SharpeMother’s sermon is really more like a testimony. Her focus is on the passion and love she has for her family. I found this sermon to be one of the most teachable moments so far in the entire competition. She has gone to great lengths to talk about a specific pain in her life, namely that of her in-laws and the disruption it has caused for her entire family. And this is what I think is a teachable moment. How do we decide what to share and when to share it? Not everything is ripe for telling or preaching. I believe that this may be the case with her story. I say that because it feels unresolved. It may have a “resolved” ending, but it feels very raw to me as I read it. I give her credit for courage, but would suggest some time getting some professional help with the matter and who knows what sermon we will hear down the road. I am really glad she presented if to get this issue of “how much to share” out on the table.
I also wanted to raise a couple of other issues that hopefully will be helpful. She says that her most important mission is to protect her children physically, emotionally and spiritually. I would argue that we have a duty to let our children learn from their mistakes and that protecting them may not always be in their best interest. The other thing I would offer (and this is a tough one for me as I don’t always like to hear it.) , the biblical injunction “Be ye reconciled to one another even as Christ reconciled the world to himself” is worthy of some reflection in your story. However, there are times to also “shake the dust off your feet” and move on. I would also add that I hope you can find a way to love your kids even when they choose a path that is not what you would see them doing.
Staying on topic: 4
Creativity w/ choice: 4
Keeping integrity of passage: 3
Use of confessional preaching: 3
Pursuasiveness: 4
ChronicLeaky’s sermon took on a poetic form that asked more questions than Josephw at an evolution convention. Certainly untraditional as this sermon competition goes. I could see it working in a black beatnik bar setting or standing alone as the written word so to speak. I enjoyed its creativity, but found it really didn’t work for me. I would describe it best as existential entertainment. In terms of confession, I think I got the fact that he is bald and likes to ask questions. If you are of the state of mind that you aren’t looking for answers and you just like hearing the questions, this sermon is for you.
Staying on topic: 4 (though I can’t tell what the topic was , he did stay on theme).
Creativity w/ choice: 5
Keeping integrity with the passage: 1 ( I didn’t see the passage)
Use of confessional preaching: 2
Persuasiveness: 3
Hand of Hercate takes us to the Book of Job to find meaning in the face of suffering. I really liked the tough questions he asks (“Does our faith in God earn us nothing?&rdquo😉. I found this sermon to be his best so far in terms of it feeling more authentic and believable. The theme of this week found expression for him in the realm of suffering. He readily acknowledges his temptations, but comes to understand all suffering is a struggle to be in integrity with God much like Job was. A passage I really like from Job is “Man is born to trouble just as surely as the sparks fly upward.” I have heard it said that Job is the greatest piece of poetry in all of literature. Job is a very complicated book with many problems about the nature of God and his complicitus nature in suffering. One thing that might have helped this sermon a little would be to hear of a specific event where suffering seemed insurmountable, perhaps something more than malt Scotch Whiskey. In some ways, this was a very good sermon to have along side of SharpeMother’s. One takes a pragmatic approach and the other takes on a philosophical approach.
Staying on Topic: 5
Creativity w/ choice: 4
Keeping integrity: 4
Use of Confessional preaching :2
Persuasiveness:4
Vistesd’s sermon was the latest in his use of a “curve ball.” We should all know that he was going to take us down a different path than “doing.” In fact, the passage he used from John 8 in his last sermon could have well been used for this one. This sermon was a reflection on the struggle to live without having to control, dominate, or contrive our being to have a certain outcome. Our “maps” and conceptualizations are what prevent us from living in “reality.” I found his use of “confession” to be very natural in terms of noticing things around him and this was the neat part of his sermon: what he described was very congruent with his message. Non-pushy nor preachy. A couple of observations related to other sermons in this round. Hand of Hercate’s sermon on Job and “what does our suffering earn us” seems to be related to what you have to offer. Your “let go” theology is very interesting to put beside SharpeMother’s who has a very “grab hold of the reins” theology. The passage you cite talks about the Master residing in the kernel and not the moralism of the “husk.” I really liked this analogy, but I can hear people ask “would the kernel exist without the protection of the husk (morality)?” Anyway, I am hoping that following the evaluations, the contestants will have some responses to other entries, specifically “what they got out of it.”
