A Primer on “Sermon Fillers”

Every serious pastor, when he or she begins to construct a sermon, wants to make that sermon memorable. Yes, pastors want to fairly and accurately represent the message that they believe God has laid on their hearts. They also want to make certain that they incrementally aid their congregations in spiritual formation. But, most pastors also realize that to write and deliver a sermon that will “stick” with their congregants long after they’ve left the church—well, that’s just a really good thing.

So, most of us, as pastors, rely on the illustrations we use to provide “hooks” for people to grab on to when they hear us preach our sermons. In fact, sometimes, we even come upon an illustration that grips us so tightly we may even try to build a whole sermon around that illustration.

However, when we make an illustration, or a group of illustrations, the central point of our sermons, we will ultimately fail in meeting the goals we have set for ourselves. Our sermons will likely not properly convey God’s message, will not aid our congregants in their spiritual formation, and will not become memorable.

One of the great advantages of the Sermon-Coach Method of Sermon Development comes from the fact that it has the ability to give pastors a laser-like focus for their sermons. By starting with a clearly chosen “Subject” and then determining exactly what “Response” you want from your listeners, you can begin writing a sermon that does not need to have “sermon fillers.”

We define “sermon fillers” as extraneous, but generally well-meaning, material that fills time, but does not necessarily achieve a thoughtful, well-constructed outcome for a given sermon. In fact, sometimes sermons become an unrelated chain of “sermon fillers.”

Illustrations do play a key role in creating the “How-Tos” that will enable your congregants to make the “Response” that you intend them to make. So, I’m not suggesting that you do away with illustrations that truly support the “Subject” and “Response.”

If you would like to hear more of what I have to say on this topic, I invite you to click the link on this page that will take you to my Sermon-Coach.com website. Once there, you may listen to Podcast No. 191.

Creating memorable sermons does not depend on clever illustrations. By choosing a clear “Subject,” “Response,” “How-Tos,” and “How Long,” you can easily craft a sermon that will convey the message God has laid on your heart, help your congregation to deepen their spiritual formation, and become truly memorable.

 

 

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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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