Perhaps many of the organizational theories at Circle Church grew out of experiences which we faced during our first year in the Pastor s Class, which follows the 9:30 morning service. This Class is for anyone who wants to talk further about the sermon.
I used to initiate the discussion by asking “Would someone here tell me what you think I was trying to say in the last hour?” The response was most discouraging because seldom did anyone get the intended emphasis correct.
Two possible explanations for this existed. First, we were poor preachers. Naturally, we vehemently decried this suggestion! Second, the people had not developed a habit of listening closely. The truth probably lay somewhere between these two choices.
Whatever the reason, the solution seemed to be in establishing a basic thrust to our message. We decided that whoever preaches must capsulate the sermon into a basic purpose sentence. Without that sentence we could formulate a service. When the sentence had been finalized—by Tuesday staff day, for the following Sunday—the entire service was developed thematically to enhance that truth.
This was a difficult discipline to establish, but a most important one. Because once we started to do this, almost immediately we found that the congregation began to understand our messages!
In fact, the staff often accused me of repeating the purpose sentence too much. They may have been right, but I find it immensely satisfying when a member of the congregation repeats in total the thrust of a message which was preached months or years before. And this happens frequently! If we could establish one basic truth per week, I felt we were accomplishing a tremendous amount.
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You can learn how to develop highly relevant Sunday sermons that grab the attention of your congregation and help your listeners respond effectively to the deep truths of God’s Word. 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.
