#775: 5 MAJOR OBSTACLES TO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUR SUNDAY SERMON

1. HEARTS AREN’T READY.

Distracted. Frustrated. Condemned. Rushed. Confused.

These are just a few of the emotions that many of the people attending church on Sundays are feeling the moment they sit down for a service. Very few have prayed, to prepare their hearts, leading up to the service. Very few have truly worshipped during the time of singing. Very few have had God on their hearts for the majority of the week. Most, are just patting themselves on the back because they are in the building!

When it comes to your sermon preparation, what are you currently doing to address the obstacle of unprepared hearts?

My Suggestion. Pray more. Before your message. During your message. (Yes, actually take moments within your message to pray with your listeners.) And…after your message. Pray. Prayer prepares hearts. 

2. MINDS AREN’T INTERESTED.

Their problems. Their kids, Their unmet needs. Their unanswered prayers. Their questions. Their sports team. Their lunch plans! This is what is on their minds. At best…your message is secondary.

Don’t be naive and assume just because people are present they’re interested!

When it comes to your sermon preparation, what are you currently doing to address the obstacle of uninterested minds?

My Suggestion. Build tension. Build tension stating a question that creates intrigue. Build tension by telling your listeners what’s at stake if they don’t lean in to what you’re going to teach. Finally, build tension by leveraging a message outline that clearly and compellingly shows where your message is headed. Tension earns attention.

3. LITERACY IS LIMITED.

Most people who attend Sunday services are Biblically illiterate. Very few read their Bible regularly. Very few do word studies. Very few understand the meta-narrative of Scripture. Most Christians live on a diet of Instagram post devotional Bible reading and YouTube clip eisegetical Bible teaching!

One implication, for preachers, to this heartbreaking reality is this: if your exegesis is accurate, but it is not understood, it is useless.

When it comes to your sermon preparation, what are you currently doing to address the obstacle of limited Biblical literacy?

My Suggestion. Speak plainly. Use simple words to summarize a long quote or commentary excerpt. Use clear phrases to make your main points. State big ideas, in a tweet-able form, visually, on a screen to reinforce the clarity of your speech. Reject the notion that simple is shallow.  Plain speech makes for a less painful sermon.

4. LEGALISM IS PREFERRED.

The natural inclination for most people following the listening of a sermon is to place more emphasis/concern on what they need to do rather than on what Jesus already did. Their obedience to the law weighs more heavily on their hearts than Christ’s fulfillment of the law.

Both believers and unbelievers are addicted to “works righteousness.”

When it comes to your sermon preparation, what are you currently doing to address the obstacle of listeners preferring legalism to grace?

My Suggestion. Show Jesus Christ as Savior and Substitute. Articulate explicitly that, in Christ, we receive both forgiveness and righteousness! Make a bigger deal of what Jesus already accomplished not on what the listener has yet to accomplish. Use your “gospel close” both as an invitation to unbelievers, and a reminder to believers. You’re not finished preaching until your listeners are convinced…“It is finished.”

5. UNCTION IS ABSENT.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones described unction in this way…

…you have the feeling that you are not actually doing the preaching, you are looking on. You are looking at yourself in amazement as this is happening. It is not your effort; you are just the instrument, the channel, the vehicle and the Spirit is using you, and you are looking on in great enjoyment and astonishment.

Preacher, do you preach with unction?

When it comes to your sermon preparation, what are you currently doing to address the obstacle of powerless preaching?

My Suggestion. Beg for unction. Beg for the Holy Spirit of God to come up over the top of your natural abilities to say something supernatural through you. Beg God to make you keenly aware of when you are preaching in your own strength. Do not tolerate preaching without power. Preaching can’t function without unction!   

#663 - THE BENEFITS OF NOT PREACHING

Due to someone else preaching this Sunday, a cancelled service next Sunday, and the week after that me being out of town to officiate a wedding, I am not going to be preaching for the next 3 weeks. 

Though I absolutely love to preach, four days into the week, I'm already starting to see the benefits of getting a preaching break. Here are a few:

1. I can focus my thinking and work on other aspects of pastoral ministry. During any given week my thoughts and energies are on my upcoming message for at least 30 hours. I am so grateful that this week I am going to be able to spend many of those 30 hours thinking through and working on our leadership development process - another very key element of growing a healthy church! If I didn't take a preaching break, where would I have found the time to put this much intentional thought into such a critical piece of the pastoral leadership pie!

2. I can give others who are gifted and called to preach the opportunity to do so. Though it may seem obvious, it must be stated: If I don't ever take a break, when will others get the opportunity to take a turn?! I love that taking a preaching break doesn't only give me rest, but it also frees up the platform for others to step up and into what God has called them to do!

