Advice To Preachers

 "And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets." 1Cor.14:32

I have noticed something in my years of listening to preaching. A good preacher can bring a word that ministers to people right now. A great preacher can preach an appropriate message for the time.

Great preachers can and do say a lot when they preach. And one thing that a great preacher can do is preach a calendar based sermon. For a wedding he can preach on marriage. For a holiday he can preach on that particular holiday. He can preach a Christmas message at Christmas. He can preach a Thanksgiving sermon the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. He can even preach a patriotic message on July 4th. He knows the Bible well enough to be able to bring out a word from God for a specific time.

This takes work on the preacher's part. He has to know the Bible. He has to know history. He has to understand what certain days mean and how the Bible speaks to those unique times and days. He has to have a well of knowledge that he can draw from so that he can say, Thus says the Lord, on a specific day.

Setting yourself on fire and letting people come to watch you burn has a time and a place. So does a national or state holiday. Weddings should be a no brainer. Preach on marriage. People do not usually get saved at a wedding. God can save people even if we do not preach an evangelistic sermon.

So you can wing it and get by. But people will notice if you grow and develop as a preacher. They  might even start coming on Sunday night just to hear you preach.

One more thought. You will have to become a topical preacher to do this. There is no American Christmas or Thanksgiving Day or July 4th in the Bible to expound on. 

"...Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old." Mat.13:52