church – Page 2 – SERMON|GEEK

How I Find Illustrations While Preparing To Preach

Illustrations are important in a sermon. Jesus used parables to drive home powerful kingdom truths and although I am not half the story teller He was, I like to use stories to illuminate kingdom truths for those I teach.

However, it can be tough to find fresh and stimulating material week after week after week. I shy away from the old-school sermon illustration books. When younger, I would sometimes refer to the “1000 Sermon Illustration” type books. However, I’ve discovered that many of the stories in these books are portrayed as true but not verified. They are “pulpit-legends”, passed from pastor to pastor without every being fact-checked. I try to never tell a story as if it is true if I haven’t done the research for myself to know it is valid.

So, how do I come up with illustrations?

I begin with my own experience and knowledge base. I read through my sermon material making a mental list of the key ideas I would like to illustrate. Then I refer to the following list while asking myself if I can illustrate this point using:

Bible stories
History
Science/Medicine
Google
Music/Movies/TV
Relationships
Animals
Employment
Hobbies (Sports, Hunting, Fishing, Quilting, Scrapbooking, etc.)
Poetry/Literature

As an aside, using my own experiences and stories about myself is good as it allows people to know me a little better and feel a more personal connection to me. This opens them up a little more to the truths I’m teaching. However, I have two simple rules about using myself in illustrations:

In any given sermon, my illustrations cannot be exclusively about me. At least one of my illustrations has to come from another source. This keeps me from appearing narcissistic.
I can never be the hero of the story. Allowing others to learn from my mistakes and shortcomings enables them to acknowledge their own mistakes and shortcomings as opportunities to grow. I am also setting the example that we can learn from one another if we are willing to share the bad as well as the good.

Sometimes, I don’t need a process to discover illustrations for my sermon. Sometimes, I’ll see or experience something during the week that smacks me in the face and is obviously a powerful story for my upcoming sermon. Sometimes, I work through my normal process and still don’t have the illustration I want. Usually, my fall back source for illustrations is two obscure websites.

https://www.randomlists.com/topics

topics

This is a simple resource for authors who are struggling with writers block. Everytime I refresh the page, I’m given eight new topics about which I write. Often these words trigger a memory or an idea for a story I can use in my upcoming sermon. The central illustration for my Christmas Eve sermon a few months ago was the result of seeing the word “sign” on this site. It inspired a memory of one of my favorite stories and one for which I had a ready made picture which reminded us that God doesn’t leave us on our own.

https://www.onelook.com/thesaurus/

This site is actually a robust thesaurus. I use it several times in my sermon preparation process (as well as when I’m writing or creating resources). I also use it when I’m really stuck and struggling to find an illustration. I review my sermon, identify 4-5 main themes and then plug one keyword for each theme into the thesaurus. This week, I used the word “eternal” (We’re looking at Jesus and Nicodemus and the promise of eternal life in John 3:15). Two words that popped up were “lasting” and “permanent”. This reminded me that we all long for permanence in life. This deep longing for things that last is a powerful reminder that we were created for eternity. I’m still working out exactly how that will be expressed in the sermon, but it was a helpful tweak that will likely make it into the final product.

I am not Jesus, but I want to be like Jesus. He mastered the art of using everyday experiences to draw people into spiritual conversations and eternally significant discussions. I want to do the same. I hope you do also.

3 People Who Need To Hear Your Sermon

In a few weeks, I’ll be preaching from John 10 (the “good shepherd” passage). As part of my four-week sermon preparation process, I am spending part of this week reading and listening to what others have said about this passage. Yesterday, in one of the commentaries I was reading, the author briefly mentioned the three audiences to whom Jesus spoke during his ministry.

To the crowd, Jesus spoke with compassion. They were sheep without a shepherd. They desperately needed direction and instruction. In His teaching, Jesus also demonstrated patience toward the crowd who often struggled to grasp His truths. He used stories and sought to communicate complex truths with clarity and simplicity.

To His close followers, Jesus spoke with intention. He delivered deeper truths to them and had higher expectations for them. He corrected them when they were wrong (remember when He told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan”) and was quick to re-direct them when their priorities were misplaced (“The first shall be last and the last shall be first.”). He didn’t shield them from difficult or disappointing truths, but He guaranteed them He would always be with them.

