What if we only had 1 or 2 sermons a month and devoted more time and effort toward LIVING the messages we hear?
Here’s what could/may be happening for some Christians today:
- Hear a sermon on Sunday.
- Do little to nothing with it during the week.
- Hear another sermon the next Sunday.
- Do little to nothing with it during the week.
- Repeat 52 times a year for the rest of your life.
Is it possible that people need some time to put sermons into practice?
Is it possible that people need some practice to make the truth they heard a reality in their life?
Is it possible that it takes longer than 6 days for these things to happen?
What if:
We preached one sermon a month and then spent the rest of the Sundays in conversation, accountability and action. Kinda like a lab. Learn, do, learn, do, learn, do…
What if? Any thoughts?
(I am also wondering what it would be like for Pastors to preach only 12 sermons a year? Hmmmm. May be quite challenging.)
YES!!
ReplyDeleteThe reason (I believe) most church-goers are stuck on the "lather-rinse-repeat" cycle is a lot like what Pastor TC shared on his blog....They don't allow for the Word to take root. And then, a lot like Jesus said in Mark 4:3-20 about how the seed falls into shallow or good ground. That's what happens to the "hearers" throughout the week. Either one of the 3 bad situations, or the last good situation where it takes root.
And yes, if it takes root, then maybe I don't need to hear sermon after sermon each week cause I'm still feasting off of last week's meal!!
Good Stuff Pastor!!
I wonder if most churches in America don't ask enough of their people. Some pastors water down the message for fear of offending the people and losing members. You can fill pews that way, maybe, but you can't disciple. The churches with the most community impact tend to be the churches that ask the most of their people. I like the following story of President Lincoln:
ReplyDeleteLincoln often slipped into the Wednesday-night service at New York Presbyterian Church where Dr. Gurley was the pastor. In order not to disrupt things, he would listen from the privacy of the pastor’s study which adjoined the sanctuary. A young aide usually came along and on one particular night he asked Lincoln how he liked the sermon. “i thought it was well thought through, powerfully delivered, and very eloquent” was the reply. “Then you thought it was a great sermon?” the young man continued. “No,” said Lincoln, “it failed. It failed because Dr. Gurley did not ask us to do something great.”