There aren’t a lot of people who every week have the privilege of talking nonstop to a group of people for a half-hour or so. Ministers are one of the rare exceptions.
Unfortunately, a lot of these men and women who are relatively good at talking are not as good at not talking. Said differently, they aren’t good listeners. Let me try that again. They often can’t stay quiet long enough to hear what others have to say, and especially, they are unskilled when it comes to giving their full attention to carefully listening to what others have to say about their weekly sermonizing.
This is most unfortunate, because one of the best ways to find out about the transforming effectiveness of sermons is by letting our listeners tell us what impact our words have had on their lives.
Try a question like this: “I’ve preached for four or five Sundays in this recent series; can you tell me if what I’ve said brought about any changes in your life, and if so, what?”
In my mind, that’s not only a fair question, it’s a very important one. People’s answers should prove quite helpful in terms of determining how we are doing our job.
Preachers, who make their living talking, would benefit from cultivating the habit of asking good sermon-related questions, and then listening closely to people’s responses.
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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.