3. I can experience a Sunday from the vantage point of someone who attends. This Sunday I look forward to sitting in our service to experience and enjoy it without the thought of preaching on my mind. I look forward to singing without worrying about preaching. I look forward to interacting with the others who attend. I look forward to receiving from the preaching. It's gonna' be great!

I praise God for the blessing of serving alongside other gifted communicators of God's Word! Not every pastor has the luxury of feeling comfortable with other people in their church preaching on a Sunday, but that's not me! I. AM. BLESSED!

#660 - A PRAYER PREACHERS SHOULD PRAY

Heavenly Father, please give those of us who have the honor and privilege of preaching your Word insight beyond our intellect, anointing beyond our ability, and power beyond our preparation. A move of YOUR Spirit is what we long for!

A few thoughts on why you should pray this prayer...

Pray for insight beyond your intellect because interpretation of the Scriptures is a spiritual endeavor. Our intellect is physical, therefore it is limited. Insight from above can transcend what our intellect can't comprehend. 

Pray for anointing beyond your ability because like intellect, ability is physical, therefore it is also limited. Anointing on the other hand, can cause ears to be opened that otherwise wouldn't be. Anointing can cause walls to be broken that otherwise couldn't be. Anointing can cause miracles to take place that otherwise shouldn't be!

Pray for power beyond your preparation because no matter how thorough you are in your preparation, preaching void of the power of the Holy Spirit is merely a speech. Both believers and unbelievers alike don't need another well put together talk, they need a powerful one!

#649 - WHY PREPARING SERMONS EARLY IS WISE

Today I finished 90% of my sermon for this Sunday. Not only have I thought through the message from start to finish, I have already created my Keynote slides as well.

Though I hate to admit it, I am never done with this much of my message by Thursday. But I need to be.

With the majority of the message done with 2 full days to go before I have to preach it, my mind is freed up from thinking about what I am going to say to how I am going to say it. 

Though I am confident that God has been faithful to use the messages that I have finished preparing just hours before they are preached, I also know He is honored by me not waiting till the last minute to finish them. God is honored by me stewarding my time more wisely. God is honored by me being more diligent in my study.

The big idea is this:

THE MORE I HONOR GOD IN MY PREPARATION, THE MORE LIKELY GOD IS TO BE HONORED IN MY PREACHING. 

#645 - THE PRIVILEGE OF PREACHING

That people would get up early on a Sunday morning. Get themselves ready. Get their kids ready. Drive to the church. Walk to the church. Take public transportation to the church.

PREACHING IS A PRIVILEGE.

That many volunteers would get up early on a Sunday morning. Set up classrooms. Set up lights. Set up environments so guests would feel welcome. Play instruments. Sing songs. All so that hearts could be prepared to receive the Word of God.

PREACHING IS A PRIVILEGE.

That people would open their hearts to what God would have to say through me. That people would open their ears and their minds to consider the words that are coming out of my mouth. That people would pay attention. That people would allow themselves to be influenced by my voice.

PREACHING IS A PRIVILEGE.

That God would call me. That God would equip me. That God would fill me with His Spirit. That God would gift me. That God would use me in spite of my brokenness. That God would place words in my mouth that would impact people for their good and His glory. 

PREACHING IS A PRIVILEGE.

I am undeserving. I am ill-equipped. I am in over my head. May the Holy Spirit always keep me sober-minded enough to know that....

BECAUSE PREACHING IS A PRIVILEGE, PREACHING IS NOT MY RIGHT.

I am not entitled to do it. I am not entitled to anyone listening to me do it. I am not entitled to anyone responding to me do it.

PREACHING IS A PRIVILEGE.

And as long as God grants me this privilege, I will humble carry out the task to the best of my ability. 

#644 - THE TEMPTATION A PREACHER MUST NOT FALL INTO

You can't preach what you want the text to say.
You can't preach what the people want the text to say.
You can't preach what you think the text says.
You can't preach what others have said the text says.

You must preach what the text actually says.

No matter how difficult.
No matter what the cost.
No matter how inconvenient.
No matter how seemingly irrelevant.
No matter how hard it makes your study.

GOD DID NOT CALL YOU TO EASY PREACHING. HE CALLED YOU TO RIGHT HANDLING.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 2 TIMOTHY 2:15

#546 - MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT SIMPLE COMMUNICATION

Simple is not shallow. Simple is not lazy. Simple is not uneducated.

Simple doesn't mean you can't say more, simple means you choose not to say more. Simple doesn't mean you don't know more, simple means you choose not to share everything you know. Simple doesn't mean you can't talk longer, simple means you choose not to talk longer because you understand that longer doesn't always mean better!

When it comes to communication, simple is helpful. Simple is understandable. Simple is palatable. 

Simplicity serves your listeners. Complexity doesn't. 

Simple shows you care. Simple shows you're willing to work hard to prepare so your listener doesn't have to work hard to understand. Simple reveals you're more interested in what the audience understands than in how you're perceived.  

