Homiletics

Not a Guilt Trip

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

When Christians talk about the need for purity, it can easily sound like a guilt trip.  If part of our goal in ministry is tangible life change, does that make ministry a glorified guilt trip?  Or is there a more powerful motivation available?

1 John is a glorious letter written by Jesus’ disciple, John, to a church that was shaken by a church split.  The group that had left claimed to have a superior spirituality, but the genuine believers left behind were feeling bruised and doubtful about the authenticity of their faith.  Were they somehow missing out on the “real thing?”  John wrote this letter to assure them of their standing with God, their fellowship with the Trinity, and the reality of their less spectacular spiritual experience.  He writes gently and with a pastoral sensitivity.  But still, he writes with plenty of theological truth and perspective.  Then comes the beginning of chapter three, when suddenly there seems to be an emotional explosion:

“See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children—and we are!” 1 John 3:1a

In the first three verses of chapter three, John gets them to look back and to look forward.  Looking back, it is clear that we are already extravagantly loved as God’s children.  Looking forward, we discover that our revelation as the bride of Christ is still to come.  God’s “exotic” love for us provokes a purifying love in us.  Here is a motivation that far outstrips any guilt trip. Let’s look at these three verses.

Looking Back – We are already extravagantly loved as God’s children (v1). It is striking that as John is pondering great truths, it is as if the riverbanks of his intellect burst, and his heart gets flooded.  We must remember that intellectual curiosity alone is never the goal of theological or biblical study.  The truth of the gospel should regularly flood our hearts and bring its cleansing power to our motives, values and affections.  The Bible is not pushing us towards a sterile intellect and will-centred faith.  Behold the love of God!  As the hymnwriter put it: The love of God is greater far, than tongue or pen can ever tell!

The word John uses to ask the question in verse 1 is intriguing.  See what “great love” God has given us.  He uses the word that carries the sense of “Where is it from?”  After the Second World War, I imagine what it was like when some foreign foods were reintroduced after years of restrictions.  What it must have been like for those children to see and taste a banana for the first time, mango, or whatever.  “Where is this from?!”  Everything must have seemed so exotic and exciting.  That’s the thrill of looking at God’s love for us –an out-of-this-world exotic love!

For example, what would we see if we looked through John’s Gospel and thought about what God’s “exotic” love had given to us?  He gave us the right to be his children (1:12).  He gave us his Son (3:16) and the Holy Spirit (14:16).  Through Jesus, God gives us living water that satisfies (4:14) and the bread of life that fills us (6:32).  He gives us eternal life (10:28); his peace (14:27), and his word (17:14).  We also receive his Son’s name (14:27), and whatever is asked in that name (15:16; 16:23).  God gives so generously!

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
  And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
  And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
  Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
  Though stretched from sky to sky.

And this is not something we are working on or trying to achieve.  We either are God’s children, or we are not.  John continues to underline the fact for his readers, “And we are!”  What a privilege to be loved with this out-of-this-world love as God’s children!

Looking forward – we are not yet revealed as the bride, but the wedding is coming (v2-3).  Here, we have one of the most thrilling verses to ponder.  When he appears, we will see him, which will do something to us that reveals something astonishing.

Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.  (1 John 3:2-3)

These verses describe the final and complete sanctification experience that lies in store for every believer.  Right now, we are living in the midst of a process.  It is described in 2 Corinthians 3:18.  As we look at Jesus, we are gradually being transformed from one degree of glory to the next.  But when we see him, that ultimate vision will be so glorious it will mean a total transformation for us!

Notice that in 1 John 2:28, John writes about shrinking in shame from Jesus at his coming.  That would make sense, since we are all still marred by sin.  But he is writing to give them assurance, not condemnation. 

So, what is it about seeing Jesus fully that will bring about such a total transformation?  I believe the full realization of every longing will burn away every possible alternative.  Just imagine every appetite you have, every craving, every hope, every desire, every taste, every hint of what is good.  Try to picture how our hearts have been stirred by creation – a stunning sunset, a breathtaking thunderstorm, a beautiful frosted spider web.  Try to imagine how your very human heart has been stirred by feasting with friends and family, by the touch of poetry, by travel shows on TV, or by picturesque country living magazines—a lifetime of longings.  But then we will see him as he is and discover that Jesus is more than enough to satisfy every last longing of our hearts!  After all, he has satisfied the Father’s loving heart for all eternity; how much more will he satisfy ours?  Seeing Jesus is our ultimate hope!

