8 Survival Skills for Changing Times – Part 5-2

October 25, 2012 by admin

Guarding Self-Respect – Part 2: I Am God’s Child (continued…)

Too often in our presentation of the Gospel we start with point two, that humanity has fallen, that we’ve sinned. But our hearers will fail to comprehend how great a fall that was if we don’t establish upfront that man and woman were first wonderful, that they were made by God with tremendous potential for good.

I’m not saying that we can earn our salvation. Our own righteousness falls hopelessly short of the payment necessary to cover the cost of our sin. But my point is that I am wonderful and you are wonderful, because we bear this stamp: “MADE BY GOD IN HIS IMAGE.” In Psalm 139:14, David says, “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

How sad that in spite of such a marvelous beginning, I sinned. Like you, I fell from this high position of privilege. But the good news is that through Christ we can be restored. Not only can we be forgiven, we can once again be filled with the Spirit of God. As the Lord breathed His spirit into Adam when He formed him from the dust, so He can make our bodies places where He Himself dwells by His Holy Spirit.

Originally we were wonderful. Yes, we fell because of sin. But, praise the Lord, we can be restored to the original design.

How foolish it would be to fight for a creationist viewpoint that had significance only in the battle against evolution. The doctrine of Creation is also vitally important because of what it does for us personally. Because of God’s Creation, and the work of Christ to restore us to what was intended all along, men and women have immense worth.

Later in Genesis, where we read about the creation of Adam and Eve, we encounter another interesting character. Recently a musical was made about him called Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This is one of those situations where I’ll stick with the book because it’s better than the play!

It’s Genesis 37, and Joseph is loved more by his father than are any of his eleven brothers. At the time Joseph is seventeen and the oldest son of Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel, who’s now dead. Blessed with good looks, Joseph is honored by his father with a richly ornamented robe that soon will get him into trouble.

You know the story. His jealous older brothers attack him, strip him of this hated symbol of favoritism, and then leave him in a cistern. Though he screams to be freed, their hearts are calloused, and they sit down to eat their lunch. When a caravan of lshmaelites comes along, an idea is hatched. “Let’s sell Joseph and that way we won’t have to kill him.” So a purchase price is agreed on—twenty shekels of silver.

For this young man that’s quite a tumble from a position of privilege, isn’t it? From favorite son of a rich father, to shackled prisoner being marched into Egypt, you’re on your way to be sold at the slave auction, Joseph. Better repeat after me, not out loud, but say the words to yourself: I may be a prisoner. I may be a prisoner. I may be naked. I may be naked. I may be sold as a slave—Say it! No. Say it: I may be sold as a slave. But I am… But I am…Somebody. Somebody. I am… I am… God’s child. God’s child.

Joseph is bought by a man named Potiphar, who is one of Pharaoh’s officials. Before long, because of the good job Joseph does, he is put in charge of everything Potiphar owns. In Genesis 39, we read, “Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he refused… And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her” (vv. 6-8, 10).

Young Joseph pays a price for being righteous. The rejected woman fabricates a story. She tells her husband that Joseph tried to take advantage of her sexually. Once again Joseph’s world wobbles as he’s jailed with the king’s prisoners.

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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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A Good Read – Part 7: The Sermon Conclusion

October 24, 2012 by admin

Last week I quoted thoughts about the opening words of your sermon from Dr. Lori Carrell’s new book. This week I have included a short section from what she wrote about your concluding words. I have yet to receive my early copy of Preaching That Matters, so I still can’t tell you how to order your own book.

Your last words, or conclusion, need just as much preaching preparation effort as the introduction. As we near the end of our mutual meaning making through a sermon communication experience, the shape should bring us to the spiritually transformative response goal. As we approach this destination, the language needs to be compelling, so listeners both feel and understand the spiritual direction you are providing. Unfortunately, pastors often wait until the last few minutes to engage in their very best preaching.

Perhaps as time gets short, preachers experience pressure that produces urgency, and their word choices become more compelling. Sometimes, I wonder, “Where has this preacher been during the rest of the sermon?”

In one case, after 35 minutes of explanation with little connection to listeners, a preacher provided the subject and response in such a compelling and thought-provoking way that I was jostled into attentiveness. In our follow-up conversation, this well-educated pastor explained, “I had so much passion for this passage. I didn’t want to get emotional, so I saved what I really wanted to say until the end.”

Other common concluding mistakes are:

Continuing to preach during the closing prayer, with language that addresses listeners rather than God
Announcing that you will be concluding soon, diminishing listener energy
Briefly mentioning a possible application of the informative content
Coming to a sudden, screeching halt, having realized that you are overtime and simply must stop
Re-preaching the sermon, and calling it a review
Prolonging the sermon, repeating already preached material while you figure out a way to finish because you did not plan or craft closing words during preparation
Reviewing by repeating things you have already said quite clearly, word-for-word
Adding new content or alluding to material you wished you could have included
Using a delivery that does not sound like you are done (so you have to pray, admit “I’m done,” or cue the choir to indicate the sermon communication is complete)
Omitting a connection to the focusing or framing words in the introduction, or to the subject or response goal

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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?

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.

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

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8 Survival Skills for Changing Times – Part 5-1

October 23, 2012 by admin

Guarding Self-Respect – Part 1

Your world is wobbling. You’ve lost your job and can’t find another one. Or, your spouse has filed for divorce. The doctor says you have a tumor that could be malignant. Maybe it’s just that you’re getting quite a bit older and you wish you could turn back the clock. Whatever it is, the situation has shaken you.

I Am God’s Child

I recall driving down to the south side of Chicago over twenty years ago for Operation Push rallies. Jesse Jackson would preach every week to large crowds of blacks, many of them poor. To them Jesse represented hope. Often he would get the people to chant with him. “I may be poor,” he would lead out, and they would respond, I may be poor. “I may be on welfare,” he would continue, and they would repeat, I may be on welfare. “I may not have a job.” I may not have a job. “But I am…” But I am… “Somebody…” Somebody… “I am…” I am… “God’s child.” God’s child. Then everyone would clap because the truth was powerful and freeing. And it needed to be rehearsed over and over because too often the world shouted at these people, “You are nothing!”

In these changing times, many individuals—not just African Americans—need to be convinced of this truth. “I am somebody. I am God’s child.”

“Know,” writes the psalmist, “that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His” (Ps. 100:3). That truth seems so basic, you might think it hardly worth mentioning. Yet a lot of Christians don’t live in the reality of the psalmist’s words.

Actually, that’s the first truth taught in the Scriptures. It’s the doctrine of Creation. Men and women are not the products of mere time and chance. Rather, it’s God Himself who made us. As human beings we are the pinnacle of God’s handiwork. He has given us dominion over all the rest of His creation. The most complex of His creatures, human beings have great dignity in this world.

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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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8 Survival Skills for Changing Times – Part 4-13

October 22, 2012 by admin

Relating Empathetically – Part 13: Readings – 5

Have you ever gone to church, talked with a number of people, but returned home with the strange feeling that you were all alone or un-cared for? Maybe you spoke to a dozen individuals, yet you shared nothing of real substance with any of them. You didn’t get to know anyone better, and no one made an effort to get close to you.

“How are you?” “You sure look good in that outfit.” “Nice day, isn’t it?” “Work going well?” “Great to see you again.” Talk can be superficial. Though it seems friendly, when all is said and done, there’s not much to latch on to. Some people in the congregation might know your name, where you work, or how many kids you have. But few discover the inner you.

Why do so many of us have difficulty getting past surface talk? Most of us long for deeper relationships. But even if we were to spend an entire evening with a group from the church, we still might come away knowing very little about the other people who were there.

What do people talk about? Sports, movies, television, school, recipes, personalities, books, the weather … the list goes on. But that’s hardly what’s important to us.

So, what seems to be the problem? Part of the difficulty has to do with conversational skills. More specifically, most church people aren’t adept at asking good questions.

Case in point: you’re in church and the minister says, “Would visitors please raise your hands?” In a healthy congregation, that might involve ten or fifteen people. Then the pastor announces, “We’d like to take a few minutes to get to know one another. Would those of you who are regulars please greet our visitors and make them feel at home?”

But too often the conversation goes nowhere. “You’re a visitor?” “Yes.” “First time here, huh?” “That’s right.” “Never been to this church before?” “No.” “Good to have you!” “Thank you.” Sound too familiar? Such exchanges take place time and time again. We just aren’t able to get beyond the old standbys.

Obviously, “Are you a visitor?” could be improved on. Why? Because the person is limited in terms of how he or she can answer. Most likely the response will be, “Yes, I am.” That’s like asking, “How are you?” Most people will say, “Fine, thanks.” Then the exchange dies and another opportunity to get to know someone is gone.

It’s much better to work at asking questions that allow the other person to reveal something more significant. For example, if you ask, “Where do you work?” most likely you’ll get a quick answer. The conversation won’t go anywhere. But, if you add, “… and what’s something you enjoy about your job?” you open a window that can reveal more about that person.

Granted, it’s hard to ask a meaningful question when you only have about thirty seconds to talk to somebody. But everyone should be able to come up with a good question to ask a visitor after the service is dismissed. Rarely does this ever happen, however. Week after week, year after year, some people say the same things over and over. Would you believe it’s common to find longtime members in our churches who still feel like nobody really knows them? Sad, isn’t it?

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Getting Beyond “How Are You?”, David Mains and Melissa Timberlake, Victor Books, pages 5-7.

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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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