This weekend we had the privilege of joining a church for their annual weekend away. Stunning weather (in February in England!), great food, beautiful venue, etc. But from my perspective I would say that I enjoy weekend retreats primarily because they provide such an ideal preaching environment. Why?
1. These events are smothered in prayer. The participants look forward to special retreats for a long time and consequently pray for them to be a special time. Others who know about these events also pray for them, probably in a way they wouldn’t pray for a normal Sunday program at the church!
2. People come with raised expectations. For some the expectation is to rest, or to enjoy the fellowship, or the music, or the preaching. But there is something about expectation mixed with prayer that creates a dynamic environment for ministry to occur.
3. Multiple sessions allow for cumulative ministry. This weekend I had five sessions. The weekend format allowed for elements of the message to be reinforced both outside the preaching and in subsequent sermons. I was able to build and reiterate within the sessions too. There was less need for transitioning from normal life to the sermon once everyone was truly present at the retreat.
It would be nice to have these events every weekend in some ways. But totally impractical too! The organizers need some days off now to recover! And I expect your church wouldn’t take too kindly to you suggesting five sermons for everyone every weekend. But I wonder about the prayer and the expectation. Perhaps there are ways to increase both of these elements, so that each Sunday can reach its true eternal potential. Increasing prayer and expectation . . . what do you think?
Biblical Preaching 
I agree Peter. Retreats are a wonderful event to both attend and/or preach. I think it’s difficult to reproduce on a Sunday morning for a few reasons:
1. Low expectations. Most people heading to church on Sunday a.m. have low expectations. They’re not expecting anything too different than the week before. Same location, same people upfront, same preacher, same format. Retreats are special because people are in a new enviornment, they’ve paid to be there, it’s usually a group that wants to worship, learn from the Word, and there isn’t much else to do but fellowship, worship, and pray.
2. Busy lives. When people arrive at church they’re not just thinking about their time at church, they’re also thinking about what they have to do that afternoon, what they did (or didn’t get done) the day prior, and what lies ahead beginning on Monday. People at retreats have already set aside (for the most part) their busy lives and can now focus on why they’re there.
3. Service. Many people on Sundays have jobs to do while at church. Usher, greeter, teacher, band member, choir member, chair stacker, etc. Except for those putting on the retreat, most go up with no additional job, so again the focus can be on the worship/teaching.
I do think prayer is absolutely effective for our Sunday services, and I’m thankful to attend a church that does make you want to come back each week because of it’s creativity. But overall, nothing beats getting away for a few days singing, praying, laughing, learning, and hopefully eating some great food!