The anticipation of seeing him is the motivation we need to put our energy into living a pure and godly life now in this age.  It is not a guilt trip – ‘you should do, or else!’  It is a motivated heart – ‘I get to because my hope is in seeing him, not in any of the idolatrous replacements I can invest in now.’

The motivation for this hope is like when a guest comes to visit your home.  You are excited to see them, so you clean and tidy the house before they arrive.  Actually, it is greater than that – it is like your grown child coming home from a year abroad.  No, more than that, it is like when your spouse has been away for a few days, so you invest time and energy into cleaning the house before they arrive.  Actually, biblically speaking, our hope motivates us in the same way that someone is motivated by the approaching reality of their wedding day!  After all, we live as children of God now, waiting for the return of our bridegroom to take us to be with him – the marriage supper of the lamb and the arrival at the home prepared for us, and being together forever.

“Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself.” (1 John 3:3)

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Please see Peter’s book, from Christian Focus, looking at the great theme of God’s marriage throughout the Bible:

Review: Preaching, by Michael Reeves

/ Peter Mead / 2 Comments

Subtitled, A God-Centred Vision, this is a little gem of a book from Union Publishing.  It is not about preparation techniques.  Reeves writes, “I want to press deeper. For a rich, biblical theological understanding of preaching dramatically enhances preaching far more powerfully than any practical tip. . . . I want to cast a vision for preaching that is nourished by the very being of God, the glory of his Word, and the power of the gospel.” (p17-18)

As you can imagine, Reeves builds his book on both a theological and historical footing.  There are clear trinitarian foundations: “This is what the living God is like: not silent or speechless, but a God who speaks.” (p21)  And there are also historical insights worthy of note: “Preaching was the real engine room of the Reformation. . . . the Reformation demonstrated the astonishing, transformative power of the regular and clear preaching of God’s Word.  It stands as historical evidence that there is nothing inevitable about church decline.  The spiritual darkness of our day can indeed be checked and turned back.” (p24-25)  

The goal of preaching, theologically, is not just to learn about God, but to encounter him, to enjoy him, and be united to him.  And biblically?  True preaching must be expository, “in that it exposes the Word of God and makes that the food on which the church grows.” (p30)  Reeves is clear, true preaching must point us to the person of Christ.  While this is not a book of the mechanics of sermon construction, Reeves offers some critical advice.  “Preach Christ, not an abstraction.”  “Proclaim the reality, not a mere idea.”  “Show, don’t tell.” (p52-57)

While many preaching books will encourage preaching to the heart, and not just the head, this book explains what that actually means.  The preacher must convey more than mere information or emotion.  “(Preaching) is a heart-shaking assault on darkness and the very gates of hell, trumpeted forth so that sinners tremble and saints quake in wonder.” (p62)  And true preaching must lead to heartfelt worship, for “the triune God, who is love, is not truly known where he is not truly loved.” (p64)

We all know that preaching can tick many boxes, yet remain essentially shallow.  Reeves offers a simple cure for shallow preaching: get to the root of the issue.  We are not simply needing exhortation to better conduct.  We need heart transformation.  The affections are the key target in ministry– “Affections are deeper and more constant (than emotions): they make up the very grain of the heart and its inclinations.” (p73)

When the gospel is truly preached, “It is that gospel that will melt and renew hearts of stone.  It is that sight of the Son of Man, lifted up on the cross, proving the love of his Father, that realigns affections. . . . The sin that pleased us becomes odious. The God we flinched from becomes entrancing.” (p78-79)

This book really is a gem.  A book to read and read again for your ministry, and a book small enough to distribute to other preachers in your circle.   

The Thirties – Part 2 (A Rapid Shift)

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The shift from the German Republic founded in 1919 to the Nazi’s Third Reich in 1933 was colossal.  Clearly, it was possible for things to shift so rapidly in that society.  Are there any parallels between then and now?  As I read ACG’s Inside Germany, so many statements jumped out to me:

  • “The state, in my opinion, belongs to the people only if all the people take part in the exercise of government and public authority.” (p120)  Is there not an increasing feeling of disconnect between the population and the people with ultimate power in our day? 
  • “The best laws are of little value when carried out haphazardly or reluctantly.” (p120)  Confidence in a great legal system can drain away when it seems like there are different rules for different people.
  • “Knives, pistols and explosives are dangerous weapons. To those, however, who are guided by ideals and who, in the political struggle, have not lost sight of human dignity and integrity, the weapons of slander, abuse and insidious intrigues are far more dangerous.” (p122) ACG resigned as Minister of the Interior of Prussia in 1930following a targeted hate campaign by communist and national socialist agitators.  A politically motivated cancel culture is not a new phenomenon, but it is a concerning one.
  • We might assume that the people of Germany in the 1930s knew all too well the history of the war in the 1910s.  And yet, it doesn’t take long for a generation to rise who are ignorant or deliberately misinformed.  Those born during, or just before, the Great War became the youngsters who were so uninformed and so easily steered towards serving Hitler’s goals just two decades later. “What did those youngsters know of the struggles, miseries and sacrifices in the bitter war years?  Those youths from whom the truth was deliberately withheld had not the slightest inkling of the splendid response of the Social Democrats, the Jews and others to the war needs of the nation.  How many of the young men and women who swallow the lies and deceits of the National Socialist propaganda, hook, line and sinker know . . .” (p362) How confident can we be today that the younger generation is properly educated about the threats to our society from political, ideological or religious groups?  The evidence would suggest that too many know all too little.
  • In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote that “A lie, if big enough, always has an excellent chance . . . . The masses with their primitive and one-sided minds are more susceptible to a big lie than a little one.” It is troubling to see how confident many are today that they are not the victim of any big lies.  They might acknowledge the possibility, or even the likelihood, of lies being the fare of politicians and the media.  But could they be the victim of a big lie?  Of course not, because they would know if they were.  It is a strange self-delusion, and our world is full of it.

There are so many parallels between then and now.  More will emerge in subsequent posts, but this is a starter list to ponder and prayerfully consider.  And the question that hangs over it all, like a Zeppelin, is what could and should the church pastors do in a society that is leaning in a dangerous direction?

7 Defining Moments in Your Sermon – Part Four

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We have thought about two moments before the sermon starts, two in the introduction and two in the body of the sermon. 

What about the conclusion?  Let’s go there for the final defining moment:

7. The landing – We know the end of the message is important.  During preparation, we might have prayed and dreamed of a huge revival breaking out.  During delivery, we might just be desperate to be finished and away from the microphone.  But between those two extremes we can see that the conclusion does matter.  There is both the quality of the landing and the fact of the landing.  The quality is determined by both tone and content.  It is a chance to review the main points of the message, to restate the main idea again, and to bring a sense of conclusion to the whole.  The tone can be encouraging, upbeat, hopeful, and faith-stirring rather than critical, harsh and guilt-trippy.  As well as the quality, there is also the fact of landing.  Arrive.  Get there.  Stop talking.  Don’t elongate the message in the hope that your fourth attempted landing will prove to be better than the first three.  Robinson used to say that it is best to end a sentence or two before people expect you to end. Review, encourage, finish. 

So there we go, seven defining moments of the sermon.  But I need to add one more:

Bonus – Clearly stating the main idea.  Of course, no matter how hard I try to point away from the obvious moments to some that people may not be aware of, I still feel the need to underline the importance of a well-defined main idea in the message.  Too many preachers preach without it.  The main idea needs to be clarified by the preacher, otherwise it will be hastily cobbled together in the minds of your confused listeners.  It is your job to make sure the message is coherent.  Nothing holds a message together so well as an accurately defined main idea.

What would you add to this list?  What are the defining moments in a sermon?

7 Defining Moments in Your Sermon – Part Three

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We have thought about the pre-sermon moments that impact the preaching event and considered a couple of aspects of the introduction.  Now, let’s consider a couple of moments that can define the impact of the message from within the body of the sermon.  Obviously, the points are important, the text’s explanation is critical, and so on, but that is what we tend to focus on.  Here are two surprisingly significant moments to consider:

5. Every transition – It could be argued that transitions separate good communicators from average ones.  It is natural to focus on the content of the points, but it is a step up to be aware of how you move from one to the next.  It is like having a passenger riding behind you on a motorcycle.  They will tend to stay with you in a straight line, unless you accelerate too fast.  But you really need to slow down through the turns.  The same is true when you preach.  A good transition can achieve so many good things: a review of what’s been said, an encouraging conclusion to a point, a reminder of progress in the message, a preview of what is to come, a chance to re-engage for the distracted listener, an opportunity to reinforce the main idea, a moment of pause for an overwhelmed listener, and so on.  Or you can clumsily jump into your next point and leave people confused as to what happened to the other point, why you are talking about this, how it relates, and so on.  Pay attention to every transition; your message will be more helpful for more people.

