Joy of Proclaiming the Gospel

There is great joy in proclaiming the Gospel message - the truth of Jesus Christ. 

Whether we be in the church building, a grocery store, our home, or simply walking down the street, let us proclaim the Gospel with great joy 

2015 Preaching Calendar

Well, another year of preaching is in the books! I am humbled and honored whenever I consider the reality that I speak on behalf of God on a regular basis. It is beyond comprehension to me that God has counted me worthy of His name and that people listen (sometimes intently) to the words I speak.

In 2015 our church family decided to use a whole-church curriculum, implementing it in our children, youth, and adult classes, small groups, and sermons. This was particularly strange to me as it (broadly) dictated what passages I preached from each week. Because I could never preach another person's sermon, nor would I desire to, I developed a preaching calendar based on the 31 chapters (plus one for Easter) of The Story. I am a series preacher and found that planning our specific series helped me in the preparation of the sermons because I had a focused theme to concentrate on. I also believe that preaching various sermon series over the course of 32 weeks helped keep our church family to stay better connected to the themes. Likewise, I found that developing six different series kept the church family from getting bored because the images and illustrations used changed from month to month and (sometimes) week to week.



I tried my best to keep a flow from start to finish of The Story. Yet, for those who did not recognize the theme, I thought I would share what the plan looked like in my mind more than a year ago. And, where I failed to adequately convey the theme or the subject matter, you have the outline before you and, perhaps on paper it will make sense.

I Have Been Looking Forward To This All Week

I just sat down on the couch to watch the game I have been waiting all week to see. The Indianapolis Colts are playing the (hard-to-like) New England Patriots in the NFL playoffs. When the Colts play the Patriots it is always an exciting game, especially when they face each other in the playoffs. Add to it the fact that the Colts are playing better than they have in a long time and the fact that the Patriots have not lost a game at home all season and you have the makings of a wonderful evening.

Because this is the 7:00 game I have cleared the rest of my evening - knowing that I will be watching this game late into the night. I took an early shower, put the kids to bed a bit early, fixed a snack, grabbed a drink, and emptied my schedule. Why? Because I have been looking forward to this game all week!

On a separate note, I am looking forward to our church service tomorrow morning. Because of the winter storm last weekend we had to cancel our worship service last Sunday and it has been almost two weeks since our church family has come together for worship. Tomorrow is the first time I get to preach this new year, I've been looking forward - with great expectation - to this new series for the past three months, and the sermon that I get to preach tomorrow is one that I have been excited to preach for several weeks. Excitement, anticipation, and energy are high. I can't wait for tomorrow's worship service.

In anticipation for tomorrow's service, I have invited several individuals and families, I promoted and announced the service many times on Facebook and emails, I have confirmed the worship music and many details with our leaders, and I have reviewed and prayed over the sermon various times. Why? Because I have been looking forward to this worship service all week!

As I consider both of these events - tonight's football game and tomorrow's worship service - I wonder; "how much preparation are we giving to our worship services". Are we preparing our schedules, our bodies, our minds, our hearts, and our families for an encounter with the Almighty God? Are we giving even minimal preparation before we walk in to meet with our creator. Is our preparation prior to worship adequate for The One that sustains us and waits to spend eternity with us? Is  our preparation for God comparable with the preparation we make prior to a football game - or some other activity.

Given all of this, I believe that the amount of preparation we make and the amount of anticipation we have truly shows how much of a priority it is in our life. I think this is a good illustration - a good measurement device - of the value we place on a something or someone.

So, what sort of preparation are your making prior to worshiping The Lord tomorrow? What sort of anticipation to you have to coming onto His presence in the morning?

God Does Not Need Help

As a Pastor of a church - expected to speak to, hold the attention of, and introduce life transformational ideas to people week after week - I often search for interesting stories and illustrations for sermons and teachings. Often the stories and illustrations come up well short - rarely do I find a gem. More often, I will use a story from my own life, a lesson that I have taken from a life experience, or an illustration from my family or home life.

Yet - truth be told - I am sometimes in need of the perfect gen for a sermon or a teaching that I  create a story of my own. There is nothing wrong with that! Other times, I am down to the wire and I will adapt someone else's account to make it work in my situation. I don't see anything wrong with this! However, there are a few times that I have taken a life experience of my own or of someone else's life and I have embellished it - added to the details - to make it "better" or to make it more fitting to what I want to convey.

This morning I thought of a recent story that I had told and I realized the error of my ways. I was trying to help God by adding to the details of something that He had done in my life. And, whether we are willing to accept it or not, God does not need any help from any of us.

God does not need any help from any of us.

I Am Honored

It is an honor to share in the ministry of Jesus Christ.

It is an honor to preach God's Word, to know that He has called and equipped me for His service.

It is an honor to stand before God's people and to speak on His behalf.

Humbled, Honored, and Confused

After having preached for a few years now, I know right away if the words I am speaking from the pulpit are not clear or when I am not connecting with the audience. As Professor Howard Hendricks says; “If it is a mist in the pulpit, it is a fog in the pew." 

As I consider this morning's sermon I fear that I may have left our church family with an very unclear message. Yet, I walk away, seeking God's guidance, mercy, and direction for the next time I enter His pulpit. And, when I stand before others proclaiming God's Word next I will, as always be honored and humbled and the opportunity, while being continually confused that anyone would listen for any amount of time to my thoughts and understanding of God's Holy Word. 

Preaching The Bible

I have heard a lot of sermons over the years, some very good, some not. Yet I can almost always find some aspect to complement the preacher on or some element appreciate for myself. A few months ago I found myself listening to a sermon and taking mental notes on many of the main points. And then it hit me; this is not Biblically based, in fact no Scripture was used at any point in this "sermon".

For the next few days I thought about this "sermon" and about this "preacher" and questioned how a person could claim to preach The Word of God without sharing any of it with their hearers. And, I wondered, how could I avoid falling into this same type of mindset.

That's when it hit me; it's not a manner of falling into this mindset, not jumping into it as a choice that is made, the issue is that many preachers are sliding into it on a very slippery slope. This is due to preachers and church leaders wanting to grow their churches, speak to the felt needs of their congregation and their community and they soon find themselves preaching pop culture and self-help from many sources not built on The Holy Scriptures.

When I came to this conclusion I was convicted to go back to the drawing board on all upcoming sermons in order to base them on Scripture. I was convicted to go back to the calendar and redesign all our upcoming series and teaching plans.

If you are called to be a preacher or teacher of God's Word than you need to teach it and nothing less. We need to be people that teach God's Word because people need to hear it. If we fail to speak The Truth of Jesus Christ, who will. If people are not hearing The Scriptures from us, we are failing them, we are failing ourselves, and we are failing God.