I will always remember taking my first preaching class at Covenant.  Each student was asked to prepare and deliver a sermon which was our final exam.  I received an A for my preparation and felt good about how I delivered the sermon.  My professor started off very complementary and said many kind things and encouraged me going forward that He thought I had a future doing this.  He then gave me a grade of incomplete.  I was surprised and asked why, since as far as I knew I had completed the assignment.  I will never forget his response.  He said that we don’t know how good a sermon it was until we see how people go out and live as a result.  I began to argue that wasn’t that the Holy Spirit’s part of the job to which he agreed but I soon realized that this was just a teachable moment.  His point was that the most important part of any message happens after the sermon is over.  Jesus had the exact same point to the most famous sermon ever, the Sermon on the Mount.  Let’s look at His closing words to that sermon together today. 

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

I truly love preparing and preaching sermons.  Often I feel like God teaches me as much or more than anyone else through the process.  It is humbling to grasp on to my professor, and Jesus’ truth that it is the hearer who has the most important job in the process.  Whenever I listen to a sermon I take the approach of asking what is the one thing God wants me to walk away with from this message?  The next question then is what do I need to do as a result of this truth?  Occasionally someone will come up to me and say Pastor Dave that sermon was just for me wasn’t it.  If we take this approach then every sermon is just for us.  I have found this approach incredibly helpful in my life.  I hope it helps you as well.

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave