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This past week a customer purchased a few of my books and wanted some sermon consultation on an upcoming sermon. He was to preach for an education day program. As we progressed in the steps of my own sermon creation methodology I emphasized a few points to my student.
You are Preaching a Sermon
All of the rules for sermons still apply whether it is a special day sermon or another kind of sermon. You still must have a text. You still should be expounding on that text. You still should have only one major point. And in the African American preaching tradition, you should still have either a celebration or a celebrative challenge.
You are Addressing the Whole Congregation
If the day is mother’s day, father’s day, youth day, or any number of special days, one of the great temptations is to ignore everyone else in the congregation. So we might only address the youth during youth day, and only address the men during men’s day and so forth. However, such an approach is problematic.
It is problematic because some people would not find the truth of the Gospel that week. It is problematic because it can feed into the temptation of only addressing that group on that day and no other. It is problematic because it does not give the gospel to the entire congregation. Be sure to address the whole congregation on the special day.
You are Still Preaching the Gospel
Finally, you are still preaching the gospel. Yes you may show how the gospel addresses our problems. However, you are not preaching simply tips to have a better life to the youth. You are not simply preaching “how to find a spouse” during single’s day. You are always preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don’t fall into the trap of preaching good advice when God has called us to preach the Good News of God.
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