6. The Interruption or Surprise – We do not preach in a vacuum-sealed box that can be completely controlled.  It is an environment with many variables.  Let’s categorise them as either public or private.  The public ones interrupt everyone’s experience.  The phone ringing, the child crying, the jackhammer starting, the gunshot (hopefully not).  Some are minor, some are more significant.  You have to decide at the moment how to handle it.  Be careful not to draw attention to someone feeling awkward about their phone or baby or to press on through something worthy of a pause.  I’ve seen a preacher totally undermine his credibility and sermon by a harsh and unkind response to an accidental interruption.  I’ve also seen a preacher try to press on, oblivious to the passed-out person being carried out of the congregation.  The first should have been more gentle, the second would have done well to notice, pause and pray for the person.  I don’t remember either of the sermons, but years later, I remember the interruptions and the response from the preacher.

Then there are the private interruptions.  That is the thought that suddenly presents as you are preaching.  Maybe a new illustration.  Maybe a warning flag about using a planned illustration.  Perhaps an extra thought that could be added, or a new direction for the application.  A beginning preacher may not be able to imagine any internal dialogue while preaching because the whole experience is so consuming and overwhelming.  But actually, there can be quite a wrestle going on inside a preacher while the sermon continues to be preached.  Don’t automatically discount every thought and press on through the notes.  Neither should you take every thought as a Spirit-led and anointed change of direction.  You have to prayerfully and humbly process as you go.  You won’t always get it right, but you will do well to lean towards the love of God and others in every decision you make (and keep an eye on the clock, too, as an act of love for the children’s workers and people who brought a first-time guest!)

7 Defining Moments in Your Sermon – Part Two

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As we work through this list of seven defining moments in the sermon, we have so far thought only about the unseen preparation of all involved and the first impressions before the sermon really starts.  Now let’s consider two that are part of the introduction to the message:

3. The motivation to listen – Most sermons will have the same elements: a beginning, a middle, an end, a Bible passage explained and applied, and some illustrative material to help communicate.  Now, all of these standard elements can be better or worse.  But they tend to be present.  However, the motivation to listen is by no means guaranteed.  It is not guaranteed from the listener’s side, and it is not guaranteed in the details of the sermon.  How could it be missed?  Easily.  Too many preachers assume that their listeners are interested in Elijah’s encounter with a widow or Paul’s answer to the church’s question.  And too many introductions offer something less than motivation. 

We can easily settle for familiarity or interest.  Familiarity introductions are the ones that refer to something we all experience – you know, going upstairs and forgetting what you went up to get.  Everyone smiles and relaxes a bit.  Then, the message continues as if that connection is enough.  Or interest introductions are the ones that raise eyebrows with an interesting tidbit – you know, that it is impossible to lick your own elbow.  Some knew that, some didn’t, some try it, etc.  And the message moves on.  Familiarity introductions and interesting introductions are probably better than just launching into 1 Kings 19 and its background, but better by far would be an introduction that makes listeners want to hear what is coming. 

Inasmuch as you are able, motivate listeners to listen.  Robinson used to talk about surfacing a need in your listeners that the passage would then be able to address.  Use your introduction to grab their attention, convince them that they need what this passage is going to show them, and win their hearts to be open to you as you lead them into the passage.

4. The overview – At the end of the introduction, it is easy to skip the overview.  Generally, you should not skip it.  Give people a sense of the shape of the message.  We are going to see the problem described, and then the solution.  Or Paul gives three truths that we will look at together.  Or the passage comes to us in two chunks, verses 1-5 and verses 6-9.  Or we will see the transformation we need is coming, the triumph over death is certain, and the therefore that changes how we live – the transformation, the triumph, and the therefore.  The overview can be detailed or a very high-level glimpse, but if it is missing, the listeners are slightly in the dark as to where the message is headed.  If your message is an inductive shape, then make sure the question that is going to be answered is clear: what is the critical ingredient that we need if we are to have a ministry like the master?

