel does. Listeners don’t know that. We struggle to meet budget. I don’t have the luxury of talking about overseas projects. It’s hard enough …”

“Hold on,” the psychologist said loudly. “I believe we have just come to a glass-breaking time. You agree there’s a great need for materials like these overseas, but your mind is conditioned to go only so far. Then it bumps into a ceiling of your own making. You’re not dreaming new possibilities because you’re accustomed to a ceiling where it is now. The question is whether you’re willing to break glass so we can at least explore various options and their ramifications.”

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Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?

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

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Daring to Dream Again: Introduction – Part 1

December 12, 2011 by admin

How did I get myself into this? I mused as I got dressed that Monday morning several years back. My schedule for this week is already too full. Why did I agree to take a whole day to talk with an industrial psychologist?

Then I remembered. A Chapel of the Air board member had suggested this meeting. That’s what it was. He knew a professional who had offered his services free of charge to several executives of Christian ministries.

This psychologist had said he would be glad to give a day of his time to talk with those leaders about their dreams. Possibly he could be of help in seeing their visions find fulfillment. For him that would be a way to use his gifts in the Lord’s work. But no one took him up on his offer.

“Would you be interested?” my board member wanted to know. He could arrange a meeting. What was I to say? At the time, our broadcast was struggling.

The board wasn’t confident we would make it. The reasons are too complex to go into. But, as a staff, we had cut back our already thin work force. Now, all of us had more to do than we could handle. Looking back on that time, I recall it was like trying to outrun a bullet. Could we race fast enough … and for long enough? We might make it. Might! But, the odds weren’t good.

This is ridiculous, I thought as I drove to where we would be meeting. I don’t have time for dreams anymore. My present ministry has gone about as far as it’s ever going to go. My visions seem to have come to an abrupt halt. End of the line, buddy! Face it, David, you don’t have the luxury of dreaming.

Our meeting was at a private Chicago club. I wasn’t paying—the psychologist I hadn’t yet met was. The conference room was large and luxurious, quite a contrast to the setting of the staff get-together I had held the Friday before. Around the table in our small lunchroom, I had outlined to my key workers the financial status of the Chapel. We had coffee, but not served from a silver pot. Now in this new setting four of us sat around a gorgeous table that could comfortably accommodate a dozen. A tray of sweets came with the coffee service. Then the gentleman who had invited me took over and explained the agenda to me, to my board member, and to one of my top executives.

“It’s my privilege to have you as guests. I want very much to use my gifts on behalf of the Lord. But sometimes at church, it seems my only choices are ushering, teaching a junior high class, or singing in the choir. My best skills relate to working with executives. So again, thank you for allowing me to see if I can be of help.”

I warmed to his approach and soon felt at ease. Then, as he continued, I heard an expression I didn’t understand. “Hopefully,” he said, “we’ll break glass before long. That’s one of my desires.”

“Break glass?” I stopped him. “I don’t know what that means.”

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Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?

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

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Appendix – Part 5

December 9, 2011 by admin

To illustrate the way in which you can fully integrate all the elements of a worship service, I offer the following example, which I began in the previous blog post.

Following the sermon, the truth of Christ’s return was underscored by a technique which we have come to term as “multiple Scripture reading.” The New Testament has abundant material which deals with the theme of Christ’s return. So abundant, that it would have been impossible for one person to have read enough to give the idea of its scope. Yet, we wanted to stress emphatically that very idea of the overwhelming amount of Scripture dealing with the theme of Christ’s return. Pragmatically, we borrowed a concept of Marshall McLuhan, which states the high possibility of a person’s being able to understand many voices at one time.

Following the sermon one person began to read:

From the writings of Peter:

“First of all you must understand this, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own passions and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation.’ They deliberately ignore this fact … ”

(2 Peter 3:3-5a)

When the congregation began to get the flavor of this, another person from another part of the auditorium began reading as the first person continued:

From the writings of Paul:

“But as to the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people say, ‘There is peace and security.’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as travail comes upon a woman with child, and there will be no escape. But you are not in darkness, brethren, for that day to surprise you like a thief.”

(1 Thess. 5:1-4)

Another forty-five seconds and a third voice began reading from another position, again while the others continued:

From the writings of John.

“Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”

(1 John 3:2-3)

“‘Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me …’”

(John 14:1)

Confusing? Perhaps at first, but then the ear begins to sort out each word, each phrase, and the impression is of Scripture’s amplitude in the theme, “Though Christ’s Second Coming seems long overdue, the wise man prepares for His sure return.”

As each New Testament writer was introduced and the medley of voices continued, the choir began to sing, and one by one the voices ceased:

O Lord Jesus, how long?
How long ere we shout the glad song?
Christ returneth! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Amen.

All this time one light was burning, and the other lamp was without light. I remember well one man, a visitor, was so moved he responded in the only way he knew how, by raising his hand and holding it high for some time.

We moved into “The Response of Obedience” by asking the congregation to meditate silently on the question, “If Christ was soon to return, how would you respond?”

‘I need time to right matters.’

‘I’m so glad.’

‘That’s something I hadn’t counted on.’

‘I’m in big trouble.’

‘I’m not perfect, but I’ve been learning to live His way.’

“If Christ was soon to return, how would you respond?”

After the silent meditation, on behalf of the entire congregation, a female soloist stood and sang:

My lamps are lit, I’ll watch and pray.
It may be today; it may be today.

Following the suggestions for life response, as one great musical voice, the congregation’s words were:

Oh! He comes with clouds descending,
Once for our salvation slain;
Thousand thousand saints, attending,
Swell the triumph of his train:
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
God appears on earth to reign.

It was a moving morning, the impression of which is very clear to me, even today.

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Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?

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

Share and Enjoy

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