One —
Charlie Dale, pastor at New Orleans’ Grace Baptist Church, has just sent a post-Easter message to everyone on his e-mailing list with the following:
“The church is full of hypocrites! It must be true because I’ve heard it all my life. Well, for those who decry the church being filled with hypocrites, I have good advice for you. Go to church on the Sunday after Easter. The Sunday after Easter is the lowest attended Sunday all year. The church won’t be full of hypocrites because the church won’t be full of anybody. If the past is any indication, our own church building will be one-quarter full. This is your opportunity to fill the church with genuine, authentic, pure-in-heart people like yourself; therefore, you’ll out-number the rest of us hypocrites! We’ll even read Christ’s own preaching against hypocrisy from Matthew 6:1-18 this Sunday.”
Charlie ends with this: “This opportunity only comes once a year. Don’t waste it.” He adds this post-script: “Note to hypocrites: Don’t worry. We know that we’re still in charge.”
Good stuff, Charlie. One thing you can be assured of: those who show up this Sunday will possess a good sense of humor!
Two —
Recently a friend said, “Tell me what to do, Joe. Sometimes in the introduction of my sermon, I get so carried away with what I’m going to preach, that I end up preaching the entire thing right then. Instead of reading my text and going about it in an orderly way, I dump the whole thing on them up front.”
I smiled and said, “Well, not to devastate you all in one blow, but the answer to your problem is called
2. I can imagine it’s hard to find a time and place to rehearse a sermon out loud. Take it easy on your family. 😉
I did it for years, pacing the living room on Sat nites.
Clyde Fant’s advice about what I think he called “an oral manuscript” is one of the best instructions I’ve read on preaching. It just makes sense. Thanks for reminding me about his excellent book on preaching. I believe I will dust it off and read it again.
I, like Chas. Spurgeoon write it out and read it.
You were so excited about the book by Dr. Fant that I looked online found a hardback copy and bought it. Have enjoyed the first few chapters nearly as much as your writings.