The Power Of A Good Question: Evaluating The Sermon Before You Preach
The
concerned preacher will ask, "Will this sermon encourage or discourage
those who hear? Will this message mediate healing in broken lives? Does the
message inflict more guilt than grace? Does it provide the needed crutch to
help carry the load? Does the sermon communicate the community concern? Will
the listener know that God extends grace even to our poor judgment? Does the
sermon bind a wound or wound more deeply? Does the sermon enable me to keep
going? Are the directions clear? Is there motivation to continue? Is there encouragement
that justifies the effort? Is there warning of the dangers? Is there honest
assessment of the difficulty inherent in the journey? Is there adequate guidance
to know the boundaries and the destination?
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Sheep
fail to look far beyond their faces while they eat. They simply go from one
tuft of grass to another. As a result they sometimes find themselves separated
from the rest of the flock. However, if the shepherd is doing his job, they
are never far from their sheep. Sheep may wander, shepherds don't.
Wandering
was not a phenomenon known only to Israel. The early Church faced the problem
too. Paul wrote to the Galatians, "I am astonished that you are so quickly
deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a
different gospel" (Gal. 1:6) Again, he warned Timothy that "some have
wandered from the faith" (1 Tim. 6:10, 21) and some "have shipwrecked
their faith" (1 Tim. 1:20). Jude, the brother of Jesus, instructed his
readers to "be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire
and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear-hating even the clothing
stained by corrupted flesh" (Jude 22-23).
The
problem continues to exist. People are distracted by the things of the world
(Matthew 13:22; 2 Timothy 4:10). They are enticed by the lure of greener pastures.
They have a hard time staying connected to an ancient gospel. And in today's
world there are multiple pastures being proffered. Multiple messages come everyday
that there is grass for the taking, if only the person will . . .
Ezekiel
says more about this than any other concern. "You have not brought back
the strays or searched for the lost" (vs. 4); "so they were scattered
because there was no shepherd" (vs. 5); "My sheep wandered over all
the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth . . . "
(vs. 6). Ezekiel's vocabulary may even reflect having been "driven"
away.
Yet
God never gives up. Ezekiel records His voice: "I myself will search for
my sheep" (vs. 11); "I will search for the lost and bring back the
strays" (vs. 16). Hosea says, "Therefore I am now going to allure
her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her" (Hosea
2:14).