This past Sunday, I was once again made aware of how preaching is more of a miracle than we generally realize. It was my privilege to attend church with someone who was hurting spiritually. Where we went was his choice. I had never been there before and neither had he. His pick of a place was made on a recommendation from a friend of his.

If I had preached a sermon based on the needs of the friend, I could hardly have been more on-target than the message given by the pastor of this small (less than 100) congregation. It was as though someone had filled him in regarding my friend’s needs. The pastor had not only chosen an appropriate text to preach, but sometimes literally the very words he spoke touched the needs of my friend. It was uncanny.

If I explained this experience to a nonbeliever, such a person might call it mere coincidence. But my belief is that in answer to this pastor’s prayers for divine help during his sermon preparation—and my prayers for where to take an acquaintance to church but not knowing a place to suggest that was near his home—the Holy Spirit acted in a way that was beyond what mere humans could orchestrate. God not only answered our prayers, but met my friend’s need to hear “a word from the Lord” that would speak into his heart in a spectacular fashion.

I relate this incident because I believe the Lord is actively pulling off such miracles Sunday after Sunday. And, only eternity will reveal the whole of what He is doing time and again, all around the globe.

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Please click here to visit David Mains’ Sermon-Coach.com website.

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

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A good way to get people’s attention is to show them something you’ve brought with you to the pulpit.

“This is a small replica of one of the lions that guards the entrance to the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. If you have been to China and seen these lions I’m talking about, please raise your hand. I know this is small, but here’s a big picture up on the screen,” etc…

“I had never seen one of these little games before. The idea, of course, is to swing the ball into the cup. I’m obviously no good at this, but the children in the plaza down in Oaxaca, Mexico were amazingly skilled,” etc…

“This is an ostrich egg. The reason I’m showing it to you is…”

“I purchased this piece of pottery some 30 years ago. I was in Venezuela, where I saw it in the market. I paid more for it than I probably should have. But bartering was not something I was all that skilled at doing. Anyway, I’m showing it to you because…”

Well, you get the idea. If you are having trouble figuring out how to quickly grab the attention of your congregation, consider what kind of a visual might help. And it doesn’t have to be at the start of your sermon. Just about any time you introduce a “show-and-tell” you’ll have people’s attention.

One caution—the reason for the visual needs to fit nicely into where the sermon is going. Otherwise, it’s little more than a gimmick.

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Please click here to visit David Mains’ Sermon-Coach.com website.

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

Share and Enjoy