Is There Good News in Your Sermon?

Pastors look long and hard for something to celebrate. Try this approach.

In my sermon consulting work, sometimes individuals indicate difficulty finding something to "celebrate." As you know, celebration is the time in the sermon where we intellectually experience the truth of the message. However, sometimes individuals look long and hard for something to celebrate and can't find it either in the text or in their sermons.

Is There Good News?

First, look for the good news. If you have no good news then I am sure you will not have any celebratory components. Certainly, there are times when celebration is not warranted, but in most cases, our sermons should have good news. So what do you celebrate? The truth of the good news in your text. I would definitely encourage you to check out Frank Thomas' book They Like to Never Quit Praisin' God for a method that centers around finding that Good News in the text.

Ultimately, if you have difficulty finding a celebration, then I would encourage you to attempt to find the Good News first. Then, more than likely, the celebration will jump out at you.

Where Is God's Activity?

Second, look for God's activity rather than ours. A sermon full of prescriptions will make it difficult to find something to celebrate. Certainly, there are times when a "celebrative challenge" might be helpful, but sometimes we find it difficult to find the close in our sermon because we overemphasize our responsibility or activity over God's activity for humanity. 

Some of these sermons end up having the pastor either castigate the people for not doing "this or that," or they end up being prescriptions for the people to do "this or that." This is not a conservative versus liberal thing. Liberals have their "this or that" moments just as conservatives. So sometimes, we castigate the people for not being loving or making the newcomer more welcome. Sometimes, we castigate the people for not following the commands of God. Sometimes, we castigate the people for looking at the wrong television programs or wearing their "pants too low or skirts too high." Sometimes, we castigate the people for sexual promiscuity and other areas of sexuality. 

Certainly, there is a place for correction, but if that is all your sermon all the time, then it will be difficult to find the celebration. I would encourage you to think about and preach about what God does for humanity in addition to the ethical demands of living in line with God. Then you will find it easier to get that close.

Who Empowers the People?

Finally, if you must emphasize our activity, emphasize God's making our activity possible. Ok, there are times when we need to do a challenge. There are times when you must emphasize human activity. I would encourage you to spend a little time discussing how God makes that activity possible. God empowers our living. God makes godly living possible. God enlightens our mind to what we should do. So even though the brunt of your sermon may be about human activity, that does not mean that you don't make room for God. 

In short, if God is not in your sermon, then it is not a sermon, it is a "suggestion." Whether you have a celebrative close or not, I would encourage you to make sure that the "Good News" is clear in the sermon. In addition, who God is and what God does for and in humanity should be just as prominent as your prescriptions for Christian living.

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Find Rest, O My Soul

After I recored Mindful Worship Meditation #1 – A Tree and Its Fruit and distributed it to my Sunday School class, one of the ladies in my class told me that she had shared it with some of her co-workers. One day, one of them was incredibly stressed, so she gave shared it with them as an opportunity to relax and de-stress.

It’s nice to sometimes take a short break in the middle of my workday just to rest, share some time with my Savior, and meditate on His promises of peace and rest. Afterwards, I can then re-engage with my work day with a renewed energy and confidence. I wrote this meditation, Find Rest, O My Soul, to help you do that as well.

I originally wanted to keep it to around ten-minutes long, but I had to make it a little longer to get everything in there that I felt should be there, and not be too rushed, which would have defeated the purpose. I hope you enjoy this guided meditation. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Scriptures in this meditation: Matthew 28:20, Matthew 11:28-30, Exodus 33:14

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We are All Called to be Leaders

Followers of Jesus Christ are all called to be leaders. If a ship didn’t have a captain, the ship would run ashore. If a team didn’t have a coach, they would never win. If a high school class didn’t have a teacher, no one would ever learn.

The one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Romans 12:8

So what does a leader do?

A leader plans, and has goals for themselves and the ones around them to complete the task at hand.

A leader has great vision of what is possible. A successful football coach believes that their team can win the Super Bowl before the season even starts.

A leader shares their belief with others. If you are leading a study group in one of your classes, sharing your insights and belief that everyone will do well on the test will empower the rest of the group.

A leader gets down to business. A leader actually does what they say they are going to do.

A leader is proud of what they have done. When you are happy with your own actions, and the actions of those you are helping, share what you have accomplished. By sharing you will inspire others to take action themselves, and may even create more leaders.

Being a leader can be a big responsibility, but also a rewarding way to show your love and caring for God and the people around you.

Who do you look to for leadership in your life?

What quality could you share that would help others?

What group of people do you know that need a good leader in their lives?

How could you help these people?

Here is a handout outlining everything above to share with your youth group!

