(The Apostles said…) “we will devote ourselves to prayer and
to the ministry of the word.” – Acts 6:4
Recently, while on vacation, I attended a church other than
my own. The people of the congregation
were nice enough and there seemed to be plenty going on for youth and
children. On top of this, the church was
advertising different ways they were involved in the community and ways their
members could get involved. I grabbed a
bulletin and found the sermon outline printed there and settled in for worship.
When the time came for the pastor to preach, he seemed
somewhat out of sorts, unprepared. This
did not make sense to me since the outline in the bulletin clearly showed
thought and intention. The outline was
well prepared. This discrepancy, between
the pastor’s preparedness and the obvious preparation given to the outline,
caused me to wonder. Well, this is the
day and age of smart phones…so I Googled the sermon title and there it was, it
was not his own but another’s.
In the interest of full disclosure, my theological education
heavily stressed the importance of preaching.
Not only did they stress the importance of preaching, but expository
preaching. We were taught to study and
prepare. We were taught to write
meaningful outlines. We were given the
tools that we would need to effectively preach the Word of God.
Now, I’m not saying I’m the greatest, but that’s the
point. A studied over, prayed over,
thought through sermon is always better than a borrowed sermon. Sure, their illustrations may be better and
their outline may rhyme or be alliterated, but it is not God’s word for your
people. I had rather hear a bad (humanly
judging) sermon than a borrowed sermon.
Pastor, make time for your study. Make time for prayer. Give yourself time to think through a text
and to consider what God might have you share with your congregation. Remember that the two most important tasks we
can give ourselves to are “prayer and the ministry of the word.”
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