Friday 17 August 2012

Friday -- preparing Sermons

Prayer:   The heavens have declared Your glory, Great God.  The skies proclaim the work of Your hands, Great God.  Day after day,  they pour forth speech and night after night they display knowledge.  Your voice and Your love is heard through out the world.  Help us to stop and listen this day to Your voice and to be Your love.  This we ask in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Read  Psalm 19 

Read over this Psalm and through this day,  memorize Psalm 19: 14

Good sermons are written not on Saturday night in a hurried rush but earlier during the week so that the Holy Spirit has time to break in and bring the words of God forth in the Minister’s minds (for reflection) and hands (for typing).     Ministers are given the task of reading the weekly scriptures early in the week and spending time in reading, meditation, and prayer. 

For each minute a sermon is preached,  a Minister must prepare for an hour.    So a 15 minute sermon must have a minimum of 15 hours of prayer, reading, meditation of preparation.

What happens when Ministers write their sermons Saturday night or don’t spend enough time in preparation?   Then we all suffer and loose sight of the glory and love of God.  It is as simple as that. The Word of God that is written Saturday evening or in a few short hours without prayer and medidation is not full of the love of God.  

What happens when the person sitting in the pew stops listening to sermons?  We loose out on the Word of God.  We loose out on the fullness of life that God provides for us through Worship.

So what is a person in the pew to do if the sermon is a dud? Remember that gratitude is that basis of who we are as Christians.   Gratitute (giving thanks) is a positive attitude.   So if the sermon is a dud,  a positive attitude is to Pray.  Pray for the Minister that he/she may be open to receiving the Word of God.  Pray that those who are sitting in the pew may receive the Word of God through the hymns that are sung or the prayers that are prayed or the scripture that is read.  And then throughout the next week,  pray that the Minister may feel the presence of the Holy Spirit and be enthused to study, pray, meditate upon the Word of God.

A good sermon does three things.   First it brings before us each week a portion of the Holy  Scriptures.   Sometimes this is called being soaked in God's Word.  Kind of a neat image isn't it! Second the Minister explains the background of the Holy Scriptures so that we all gain knowledge of God's Word.  Third  the Minister gives us the love of Christ to meditate upon and share with others.  Or said another way,  the Minister gives us a task to do -- or something to think about-- so that we share the love of Christ with others.  

Now go forth and pray for your Minister that he/she may be opened to receiving the Word of God and in turn Preach the Word of God for all peoples. 

Prayer:  Risen Lord,  may the words of Your Scripture that are preached and read and  discussed this week and the meditations of all our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord,  our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen. 

Many blessings!

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