new life church creative motion background

#New life church creative motion background series

They trust me.” Rooting ourselves in these simple truths helps us settle into the work. I’ve learned to often write a note to myself at the top of my sermon notes: “God is with us.You can’t be creative if you are exhausted. I’ve learned that often the best thing I can do is take time off from preaching.

#New life church creative motion background series

And let’s all be honest: trying to make every worship service rise to the level of a World Series Game 7 is exhausting. Sometimes what’s needed is a solid single up the middle or a double down the line. What does that concept even mean? And who gets to determine if it was a home run? The preacher? The people? The home-run-sermon metric is fickle.

I’ve learned that not every sermon will be a Home Run.

To pull myself away from every other voice is to make myself ask myself: So who am I? Why does this text matter to me? How have I seen it worked out in the soil of my own life? Where does this text scare me? Where does this text make me want to weep? And how does this text make my heart thrill and delight and come alive to the beauty of God’s holiness? Without this, I have not made the sermon my own, haven’t internalized it yet.

Having a screen in front of me at this moment feels like a threat because it represents access to everyone else’s thoughts. This is holy ground and no screens are allowed. At this stage in my preparation the only thing I have in front of me is a pen and a legal pad, usually a cup of coffee, and some burning candles. I’ve learned that after all the preparation has been done-the commentaries, the translation, the sketching, the memorization-the best thing I can do is sit with my own thoughts.When I circle back to the sermon after exercise, my mind is clear. If I’m not careful, my mind will obsess over the sermon, but it is hard to obsess over a sermon when you are putting your body through the ringer. I’ve learned that regular exercise is crucial.I’ve learned to keep a note pad with me at all times because you just never know when that creative lighting is going to strike.I may think I know what a text is trying to say/do, but that doesn’t mean I have tapped into what the Spirit is up to right here, right now, with these people. I’ve learned that there is a difference between exegeting a text and discerning what the Spirit wants to doamong a particular people through that text.I’ve learned that my angsty preacher jitters about will this sermon sing? and will it dance with the Spirit’s creativity? decrease in direct proportion to the vitality of my prayer life.A sermon that has not been prayed into existence is a sermon that will miss the target. I’ve learned that prayer is the most essential work for a preacher.As a weekly preacher, here are 10 Things I’ve Learned About Preaching: