As a pastor, I am always looking for fresh and innovated ways
to prepare and present sermons. One of
my greatest fears in life is getting stuck in a rut. When it comes to preaching, such a rut would not
be beneficial to the pastor or the congregation.
A while back I was having breakfast with one of my
members. He commented that he
appreciated the way I approached my preaching.
He then went on to say he recognized that I started by trying to make a
connection with the congregations and then presented the text that we were
going to look at for the day. From there
he noted that I tried to draw application and then ended with some sort of a
challenge.
Now, I spend a lot of time trying to put sermons together in
a compelling way. However, I had never
intentionally done what he observed. The
rest of our breakfast, I was only half engaged because I thought, this guy just
gave me the perfect sermon preparation approach.
When I got back to the office, I took the four areas that he
gave me and assigned each a word that started with “C” so that it would be
easier to remember.
Connect – Share a common feeling, story, conflict, or
concern. Be creative; use personal
stories, videos, visual aids, or props.
As part of connecting, pose a compelling question.
Consider – Invite the congregation to take a look at what
scripture has to say about the issue at hand.
Counsel – Counsel the people as to how they can apply God’s
word to their circumstance. This is
where we will want to draw application.
Close – Do not simple conclude the sermon. Make a closing argument. Work for the decision. Do your best to convince the listener that
they need to embrace God’s plan for their lives.
Hopefully my fateful breakfast with my friend will be of
help to you too. It is an incredible
honor to stand in the pulpit each Sunday and expound the Word of God. May we strive to be ever more effective in
our efforts.
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