Tag Archives: preaching and worship

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Could You Still Preach Your Sermon If…?

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Would it matter to your sermon if no one was listening?

One of my mentors, the late, Dr. Haddon Robinson, taught me about the difference between preaching and lecturing. He put it this way:

“We don’t talk to our listeners about the Bible; we talk to them about them from the Bible.”

My wife, Michele, recently had an opportunity to listen to another preacher from a local church. I don’t blame her. To quote my mentor again, she’s heard enough poor sermons in her lifetime–bless her heart–it’s no wonder she’s still a Christian. [I’ve preached over 2,000 sermons and she’s heard most of them!]

So, I asked her the question that ranks second in my order of importance:

“Was the preacher talking to you about the Bible or talking to you about you from the Bible?”

Without hesitation she replied: “The first one.”

The first scenario, the lecturer’s stance, does not require listeners. Take a look at last week’s sermon or what you have developed so far this week and ask yourself whether or not the way it sounds requires listeners.

Michele followed that up with this insight:

“But if you believe your assignment is to teach the people [insert a book of the Bible or theological concept], then it makes sense to preach like that.”

But if our responsibility is to watch over souls (Hebrews 13:17), then we approach the sermon differently. We talk to them about them from the Bible because we are shepherding them in the moment, urging them to worship our Lord during the teaching.

As you continue to prepare for this weekend’s assignment, as yourself whether you are taking the lecturer’s stance or the preacher’s.

While I am convinced our Lord can receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) either way, I am also convinced you and I are being more responsible soul-watchers to the degree that we continue to talk to them about them from the Bible.

Randal

P.S. By the way, in case you’re interested, the first question of importance is, “Did the preacher preach with accuracy, faithfully saying what God is saying?”

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Preaching An OT Worship Service (Preaching Through Chronicles)

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One of my favorite places in 2 Chronicles is from 2:1–6:2 and 7:1-3. This lengthy Scripture records the building of God’s house. In the middle of all the details about materials and furnishing you will find a description of an OT worship service.

Consider structuring your sermon around the following (providing you have already taught a theology of the temple in previous sermons as I had):

  1. The character of our God (vv. 5:13b; 7:3b). It should go without saying that our worship centers on our God. In this section we find repeated, “For he is good…” Think about how we use this word in daily life–“that was a good meal, movie, book, or day”–and you quickly realize we’ve got some work to do explaining the goodness of our God. The other character trait of our God is his loyal love (the important Hebrew word, hesed). Nothing sets off a worship celebration like focusing on the goodness of our God.
  2. The glory of our God (vv. 5:13c-6:1; 7:1-2). In this section “the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” 6:1 describes “thick darkness.” There’s a mysteriousness about our God’s presence. Even in Exodus 24:9-11, for instance, when we read, “they beheld God,” we learn that, “There was under his feet…” So, we don’t really see God, but only what He was “standing on.” It’s good for us to remember that our glorious God who matters most, is present with His people. We’re never alone in this world. God is with us.
  3. Finally, our response to His goodness and glory is seen in 7:3. We read, “they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord…” Our worship always includes this same humble attitude, if not the same humble posture.

And if you’re wanting to read Chronicles Christologically, you certainly can remind your faith-family from John 1:14 that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory…” That vision of our glorious Christ continues to drive our worship services.

May we preach about worship in our worship services so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Does Worship Stop When Your Preaching Starts?

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We have our work cut out for us if we are going to keep congregants worshiping when the sermon starts. Think about it.

Who leads worship in your church? When people hear the term, worship leader, who do they think of? In most churches, most people now equate worship with the singing, not the preaching. In most churches, the sermon follows the music and singing. If parishioners equate worship with singing, what do they think is happening during the sermon? Years ago congregants were asked what segment of the worship service made them feel closest to God. The number one answer was moments of silence. Last place went to the sermon. As I said, we have our work cut out for us.

Several months ago I decided, in light of this reality, to tweak my approach to sermon introductions. My goal was to help people realize that the teaching time is a time for worship, too. Actually, I started with my prayers that I say prior to our public reading of Scripture. In that prayer I ask God to help us worship during the sermon. I ask Him to help us move from knowledge to appropriate response. Worship is, after all, the Believer’s response to the revelation of God. Then, I decided that most Sundays, after the public reading of the preaching portion, my introductions would begin with some variation of: “This is God’s Word. We worship this morning by responding to (fill in the blank with a summary of the scene in Luke’s Gospel, for instance).” At the end of the introduction, I’ll state the response that the preaching portion is intended to create.

For instance, in Luke 9:1-9 we read Jesus’ ministry description He gave to the original Twelve. So my introduction might begin with: “This is God’s Word. We worship this morning by responding to Luke’s record of when Jesus sent out His first official disciple-makers.” (Note that responding is different from learning about.) Then, my intro might end with: “This is a time for us to evaluate whether Jesus is accomplishing His mission in the world through you and me.” Throughout the sermon and especially at the end, we’ll talk about the small, but vital part we’re playing in God’s disciple-making program. We’ll make sure everyone is urged to join this ongoing mission.

I don’t want worship to stop when the preaching begins. I know you don’t, either.