Sermon Advice

I believe I'm a pretty good teacher. Sitting at the table with others reading the Bible together, I have a lot to offer. God is present in that place and some times I feel like I'm on fire. Put me on stage in front of an audience and not so much. I need interaction, everyone working and participating together to figure out God's word. When I'm solo talking TO people instead of talking WITH people it's no where near as good.

Some things I've figured out that help me when I'm talking TO a group is (1) have a PowerPoint with an outline of your whole sermon. Let them know where your starting, where your going, and where you're ending up. It helps to keep the audience from wandering away mentally. (2) I can't tell stories from life and tie it to the topic the way a good preacher can. I don't know why but "when I was a boy..." just isn't my style and it's awkward and forced for me. So I just teach. The sermon probably isn't as interesting without some modern day anologies but pretending by using somebody else's style is going to be worse than my boring style. And (3) I used to try to keep my "lecture" short and get it over with so I wasn't holding anybody up with my boring style. Not any more. There's important stuff in scripture and I'm not going to rush it. I may divide it up over a couple of days if it's long enough to lose the audience but we're going to take the time needed to figure this out!

I think what changed was me realizing that my delivery and engagement wasn't why I'm standing here on stage. God's word is the focus and I'm not that relevant in the experience. Being less important has made me more comfortable and confident and made me better at it...even if I'm not great at it.

Thank you Magenta,

This is great advice. I just need to trust that if Jesus can use average blue-collar fishermen, He can use this blue-collar painter.

Thank you J55,

Your exactly right. That is exactly what brought me to the church was how it felt real and not entertainment.

Very well said. I need to meditate on these scriptures. Very inspiring.

You're not oversimplifying. I struggle with anxiety so much of my life is all about trying not to overthink and just trust the Lord.

Thank you! This is comforting to hear. I believe we are probably very similar. Idk if all have more opportunities to preach after this but my goal is to just treat it like my Bible study classes. Which at first felt unnatural but after a few years, I feel more natural in a classroom setting. I understand the difference between talking to or with people. Talking with people helps provide feedback on the thoughts of the room which helps me see what are they hearing and understanding. Talking to people leaves out the feedback until afterward which for me is difficult because I want to know if I should slow down, explain something, or if I'm making things clear.

The last time attended a Sunday Service was over a year ago when my niece was getting baptized (she asked us to come).

During the sermon, I nearly raised my hand to ask a clarifying question. I was so used to interaction like in our household meetings I forgot where I was for a minute.

Claire I. Fickashun probably didn't attend the church anyway.

This seems to be a trending move within churches or Christians to start house churches or meet in areas that eliminate the need for all the expenses of a church building. Some are very blessed by a Christian owner or business to use a meeting location for free.

We’ve been meeting this way for 26 years. When we need a larger space we’ll rent a hall or conference room.

I totally identify with that! It's easier said than done .

I spoke in church a couple of years ago, it was mostly just a testimony but I was still really nervous. One thing that helped was reminding myself that it probably wouldn't be the worst 15 minutes of anyone's life, so they could tough it out even if I faltered. Also remembering that they were literally there to hear whatever God wanted me to say, which helped keep me from rushing or trying to shorten the message. Also remembering that I, myself, am not important and it was supposed to be about what God wanted said. That took some pressure off.

Another thing that helped was opening with a goofy stand-up style recounting of my pre-kindergarten love life (the testimony was about singleness, among other things). I actually obsessed over the stand-up part the most because I knew that God would help me with the spiritual part, but I was afraid I might be on my own for the goofy part lol . But alas, He helped me with that too and we got 'em laughing pretty good. So that calmed me down for the more serious part. I didn't have any notes but had a general idea of what God wanted me to say. But it was only maybe 15 minutes long. For something longer or with more Biblical references, notes would have been essential.

I don't think there's a "right" way to do it, really.....pray about it, be yourself and do what comes naturally. They wouldn't have asked you to speak if they didn't think you had anything to say .

TLDNR:

-Pray a lot beforehand

-Take a few deep breaths before you start speaking

-Consider opening with a joke or funny video from youtube that ties in with your teaching

All the best, I think you're going to do great!

(I spoke in church a couple of years ago, it was mostly just a testimony but I was still really nervous. One thing that helped was reminding myself that it probably wouldn't be the worst 15 minutes of anyone's life, so they could tough it out even if I faltered. Also remembering that they were literally there to hear whatever God wanted me to say, which helped keep me from rushing or trying to shorten the message. Also remembering that I, myself, am not important and it was supposed to be about what God wanted said. That took some pressure off.)

Very true. That is a good way to look at it. I'm confident in the message which does bring some excitement to deliver it.

(Another thing that helped was opening with a goofy stand-up style recounting of my pre-kindergarten love life (the testimony was about singleness, among other things). I actually obsessed over the stand-up part the most because I knew that God would help me with the spiritual part, but I was afraid I might be on my own for the goofy part lol . But alas, He helped me with that too and we got 'em laughing pretty good. So that calmed me down for the more serious part.)

Lol, I don't even know how to do goofy other than my natural way of messing up or embarrassing myself which tends to make people laugh even though I wasn't trying lol.

(I didn't have any notes but had a general idea of what God wanted me to say. But it was only maybe 15 minutes long. For something longer or with more Biblical references, notes would have been essential.)

Yeah, I have 19 pages at font 16 of notes that I'm having to navigate into a 45-minute window. Which I have practiced.

(I don't think there's a "right" way to do it, really.....pray about it, be yourself and do what comes naturally. They wouldn't have asked you to speak if they didn't think you had anything to say .)

My pastor has more confidence in me than I do. But it is one of those step out of the boat in faith kind of things. I'm thankful to have had similar experiences that allowed God to work in my personal perceived weaknesses.

(TLDNR:

-Pray a lot beforehand

-Take a few deep breaths before you start speaking

-Consider opening with a joke or funny video from youtube that ties in with your teaching

All the best, I think you're going to do great! )

Thank you so much! Since my sermon is about how a God-ordained marriage is the image of a Christ-empowered Church, I'm going to start with this meme.

Which is quite accurate I think for most males. We kind of wish Jesus would have used different imagery but we tell ourselves to just focus on the spiritual lesson lol.