Sermon Planning: A Well-Balanced Diet

The effects of not having a balanced diet can be harmful to the body. If my body does not get one or more of the nutrients from the basic food groups it will not grow and will be susceptible to various health problems. The same is true with the church body. If the church you lead doesn’t get all of the various nutrients necessary for health, it will become imbalanced and prone to all kinds of church diseases.

One of the ways the preacher can facilitate health in the church body is by providing a well-balanced diet of Scripture. A thoughtful preaching plan, then, is necessary. Every preacher has favorite go-to themes, which some might call a soap-box. One of my soap-box themes is obedience. Obedience is a central Gospel theme, but if it is the only food group the preacher provides then the church body will miss out on some other key Christian nutrients like grace, for instance. This imbalance might lead the church to become ill with legalism.

As I reflect upon my preaching over the years, I don’t believe anyone would accuse me of not teaching sound doctrine, except for the one guy who sat in the back pew with his arms crossed all the time. However, I could be accused of not preaching comprehensive doctrine. We preachers, if we’re not careful, can get in the habit of a tunnel vision focus on the 2, 3, or 4 doctrines or themes we most want to preach about. If we don’t catch ourselves doing this, our congregants might end up misguided or imbalanced in their faith. Do we preach about sin and grace, faith and works, imparted and imputed holiness, justification and sanctification, heaven and hell? Do we preach from all the various genres and sections of the Bible or just the passages with which we are most comfortable?

Most preaching pastors spend some time, usually in the summer, sketching out a sermon plan for the year. Here are a few tips to assist you in providing a well-balanced diet for your church body:

• Incorporate a Variety of Biblical Genres: If I had my way, I would preach entirely
from the Gospels of Luke and John. Perhaps you would pick the prophet Jeremiah as the text from which you would preach sermon after sermon, year after year. However, a well-balanced diet requires that preachers provide nutrients from all the genres of the Bible. The bible contains a variety of genres such as poetry, history, narrative, parable, epistle, apocalyptic, proverb, and law. Each has a unique richness that, hopefully, will surface in the sermons developed from each of these literary forms.

• Follow the Christian Calendar: If you follow the Christian Calendar you know that it
journeys down the main roads of the Gospel narrative. The two major sections of the sacred calendar, Advent and Lent, consist of ten weeks total and provide helpful direction for the preaching plan. As Christians we don’t just experience a day called Christmas, we celebrate a season called Advent. Advent is the four weeks preceding Christmas and focuses on the advent, or “coming,” of Christ into the world. Lent is the 40 day period leading up to Easter, the celebration of Christ’s resurrection from death to life. Repentance that leads to spiritual growth is the focal point of Lent. Generally, Advent is a good time to preach evangelistic messages that talk about the hope and significance of Christ’s coming into the world. Lent is the perfect season to preach a discipleship-oriented series of sermons challenging believers to grow in grace.

• Include Major Christian Doctrines and Themes: Classic Christian doctrines and
themes answer the questions that the human race has been asking for thousands of years. Preaching on major doctrines can ensure that our sermons have theological substance, that they say something about God and living in relationship with Him. Here are some of the Christian doctrines and themes that transcend denominations, ministry styles, and trendy topics: creation, sin, grace, salvation, justification, holiness, restoration, sanctification, mission, and worship, to name a few. While I think it’s important to use Christian language when speaking of these doctrines, it is also necessary to articulate these doctrines in a contextual manner. That is, if you are preaching to the youth group on the doctrine of sanctification you had better describe and apply the doctrine in a manner that connects with 21st century American teenagers. If you don’t, you can expect their minds to wander and their fingers to text.

