The preacher asks, does the sermon on Sunday give the listener any hope that God wants them back? Is there any sense that I am free to return? Is there any direction given? Does this sermon provide adequate instructions for a return trip? Does it sound a note of grace and mercy, inviting the wandering home? Does it signal the right direction to move? Does it tell the sheep the location of the shepherd? Does it help the sheep locate the safe pasture? Does it entice the wandering sheep back to the fold? Is it clear? Is it inviting? Does it spell out what is involved? Does the sermon communicate God's broken heart? Does it sound the voice of a waiting father?

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5. Does this sermon provide orientation?

The other side of restoration is attraction. Is it possible that we can preach in such a way that people can find a new direction in life? Ezekiel speaks not only of the "strays" but also of the "lost." It's one thing to preach in such a way that those who are struggling can get reoriented. One may preach in a way that those who are headed in a faulty direction can get redirected. But it's another matter altogether to preach in such a way that those who are lost get found.

"Straying" is not without its anxious moments. But it's still not being "lost." Straying implies you can stick your head up, scan the horizon and realize you may be off the beaten path, you may be separated from the flock, but you can see your way back. "Lost" implies loss of any recognition of where you are. There is no "reorienting" because you were never "oriented." There is the need for the complete redirection of one's life.

Can preaching reach one who is out of touch with the shepherd? Is it possible for preaching to provide enough persuasion to totally sway a lost sheep into coming home? Apparently Paul thought so. He claimed it was "the foolishness of preaching" that God used to "save those who believed." Jesus came "preaching." He thought preaching would work to locate the lost and give them motive to come home.

Herein is our dilemma. Do we preach attraction or correction? And the answer must be "yes." We preach to feed and heal and guide the sheep. And we preach so sheep are aware of the dangers. We preach in a way that keeps the sheep away from the brinks of disaster. We preach in a way that the sheep know where and what the dangers actually are. But sermons must also give a new sense of hope. Sermons must redefine home. Sermons must spell out the necessary terms of reorientation.

The preacher asks, does this sermon make the path so clear that even those unfamiliar with the territory sense it's the right path to take? Does this sermon cause me to want to go in a certain direction, possibly unaware of where it may take me? Does this sermon have the power to interest the disinterested? Can this sermon take the sheep who doesn't even know that it's lost and convince it that it lives in dangerous territory? Does the message mark the boundaries clearly and convincingly? Does the sermon make known the character and nature of "sheephood"? Will I know God's expectations when I'm through listening to the sermon? Will I hear the voice of God calling?