Feel free to comment about introductions – what works well?  What do you hear that doesn’t connect or help the listener?  Introductions are critical to the effectiveness of a sermon.  Next time, we will look at two more defining moments in the sermon.

7 Defining Moments in Your Sermon

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

As you preach, there are numerous defining moments.  That is, pivotal decisions or moments that will multiply the impact of the sermon.  The whole sermon matters, of course.  You can’t expect one great line to do great work when it is packaged in fluff.  But while you work on the whole sermon, remember that there are some defining moments that could make or break it.

1. The unseen preparation (yours and theirs!) – Whatever happens during the sermon itself is really just the final part of a process.  There has been a whole lot of unseen preparation before the moment of delivery.  Of course, there have been the ups and downs of sermon preparation for you, the preacher.  The prayer, the study, the wrestling with word choices, the hunting for illustrative material, the interruptions, the storm, and the calm inside you and in your study.  The journey to the pulpit may have been arduous, or somehow serene, but hopefully God has been at work in you before he will work through you. And I am only describing the last few days, but God has been at work for years.  However, the sermon is not just about the preacher.  How has God been stirring the listeners?  Providential circumstances, carefully timed conversations, quiet questions inside, or overwhelming challenges without.  It is not unusual for a sermon to touch a nerve that was only sensitized in the preceding days.  “How did the preacher know that about me?”  Often, the preacher didn’t.  But someone did.  It is helpful to remember that a lifetime of preparation is brought into the sermon from all sides, and only God can be aware of that, let alone influential in it!

2. The first moments of the introduction – It is hard to overstate the importance of the first moments.  I don’t mean the introduction.  I mean the first impressions.  Do you seem comfortable, or nervous, or indifferent, or agitated?  Will listeners get the sense that you have something to say that is worth their focus and time to listen?  Will people who have never heard you before feel welcomed and engaged?  Will regular listeners sense that you are well prepared, or will they get the sense that you are somehow “off” this week?  Remember, humans are wired relationally.  When you sit at a table in a restaurant, you know whether you like the server before you have a chance to evaluate your first interaction.  Sometime, watch a video of yourself.  Watch up until your first word.  Prayerfully and conversationally evaluate (that is, ask God what he thinks, and ask someone else what they notice – don’t just trust your own perspective).  Then watch the first couple of sentences, and evaluate again. 

We will continue this list of defining moments in your sermon next time, but feel warmly invited to comment with any that are on your mind!

7 Defining Moments in Your Sermon Preparation – Part Four

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There are multiple defining moments in the sermon preparation process. We have thought about starting the process, shifting from passage study to message formation, becoming conscious of who will be listening, and the unplanned interruptions that seem to prevent a smooth preparation. There is one more defining moment left. It is one to add if it doesn’t happen naturally:

7. The realization of insufficiency.  You want to be a good steward of your opportunity to preach.  You desire to give your best, both in terms of exegetical rigour, and pastoral sensitivity in sermon crafting.  And perhaps the process has allowed better than normal focus, with more clear hours for preparation than you expected.  Maybe nothing broke at home, no hospital visits were necessary, and everything was unusually peaceful and supportive along the way.  Will you go into preaching feeling confident in your preparation, your skill, and your work of sermonic art?  I hope not.  When we feel we have “the best of sermons” then we tend to discover the false promise of self-sufficiency.  If God has not brought you to humble dependency through a log jam, or through an interruption, or through years of preaching experience, then it is totally acceptable to bring yourself to the place of total dependency.  Some combination of “apart from you, I can do nothing” prayer content along with a flat-on-your-face prayer posture is highly appropriate.  One of my teachers always prayed that he had a stick but needed God to come through as he threw it on the ground.  You want to be the most prepared preacher possible, but you must preach with a profound sense of your dependence on God.

What other defining moments do you recognize in your sermon preparation process?

Okay, here is a bonus one as I reflect on the list:

Bonus: The recognition of the coherence of the passage. Thinking back to the study of the passage, it is critical to arrive at the recognition that the passage holds together. It is easy to skip past this once you start to see some points that will preach. But actually, for your message to feel coherent, you need to recognise that the passage is also coherent. What unifies it? How does it hold together? How do the points and details relate to each other? Assume the Bible writer was not jumbled or scattered in his thinking, and keep thinking until you can see how it is a single unit of thought.

