I’m not sure if this is a common experience or not, but I’ll mention it just in case. One week you preach a sermon and it seems to work very well. The next week you feel a pressure for this sermon to have the same elements as last time. For instance, last week I was in a church and was asked to preach John 9 – blind man healed. This week I am in a different church and need to preach the last episode in Mark 10 – blind Bartimeus healed. Somehow I have felt an internal pressure to find similar sermon elements to last week.
The truth is that this message, whatever it is for you, is a unique passage and unique message. We should not preach it under the shadow of a previous positive or negative experience. We should look to preach it in all the simplicity and specific elements required of this text for this people on this occasion.
Whatever you did last week, make sure that this week you preach this week’s text.
I know what you mean. Too bad the brain doesn’t have one of those slides that wipes the etch-a-sketch of the brain clean so we can start fresh. Hey, maybe the Holy Spirit will do it for us. Boy, we need to depend on Him for alot don’t we…for starting and stopping.
Thanks for the thought,
Mark