As much as any thing, the parable of the Prodigal Son has helped my "one shot" preaching. You and I and everyone who shows up at church on any given Sunday know something personally about being lost, or alone, or guilty, or disappointed, or broken. We know something experientially about being smug or confident or judgmental. We know something soul-deep about waiting anxiously, watching intently, or carrying love's burden. Every Sunday there are countless people sitting before the preacher feeling the same feelings and thinking the same thoughts as the prodigal son or the older brother or the waiting father. Any sermon addressing the attendant feelings and thoughts of prodigals, older brothers and loving fathers will be helpful and appreciated.

What do I not know about the church?

A plethora of unknown things await the preacher as he stands to take his "best (sermonic) shot" for the occasion. Things like, where are the alligators out there? (A Florida friend once observed, "There are 'gators in every pond. A preacher needs to know where the 'gators are in the church.") Are there tensions brewing under the surface of congregational life? What on-going issues are being faced by the church? What recent victories have been recorded and/or celebrated? The truth is that more will be unknown to the guest preacher than what is known. That fact, however, cannot be allowed to diminish the preacher's power, deflect the spirit of the preaching event, or steal away the meaningful content of a message.

Always to be remembered is that this is a God-sized appointment. This is a moment when God uses the instrumentality of a human being to declare eternal truth. This is an occasion, not so much for a sermon to be brilliant and a preacher to be profound, but for the Spirit to be loosed in worship. Even an ordinary sermon delivered by an ordinary human can catch spiritual fire when offered to an extraordinary God.

What do I know? What can I surmise? What do I not know? After reflecting on those questions, I have always found these to be true:

1) Many a previously preached sermon can be easily and quickly modified to speak to a particular group of worshipers. Introductions, illustrations and conclusions can be altered to give the sermon freshness appropriate to the occasion.

2) Eternal principles are always true, no matter what the occasion or audience.

3) God is in control. All God expects is that a preacher do his/her best. Even the most unlikely sermonic offering can be used of God to accomplish His purposes.

4) Fulfillment and joy are always the reward reaped by a "one shot" preacher, even with little advanced notice before preaching or little preparation time.

5) You can count on God. He knows what the people need to hear. He is able to take what you offer and press it home to the heart and mind of any that needs a word from Him.

So the next time you're called on to deliver a single message in an unfamiliar setting, "aim carefully ... and take your best shot." God will honor your effort.