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“God opened that door for ya, ain’t that right?”
“God picked you up, ain’t that right?”
“God turned you round, ain’t that right?”
“Somebody knows bout a God who can make a way out of no way…”
Perhaps you have heard a celebratory close like that. Is it a good one?” Well maybe. It all depends on whether your sermon was about “God opening doors.” Or “God picking you up.” Or “God turning you round.”
You see, a sermon close should be intimately connected to the sermon itself. Like the old folks use to say, “Your meat should make it’s own gravy.” Or as I say, “Let your content do the shouting.”
Instead of doing this, some preachers have a number of stock phrases that they use at the conclusion of their sermons just to get a shout.
The people begin yelling, but they yelling about something other than what you preached. So guess what they are gonna remember when they get home? Your sermon, or the part of the sermon where you started pulling stock phrases?
Please don’t fall into the trap of pulling stock phrases that have nothing at all to do with your sermon’s teaching. No, a real celebration celebrates the truth of the message that you just preached, not the message you preached last week or last year.
Close that sermon with power! I wrote a little more about this on Sermon Central. Head on over there and why not hit the like button. As always you can let me know what you think: http://www.sermoncentral.com/pastors-preaching-articles/sherman-cox-close-your-sermon-powerfully-a-surprising-secret-2182.asp
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