He knew I was in the congregation, and I sensed him looking my way several times as he preached. When the service ended he twice came around to where I was, affording me an opportunity to say something positive about his sermon, but I just couldn’t.
As a speaker he was quite animated and his humor delighted his listeners. But I got the distinct impression that when he put his thoughts together, he paid little attention, if any, to the needs of his hearers.
When I got home, I went over the notes I took as I’d listened. Nothing he said related in any way to the lives of his listeners. It was all standard preacher-talk—factual, biblical, but totally irrelevant to where the congregation was coming from.
I know ministers are not purposely insensitive to people’s needs. I just wish we had a way of getting a better read on where our people are struggling. I’m sure we would do our best to address these matters. Thinking exclusively about what a given Bible passage is saying doesn’t automatically address the matter of people’s needs.
Would Jesus be sensitive to people’s struggles even as He preached God’s eternal truth? I believe so. This servant of Jesus wasn’t. The impression I got was that he had faithfully cranked out another sermon with little or no feeling as to where his hearers were coming from. Maybe I misread things, but it’s why I couldn’t say something like “Good job this morning,” or “The Lord spoke through you in a powerful way,” or even “Thank you for your words today.”
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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.