• Explore Urgent Topics: Reflect upon the needs of your people. What questions
are they asking? What struggles are they experiencing? What dreams are they chasing? Jot down all of the topics you can think of tackling through your preaching plan. Here are a few possibilities for your congregation: friendship, dating, marriage, parenting, suffering, sex, finances, leadership, loneliness, depression, etc. Once you develop an extensive topical list, consider distributing it as a survey to the people of your church asking each of them to circle their 2-3 preferred topics. Tabulate the results and see what topics rise to the top of the list. You may want to preach on the 4-6 most important topics to your flock in the summer when people are more likely to skip church.

• Study Bible Characters: The Bible is full of characters whose lives highlight
important themes and doctrines like sin, grace, and redemption. You can find some rich character studies in all genres of the Bible, so be sure to pick characters from the Old Testament (Law, History, Poetry, Wisdom, Prophets) and the New Testament (Gospels, History, Epistles, Apocalyptic). You can travel through and teach lots of Scripture as you delve into the lives of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Ruth, David, Esther, Elijah, Mary, Peter, and Paul.

As you consider the ideas above you will have more than enough genres, seasons, doctrines, topics, and characters from which to build an annual preaching plan. I suspect you might even end up with a two-year preaching plan. Whether you develop a one or two-year plan, I hope this resource will assist you in developing a well-balanced diet for your body, the church body that is.
EXERCISES:
• Begin to sketch out some immediate thoughts under each of the categories above.
• Now, develop a one or two-year preaching plan that provides both a well-
balanced diet of the biblical narrative and addresses the unique needs of your congregation.

© Lenny Luchetti

Jesus Christ Crushes the Stones that Cut Us Inside

Some time ago I preached a message called The Jesus Factor from the story of the demon-possessed madman in Mark chapter 5. For some reason, I felt drawn to go back and read that sermon today. Maybe I needed to be reminded of the power of God to do for me what I could never do for myself. Here is an excerpt from that message that encourages me and, I hope, will encourage you too.

“A force stronger than the force that had kept the man down set the man free- that force was the Jesus factor! You don’t have to stay in the tombs, you don’t have to keep crying and cutting, you are not trapped, you are not stuck, you are not left for dead in the place of death, there is a force that is greater than all the forces doing their best to rob you of peace and keep you down and that force is Jesus Christ, the name that is above every name, the one through whom all things were made, the alpha and omega, the light that shines in the darkness, the one who is seated on the throne, the one who really is in control, the one who is ridiculously willing to cross into our region to get out of his holy boat and step into our tomb, into the graveyard of our situation and bring life out of death, causing dead bones to live again, he is the author and perfector of our faith and he loves us more than we love ourselves and he can do for us what we could never do for ourselves, and he is for us not against us, and if you let him have you, in time you will find that, no matter what circumstances surround you, you can be at peace in your right mind! Only Jesus can give pervasive peace; drugs, alcohol, sex, success, money, and therapy can only give temporary relief through diversion but when you lay your head on the pillow at night or wake up in the morning if you want the kind of peace that wipes out isolation, the crying and cutting that’s going on in the basement of your soul, then give yourself to Jesus, fall upon the rock that crushes the stones that cut you inside.”

Why I Wrote the Book I Wrote...

It is finished! On July 12, 2011 I submitted my complete book manuscript, all 180 pages and 43,000 words, to the publisher. Preaching Essentials: A Practical Guide will be released in May 2012. The book consists of 42 chapters averaging about 1000 words each in length. Every one of these digestible chapters concludes with “exercises” that are designed to help preachers cultivate sound convictions and solid habits for the practice of preaching. The book aims to help new and seasoned preachers discover or recover their God-given “voice” for proclaiming Christ. It is written for students beginning their ministerial journey and for veteran preachers seeking renewal.

Some of you have asked why I wrote the book. The reasons are varied. I wrote the book because:

•I went searching for an up-to-date and comprehensive book for my seminary students, a book that would frame and foster the habits and skills necessary for preaching today. While there are some excellent classic and contemporary books on preaching, I did not find the fresh and full-orbed resource for which I was looking. So, I wrote it…primarily for my students who range in years of experience from 0 to more than 20 years.

