Well, I have had a few busy weeks lately (hence my absence from blogging), partly as a result of needing to prepare the sermon I preached last Sunday at Community Church. I was blessed to be invited by Pastor Thomas to fill in for him and preached from Titus 2:11-14 on "Living in Light of the Gospel."
This was my first sermon in an actual local church setting. I've preached on occasion before this outside of a local congregation, but somehow this felt different. To bring the Word to God's people on the Lord's day seems more weighty than at other times. Perhaps I am mistaken on this, but nonetheless the event was significant for me and I trust it is a step along the path of the Lord's appointing.
Now for the nitty gritty, as they say. How did the sermon "go"? Below is my attempt to self-assess my message (admittedly a dangerous task), including the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good
On several points, I'm not ashamed of my sermon from Sunday. First, as best as I knew how, I stuck to the text. To my knowledge, I didn't swerve to the right or to the left of the passage's meaning or the author's intent. Second, and related, as best as I knew how I maintained a "Gospel-centered" approach. Titus 2:11-14 of course makes this easy- Paul's focus is on how one's life ought to be lived in light of the Gospel- but nonetheless I tried to keep coming back to the Good News. Lastly (for now), I felt as though in general my "nerves" had little effect on my delivery.
The Bad
One thing that, were I able to do it again, I would change in my sermon relates to how I address my audience. Specifically, I would intentionally address unbelievers as unbelievers and press them with their need for Christ. Of course, there are good ways and bad ways to do this (it's annoying at best to hear the Gospel tacked on at the end of a sermon, totally disconnected from the message as a whole). Still, the bad apples ought not make us swear off fruit altogether. Another "bad" aspect of my message was the way in which I backed off on bringing in corroborating Scripture to bolster and refine my exposition. This was partly my fault, partly the result of restrictions imposed on my by my professor (as much as the message was for Community Church it also happened to work out that it filled a class requirement I have). Still, I feel as though this was a negative thing for me to do: in my future preaching I will aim at bringing in whatever texts I sense will help clarify the message and teach God's people his Word.
The Ugly
While in general my nerves didn't affect me, this is not to say they had zero impact on me- one of the sore spots of my sermon was the fact that I completely passed over a rather large portion of my message. No one in the congregation noticed, but I did (about half-way through), and it threw me a bit. On the upside, the part I blanked on was exactly the part I had told the Lord in prayer that morning, " Lord, I'm not so sure these parts fit." Perhaps the Lord thought the same thing and providentially helped me to "forget."Nonetheless, I learned a lesson. One more "ugly" thing in my judgment concerned my closing prayer. More and more I think it important to prepare for this portion of the sermon as much as for the rest. This is I'm sure more a matter of personal taste and what one is comfortable with, but for my own money I intend to no longer "wing it." Lastly, the only thing I can say is that it felt as though I had lead weights on every part of my body. My intention is never to be hyperactive in the pulpit, but still I hope to be dynamic and use my body to reinforce the message. I felt as though this was lacking.
Well, I'm sure there is more- much more- but for now these are some things I learned last weekend and will no doubt assist me in any future opportunities to preach the Lord will give me.
