Sermon Planning Example

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1 Sermon Planning Example Sherman Haywood Cox II Sermon Planning Steps 1. Intense Prayer the job is difficult, you need God to help you. 2. A Look at the Preacher Understand who you are and how that may affect your preaching. 3. A Look at the Church Where is the church at the present time? 4. Finding sermon goals What areas should your preaching address? 5. Planning in light of the goals What Sermons will address those goals?

2 The Story For the purposes of this section I will provide an example of the sermon planning process using a combination of churches I have heard about. I will describe the current state of the church from my own understanding. Usually this analysis would require an interaction with a few members, but for the purposes of this presentation, I will assume that I did this. I will fill in the sermon strategy sheet and then fill in the sermon planning sheet. An evangelistic pastor started a church and quickly baptized 200 new members. The evangelistic pastor then left to start another church. The new church floundered down to about 60 members. Then a new young dynamic pastor came to the church. Within three years the congregation had grown from 60 to 350 members. The church and the pastor were on the move. The pastor s emphasis was on church growth through great music, connection to the traditions of the church, and great preaching. The church grew in monetary giving as well as in membership, but the services tended to look like a one man show. The Pastor was directing the choir, preaching the service, singing solos in the choir, as well as running the show. Soon after the growth of the church the pastor began a push to constructing a church building. The pastor ran 3-4 evangelistic meetings a year and the church grew. Soon the church worked together to get enough money to build a sanctuary. Unfortunately soon after the church moved into the new sanctuary the pastor left to take other ministry responsibilities. The next pastor came in and did not have the same commitment to music. His preaching was not as dynamic. The attendance dropped from 350 to a little over 100 and the monetary giving dropped 40% in about six months. The new pastor, while keeping the ambitious goals of his predecessor, didn t have the charisma or ability to keep up the pace. Some in the church felt as though they have been wronged in losing the pastor. They feel some feelings of disappointment that the previous pastor left them to fend for themselves. Currently the bleeding has stopped and the church is hovering at about 125 members. Many of these are waiting until the next pastor. Some members are trying things without much institutional support. Like one member is attempting to run a radio program and another was attempting to run local ministries in the community, but the church as a whole seems to have given in to resignation. Not giving up, but waiting for things to change. Step 3 Where are we now? What is the story of the congregation? Well it looks like the church s success is very connected to the pastor. If the pastor is dynamic and strong, the church grows, if the pastor is does not have those gifts, then the church flounders. It seems as though the church is very dependent. Thus the church has very little self determination. This church

3 pretty much takes seems to be a place where they look at the pastor display his ministerial gifts. So we are going to write in our Sermon Strategy Sheet the following: previous pastor was a powerful conqueror New pastor seems to be more a maintainer Congregation was passive in both instances Congregation was spectators and simply consumers of religious entertainment The congregation would simply wait for the next pastor if left to themselves Congregation doesn t support other ministries unless led by a strong pastor Congregation is just holding on until another pastor will come to help them relive the past. Step 4 Where are we Going? Sermon Goals Now we need to guide the story of the congregation to where God wants it to be. This is going to be highly connected to our own theological framework. We first want to see where is God working? The congregation is a largely passive one waiting. However there are some in the congregation right now who are attempting to do the work of God. One individual is working in community GED programs and another has a radio program. Neither is supported in their work by the church. Here we see God already working against the prevailing apathetic passivity in the congregation. What do we do? Here God is telling us what to do and where to put our emphasis. In this case it is on the church doing ministry and being ministers rather than simply being ministered unto. So we need to talk about the responsibilities of membership to include being ministers to each other and the surrounding community. Where else is God speaking in this congregation? I think it is interesting that the congregation doesn t just totally give up, instead it holds on. While we have definitely cast this in terms of a passive waiting, there is still something to be said for those who hold on. A lot of the church has bailed out, but these few have held on hoping for a brighter day. So what are we to do? Here God is telling us to emphasize the importance of waiting and perseverance. We just need to tweak that perseverance so that it is no longer simply a passive waiting, but an active waiting. Now, let us look at some deficiencies. First the congregation needs to understand the role, responsibilities, and purpose of the church. Specifically, the church needs to understand ecclesiology (doctrine of the church). So here we need to emphasize the role and importance of the church in our preaching. Finally, we need to place Jesus as the head of the church and not any pastor or preacher. It is important that this congregation specifically understand that issue.

4 So let s write the following sermon goals into our spreadsheet: Emphasize the church as a congregation of ministers Emphasize the importance of perseverance, Emphasize the difference between passive and active perseverance Emphasize the importance and role of the church Emphasize Jesus as head of church and not any other person Step 5 Assign Goals to Particular Sermons Now fill in the sermon planning sheet by assigning a text and goals to a particular sermon. I also add in a tentative title. You want to take your texts and see which themes that you can address. An example is below.

5 Preaching Strategy Worksheet Where Are We Now? Previous pastor was a powerful conqueror New pastor seems to be more a maintainer Congregation was passive in both instances Congregation was spectators and simply consumers of religious entertainment The congregation would simply wait for the next pastor if left to themselves Congregation doesn t support other ministries unless led by a strong pastor Congregation is just holding on until another pastor will come to help them relive the past. Where are we Going? Sermon Goals Emphasize the church as a congregation of ministers Emphasize the importance of perseverance, Emphasize the difference between passive and active perseverance Emphasize the importance and role of the church Emphasize Jesus as head of church and not any other person

6 Sermon Planning Worksheet: How Do we Get There? Tentative Title: I m Going, but You are Ready. Sermon Goals: Promote mission as the goal of the church Promote congregation s connection to the larger story of the denomination and/or Christian church in general. Text: Acts 1:6-9 Jesus left the disciples with a prophecy of their overcoming. Here we are connected to that mission that God will bring to past. Title: How do You Build a Church? Sermon Goals: Promote a larger view of the church than just being a spectator or consumer of religious entertainment.. Text: Eph 2:19-22 The church is the place that God turns into a dwelling place of God. We are joined to it. We continue to build on it as the prophets, apostles, and Jesus did. Title: If I Can Touch His Clothes! Narrative Goals: Promote Jesus as the head of church Promote healing as a possibility for the church Promote active perseverance in the church Text: Matt 9:20-22 The woman in the story was in a sick situation. She took action into her hands and moved forward to touch Jesus. The congregation is invited to do the same thing, break out and reach for help from Jesus. Title: After the Dead End. Narrative Goals: Promote the possibility of a resurrection of the church out of its current malaise Again promote God as the one to ultimately place our trust and not humanity. Text: Luke 12: The Holy Spirit guides and leads even the tongue of the church when the church is in a tight spot. Here the person is in a situation where the story is at a dead end. The person is brought to a situation where he does not know what to do. But Jesus tells us not to worry about what will happen when we reach the dead end. The Holy Spirit will meet us at the dead end with the answer to the predicament.

Lesson #3 Powerful Planning Sherman Haywood Cox II Soul Preaching

Lesson #3 Powerful Planning Sherman Haywood Cox II Soul Preaching Lesson #3 Powerful Planning By Sherman Haywood Cox II Soul Preaching NOTICE: You Do NOT Have the Right to Reprint or Resell this Report! You Also MAY NOT Give Away, Sell or Share the Content Herein If