To the religious leaders, Jesus spoke words of confrontation. They were Israel’s blind guides. They had misused their power, choosing to promote themselves and their own agenda rather than leading the people closer to God. Jesus condemned their hypocrisy, called out their lies and challenged their shallow faith. To whom much responsibility is given, much accountability is required. Jesus held them accountable for misusing their responsibility.

On any given Sunday, I am aware that these three groups of people are sitting in the congregation to whom I am speaking. Those who are seeking need to hear and experience compassion. Those who are following need a message of intention. Those who are self-righteous need to be confronted.

My goal is to always preach a sermon that accurately unpacks God’s Word and points to Jesus. I desire to accomplish this goal by using words that are hopeful and helpful. For the next couple weeks, I am going to make an effort to include compassion, intention and confrontation in every sermon.

4 Things Every Pastor Must Do Every Day

I like structure. Lists and tables (think excel not dining room) are the best. One of my favorite structure hacks is what I call “quadrant brainstorming”. It’s a marriage of brainstorming and mind mapping but with rules and guidelines.

I begin by drawing a circle in the middle of the page and then drawing two perpendicular lines to divide the circle into four quadrants (I would say it looks like a cross-hair but that’s no longer a fashionable term, so think of it as a pie with four pieces). I then draw four more circles, each connected by a line to one of the original circle’s quadrants. I finish by dividing the four circles into four quadrants also. Now I’m ready.

I use this process to think about a project I need to complete, people I need to meet or manage, a resource I need to create or my roles and responsibilities for a given week. I also use this method every week as part of my sermon preparation process.

Whatever I am trying to bring into focus, I begin by identifying the four big pieces. In a sermon, it’s the four movements I hope to work through. It might be four people who are my direct reports. It might be the four thematic goals (WIGs if you’re a Covey devotee) of a project I’m working on. I’m not sure why I like four so much. I have no science or magic to suggest that it is the perfect number, but I like the cross in the middle of the circle and four seems to be useful and flexible number. It’s large enough to include everything without being so small that something gets missed.

This Sunday, the four pieces of my sermon (I’m preaching on Nicodemus) are:

The conversation behind the conversation
The Kingdom of God
New Birth
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

On Good Friday, we create an event called The Via Dolorosa. It is a prayer walk through the Upper Room, the Garden, and then through multiple stations to the foot of the cross. You might think of it as an evangelical remix of the Stations of the Cross. I used my quadrants to create our big picture plan for the event. The four primary categories of planning are:

Design
Execution
Volunteers
Promotion

All that to say this. Yesterday, while I was working out, I was thinking about the role of a pastor. Perhaps this is a reflection of my own neurosis, but I’m constantly trying to sharpen my own understanding of what I do so that I can do it better. I want to narrow my focus so I can focus on what is most important and beneficial. By defining the four quadrants of my life as a pastor I can evaluate my plans by asking questions like, “Where does this activity fit? Am I being balanced? What am I neglecting?”Here’s the four things I think I ought to be dealing with every day:

People — Equipping the people of God to do the work of God
Programs — Repeating events (usually weekly) such as Worship Gathering, discipleship groups, etc.
Projects — One time activities, events or initiatives which enhance our ability to equip people and improve programs
Problems — They happen. The buck stops with me. I have to address them and find solutions

The great benefit I experience from quadrant brainstorming is an escape from chaos. By creating guardrails for my thinking process, I am forced to sometimes make decisions about what is most important and what is nice but expendable. Clarity is a powerful force when harnessed. When I find it lacking, I draw a circle and two lines.

Pastor: You are too worried about First Impressions.

A few years ago, we launched an initiative called “The Glue Team.” The goal was to make our church more “sticky.” Our hope was that we could be more intentional about building relationships, specifically with those who were new to our church or on the margins of our church.

Essentially, we put together a team of about 12 people who committed to arriving early on Sunday mornings and spending their time in the worship center meeting people who were seated prior to the service.

(At our church, as I’m sure happens at many other churches, the first people into the worship center before the service are often those who do not have significant relationships or they are people who are visiting for the first time and don’t want to arrive late. Those who are well-connected often spend extra time in the lobby cafe reconnecting with each other.)

The Glue Team was a minimal success, but for a variety of reasons, we shut it down after about nine months. At the end of the run, we gathered the team for a debriefing meeting and to discuss what other methods might be more effective to accomplish our goals.

