What’s In A Sermon?
When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn’t take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person’s heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road.
~Matthew 13:19, MSG
As a clean beast chews the cud, so must thou bring again to thy remembrance that which thou hast heard at church {sermon}.
~Lewis Bayly
To my knowledge there is no biblical reference to the word ‘sermon’ or ‘Homily’. Sermon comes from the Latin sermo, a speech, conversation, discourse, discussion, or talk. Our word homily has a somewhat similar history. It comes from Greek homilia, meaning association, conversation, or discourse. Eventually it came to describe an exposition or discourse upon Scripture. We all know it is one of the pastor’s responsibilities to prepare and deliver a sermon on Sunday. I have my own personal views about the sermon. One of my seminary professors challenged us to be brief or brilliant. I am very aware of the fact that I am not brilliant. Unfortunately we have preachers who think they are and they are obsessed with long and polished sermons. Why tell three stories when one will do. Time flies when you are in the pulpit but in can drag when you are in the pew.
My point today is that a preacher should spend some time preparing the sermon and he should have a message when he goes into the pulpit. It is fun to preach when you have a message; it is hades when you don’t. Listening to the Sunday sermon is not always easy. Bro. Inman use to say repeatedly, “I have never heard a bad sermon but I have had some narrow escapes.” I have heard bad sermons. No bad, is not the right word: I have heard horrible sermons. But when all is said and done, I have to agree with Bro. Inman: most sermons have a message. The pastor has prepared a sermon and delivered it: did we listen? Did we take notes? Can we state his sermon in one sentence. Joe David preached on James 1 Sunday, Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. God allows us to experience trouble and hardship for a reason. He uses adversity to teach us. These various trials that come our way reveal our weakness and our need for His grace. The difficult times cause the roots of our faith to grow deeper and deeper until we understand that God is using them for His glory and our good. Once we understand this, we can endure them with joy.
About three months ago, I got to hot while standing on the top of a four foot ladder, as I realized what was happening and attempted to come down, the ladder shifted and I fell on top of the ladder. As I lay there groaning, I thought, “LORD, I don’t know what I have done. I just know the pain is severe. I also know that you will bring good out of this.” That evening at the ER the doctor who did the X-Ray said, “You have two broken ribs and you have fractured your lower vertebra. It is a strange thing, you have an opening at the bottom of your spine.” I said, “Praise the LORD.” Guess what, I had been going to the Cow-Puncher for months due to pain from the sciatic nerve. It was being pinched by the lower vertebra. Before the fall, I could barely ride to Florette. Last week in two days, I rode over 500 miles. God healed me with a fall.
Back to the top. Lewis Bayly believed that we need to review the Sunday sermon as soon as we get home from church. He suggest we talk about it at the dinner table. We should meditate upon it immediately or it will be like the seeds on the roadway; it will never take root. In a matter of hours, the entire message will be forgotten and we will get no spiritual nutrition from it. How sad! How sad indeed! Listen to the sermon. Take notes and mediate on it. Speak with others about it while it is fresh.
- It was cooler yesterday morning early but it heated up. It was 75 at 4:00 am this morning. I got below 70 Sunday night. I made the mistake of looking at my weather app and they have changed the forecast, more extreme heat coming and in the 90’s all next week. I think they are predicting it will break September 23.
- GOD’S WORD FOR ALL PEOPLE this Sunday September 13th. I am challenging every member to give $35 to translate a scripture verse so that people who have never had a bible in there language will have one. Our goal is to do the book of JAMES, 108 verses.
- Slidder and Hotdog supper Wednesday night September 16. We will cook on the South porch and eat in the fellowship hall. Too hot to use the pavilion. We will finish the book of James Wednesday night or at least get close.
- Monday October 26…we are hosting the MORGAN BAPTIST ANNUAL MEETING and feeding about 60 people, not including the 49ers. I am asking the 49er for help on preparing the meal. We will get the KFC, drinks and rolls but we need your help with the other things. Instead of having the 49er meal on Oct. 23, we are asking the 49ers to help us with the meal on Monday October 26. You do not have to attend the meeting just bring your food at lunch time and stay for lunch. It will work if we have a servant’s heart!
- October 28 is our Bill Smith Jambalaya Supper and our November Wednesday night meal falls on Veterans Day and we are having a stew and Joe is going to have us a video of our veterans at the round table. After the Stew in November, there will be no more Wednesday night suppers until Spring.
Have a great Tuesday and thanks for reading the blog!!!!
