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My homiletics professor, Dr. Brad Braxton, said, “You can’t write a sermon down because a sermon is an event.”
You can’t write down an event. You can write down some notes that help you deliver one side of the event.
I ain’t talking about manuscript versus outline…
Whether you use a full manuscript or an outline…
What you write down is there to help you deliver “your side of the bargain”
You see the sermon is an even that has a number of players…
There is the Preacher.
Yes, she or he presents the word to the people of God.
The person preaches with audible words…
The person preaches with the gestures that are used…
The person preaches with the good will and relationships that have been fostered in the community.
The person preaches with the tone of the voice that is used in the different parts of the sermon…
The person preaches in many ways…
But that is just one side of the sermon event.
Another part of the sermon event is the community that is preached to. Both the congregation and the larger community that has representatives there better known as visitors….
They primarily receive the message, but they also do some transmitting as well…
You see the community participates in the sermon also by their audible words. You ever been in a church where the people are talking back?
The people let the preacher know what’s hitting them…what’s not….what’s going over their head….what needs more explanation…
But not just the traditional African American church…even the most straight laced congregation does the same thing…Just not so audibly…
You see Deacon King crossing his arms which may be telling you, “I just don’t agree.”
You see Mother Jones smiling which may be telling you, “Now you hitting it pastor.”
You see a tear in Sister Betty’s eyes which may be telling you, “I needed this.”
You see an inquisitive look on Brother Derrick’s face which may be telling you, “You gonna have to explain that one better.”
But it is not just the community and the preacher that are participants in the sermon presentation process…
But there is the Holy Ghost…
Jesus said he would send the Holy Ghost…
And guess what…The Holy Ghost is there…
And the Holy Ghost plays a role in not just the sermon preparation process, but also the sermon presentation process…
What you talking bout Cox?
Let me tell you…
You ever wondered why some thoughts just pop into your head derived from your sermon preparation process, but you didn’t see it coming?
The Holy Ghost showed up and tapped you on the shoulder and told you to go down that road you didn’t see coming…
You ever wondered why that conversation that you just had before the sermon with Reverend Daryl happened and fit in perfectly and gave you the perfect illustration of a point?
The Holy Ghost showed up…
You ever wondered why the last minute addition of another song from a visitor dovetailed perfectly with your sermon?
The Holy Ghost Showed up…
Yep…so a sermon includes 3 players and for it to be successful all 3 need to be on point…The congregation, the preacher, and the holy ghost.
The Holy Ghost is ready….the people come ready…And my sister or brother, you must be ready.
My method of preacher readiness is found at http://www.superchargeyoursermons.net
And this mailing list that you are on…stay tuned we got a real 2017 coming yall…
Till Next Time,
Brother Sherman
P.S. SoulPreaching.Com Patreon supporters. Please go listen to the audio of this post at https://www.patreon.com/posts/7507695
P.S.S. – Please note the names above are just made up and not meant to imply any person particularly…
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