Jump Start # 3892
2 Corinthians 5:11 “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.”
Digging through some old files the other day, I ran across: “You know you’re in trouble when the preacher begins his sermon with…”
· This morning’s lesson has eighteen points…
· My wife doesn’t like this sermon, but I decided to preach it anyway…
· I had a really good sermon but my dog chewed up my notes. So, I’m going to just wing this…
· Cereal boxes don’t usually lead to sermon ideas, but the other day I read on the box of my cereal…
· There are some topics that just can’t be covered in an hour…
· At first glance, the variants between the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text may not seem all that interesting, but here’s what I like…
· This morning I want to begin by reading the entire chapter of Psalms 119, the longest chapter in the Bible…
I like writing sermons. If I could just write them and have someone else preach them, that would be fine for me. I find similarities between writing a sermon and a song writer coming up with a song. An idea comes to the preacher’s mind. Now, there may be hundreds of reasons why that idea came to him. Someone suggests a topic. It may come from something he read. It may come from conversations. It may arise from something going on in the congregation.
But, it all begins with an idea. From that starting point, the preacher then begins building a sermon. A text from the Scriptures becomes the backbone of the sermon. In that process, the text will be studied. The preacher my look at several different translations. He may look up words. He may dig through reference books to grasp the background of the text.
Ideas are written down or typed out. A few rabbits are chased as the idea takes shape in his mind. There is a purpose he is after in this sermon. That purpose shapes the sermon. Why are you preaching this at this time? He knows the answer to those questions. Verses are looked up. Illustrations come to his mind. The preacher becomes excited about what is shaping up.
In my case, I think of how this will begin. The introduction. One advised, “Start with an earthquake and go up from there.” Adjustments are made. Things are added. Things are taken out. Then a conclusion is worked on. How will this end? What does the preacher want to leave in the minds of those who hear this?
A final copy is produced. Some will type it out and print it. Others will put it on a tablet. From that, fill in the blank notecards are produced. Then a powerpoint is put together.
How long does all of this take? Hours…days…YES! The preacher will be thinking off and on about that sermon. He’ll make little tweaks here and there to fit him better and to flow more smoothly. Then, the preacher will go over the sermon. Over and over, he’ll get the sermon in his mind. Saturday he is really wrapping his heart around what he wants to say. He’s up early Sunday morning. Excited. Ready to preach.
And, when the day ends, the preacher already is thinking about the next sermon. The process starts all over again. We have many sermons recorded in our N.T. The Lord’s mountain top sermon of Matthew 5-7. Peter’s famous Acts 2 sermon. Stephen’s sermon of Acts 7. Paul’s great sermons throughout the book of Acts. Great sermons.
It is fascinating that the only request that the apostles made of Jesus was to teach them how to pray. I’d think that they’d want to know how to write a sermon.
The value of a sermon is not in it’s length or depth, but how it touched hearts and brought people closer to Jesus. Our verse today shows that there is an intention, a purpose in preaching. We persuade men, is what Paul said. Now, one can be pressured, guilted, or shamed into changing, but that’s not persuading. Changing your mind because of the facts presented is what the apostle intended. You have become convinced. You are persuaded. Not by emotion. Not by fear. Not by mob mentality. Persuaded by the Gospel. Persuaded by the faith that has grown in your heart.
God bless our brothers who pour heart and soul into writing and preaching sermons. It’s something that few understand and it’s something that is a gift from the Lord.
Roger