My next Sermon

[Barnabas]

I figured I might need a bit of help with this next decision. I plan on establishing my Go-to sermon this summer, for those of you who don't know what that is. It is a very well developed and adaptable sermon that a preacher can fall back on in case of immediate need and little preperation.

It can also be a traveling sermon, in which the preacher visits different Churchs on the weekends to speak infront of the conversation. It has to be solid enough so that you don't have to re-memorize it before each speaking event, yet flexable enough to be able to change based on surroundings and context.

But that was wayto much info for what I'm going to ask, all I want is an opinion from yall on which of my ideas should I develope. so without further adue here is a listof the sermon and there intent


-God of Power

A very simple sermon, alot of Bible references and few or no personal stories. the intent is to simply remind listeners that God is not just a wise old man in the clouds, that instead he is a powerfull and active God.


-Divorced

a bit more complicated then the God of Power sermon, a little bit of Bible and heavy on the personal stories. The intent is to inform the listener of How Divorce is the ultimate representation of Sin and how Sin Divorced us from God.


-Bring the Rain

While the other two sermons are deep and serious by nature, this is more of a feel good sermon with a good balance of Bible and personal stories. The intent is simple, make the listener confident in God's promise that despite the fact that there is a storm raging outside, we are going to see a skyline more beutiful then one can imagine when the storm ends.


-Love

I don't have any clue on this one, I haven't even thought of doing a sermon on love till thinking about it right now.

 

[Blind Bandit]

Love, Christianity seems to have too little of this as dose the world.

 

[Melkor]

Wow, I didn't know you guys actually pre-planned these so extensively.

I just thought... You know... It's not like anyone enjoys them.

We just feel we HAVE to listen.

Having said that, I recall one cheery minister whose sermon had me grinning from ear to ear, but thats probably because he was so amiable and ready to poke fun at his own faith.

Heh-heh, but of course, as an atheist, I sit in church with this big frown and occassionally shake my head dismissively/ sigh deeply.

Irish Christian relatives>>

 

[Gaze]

"Bring the Rain" has a nice balance

 

[the]

-God of Power Sounds like your best bet as far as conservative christianity would go.



-Divorced This will probably be that sermon that will drive away many in the congregation or at least keep your telephone ringing all day. Plus I dont think you want your general sermon to be about a negative topic.



-Bring the Rain This sounds like a good consumer-friendly one. Are you a christian hipster by chance? This would go well for those types I think.



-Love This could be good but I dont think you know what you want to say about it yet so I dont know what advice to give you.



Are you gonna post up the sermon when you are finished?

 

[Flavus Aquila]

On the God of power and Love themes:

I remember a sermon I heard once, which left a lasting impression on me - the basic outline, from memory was something like:

Nothing besides God can exist unless it be caused to exist - and this contingency is not self-sufficient but relies on the constant activity/will of God to keep whatever exists existing.

This is, in part, why God cannot lie: because unlike creatures, when He says something is (which had not previously existed) it begins to exist from that moment.

The significance of this is that every real existing thing is both known and willed (loved) by God.

This implies that the higher or more complete a creature, the more God loves it. So it is true that God loves us more than the "lillies of the field" or the animals. This even means that God loves the Devil (the highest angel, who fell) very much. The question concerning the love of God is not whether God knows or loves His creatures, but whether His creatures know Him (by faith or the beatific vision), or love Him back, which obviously the Devil does not.


** Mind you, my recall is in philosophical terms, but the actual sermon had philosophical, patristic and scriptural content**

 

[sassafras]

I like "Bring the Rain."

 

[deadred]

How about "The Heart of God"?

We all seem to be so focused on our own situations, but forget how long suffering and patient the Father is. How much Love does God have that He stays with us even when we sin? How much anger (?) does He feel towards Satan, who ruined Creation? How does He feel about the way we treat each other? How loyal He is regardless of the badness. We claim we want to be God-like, but what are we doing that has nothing to do with that at all? List examples from Scripture that show what His nature is, and create enthusiasm for following His example. Be positive about the rewards for becoming more God-like, and how our lives would be improved and enriched both short and long term by pursuing such a goal. Lift the people up by showing them what good can come from taking advantage of what is available to us from understanding and acting upon what we learn from studying and contemplating God's Heart.

 

[Barnabas]

I wanna bump this so I can get some more opinions.

 

[Satya]

How about a sermon on how man is so fortunate to have the opportunity to experience creation, and that for all the suffering in the world, human beings still have the opportunity to appreciate what they have and to share it with one another?

 

[Puck]

Love: Christianity's most enduring, but least practised message.

 

[myself]

teach love

wake these people up

tell them to pay attention to their kids

teach the children to love and listen

they will teach you too

but you must respect them

you first must respect yourself

look to jesus' example

he didnt turn the kids away when the disciples were annoyed

we've got to be like those kids... thats what jesus said

 

[laurie]

Love or Bring the Rain, I think.

 

[just me]

The Power of Prayer

 

[Barnabas]

Interesting, "bring the rain" is up front. I think that is what I'm going to go with, thanks guys.