Pennell’s Ponderings – On Preparing and Preaching Sermons

There are two basic approaches to preparing and preaching a sermon. One method is to try to figure out what the congregation wants or needs to hear. Many preachers burn tons of mental energy on questions like,”how can the sermon meet the spiritual needs of the congregation?”. Or much worse, “how can I prepare and preach a sermon that will please the people and bring affirmation and feel good responses?”

The second way is to hear what the Scripture has to say and then make application to the life of the congregation. Sermons that are drawn from the Bible have a way of both comforting us and disturbing us at the same time. This kind of preaching assumes that Scripture already knows what we need to hear so the pastor labors to interpret and make clear the message of the text.

In my judgment, Dr. Davis Chappell is the second kind of preacher. Rarely have I listened to a pastor who knows how to teach, interpret and apply the message which is contained in the Word as effectively as Dr. Chappell. This kind of preaching requires study, prayer, writing and rewriting, crafting and verbalization and it requires great discipline. Thankfully, our pastor is willing and able to make that kind of commitment.

Today’s sermon on “Love’s New Ethic” was one of the finest sermons every preached at BUMC. It came from the lips of Jesus as recorded by Luke and through Davis to us. I hope we heard the message (Luke 6:27-36) because it is this ethic that will save the world. How this will happen is…

Worth Pondering,
Joe E. Pennel Jr.
Pastor
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