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Preaching God's Dangerous Truth

The good news doesn't reach it's full potential until it challenges us to dream big.

I was thinking about preaching when I came across Rev. Zach Mills' Facebook entry, which says:

"Dream dangerously! We currently live among a generation of people whose dreams are too realistic to do the world any good!"

Dream dangerously. That is a powerful thought. I began to think immediately of our vocation as those who are preaching the Gospel. Preaching is to give a vision of a different world. A world where God is come.

Preaching Birthright Stealers

Today, we are tempted to sell our birthright. Some of us are tempted by a Republican Elephant while others are tempted to give up the vision to a Democratic Donkey. These other vision thieves want to make us think that their vision of reality is what is "proper" or "believable" or "possible." But the impossible truth of Advent, that God is come is our message. We should be preaching that powerful truth. Not the "possible," not that which is "believable," not that which is "proper," but let us preach that crazy truth that God is come.

Some of us are tempted to sell our birthright of preaching a message where all are blessed for proclamation that the rich are blessed and the poor are getting what they deserve. That is not the dangerous truth that Advent pushes us to teach. That is not the dangerous truth that is good news for all people (Luke 2:10).

Some of us are selling our birthright. We are selling our birthright when we attempt to make people shout without preaching something to shout about. Advent reminds us that our joy is not based in our possessions, neither in what we will get, but in the fact that God is come.

Some of us are selling our birthright. We are selling it when we forget that the God given vision of the coming kingdom is greater than even our conception of it.

Let Us Preach Again

In Revelation 10:10, the prophet John was called to come eat a book. The book was sweet in the mouth, but bitter in the belly. Yes, many of us have been preaching a message that seemed sweet in the mouth. We liked to equate the Gospel of God with a political agenda. Yes, it was sweet in our mouths, but it became bitter in our bellies.

Yes, we have allowed our vision to be distorted by what we thought was "possible," and that message was sweet in our mouths, but it became bitter in our bellies. But thank God, in Revelation 10:11, just like John, we are called to preach again to the world. God is calling us to preach again.

We ain't done all that we should, but let us preach rightly this weekend. Perhaps we have not dared to dream and preach that dream that the "Kingdom of God is Come." (Matthew 10:7) We may not have done it, but guess what, you are called to preach again. I dare you to preach it like God has called you to preach it this coming week. Dream dangerously and let God find you preaching the truth and changing the world!

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A Tree and Its Fruit

Here is the first guided Christian meditation that I wrote and recorded. I was participating in a small group Bible study and we were tasked with reading, and studying, five different passages before our next meeting. One of those passages was Luke 6:43-45, where Jesus talks about a tree and its fruit.

As I studied this passage, I found myself meditating on it. I repeated short sections of it over and over in my mind. As I thought about particular phrases, other supporting scriptures came to mind, and I thought about them as well. Mostly, I though about how this all applied to me. God used this time of meditation to challenge me to evaluate different areas of my life.

As I meditated, I thought about the people in my small group and in my Sunday School class. I wondered how many of them regularly meditate on the scriptures, and if they had ever been taught to meditate. This prompted me to dig into the Word and see what God had to say about the discipline of meditation. That study became a lesson that I taught to my Sunday School class and I concluded the lesson by guiding them through a meditation much as I would do on my own.

The people in my Sunday School class seemed to really enjoy it, and several of them asked if I could record it. I did record it for them. Here is that original meditation, much as I presented it to the class that first time. I would recommend that you listen to it during a time when you will not be disturbed and you can focus on God’s Word.

Scriptures in this meditation: 1 Peter 5:7, Luke 6:43-45, Galatians 5:19-21, Galatians 5:22-23

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What is your Mission

Teenagers can be scatter brained at times. They have talents that sometimes they waste. They also have the ability to be their own biggest critic, and find it hard to believe in themselves. But they all have a mission in life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

Jesus’ mission was to save the people of the world. Now that’s a fairly big mission… what is yours?

Help your class find their mission in life, and take a look at what they enjoy doing for activities.

Ask a few questions:

Do you enjoy singing? Well then maybe you would find purpose in spreading God’s word as a singer, or a music director for a church.

Do you enjoy writing? Maybe your mission in life is to be an author.

Do you enjoy athletics? Maybe your mission in life is to be a physical therapist, helping people recover from injury.

Let’s figure out what might be your mission in life! Ask these questions as part of a discussion with your youth group when speaking about everyone’s life mission and life goals.

1. What do you love to do?

2. What do you have dreams and aspirations of?

3. What you have a talent for?

4. How can you combine your talents and dreams to help others?

5. In 10 years what will you be doing with your life?

Here is a handout outlining everything above to share with your youth group!

If you want to know more you can continue here