Let Me Say It Again

July 9, 2014 by admin

“Listen closely; I don’t want to have to repeat this!”

Have you ever said that to someone? Has someone ever said words like that to you? The truth is that most of us need to be told certain things any number of times before we actually start to make the concepts our own.

My belief is that in the spiritual-learning process, repetition is quite important. Said differently, one sermon on a basic topic, such as learning to love in a Christ-like fashion, isn’t picked up by all your people just because you once said it forcefully several months ago in a sermon.

How many times did Jesus have to repeat lessons, like learning servanthood, to His Twelve?

As basic a Christian truth as doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, isn’t generally mastered after hearing it for the first time … or the tenth time … or even the hundredth time.

All this is to say that many elementary Christian truths need to be repeated over and over before they’re caught.

So, if as a pastor you feel like you have “nothing new” to say to your people this coming weekend, maybe it’s time to repeat something you’ve said before.

I mean, in the spiritual-learning process, repetition is important!

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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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Incredible!

July 2, 2014 by admin

Will what you preach this Sunday make a difference in anyone’s life? If so, who might that someone be? Here’s another way of me asking that same question. What kind of person will you have in mind when you prepare your upcoming sermon?

A visitor to the church
A jr-high student
A widow whose husband was killed in the Middle East
A senior citizen
Someone just served divorce papers
A middle-aged businessperson

I understand that you don’t always know who will be listening to you. But my belief is that instead of “just preparing another sermon for the congregation,” it helps to picture the kind of individual(s) you prayerfully hope will be hearing what you have to say on Jesus’ behalf.

So who do you want to be there listening to Jesus speak through you, and what does your Lord want that person to hear?

Personalizing the preaching-preparation process can breathe new life into a task that can sometimes get too repetitious.

Recently I attended church with a gentleman with several advanced degrees who had been out of work for several months. Though the minister didn’t know he would be there, I felt like his sermon had been prepared precisely for him.

Amazing! I trust that someone will feel that way about your message this coming weekend.

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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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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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Self-Examination

June 18, 2014 by admin

We are already halfway through this new year, and I’m wondering if spiritually speaking you’ve grown at all.

With a little thought, are you able to complete this sentence with specifics? “I believe I am a better Christian now than I was a year ago because…”

Can you name a troublesome temptation you’ve recently gotten the upper hand on with Jesus’ help? If so, what is it?

Most preachers would agree that there’s always room for improvement in their people’s lives. But not all that many ministers are able to state specifically how that improvement is manifesting itself in their own situations.

In your efforts to help others move ahead spiritually, what’s been happening that’s good in your own walk with the Lord?

It’s important for ministers of the Word to regularly examine themselves to see if spiritual growth is continuously happening. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:27:

“No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I will not be disqualified for the prize.”

The King James Version puts it this way:

“… lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

Disqualified … a castaway … know any fellow clergy who fit those descriptions? I’m sure you do.

Hopefully you will never be one of them!

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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.