When I ask ministry students to tell me the subject they’re preparing a given sermon about, I don’t want them to respond by telling me their chosen text. I’m glad they have a passage in mind, because it gives direction to their thoughts. But a given verse or passage could be about several different subjects.
By way of example, if I’m told the sermon subject will be Psalm 1, I still don’t have the answer I’m looking for. The subject could be “where you get your counsel,” “the sad end of the wicked,” or “the practice of meditation,” to name just a few.
The same kind of fuzzy answer would be to reply, “I’m planning to preach on David.” Not only does this tell me (or a congregation) very little, but it’s not nearly as helpful as responding, “The Secret to Giant-Killing,” or “A Life of Praise,” or “The Danger of Dropping Your Guard.”
Once people have heard your sermon, they ought to be able to say specifically, “The subject our pastor preached about was ‘The Secret to Giant-Killing,’” or “‘The Age-Old Practice of Meditation,’” whatever. Not only is that much better than answering, “The sermon was about David” or “it was a study of the First Psalm,” hearing a specific subject focuses your sermon preparation in a much more productive fashion.
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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.
