A Great Sunday Service

v. He’s wrestling w/ some things that aren’t going to be easy to preach / challenge the people w/.

b. But there’s something often missed here in the idea of sermon preparation, look at….

Vs 1. ….. a large crowd of Israelite men, women, and children gathered around him. They also began to cry bitterly

i. What we see here is that sermon preparation doesn’t just happen in the heart of the pastor – it also happens in the hearts of the people!

ii. Our text shows us that there was not only preparation going on in the pastor’s heart but it was also going on in the people’s hearts.

iii. This is what saves us from dead, boring, lifeless Sunday sermons ….. a preparation in your own heart!

*** I once got feedback from someone about one of my less than fantastic sermons. The guy in question told his wife that it was just a boring sermon!

Hmmm …… well he might have been right, others told me differently.

But the question I ask is this – how much sermon preparation was going on in his heart?

B/c when our hearts are prepared to hear from God He can use anything to speak to us!

Numbers 22:28 ( NKJV ) 28Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

c. Get my point? God can use just about anything to speak to us if there is a willingness to hear from Him.

i. Therefore sermon preparation is a two way partnership – a partnership between the man of God delivering the Word of God & the people of God preparing their hearts to receive from God.

ii. Think about this next time you come to church tired from staying up too late / distracted by other preoccupations or just generally disinterested …..

iii. You are going to get out of the Sunday service not just according to the pastor’s preparation but according to your own preparation!

B. How much time do you take to prepare for Sunday morning service?

a. Think about it! If I came to church on Sunday morning & you knew that I only spent 15 mins getting ready (&I can assure you I spend a whole lot more) you’d be offended!

i. Some of you would think – I’ve been ripped off! …. & you’d be right!

ii. Some of you would think – He doesn’t care about me! ….. & you’d probably be justified in saying that!

iii. Some of you would think – He’s not really feeding us! …… again, correct!

iv. Some of you would say on your way home from church – how are we supposed to survive! ….. true!

v. Some would even think maybe we ought to begin looking for another church? …… I couldn’t blame you!

b. But let me turn the spotlight around …… let’s ask what God might think about the very little preparation in your heart.

i. Now of course we thank God for the man who comes into church w/ the same spirit that David came into the house of God ….

Psalms 122:1 ( NKJV ) 1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”