•It seems as though many books on preaching are written for teachers of preaching and not for preachers. As a teacher of preaching, I highly value those resources that assist me in my professorial vocation. However, the Church needs to resource those who stand up Sunday after Sunday to proclaim the good news of Christ’s love to hope-hungry people. I wrote the book for preachers.

•There needs to be a readable and practical book that can be comprehended and applied to one’s preaching ministry regardless of their ethnic, educational, and denominational background. I wrote the book to be accessible to all preachers and not just a privileged few.

•Listeners listen differently today than they did even 10 years ago. While some of the homiletic habits of yesterday are timeless, some are not. There are relatively few preaching texts available today that seem to faithfully respond to the realities of the contemporary context in which the Church finds herself. I wrote my book for the sake of 21st Century listeners who are starving for some new homiletic containers to hold the unchanging Gospel water.

•I needed to think through and articulate the many disjointed, loosely connected, and random thoughts that have been floating through my homiletic head and preaching practice for nearly two decades. The book forced me to discern and decide which preaching convictions and habits are most essential for the day in which we find ourselves. I wrote the book for me or, more accurately, to help me teach the next generation of preachers.

So there you have it. I thank God for the opportunity to write the book and pray God uses it to form preachers who are faithful to both the ancient text and the contemporary context.

Peace,

Lenny

The Sunday Sermon

Bible in hand, I walk with palms sweaty and heart pounding to the front of the sanctuary. I look at their faces, some are bored, some expectant, but all hopeful for something bigger than themselves and better than their lives. There goes Ray, whose wife left him 5 years ago because of his addiction to heroine. She took the kids and he took a nose-dive. He shows up at church periodically, seeking a high to intoxicate him enough so he won’t want to get high. What am I going to say to Ray? There, way in the back of the sanctuary is Rosie, the cynical 17 year old who would rather be sleeping on a bed of nails than listening to my sermon. Her parents threaten to take away her car if she doesn’t attend church. Rosie stopped really listening to sermons 2 years ago after she had an abortion. She slouches, crosses her arms, and listens to her iPod, every once in a while muting it to hear if anything I say will make living more attractive than suicide. What do I say to Rosie? There in the second pew with the big smile is Lois. She loves to “praise the Lord,” to use her words, but her puffy eyes and staring into space reveal the heartache her atheistic, verbally abusive husband is inflicting. She would do anything for him, but he treats her like trash. She is fearful and running from the question that keeps haunting her, has God abandoned me? What do I say to Lois?

The words God gave me to share this Sunday morning and the manner with which I say them stand between Ray, Rosie, and Lois and the demons of seductive addiction, hopeless despair, shameful regret, and extreme disappointment that are set on devouring them. What can I the preacher do in moments like these facing demons like these that are suffocating people like these? I have no sword, I have no six-shooter, I have a sermon. A sermon! Words woven together with the fabric of biblical truth and the thread of contextual realities. A sermon! 3500 words spanning 30 minutes to a group of people who are gazing at me, waiting for me, daring me to say something that will make God and his kingdom more real to them than the very real pain and problems that are sure to show their ugly faces again after the Sunday clock strikes 12:00. No one can see it but I’m shaking in my shoes, doubtful that this sermon will be enough to protect these people from these demons on this day.

My sermon looks like an underdog against the demons that have attached themselves to the people I love. What is worse, I am wrestling with some of my own demons like the one on my shoulder who whispers in my ear before I stand up to preach “who do you think you are…you have nothing to offer these people…you are more messed up than they are…do you really think your words, of all things, can make a lick of difference in their lives?” Once I snap that rascal off my shoulder another appears. This one reminds me of my successes in hopes that I will rely more on the power of my words than the power of God through my words. With an even harder flick, I get rid of this demon too.