For me, the biggest takeaway from that meeting was what I now call “The Opperman Principal.” My friend Charlie Opperman shared about a book he was reading that stressed the importance of closure and last impressions. He cited funerals as an illustration of the lengths to which we go in order to create a positive last impression of our friends and family members who have died. He suggested that we direct more focus on people’s “last impression” of The Gathering than on their first impression.

In some church circles, this is heresy. “First Impressions” has become an a cornerstone program in many church’s strategic connection plan. Amazon has multiple pages of books which were written to teach us how to make better first impressions at church. I agree that first impressions are important, but a great first impression will be forgotten after a bad last impression and a bad first impression can be overcome by a great last impression.

More often than not, the lasting impression is the last impression.

Our church is transitioning, not only in size but in staff roles. In the next few weeks, we will have a dedicated Pastor for Connections. His role is to empower people to move from their first connection at The Gathering into a LIFEgroup, a serving role or both. He will, of course, be overseeing our “first impression” team but he will also be paying close attention to our “last impression” experience.

Over the coming months, we will be constantly asking the question, “What needs to happen in order for someone to leave our parking lot and say, ‘I can’t wait to come back next week?'”

We will write the stories that lead to that statement. We will identify what we can control and work on to promote more people making that statement. And hopefully, the Opperman Principal will enable us to communicate more of God’s message to more people so that we can make more of a difference in more of God’s world.

I Put My Hands Up, They’re Playing My Song…

I came across this video the other day and loved every minute of it.

Andre Crouch was one of the first musicians I would have called my “favorite.” In fact, when I was in middle school, I played “My Tribute” on my trumpet in a talent competition called “Teens Involved.” It was one of those fundamentalist things. I actually made it to the national competition which was held in upstate New York.

Beyond that memory, I loved this video because it transported me back to the 80’s. It was fun to see many of the Christian Music stars who sang the only songs I was allowed to listen to (we didn’t do secular music back then). This felt a little like the evangelical version of “We Are The World.” The outfits and hairstyles made me feel young again, and honestly, I’d wear that stuff again.

Choirs are a sink or swim proposition. Either they are very good or they are very bad. For a few years in the mid-90’s, I was a choir director. I was the only associate in a smaller rural church. The church owned choir robes so it made sense that we should have a choir. Since I had played the trumpet in high school, I was chosen to lead the choir. I’m sure my inability and inexperience were frustrating to the 15-20 church members who made up our choir, but those people sang with all their hearts. Unfortunately, their talent didn’t make up for my lack thereof. Our choir was not good.

But the choir in this video? They are very good! I couldn’t help but think this was a little slice of heaven as people of every tribe and every nation gathered to sing the praise of the lamb. Like the creation in Genesis 1 and the New Creation in Revelation 21, it’s very good.

Then I had one more observation. And this is the real reason I’m writing this… NO ONE IS RAISING THEIR HANDS IN WORSHIP!

These days, the true worshippers worship God in spirit and in tomahawk chop (I jest). We have a tendency to evaluate the depth of people’s worship based on how high and how many hands they are raising. Like the Pharisees before us, we are judging the internal (a man’s heart) by the external (what we can see). I wonder if God would say the same thing to us as He did to Samuel, “Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart.”

Just four decades ago, the greatest “worship choir” in the world was assembled and they sang a glorious rendition of “To God Be The Glory.” No one would have looked at them and said, “They aren’t raising their hands, they must not love worship.” If the hands up standard didn’t apply then, maybe it shouldn’t apply now.Somehow, in my lifetime, the standard operating procedure at every 80’s rock concert has become the standard operating procedure during most church worship services.

I’m not down on raising your hands during worship. If you want to do that, cool. It’s okay to worship with your hands held high. It’s okay to worship with your hands down, crossed, in your pockets, etc. It’s okay to worship with your eyes open or closed. It’s okay to worship by singing or by listening. It’s okay to worship while standing or sitting.

It’s not okay to judge your fellow worshipper because they don’t worship like you.

The Three Temptations Of The American Pastor

I’m going to write a lot more about this some day and I envision it will be a parable-type story I might want to create… (like a Patrick Lencioni book)

I would call it The Three Temptations of an American Pastor (I know, Lencioni wrote one very similar to this…)

The Three Temptations

Building
Bodies
Bucks

I sometimes wonder how much our kingdom mindset is skewed by our devotion to these three measurements. In my experience, most people (especially pastors!) judge a church’s success based on these three temptations.

