Preaching
Message Preparation (Part 2)
Today, I’ll tackle a common question: Where do the ideas for a message come from?
LONG-RANGE PLANNING
I try to plan our message series out at least six months in advance. Right now they are planned through December. This does not mean I know what I am preaching on exactly but the main themes and concepts are mapped out. This reduces my week-to-week stress and greatly increases our creative team’s ability to do engaging things like dramas, stage decorations, video, special music etc.
These concepts/ideas for message series come from the following sources:
–Other speakers and churches
–My own prayer & Bible study
–Seasonal considerations (I’ll explain that below)
–What haven’t we talked about lately?
–What are people experiencing or struggling with?
–Our staff
SEASONAL CONSIDERATIONS
We plan series according to the following seasons:
–Growth patterns (We typically grow in the Fall and first of the year. These are good times to do series on felt needs or everyday living issues or church vision)
–Special holidays (Christmas & Easter)
–Where our church is and where we are going
–What people are experiencing (i.e. – New year = people open to new things; Fall = people are regrouping and ready to get back into routines that were disrupted by summer vacations)
BALANCED APPROACH
We try to divide our communications into couple of themed areas. For example:
–Spiritual life (growth, habits, etc.): how to grow in your walk with God
–Felt needs/topics: money, sex, relationships, family, emotions, hard times, etc.
–Doctrines (Christianity 101 type stuff): the Bible, Holy Spirit, grace, etc.
–Relationships: marriage, dating, friendships
–Church/Church life: vision & values of RBCC; small groups; serving; evangelism
–Seasonal: Christmas & Easter; occasionally Mother/Father’s Day; patriotism
Here’s how this might look in a typical year:
–New Year (Jan-Feb): Spiritual life & felt needs
–March: Church life/vision
–April: Easter themes
–May: relationships
–Summer: loosely connected; stand alone messages since attendance fluctuates
–Start of school: spiritual life & felt needs; church life
–Fall: felt needs; spiritual life
–December: Christmas themes
Message Preparation (Part 1)
Developing and communicating God’s message is one of the greatest and hardest things I get to do with my life so I thought I’d devote a few blog entries about it.
Let me first start with a few MYTHBUSTERS:
#1–Preachers/Pastors only work one day a week.
WRONG!! There is so much to do in a growing church that most people would be shocked. However, the MAIN thing I do that brings the MOST to our team is the weekend message. They’ve done studies to show that growing churches have pastors that spend 20+ hours in message preparation.
I find that the best ideas, illustrations, and insights come HOURS into preparation. I call it the ‘marination’ time when I am soaking up God’s Word, thinking how it relates to my life, etc. Communicators must guard, protect, and schedule this time to hear from God!
#2–Just teach the Bible
A lot of churchy people say this and think churches like Rock Bridge water down the Bible or don’t go deep enough. What a joke!
First, the goal is not Bible knowledge alone. The Pharisees knew more of the ‘Bible’ than anyone in Jesus’ day and they are the ones who killed Jesus … the very One the ‘Bible’ they supposedly knew was written about!!
How many of you know people who know tons of Scripture and Bible stories, but don’t apply half of what they know?!
Second, the goal that we have at Rock Bridge is changed lives. That means we have to go beyond outlining Scripture for people to actually teaching people how to APPLY and LIVE out the truths and principles in the Bible in today’s world.
Preparation would be so much easier if all I worried about was taking some Scripture verses and simply explaining what they mean based on some Matthew Henry commentary. What people really need is a TIMELY, RELEVANT, and APPLICABLE word from God. That is why as a communicator I have to be in touch with God’s Voice and people’s lives. God’s Word speaks to people TODAY about things they face TODAY. As a communicator my challenge and goal is to bridge the ancient truths of Scripture into today’s culture so people can live them out.
If the people who attend RBCC, leave church knowing when Ephesians was written and who wrote it, but they cannot apply the AWESOME truths of Ephesians on Monday morning or around the dinner table … then I have failed miserably. This is why THOUSANDS of people no longer attend church … because they believe it does not relate to real life!
WE ARE CHANGING THAT BELIEF AND PEOPLE’S LIVES ARE BEING CHANGED FOR GOD’S GLORY!!
#3–The King James Version of the Bible is the only true version.
(I know this is a tricky subject in the Bible belt … )
Some people actually think this is the version Jesus read from when He taught in the Temple! Some people believe that all the other translations are just translations of and thus distortions of the original King James! Actualy, other translations (like NIV and NASB) are translations of the manuscript copies that we have of the original Greek & Hebrew texts. Also, there have been lots of advances in scholarship and archaelogy since KJV was written that have INCREASED the accuracy of our more modern translations. Would you go to a doctor who just practiced medicine as it practiced was in the 1600s?Do you know in some churches they are more concerned if a person or another church uses a different translation than if people are being saved and if lives are being changed?
For me, I use a variety of translations (including KJV/NKJV) when preparing but I almost always teach from the NIV (New International Version) because it is an accurate translation and it is easier to read/understand. Greek has a lot more words than English and sometimes it is difficult for one translation to completely convey the meaning of the original Greek text.