The preacher stands between heaven and hell, hope-hungry people and the demons we know all too well. Who in their right mind would dare to stand up and speak out with odds like these? Who has the audacity to believe that grace-filled, truth-painting, Spirit-anointed words really can do something good to people whose hopes are hanging by a very thin thread? I the preacher, despite the odds, dare to believe that God just might show up and use the so-so words of this so-so preacher to transform so-so people into disciples who change the world. And so I open my mouth to release the words God has given me, knowing full well that if he doesn’t bring the dead bones of my mediocre words to life they won’t live and bring life to the dead. But God does show up, sometimes in ways I expect to see him but usually in ways I do not. On any given Sunday it’s hard to see exactly what God is “up to” through the sermon. But the cumulative impact of sermon after sermon after sermon, spoken with love to the same group year after year, is much more visible. These people before me seem a bit more faithful, more hopeful, more committed, more reliable, more selfless, more victorious than they did a few years back. The reason? God is here. Though the demons may seem bigger than my words, these monsters are no match for the God who hovers over the deep of the sermon and those who hear it.

Ray, Rosie, and Lois are leaning up in their seats. God is using my words to restore what they lost in the fall. Before the sermon is over I have already decided to give it a go again next week.

So, here are the 16 students in my Narrative Preaching Course. We spent all day, everyday together this week. We shared reflection, dialogue, and meals together. Each student had the chance to preach a 12-15 minute narrative sermon and receive commendation and critique regarding their sermon. I think all of us would say we learned more about preaching, more about each other, and, most importantly, more about God. One of the things I most appreciated about this group of students was not only their giftedness but, more so, their humble teachability. They came to class not merely to showcase their obvious gifts but to develop them.

For those of you who are wondering what narrative preaching is, here you go...

The parables Jesus preached had a knack for inspiring and surprising listeners. Furthermore, the parables did not always tie up loose ends in the name of practical relevance. Jesus’ parables were structured by a narrative, not linear, logic. This is not to say that the only sermon that will honor the name of Christ is the narrative sermon; but we can conclude that if Jesus, the master preacher, employed narrative elements in his sermons, there has got to be wisdom in utilizing this form.

What a Narrative Sermon Is Not…
A narrative sermon is not merely a few video clips thrown together to support the points the preacher is sharing. It is not necessarily the stringing together of a few personal stories from the preacher’s life to convey a handful of propositional points. Making points and then illustrating them with a variety of personal stories, though not homiletically diabolical, does not a narrative sermon make. No matter how many little narratives are placed within this kind of sermon, it still incorporates a linear logic overall.

Even if the genre of the main preaching text is narrative, the sermonic form may still be more linear than narrative. Summarizing the story about a biblical character, say Moses, through linear points (i.e., Moses Prays with Passion, Moses Obeys with Passion, Moses Leads with Passion) forces a narrative text into a linear sermon that may rob both the text and the sermon of their power.

Sermons with a linear logic flow from the introduction to point one (with proposition, exposition, illustration, and application) to point two (with proposition, exposition, illustration, and application) to point three (with proposition, exposition, illustration, and application) to the conclusion. This form made good sense for a Modern world that, thanks to scientific empiricism, sought to dissect and explain the sum of the whole by reducing it to parts, or points. The desire to know, master, explain, and simplify a biblical text, drove the homiletic machine of yesterday.

What a Narrative Sermon Is…
The structure and goal of a narrative sermon is quite different. The narrative structure is not built with points but with the elements of a good story. Setting, character development, problem, plot, climax, and resolution make for a good story and, I would add, an excellent narrative sermon. The difference between the two sermonic forms is striking:

Linear Logic Sermons
Introduction
Point 1 (explain/illustrate/apply)
Point 2 (explain/illustrate/apply)
Point 3 (explain/illustrate/apply)
Conclusion (or more points)

Narrative Logic Sermons
Setting/Character Development
Problem
Plot
Climax
Resolution

The preaching landscape, especially in the West, has changed. People shaped by postmodernity tend to crave inspiration more than information, and experience over knowledge. This is not to suggest that postmodern people do not want to be well-informed; most do indeed. However, the people in our world and church must first be inspired before they even care to be informed concerning Christ and His kingdom.