Keep your communication simple.

The strength in your communication is not in what is said, but in what is understood.

#483 - PREACHING EVALUATION WEEKEND

This Saturday, I have the privilege of gathering with the guys on the preaching team of theMOVEMENT to discuss how we can become better communicators of God's Word. The following post is just a "brain dump" of the things I'd like to accomplish on that day.

1. Want to have a "learning moment" around preaching/teaching.

2. Want every communicator to walk away with their current strength.

3. Want every communicator to walk away with their current growth area.

4. Want to discuss 2017 Preaching Calendar.

5. Want to divide teaching for first 3 months of 2017.

Potential Schedule:

1. 8:00-8:30 | Breakfast/Agenda/Learning Moment

2. 8:30-9:30 | Watch/Evaluate Christopher's Message

3. 9:30-10:30 | Watch/Evaluate Glen's Message

4. 10:30-11:30 | Watch/Evaluate Spencer's Message

5. 11:30-12:00 | Lunch Break

6. 12:00-1:00 | Watch/Evaluate AJ's Message

7. 1:00-2:30 | Discuss/Divide first 3 months of preaching for 2017  

#480 - 200+ SERMONS PREACHED. 10 LESSONS LEARNED.

My preaching experience includes 100+ sermons in my 2.5 years of being a pastor to high school students/young adults in Fremont and another 100+ sermons in my first 3 years of being the Lead Pastor of theMOVEMENT Church in Oakland.

Many pastors have preached many more messages than I have, but in an effort to become a more effective communicator (and maybe help a few other preachers who may come across this post), I thought it would be beneficial to reflect on some of the lessons I have learned over the last 5+ years of preaching the good news!

1. Good News > Great Advice. Though I want my messages to be helpful, I am more concerned with my messages being powerful. With that in mind, for me, if a message doesn't conclude with extolling the finished work of Jesus Christ as the true source of power for all life change, I have not preached...I have, merely, given a talk. (Romans 1:16)    
    

2. Find energy in text. Bring energy to text. My best energies in my message should not be given towards jokes, illustrations or personal anecdotes. Instead, in my study, I must find where there is energy, movement, and momentum in the text of Scripture and then I need to bring my energy, creativity, and enthusiasm to that text of Scripture. The source of life is not in my stories, the source of life is in the Word! (Psalm 119:25)
    

3. No burden. No bueno. The more in tune I am with the consequences of not obeying/applying/understanding what I am about to preach, the more ready I am to preach. The more my heart is broken for the people who need to hear the message I am about to bring, the more ready I am to bring it. If I am not aware of the sense of urgency to my message there will be no sense of urgency in my message. No burden. No bueno.
    

4. Build tension. Earn attention. The greatest books and movies I've ever read and watched build a tremendous amount of tension and suspense in the beginning causing me to "lean in" to find out how the problem is going to be resolved. In preaching, the better I can craft a tension-building question (a problem that the audience wants the answer to), the more engaged the listener will be. Don't assume interest. Build tension. Earn attention.    
    

5. Be affected. Be effective. When I have already been affected by the truth of the text that I am going to preach, I find myself being more effective in preaching it. When I have already inhaled the truths from God's Word that I am going to proclaim, I find it so much easier to exhale them. Truths that have not been first received by me will not be easily accepted by others. Your audience knows if you've been where you're trying to take them! Therefore, go there first! Smoke what you're selling! Be affected. Be effective. (Titus 2:7)
    

6. Your weakness. God's strength. I connect best with the audience through stories of how I have failed, not how I have succeeded. Vulnerability and transparency with my sin and my shortcomings creates an authenticity in communication like nothing else. One of the greatest gifts a preacher can give to their listeners is the comfort that, though they are the preacher, they are working out their own salvation with fear and trembling just like their audience is! Lean into your struggle. Your weakness. God's strength. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)  
    

7. Absent Spirit. Impotent Word. My words have absolutely no power to transform a life. None at all. Only the Holy Spirit of God can convict a heart. Only the Holy Spirit of God can cause change. Only the Holy Spirit of God can bring salvation. Know your role. We prepare. The Holy Spirit brings the power. We talk. The Holy Spirit transforms. We communicate. The Holy Spirit convicts. Plead for God to do what only God can do. Absent Spirit. Impotent Word. (John 16:7-15)
    

8. Teach Less. Teach More. If I have taught everything in a particular text, but I have conveyed nothing, I have failed. With that in mind, I find communicating one big idea from the text to be more effective than communicating every single point of the text. If there are multiple points in a text, I don't try to preach it all in one sermon, I try to preach it all in one series of sermons. Most times, when less is taught, more can be understood (and applied!). Teach less. Teach more.     
    