#4–Preaching is easy.
Fun, rewarding, exciting … Yes! But easy … no!
#1-There is a weekly deadline that never gets pushed back. Sunday comes with amazing regularity.
#2-There is the sacred responsibility of hearing from God and speaking His truth.
#3-There is the tempation of pride and getting the ‘big head’ when the sermon is good … trust me, if it is good it is 100% a ‘God’ thing!
#4-We do get ‘sermon’ block … which makes Saturday’s anything but a ‘day off’.
#5-We do have people unload on us 2 minutes before the service kicks-off … I would love to revert back to some of my old “Navy” language at times like these … but I just quote some King James instead.
Officially Excited
So I am officially excited about our new message series that starts Sunday (Extreme Makeover). I was walking around our block today and went into the Wink to see our lobby and entire stage set-up. It is awesome!!
You’ll definitely be entering a ‘hard hat’ area Sunday!! This series will be fun and thought provoking with a few surprises thrown in here and there. Don’t miss it and bring unchurched friends!
Another reason I am excited is that starting this Sunday we will have someone praying during each worship service!! This is a goal we have had for awhile and I’ve really felt like my prayer life and the church’s prayer life needed to go up a notch. I can’t tell you how awesome it is to have each service covered with prayer … praying for our volunteers, our musicians, for me, for God’s power & glory, for people’s lives to be changed forever … OH MY!! I know this will bring more of God into our services, into me, and into our lives. He’ll receive more glory and we’ll see more lives being changed!
2007 is going to be a GREAT YEAR for God at Rock Bridge!!
John 3:30
Psalm 46:10
This weekend I got away. I mean way away. To a place where cell phones don’t work and Wal-Mart is at least 30 miles away. I basically spent time in prayer and preparation. I mapped out sermon series for 2007 and just spent time with God … time being still and knowing that He is God … thus He is in control (not me … thank goodness — there’s a lot of peace in realizing this!) AND that His plans are more than I can imagine!!
Needless to say I am pumped about 2007!! We’ll get started with a bang this Sunday as we kick-off a new series called “EXTREME MAKEOVER: LIFE EDITION”. Pray for these services, for me, for our staff, and for God’s glory to fill us up! Invite your unchurched friends and neighbors … many of whom are willing to try something new in the new year.
Also, special thanks to John McIntosh for preaching this past Sunday. John always does a great job motivating and challenging our folks with his insights.
First Time for Everything
Today was the first time in four years that I have attended Rock Bridge but not preached!! Aaron Gable, our new Associate Pastor, did an outstanding job using King Herod to talk about pride and its negative effect on our lives.
I did get to … help baptize 6 people in our services. (This was our first non-creek baptism in about 2 years … it was good for all our folks to witness those special celebrations of new life in Christ).
I did get to … actually listen to a sermon on a more personal level and not just as part of my own preparations or study.
I did get to … visit our Kidz Ministry areas … AWESOME volunteers! Thank you for what ya’ll do!!
I did get to … RELAX.
Beth and I head to Florida as soon as she gets home from Youth … we’re excited to get away!
See ya’ll Sunday!!
Great Weekend
Great weekend with the Dawgs winning big over Auburn. My Midshipmen of Navy took care of business and are headed to their 4th straight bowl!!
AND …
we finished up our Desperate Households series by talking about ‘submitting’ in relationships. On the whole, I think it was a great series for us, our people and our community.
We’re starting a new series called Deal or No Deal next week which should be pretty cool as we talk about finances. We’re hoping the Dalton version of ‘Howie Mandell’ shows up to host us during this series.
Let me encourage everyone to invite your friends!!
Church & Sex
Can you talk about sex in church? Absolutely!!
This past Sunday we talked about sex the whole message (Listen to it here). The feedback was awesome!!
One person wrote,
“I … wanted to say that I really enjoyed your sermon this past Sunday. That’s one of the reasons that I love our church so much…you’re not afraid to address real world issues and just put it all out there.”
That’s why I love our church too!! Relevant, practical, and life-changing … that’s who Jesus is, that’s what the Bible is, and that is who RBCC is striving to be!
Desperate Households
I’m excited about our new series which starts this Sunday!! This will be the first series we’ve dedicated (almost) entirely to family, marriage, dating, sex (yes, sex), & relationships. I think these are subjects that Hollywood, MTV, and ‘Reality’ TV have dominated for far too long. As I am learning, the Bible has some pretty amazing things to teach us about these subjects.
So be in church, bring a guest and be ready because it is going to fun but challenging. We’re going to go where the Scriptures take us to be encouraged, convicted, inspired, and challenged. It’s going to be awesome!!
Bible translations
Some folks have asked me what translation/version of the Bible I use on Sundays. I use the NIV (New International Version). The NIV is an accurate translation that attempts to capture the literal meaning of the Greek/Hebrew and communicate the thought & meaning of the text. It is also easier to read.
For studying I also use the NKJV or the NASB.
For Bible reading and devotional stuff, the NLT is pretty good.