Church Success

How big is your building?
How many people attend on Sunday?
How sizable are your offerings?

Of course, this doesn’t exactly match the Jesus model…

Not only did He not have a building, He didn’t have a home.
More people left His ministry than stuck with Him. (He eventually became so unpopular, they killed Him)
The biggest offering His followers ever took up was the bribe Judas received for betraying Him.

Maybe instead of these temptations we should be teaching our people to be hospitable, missional, and generous?

–> These ideas are a methodological snack for us to chew on. I’d love to get your thoughts in the comments.

The Post-Sermon Play-by-Play

Every so often I have a Sunday morning experience that I am quite certain is not unique to me. I call it the “Yes|But”. Anyone who preaches on a regular basis has probably tasted the “Yes|But” at some point in their ministry.

The “Yes|But” sounds something like this, “Pastor, I agree with what you said, BUT…”

Sound familiar?

Before you decide I’m being overly critical of the “Yes|But”, please allow me to finish. I have discovered that the Yes But can teach me a great deal about the words I just spoke.

Sometimes, when confronted by the “Yes|But”, I find myself feeling defensive. I immediately begin planning my response. I look for ways to show the Yes Butter that they are clearly in the wrong.

You can be certain that this response clearly indicates that the words I just preached were not God’s, they were my own.

The more defensive I am of the words I preach, the more likely it is that they reflect my ideas, not God’s.

Sometimes, though, when confronted with the “Yes|But”, I don’t feel the least bit defensive. Sometimes I feel quite peaceful, and sometimes, I have found myself feeling a genuine concern for the spiritual journey of the person speaking to me. When I don’t feel the need to defend my words, it is likely that they were really Gods words.

The beauty of speaking the Word of God is that I never have to defend myself. As long as I can say, “I am simply preaching directly from the Word of God”, I never have to worry about the “Yes|But”. I can always respond (at least in my mind), “you don’t have to agree with me, but please make sure you aren’t disagreeing with God.”

Are You Ready For Easter?

Dear Pastor,

Are you preparing for Easter?

I know… You just got past Christmas, Easter is months away, you have other people to do that stuff, you need to focus on this Sunday’s sermon…

I know you are busy, and maybe Easter isn’t really on your mind. But the truth is, you are already behind.

On Easter Sunday, more people will visit your church than any other weekend this year. More people who are looking for a welcoming church community will visit on Easter than any other weekend. More people who need to hear and believe the Gospel will be at your church on Easter than any other time. Easter provides you with an amazing opportunity, but it also carries a grave responsibility.

Will you be prepared to present the Gospel in a clear and relevant manner?

Will your people be prepared to welcome the explorers who show up to join your community that day?

Will your gatherings be planned and executed in a way that minimizes distractions and maximizes focus on the simple power of the Gospel?

Will your teams be ready to cultivate new relationships and graciously pursue those who show interest in the Gospel or in your community?

Are the members of your church empowered to go to the street corners and invite anyone they can find to the “banquet”?

Are you ready for Easter?

Dear Pastor, please begin today. You will have no greater opportunity this year to present the Gospel to such a large and needy group as you will on Easter. Please be sure you and your church are ready.

Thanks.

3 Questions to Help You Find Your Sermon’s Sweet Spot

Before you step behind the pulpit, turn on your wireless mic or fire up your iPad…

How do you know you have the right message?

Every preacher approaches their messages differently. We all have different methods and patterns and systems to help us create the final draft of our sermon. I’m not about to suggest there is only one way to do it (particularly because I use different methods just about every week); however, I am going to suggest three questions that might help you focus in on the most important things you need to say.

What has God said?

I don’t suppose this is a complicated question. What God has said is contained in His Word. I may be old fashioned, but I still think the content of every sermon ought to flow from the pages of the Bible.

If I want to preach the Words of God, I need to immerse myself in them. I need to study them, memorize them, meditate on them. I need to consult others to better understand them. Before I ever preach to others, I ought to have as clear an understanding as possible of what God has said.

Who are these people?

Not every congregation or audience is the same, and how I preach God’s Word to them ought to reflect who they are. Not everyone can always know exactly who their audience is, but if you are a pastor, you MUST spend regular time learning who the people are that sit in those pews every Sunday.

