Oh, One More Thing
Preaching
Lions And Cows Dining Together
And 111 Other Sermon Ideas
Object:
Purpose Statement: A sermon summarizing the overview of Christian theology or the pastor's key concerns in the church's ministry.
When I was leaving a church, my last sermon was usually an attempt to give a final summary of the fundamental beliefs I tried to incorporate in my preaching or the major issues I wanted to emphasize in my ministry (and consequently the church's ministry to the community). It was a last chance or a "parting shot" to pull together an overview of the important things I had tried to share with, I hope, some success. It was a simple bare-bones total picture or outline of my preaching or ministry emphasis. (I only pose this message as an example of what a pastor might do during her or his final sermon.) Jesus seemed to do this, particularly in the book of John, though none of us intend to place ourselves on his level. Of the last words of Jesus, the ones I find most meaningful, as final instructions, would be his conversation with Peter when he said three times, "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15-17). Was his threefold emphasis an attempt to say, "This is so important I want to say it again and again to make a lasting impression on you?" Given an opportunity my final words to the congregation would be:
a. God loves us. It would seem one would not need to say the obvious, but that isn't so, because we also hear preachers talk about a God who does very cruel and unreasonable things. Recently, the news carried the story of a church wall falling on some members and killing them. One pastor's response, said with all good intentions to comfort the people, was, "God did this for a reason, and we are just unable to understand the inscrutable ways of God." On occasions, the Christian theology espouses a (g)od we should fear. Some say God assigns people to eternal torture for simply not believing -- hardly something any good parent would do. Our God, Jesus revealed, is a loving, forgiving, and reasonable God who wants only the very best for us (Matthew 7:9-11). God never brings us harm. God created a world where pain and evil are possible because of our freedom and the necessity for contrasts: you can't have an up without a down.
b. There is no greater revelation than Jesus. I have tried to repeat this ideal throughout my ministry: we must immerse ourselves in the life and teachings of Jesus to such a degree we naturally and intuitively know what God is like and what kind of behavior is appropriate for the Christian. Everything in the Bible, as well as outside it, must be judged by Jesus. To know what the will of God is, and what truth is, our only effective measure is to test it for consistency with his life and teachings. I have tried to read as many sacred writings of other religions as I can, and nothing else is even close to the great teachings of Jesus.
c. Bring good sense to the Bible. Our Bible is the source for understanding Jesus and God's will. However, it contains some ideas that need to be "interpreted" or just simply ignored. For example, Paul's teaching concerning women is outdated. The Old Testament is full of strange laws no longer applicable to us (if in fact they ever were appropriate), and some passages concerning heaven and hell are exaggerations for emphasis. The Christian must focus on Jesus and (as in the point above) measure all else by his teachings.
d. The good news is eternal life. God's forgiveness, the power of God's love, the possibility of a relationship with God through prayer, and much more culminates in the special gift of life which is eternal. God's special gift to us of existence, consciousness, or being that is eternal is the good news. We are an Easter people.
e. Serving is more important than "getting saved." If we weigh the teachings of Jesus, we find a strong emphasis on loving and serving others (the Great Commandment, the final words to Peter noted above, the sheep and goats final judgment story, losing our life in service and not seeking to "save" it, and so much more), in comparison with so little concerned with "getting saved." How can we read the overwhelming amount of material concerning our love and caring for others and not see it as the central concern in the teachings of Jesus?
There is so much more, but this is one person's basic faith.
When I was leaving a church, my last sermon was usually an attempt to give a final summary of the fundamental beliefs I tried to incorporate in my preaching or the major issues I wanted to emphasize in my ministry (and consequently the church's ministry to the community). It was a last chance or a "parting shot" to pull together an overview of the important things I had tried to share with, I hope, some success. It was a simple bare-bones total picture or outline of my preaching or ministry emphasis. (I only pose this message as an example of what a pastor might do during her or his final sermon.) Jesus seemed to do this, particularly in the book of John, though none of us intend to place ourselves on his level. Of the last words of Jesus, the ones I find most meaningful, as final instructions, would be his conversation with Peter when he said three times, "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15-17). Was his threefold emphasis an attempt to say, "This is so important I want to say it again and again to make a lasting impression on you?" Given an opportunity my final words to the congregation would be:
a. God loves us. It would seem one would not need to say the obvious, but that isn't so, because we also hear preachers talk about a God who does very cruel and unreasonable things. Recently, the news carried the story of a church wall falling on some members and killing them. One pastor's response, said with all good intentions to comfort the people, was, "God did this for a reason, and we are just unable to understand the inscrutable ways of God." On occasions, the Christian theology espouses a (g)od we should fear. Some say God assigns people to eternal torture for simply not believing -- hardly something any good parent would do. Our God, Jesus revealed, is a loving, forgiving, and reasonable God who wants only the very best for us (Matthew 7:9-11). God never brings us harm. God created a world where pain and evil are possible because of our freedom and the necessity for contrasts: you can't have an up without a down.
b. There is no greater revelation than Jesus. I have tried to repeat this ideal throughout my ministry: we must immerse ourselves in the life and teachings of Jesus to such a degree we naturally and intuitively know what God is like and what kind of behavior is appropriate for the Christian. Everything in the Bible, as well as outside it, must be judged by Jesus. To know what the will of God is, and what truth is, our only effective measure is to test it for consistency with his life and teachings. I have tried to read as many sacred writings of other religions as I can, and nothing else is even close to the great teachings of Jesus.
c. Bring good sense to the Bible. Our Bible is the source for understanding Jesus and God's will. However, it contains some ideas that need to be "interpreted" or just simply ignored. For example, Paul's teaching concerning women is outdated. The Old Testament is full of strange laws no longer applicable to us (if in fact they ever were appropriate), and some passages concerning heaven and hell are exaggerations for emphasis. The Christian must focus on Jesus and (as in the point above) measure all else by his teachings.
d. The good news is eternal life. God's forgiveness, the power of God's love, the possibility of a relationship with God through prayer, and much more culminates in the special gift of life which is eternal. God's special gift to us of existence, consciousness, or being that is eternal is the good news. We are an Easter people.
e. Serving is more important than "getting saved." If we weigh the teachings of Jesus, we find a strong emphasis on loving and serving others (the Great Commandment, the final words to Peter noted above, the sheep and goats final judgment story, losing our life in service and not seeking to "save" it, and so much more), in comparison with so little concerned with "getting saved." How can we read the overwhelming amount of material concerning our love and caring for others and not see it as the central concern in the teachings of Jesus?
There is so much more, but this is one person's basic faith.
