Check Yours Out

June 25, 2014 by admin

A unique cross, popular today among Presbyterians, was used by the monastic community founded by Columba at Iona. It’s a Latin cross with a ring around the intersection of the two arms, which is called a Celtic cross.

An expression of praise often found in the Psalms is still used today by many believers. Though most Christians can’t define precisely what it means, when they say or sing “hallelujah” they believe they are worshiping the Lord.

The church calendar begins with the Season of Advent. The word means “coming” and refers to both the first and second advents of Jesus.

Present-day Israel and Jordan make up most of the ancient land of Canaan, where the majority of the events of the Bible took place.

Oliver Cromwell (1599–1688) was the leader of the forces of Parliament and Protestantism against Charles I of England. The “Ironsides,” his psalm-singing regiments, were never defeated.

And did I have in mind a way these religion related paragraphs fit together? Not really! I was just attempting to illustrate what all too many church sermons and services are like. Though they certainly sound spiritual, they go in a dozen different directions. Little wonder that after a while lots of people stop paying attention to what’s happening.

Check your sermons out carefully to see if they are characterized this way. If not … well, “hallelujah”!

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Please click here to visit David Mains’ Sermon-Coach.com website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Please click here.

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The “How Long?” Church Sermon Question

October 21, 2009 by admin

You are preaching from the Joseph story in Genesis, and your desired response is that your hearers will be captured by a God-given dream like he was. Too many Christians live “dreamless lives.” They have nothing spiritual that drives them. They fill their days with trivial pursuits.

So you have clearly in mind both your church sermon subject and response. These are two of the four questions you need to get the answers to very early on in your sermon outline preparation.

Question number three involves the “how to” of what you’re talking about. Do your listeners know how to go about discovering a God-given dream? Probably not. So your message also needs to provide these answers.

Opening your heart to the needs of others can play a part. Knowing what you are passionate about is certainly helpful. Then dreams often come from exposure to highly motivated people. Concerted prayer almost always plays a part in the process as well. You will no doubt have other ideas.

A fourth key question that helps pull the initial thoughts of your Bible sermons together relates to the how long. Ministers tend to assume people act faster than they normally do. It’s like, “I told you what you need to know; why haven’t you instantly changed?”

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Where Are All the Visitors?

October 18, 2009 by admin

Why is it some churches draw all kinds of visitors, while others never have anyone besides their regular attendees?

My guess is that the answer to such questions was fashioned over a period of time.

Churches with lots of visitors now, started talking about this issue quite a while ago. They wrestled with questions such as, “What is it that keeps our people from inviting others?” These were not just staff discussions; they also involved numerous members of the congregation.

If changes were made in certain areas, would we feel more comfortable inviting friends? For example, is the service too long? Do outsiders feel comfortable when they come? Why or why not? Is the music a positive or a negative? Are the church sermon topics relevant? Do we know how to make people feel at home?

I’m willing to bet that churches where such open and honest discussions were never held, are also the ones that now show little growth. Desperate challenges from the pulpit to “please invite your friends” really don’t help all that much.

Do our people feel comfortable inviting non-Christian friends to a church service? Do they even have non-Christian friends? That could be a significant problem, if they don’t!

With critical matters like this, there is a great need for open and honest discussion between pastors and their people, with the bottom line being workable “how-to’s” that most everyone agrees on.

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A “How-To” Example for Your Topical Sermons

October 17, 2009 by admin

Your preaching text is 1 Corinthians 10:13. It’s a well-known church sermon verse. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up to it.”

Your preaching subject is “Repeat Temptations.” By that you mean temptations that prove troublesome time and again.

The response you are calling for from your people is for them to stand up and know victory in such encounters.

The problem is that many of them don’t seem to know how to do this. So what are some possible “how-to’s” you might suggest in your Sunday sermons?

Here are four examples:

Realize that the outcome of most spiritual battles is determined within the first minute. The longer you listen to the enemy, the more likely it is you will lose.
So be like Jesus when the devil tempted Him. Quickly lock your mind onto what you know God would have you do. Then determine in your mind that this will be your course of action.
Take time to carefully write out the rewards that come from righteousness and the damages that result from sin. Go over this list regularly so you can instantly refer to it when it’s needed.
Establish an accountability relationship with a close Christian friend. You don’t have to say what the temptation is that repeatedly troubles you. But you can let this person know how you are doing in terms of wins and losses.

These are the kind of helpful specifics that need to be included in your topical sermons.