Every Monday I spend time reading notes, comments, prayer requests and praises from my brothers and sisters at The Gathering. They are kind enough to share their lives and thoughts with me by writing on the back of our “connection card” every Sunday. I try to email every one of them with a short note of encouragement so they know I enjoy hearing from them and want to hear more.

I also have other means by which I grow deeper relationships with the people in the pews. The method is not nearly as important as the outcome. If I am going to effectively preach to them, I must find a way to learn:

What is going on in their lives
How they are struggling
Where they have been victorious
When they have been disappointed
Why they are at our church
For whom they are burdened

How can I tell these people what God said?

I could easily spend 30 hours preparing for a sermon and then speak for an hour, dumping a massive amount of information on the congregation. I would walk away feeling good that I have taught and they have learned.

I choose to take the road less travelled.

For me, the most difficult element of sermon preparation is specifically crafting my words to particularly apply to my friends in the pews. I find it much more stressful to choose what I will not say, then to determine what I will say. Not everything I learn in my sermon preparation is what the people on Sunday need to learn. In fact, much of it is not what they need and could possibly distract them from what God truly wants them to hear.

(The Sermon on the Mount was NOT a 45 minute sermon!)

My general rule of thumb is as follows:

If I could preach this sermon to any congregation at any location; I still have work to do before I preach it to my congregation at my church.

Discover what God has said.

Determine to whom you’ll be speaking.

Discern what they need to hear from God.

Then trust the Holy Spirit to do the hard work!

Prepare Your People Before You Preach

Never forget that when you preach, you are preaching to someone. Have you ever grown weary of the attempting to deliver a life-changing message to people who haven’t prepared themselves to receive God’s Word? You should consider the concept that your sermon actually begins long before you stand up to preach. Provide your congregation with the tools they need to prepare themselves for Sunday morning. Below are some tools to help you accomplish this. Feel free to copy any of this material and distribute it to your own church:

Is Sunday morning the most important morning of your week? Most of us would say it is because Sundays are our time to come together with God and His people. Yet, I am often guilty of approaching Sunday with far less intentionality than the most important day of the week deserves.

Today, I’d like to offer a few suggestions as to how you (and your family) can tweak your Sunday morning routine to make it the BEST day of the week!

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR SUNDAY MORNING

Make your plans on Saturday night

It’s easy to sleep in Sunday morning, crawl out of bed, debate which service to go to and then finally decide to just take the morning off. Have a brief discussion with your spouse/family on Saturday night. Decide which service you want to attend (think about what the rest of your day looks like) and then set your alarms accordingly. You’ll be glad you did.

Spend a few minutes being quiet

Some time during the morning, find a quiet place in your home and relax for a few minutes. Spend some time talking to your Heavenly Father. Tell Him what’s on your mind and ask Him to show you what’s on His mind for you. Read a couple verses from the Bible. This time will empower you to have a calm and peaceful Sunday morning, which will enable you to have a meaningful and joyful experience at church.

Arrive at church early

Nothing is worse than arriving at the church, running in from the parking lot, racing through the child check-in process, speeding through the cafe and then sneaking into the service as the last song finishes up. By the time you catch your breath and your heart rate slows down, the service is over. Try to arrive early so you can enjoy your morning routine and feel relaxed and at ease when the service begins.

Enjoy coffee and a donut

Sometimes a Sunday service can be long and tiring with all the standing up and sitting down. Sometimes the preacher is less than exciting. You’ll have an easier time keeping your energy up and staying awake if you have a little energy boost before the service.

Find a seat before the service begins

If you get into the Worship Center before the service begins, you’ll have your pick of seats. Find something that works for you, but try not to isolate yourself. Once you’re seated, have a brief conversation with someone around you or take a minute and browse the information in your program. If the sermon passage is listed, you can read it before the service to give yourself a head start.

Make a new friend before you leave

Unless you know the name of everyone who attends your church (and none of us do), you always have a chance to make new friends. During the service, notice the people sitting near you that you’ve never met. Before you leave, greet them with a smile and introduce yourself. You never know what the outcome might be: you may never see them again or it might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Maybe all of these can be helpful for you. Maybe just one or two are beneficial for you. This Sunday is a great time to practice.