I have a question.
For the next few months, I will be thinking about Sunday morning messages for Fall 2007 and Spring 2008. I am already thinking about a possible series (actually several of them). Typically, what I preach on Sunday mornings comes from my own reading of Scripture, prayer, living in and listening to voices within our church, my own sense for needs within our church, and gaps that I see from previous years. Most of all, I attempt to say on a Sunday morning what I genuinely believe God wants me to say.
As the year gets under way, I sometimes realize that God may be leading in another direction. At other times, I become aware of a need to address this or that which wasn’t real obvious to me six months earlier. So, I try to be very flexible, not wanting to get in the way of what God might wish to do among the Christians I am with.
Anyway — would you consider responding to one of the following questions? (I am anxious to look at some of these responses as I think about the next few months.)
1. What do you wish your preacher/pastor/minister/etc. would address on a Sunday morning in a message or a series of messages? Why?
2. What has been one of the most helpful and meaningful series that you have heard on a Sunday morning? Why was this particularly important to you?
Thanks very much for your response to one or both of these questions. This will be very helpful to me.
Hi Jim,To answer no. 2, I would say the series that was most helpful to me was when the preacher took us through Jesus life and looked at how He lived and treated folks. When the focus was on Jesus and what He actually did in certain situations instead of what man might think or do. To be honest, I never tire of those lessons. They are still the ones I crave and feel are most beneficial.
Pastor Jim:1. Worry, self doubt. Why we must give total trust to Jesus Christ for everyting in our lives. The gospels give us lots of reason to not worry yet this is a huge problem for many Christians. 2. The family: What it means to be a bibilical man, woman, child. How God has defined the family. What are the responsiblities of each member of the family. How men need to lead.
As an answer to both questions: love. The love of God towards man and the way we as Christians should love our brothers and sisters. These are the two most important commandments, but yet I hear so little about them. Just some thoughts… -Brittany
I’ve really enjoyed and been built up by a few short (3-5 sermons) series on a particular book of the Bible or theme/topic. That sort of preaching tends to jump start my own reading and thinking and reflecting. I find that a book series like "Thee Essential Questions about . . . " or "Four Perspectives on . . . " engages my mind and keeps things managable for me as a reader/hearer. It worked for Amos, right? "For three sins of Israel, even for four, . . " Some of the best preaching I ever receieved like this was four sermons by Alan Highers on the character of Jesus Christ.
Thanks so much: Lisa P., Frank, Brittany, and Steve. I read each of your remarks closely. Thanks for what you said.
Over the 30 years I’ve preached, I think the two series that had the most obvious impact would be my 2-1/2 years through Luke (didn’t start out to be that long … just ended up being that long!) where we saw the very spirit of our church change more into the likeness of Christ. I preached the stories as if we’d never heard them before, to be amazed and surprised again. The second was this year when I preached 12 sermons on death, dying, and destiny. I’ve had so many preachers tell me they don’t deal with these issues because "we can’t change anything," but we found them to be very, very relevant and encouraging.
Hi Jim, To echo Lisa and Greg, I think a good study of the life of Christ would be what I would like to see our minister do. And in the spirit of what Greg said, don’t be afraid to go long with it! We need to be confronted by the sayings of Jesus (especially the difficult ones) to keep us humble and focused on him. In the face of our fast paced, immediate gratification lifestyle, we need to be reminded of the simple lifestyle that Jesus modeled, and we need to remember that we our called to take up our cross and follow him.
My favorite preacher is Ken Mick at Argyle Church of Christ in Jax, FL. No matter what he preaches on, Jesus is the thread. Whether it’s topical or textual, Jesus always shines through. I agree with those who say that they never tire of Jesus; to me, this is the role of a preacher. To speak and encourage with the person of Jesus Christ. Thanks for asking! Your humble and open spirit is encouraging to me.
Hard for me to answer these questions. But I will say I’m just glad our preacher is still going to be our preacher in 2008!
I need to hear practical ways to be intentional about my Christian walk. I always get a lot out of Biblical examples of people who felt an urgency about their lives. Sometimes I feel we are living day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month, year-to year, etc. without a clear direction of our purpose here. Maybe this is better suited to class time, but the aspect of "everyday ministry" we’ve studied lately is very applicable to my life.
Carrie
SG–Thanks so much! Carrie–Very helpful–I suspect a lot of people would echo what you said. Jen–Your favorite preacher is a great guy! Thanks
Greg– Thanks for what you said regarding death and dying. How interesting… Michael–Thanks for these words regarding the importance of teaching/preaching the life of Jesus. Very good.
Jim, I would like a lesson and or sermon on forgiving. I know that I am suppose to forgive, but how do you forgive and forget? This is definately something that I struggle with constantly. There are people in my life that I must deal with on a regular basis that feel that they are always right, know everything about what God says in their Bible and do not need to change their ways. Again, I know that I am suppose to pray and forgive and ask for forgiveness, but how do I then move on?
Leanne,A great question and one that many people can relate to. Let me give this one some thought.