This Sunday service was jam-packed. In fact, some of the traditional elements had been cut to make room for a last-minute report. Don’t get me wrong; it was done well, as was a video on another topic that also called for a specific response.
Admittedly, I was a visitor. Maybe the regulars were more acquainted with everything that was going on. But for me, the experience tended to be so overwhelming that after a while I just kind of stopped processing what was being asked of me.
I’ll remember that service for a long time, because it underscored an important lesson. Whereas it’s important to make clear the response being called for in a sermon or service, you have to be careful not to ask for so much from your people that you overwhelm them. If you do, their response is liable to be what mine was. My mind said that I was being pushed to respond in more ways than I had come prepared to do.
Every so often, I hear a sermon that suffers from this same flaw. It’s put together incredibly well. I can’t find any traditional way to fault it. It’s just that the preacher pushed past what my limits were. He or she said too much or made the error of giving me more than what I could handle. It was like a seven-course meal when all I ordered was soup and a salad.
What I’m writing about is not a common problem. But I run into it now and again. So just be aware that overkill is not something to strive for.
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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 you learn how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons. Just click here to visit David Mains’ website.
