Favorite Sermon Topic...

In agreement with the spirit of Dr.Bob's post, I nevertheless speak on the topic of reconciliation a lot - not because I enjoy it so much, but because it's a topic that's necessary in church circles.

 

A topical sermon, so-called, does not preclude a good theological message. It just makes the message intelligent to the average listener. The content of the sermon is the responsibility of the preacher.

When I had a regular pastorate, I preached a topical sermon in the morning, and always included the grace of God in salvation. In the evenings, I preach doctrinal specific sermons, but not a bible study,,it was a sermon; a public address. saved bible studies for Wednesday prayer and bible study meetings.

Cheers,

Jim

Forgot to mention, topics and even doctrines, were contingent upon the needs of that congregation and audience.

 

I would preach a lot on missions if I took a notion to preach.

 

My favorite is peace from anxiety: Text Philipians 4.

 

Baptist distinctives is a favorite topic of mine

 

Since I preach mostly book studies my favorite topic is the next paragraph.

 

The danger of preaching topics is that the pastor or teacher already has something in mind that they want to say, and then they go to the Bible to look for a text to support what they already want to say. They basically use the text as a springboard to get to what they think is important.

That is why we should be committed to letting the text speak for itself and not trying to force it to say something it doesn't. The Holy Spirit inspired it for a purpose, and we should be diligent to seek that purpose and preach that purpose.

If you are interested in a topic, then find the different passages that deal with that topic. And then allow those passages to speak. Do not put your thoughts on top of them.

I generally preach through a book of the Bible, but on occassion I will preach a series on a topic, but I try to force myself to let the texts speak and not have it be my commentary with a little bit of text.

 

Dear Pastor SBC1303,
Thanks for your insightful comments, I was blessed by them.
WallyGator

 

PastorSBC,

Too bad you are so far away! I think I would be uplifted to hear you preach on a Sunday morning

Just a question though. When the writers of the NT were writing letters to the churches, they seem to deal with issues that those churches were dealing with within themselves and to encourage them also. So if a pastor today sees an issue that society, in general, is dealing with then those members of his congregation HAVE to be struggling with it even more as they should be trying to discern what the Christian perspective on that issue should be.

Therefore, I, as a Christian, would really like for a pastor to guide me in the right direction on hot topics in society like: abortion, homosexuality, gambling etc.

I would not like to see these social issues the main focus of a sermon on a regular basis but would like to feel as though I can leave church on a Sunday with something to hold onto for the week when I go back out into society and the topic of conversation is all about going to Vagas.

So, if a pastor prays for guidance in leading a congregation and that pastor is aware that it is a hotly debated subject on tv for example, isn't that a form of guidance whereas God can be speaking to a pastor by saying "Instruct my people on this issue and reassure them about what I have to say on the matter so they won't be tossed to and fro?"

 

Ps, my favorite topic? Christ ...especially the OT prophecies of His Coming and OT "word pictures" that reflect His fulfillment in the NT. I get great assurance from them that He is in control in spite of what I see going on in society!

 

Trailblazer,

I do not have a problem with anything in your post. I think Pastors should speak on these topics as well, and if a Pastor is committed to preaching God's Word and preaching through books he will find that these topics naturaly arise from the text, and can be a major part of the application phase of a sermon.

Again, I am not against topics. I just think we need to be aware of the danger of being topic focused instead of Scripture focused. And we should be committed to hearing what the Text has to say.

And I also agree with you about the beautiful pictures of Christ that are seen in the OT. Our church went through a discipleship study recently on this very thing on a Sunday evening. It was a great blessing.