Narrative has been the most successful mode of communication for inspiring people across cultures and centuries. Simply put, story speaks to us in a manner that inspires movement toward an encounter with God. The Bible, in its canonical form, really is a unified meta-narrative that tells the redemptive story of God’s saving love for the world. Perhaps this is the reason why the Bible is the number one selling, cross-cultural book ever.

While I have incorporated various sermonic forms in my preaching over the years, the narrative expository preaching of a single biblical passage has impacted my own faith development significantly, not to mention what it might have done for those who have heard those sermons preached. While linear sermons are a necessary and helpful form for communicating didactic information, narrative sermons seem most-suited for transformational inspiration. The church will always need informative teaching but my preaching “gut” tells me that the narrative form has a better track record for opening up the door of didactic desire.

5 Questions to Guide the Development of a Christian Worship Service

What kind of lighting will work best with the opening song set? What sound equipment do we need to pull off the service this weekend? What videos will most effectively capture the attention of the people? What songs can this worship team play with gusto? How much time should we designate for each element in the service? These 5 questions, of course, are necessary considerations for the person or team planning the worship service. However, these concerns are secondary to more significant considerations for the planning of the worship service. Here are the big picture questions that, if answered, can guide the development of the more detailed and practical components of the service toward God-glorifying worship.

Theology: What will this worship experience reveal about God? There are so many things that can be said about God that perhaps we don’t know where to begin or what to say at all. We must, of course, find a way to say something substantial about God in the context of worship. If the worship service reveals nothing about God, no matter how emotionally therapeutic and engaging, it essentially fails to be a Christian worship service.

Bible: What major part(s) of the biblical story will this worship service rehearse? The Bible contains one complete meta-narrative that moves from creation to corruption to salvation to mission to restoration. Identify the major chunk of the biblical story the service will emphasize. Perhaps it will audaciously touch on all moves in the story.

Anthropology: What realities of the human condition will this worship experience highlight and address? The service might focus on human angst, joy, suffering, peace, hope, sin, or disappointment. The local, national, and global human contexts should influence, to some extent, the vision of Christ the service holds up. We usually call this relevance.

Tradition: What orthodox and historical church traditions and practices will guide us in this worship service? It is vital for those of us who lead worship to keep in mind that Christian worship has been going on long before any of us arrived on the scene, for nearly two thousand years actually. There are rich liturgical traditions and practices that have stood the test of time and can enrich contemporary Christian worship.

Theme and Flow: What is the best way to position the parts of the service so that the theological theme is clear and flows from the gathering of God’s people toward the sending of God’s people? The gathered people of God benefit from a worship rhythm that ushers them intentionally toward an encounter with God that reveals a transformational theological theme.

If you are the pastor of local church or the leader of your church’s worship team, the 5 questions above are worthy of your most prayerful, thoughtful, and creative attention. Of course, there will always be those important practical issues to address as well. But all of the best practices and methods without the thoughtful underpinnings that surface from wrestling with the questions above will fall far short of the potential of Christian worship.

© Lenny Luchetti

Wesley Seminary: Breakfast with My Spiritual Formation Class

This morning, Amy and I hosted my Spiritual Formation class from Wesley Seminary. Thanks to my beautiful wife, the host with the most, for providing a fabulous breakfast. Thanks also to my students who, along with students from other courses, made my first year of teaching such a joy. These Master of Divinity students are serving as youth pastors, senior pastors, and assistant pastors. These men and women are between the ages of 23 and 58. Some have been in ministry less than 5 years and others more than 15 years. They are a delightful bunch who recognize that just as important as skills in ministry is a heart of passionate love for God and the church.