At Circle Church we learned it was important that the leader be trained to ask the right type of questions.
For instance, while discovering truths from James 1, the leader can ask, “What does James mean in chapter one, verses two through four?” If he does, he will receive academic answers.
Or he can ask, “Are any of you presently facing a trial—as James writes about in chapter one, verses two through four—and could you share this with us? Then we’ll see if we can figure out how these verses apply.” With such a question, we could establish a good basis for the type of discussion we were seeking. And, the group could begin to move forward.
As with the rest of the Circle Church program, variation was the key theme in the interaction groups. While preaching from the book of Daniel, the people discussed each chapter one week before I expounded on it. Another member of the staff had them discuss a chapter of James the same day he preached from it. Current books on the Christian market, or secular books that in some way relate to our faith, could both serve as the basis for good discussion.
However, we established the prerequisite that the material must have been read before anyone was allowed to attend. Favorites among our congregation were works such as those by Francis Schaeffer. Perhaps, if we anticipated that the sermon material would be difficult or controversial, we would schedule discussion for nothing but reaction to the message—in other words, having twenty-five Pastor’s Classes.
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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, 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.