7 Defining Moments in Your Sermon Preparation – Part Three

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Defining moments are pivotal decisions that will impact the essential nature of your sermon. So far we have thought about getting started, and about the move from passage to message. Now let’s add a couple of unplanned moments that tend to show up quite often in the process:

5. The moment of breaking through a log jam.  Most messages are not a smooth journey from passage selection, through each sequential step, to a pulpit-ready sermon.  Somewhere along the way, there tends to be a log jam and we get stuck.  It could be the wording of the main idea.  It might be a needed illustration.  Or perhaps the sermon is ready, but the introduction feels bland and in need of a major overhaul.  Sometimes the whole thing might feel okay, but flat.  You are stuck and you feel it.  What can you do?  Sometimes the jam is the necessary reminder to really pray about the message – wrestling with God for some kind of breakthrough.  Sometimes the jam needs to break you free of your computer – stand and preach it out loud, then when it seems to flow better, go back and try to capture what you said into your outline.  Sometimes the jam will break only after you take a break – pray about it and leave the preparation for a walk, a night’s sleep, or a conversation with someone else.  I suspect new preachers will know the panic a log jam can create in your heart.  And I suspect that seasoned preachers will know how often a log jam occurs in the preparation process, and then proves to be a defining moment.

6. The interruption or even, the attack.  Maybe you have a nice predictable rhythm.  Perhaps you start preparing on a certain day, then take X number of sessions to study the passage, move on to shape the message on another day, and then have X number of hours to complete the message.  It may be nicely and neatly regimented by years of practice.  But then there is the interruption.  It is almost predictable.  The washing machine breaks, the family member’s computer goes down, the phone call from the congregant in a crisis, the thing that demands several hours that you do not have to spare.  It happens.  If it happens so often that you feel under-prepared every time, perhaps you need to review your standard plan for sermon preparation.  Perhaps it is time to lift some stress and get further into the process sooner in the week.  At the same time, it is good to recognize that God has used many sermons that felt under-prepared from the preacher’s perspective.  Sometimes the interruption, or even spiritual attack, is the necessary mechanism to push our dependence back onto God, where it belongs.

Do you experience variations of the log jam and the interruption? How often?

7 Defining Moments in Your Sermon Preparation – Part Two

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While the whole preparation process will shape your message, some defining moments will fundamentally change the outcome of the process. We started with two related to starting preparation. Now let’s think about two that tie into the transition between passage study and message formation:

3. The decision to transition from passage study to message formation.  The first half of the preparation process focuses on understanding the passage.  The second half involves formulating and writing a message.  The shift between these two phases is critically important.  If you shift too early, then you will be working on the message without really grasping the meaning of the passage.  If you shift too late, then you will have plenty of exegetical insight to share, but little time to craft a message that lands in real life.  Do you tend to fall in one direction or the other?  It is hard to see a lack of understanding in the mirror – we all tend to think we have a good grip on a passage when it may only be a superficial sense of the meaning.  Or you may be in a rut of sharing exegetical nuggets without crafting a message that is shaped to speak into real life.  And some, sad to say, neither know the joy of being gripped by a passage, nor the pleasure of crafting a sermon that hits home – they just use a passage as a launch point for some standard favourite content.  If that could be you, then it may be time for some candid conversations with some listeners, and for radical surgery on your ministry.  It will be worth it.

4. The realization of who will be listening.  At one level, this moment is fairly straightforward, as long as it happens.  That is to say, after studying the passage to understand the author’s meaning as accurately as possible, then you consciously introduce your listeners into your thinking as you move to crafting the sermon for their benefit.  You don’t want to be thinking too much about your listeners when you are studying the passage, because your concern is the original audience of the text.  Neither do you want to not be thinking about your listeners when shaping the message, because your concern has to be for them as the audience of the sermon.  That moment of introducing conscious consideration of your listeners should be a standard point in the process every time (and essentially the same moment as number 3 above).  But then there will be some sermon-specific moments in this category too.  You might realise how the message could hit very close to home for someone in your congregation.  You might be told that a certain person is going to be present.  You might be at church when someone walks in that you were not expecting (and you realise your message requires some tweaking for their sake – either to be more accessible, less provocative, or whatever.)

As this list continues to build, what defining moments do you recognize in your sermon preparation?