9. Let it out. Let it go. I will drive myself crazy if, after I preach, I worry too much about how "good" I did or how "effective" I was. I will become too self-absorbed if I find myself unhealthily looking for affirmation or approval from my listeners. With that in mind, my mantra when I finish a sermon is, "Because I let it out, I can let it go." All I can do is be obedient to what God was leading me to say. If I did that, I can rest easy. The results are up to Him. Let it out. Let it go. (Isaiah 55:11)
    

10. Son first. Preacher second. My identity is not in what I say about God. My identity is in what God has already said about me! I am a prodigal who has already been received before I am a preacher who longs to be accepted. I don't preach for God's approval, I preach from God's approval. If I am preaching to "become somebody," I am not going to help anybody! Son first. Preacher second. Don't get it twisted. (Ephesians 1:3-5)

I'd love to hear about the preaching lessons you've picked up along the way! Feel free to share them in the comments below!   

#444 - THOUGHTS ON PREACHING - PART 1

Thursdays are the days I spend the majority of my day preparing for the message I am going to preach on Sunday. In addition to studying the text, preparing my Keynote slides, and doing a lot of praying (a LOT of praying!), there are several questions that I force myself to answer before I conclude my preparation for the day.

Over the next several days I want to share with you the questions I ask myself. Here are the questions I ask myself to help me set up my INTRODUCTION:

1. What is a compelling question that I can frame the message with that both unbelievers and believers would be interested in the answer to? [This gives the audience a "reason" to listen.]

2. What is a personal story I can share of how I have recently dealt with the issue this message addresses? [This connects the audience with me and my humanity.]

3.  What are several general ways that the audience has dealt with or is dealing with the issue that is being addressed? [This further connects the audience with the message.]

4. What is at stake if myself and the audience do not understand the answer to the question being posed? [This adds "gravity" and "weight" to the message.]

I spend a significant time on how I "set-up" my message because I am convinced that it's not enough to just "teach the Bible" on Sundays. I must show those I am ministering to how what I am about to teach has implications and applications for their life that truly matter.

I liken the introduction to a message to how I feel about the first few pages of a book. If a book doesn't get my attention in the first few pages, I'll most likely put the book down and never get to "the rest" of what the book has to offer! Similarly, if I can't get the audience to care about what I'm going to say in the first 5 minutes, it will be very difficult to keep them engaged for the next 35!

#416 - MY MAJOR PREACHING MISTAKE

Today I was made aware that, in my message on Sunday, I used an illustration that was insensitive and hurtful to someone in the congregation. Though I did not intend to, in any way, be hurtful, it didn't change the fact that the person (and potentially others) was/were hurt and offended by the comments that I made. Thankfully, this person had enough courage to share how I hurt her so that I could be made aware of my insensitivity and of my blindspots.

Though it grieved me to hear how I had been hurtful, this circumstance does bring up a great learning opportunity for me. It gives me the opportunity to determine how I will respond when I am "called out" for communicating in a way that isn't the best. 

Being that I preach in my local church at least 40 times a year, I preach outside of my local church at least 5 times a year, and I blog daily, this will not be the last time I say or post words that are unintentionally hurtful or offensive to others. But, when this does happen again, I want to be the type of person who takes responsibility for his words. 

I don't know if I did so well doing this today when I spoke to the person that I had hurt, but I hope from this day forward I can keep the following things in mind when I am made aware of a mistake with my words:

1. LISTEN. DON'T EXPLAIN.

When I have made a mistake with my words, I need to listen carefully to the person correcting me. I need to hear out exactly how what I said was particularly hurtful, offensive, or insensitive. Early on in the conversation I must put the emphasis on listening how I was hurtful and not on explaining why I said what I said.  

2. EMPATHIZE. DON'T EXCUSE.

After hearing and understanding how what I said was not the best, I need to empathize deeply with the person's pain or concern. I need to put myself in their shoes and let them know I can see and understand how they could be hurt or offended by what I said. At this point in the conversation I must put the emphasis on validating their feelings not on excusing my behavior.  

3. APOLOGIZE. DON'T ESCAPE.

When I am clear on how I have failed someone with my words and the person who I have failed is clear that I understand them, I must apologize sincerely for my actions. I must take complete responsibility for my mistake and ask for the person's forgiveness. By the end of the conversation, the emphasis must be on me apologizing for what I said and not on avoiding the consequences for my behavior.  

In addition to this unfortunate circumstance giving me the opportunity to reflect upon how I intend to handle situations like this in the future, it also made me thankful for a congregation who is patient with a sinful, flawed, pastor like me! To be loved and appreciated not only when you "succeed" but also when you "fail" is a gift from God. I am so humbled by the privilege I have to lead our church, and I hope that in the coming months and years I can lead in a way that is more edifying and encouraging to the people and more pleasing and glorifying to God.