I even fell asleep during one of my own sermons. I dreamed I was preaching, came awake, and -- I WAS preaching! In my defense, I had been up all night on a search and rescue operation looking for a man who didn't come home from hunting, but, still. . .
Most preachers don't trust God and don't trust their listeners. Christian ministers don't trust the example of Jesus.
Jesus told stories. Parables, some of them. He used story proverbs. Then he walked on.
He trusted God. He trusted the stories. He trusted his listeners to find a message for them if they were ready for the message. Through it all he watched, he lived, and he thought.
When did it come to him that he had never seen householder light and lamp in the evening and then put it under a bushel basket? Under what circumstances did he grasp that if he had something in his eye, like a bit of sawdust, he could not see very well. He wouldn't be able to take anything out of another person's eye, for goodness' sake! He watched. He lived. He thought.
He put together stories and sayings. Probably he practiced them over and over and over until they flowed from his lips at appropriate and inappropriate times.
In my next blog I will share ways sermons could come alive. Meanwhile, what do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
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