Staying on topic:5
Creativity w/choice: 5
Keeping Integrity: 5
Use of confessional preaching :5
Persuasiveness:5
Whodey takes on the task by pointing to our need to have a purpose that is directed towards God and God alone. That alone should be our purpose in life. He uses David as an example of a man who had many purposeful events in his life but whose sole purpose was to worship God. This sermon was clearer to me as it lacked the impulsive use of humor as past sermons have had. You stayed on topic better. An interesting contrast to your sermon in the area of “confession” is SharpeMother’s sermon. You simply said, “I can relate to David’s plight when he lost focus.” Enough said. Here are some questions I have about the whole theme. What happens when the focus is God and that focus is obsessive and lacking the “consider the lilies and birds of the air” stance on life. My other question is from Hand’s sermon on Job. What do we do with the arbitrary nature of suffering in the world? I almost had the feeling that there was a thinking in your sermon that if you stay focused on God as your purpose, good things would happen to you. To make your sermon a little better I would use an example of a person who lost their focus and purpose (it need not be you). A person who got too focused on money and lost everything would be a good example. Or maybe the chess player who was so focused on winning that he never had any fun.
Staying on topic: 5
Creativity: 4
Keeping Integrity: 4
Confessional preaching: 3
Persuasiveness: 4
Kelly Jay’s entry is his first in this sermon competition. His last paragraph would have been a strong entry in the Fire and Brimstone round. I think for what you wanted to say the better verse to use would be “where your treasures are there also will your heart be.” You talked about our use of time and I think this was a good way to go with this sermon, but I felt you rambled a little too much from this focus. At the beginning you begin in general terms talking about the vastness of the universe and then bring it down to a more personal level. This was good. Your 4th paragraph was your strongest. That was the meat of what you wanted to say. Start with that concept and develop it and that will be the sermon you want. I got a little lost in places and that may be more of a writing issue. I have a process that I go through when I do a sermon. I never write it down to begin with. I always go for long walks and just think. Then I will write an outline. Then develop it. And finally do a completed draft. If I don’t go for the walk, my final draft will not be good.
Staying on topic: 4
Creativity: 3
Keeping integrity w/ passage:3
Confessional preaching:3
Persuasiveness: 4
Originally posted by Hand of HecateJust listen to yourself. You preach this sermon about Job (which I had some good things to say about) and you say yours "followed all of the rules.....May God give you rectal herpes." Does that sound like someone who took the message of Job to heart?
Mine followed all of the rules and was a clear winner. May God give you rectal herpes.
Originally posted by kirksey957Actually, I appreciate all the time and effort the judges have put into the competition. However, it would hardly be in character for me to be gracious.
Just listen to yourself. You preach this sermon about Job (which I had some good things to say about) and you say yours "followed all of the rules.....May God give you rectal herpes." Does that sound like someone who took the message of Job to heart?
I've actually put a fair amount of work into making my 'sermons' interesting and amusing while also fulfilling the criteria of the competition. I'd like the reader to walk away being able to see the reverend Billy Bob Blackhand up on his pulpit, to almost be able to smell the whiskey that eminates from him, and to relate, on some level, with the spiritual struggle that he hides within himself. The Reverend is deeply conflicted and feels his spiritual faith slipping from him. At the same time he strives to bring others to God. The inner conflict is something I want the readers to 'feel'.
I am grateful to the judges for putting the same, or more, effort into evaluation. Ultimately, I just want people to enjoy the read.
Originally posted by Hand of HecateYou may enjoy reading a book entitled "Salvation on Sand Mountain" by Dennis Covington. It is a true story written by a reporter sent by his newspaper to cover the trial of a snake handling preacher who tried to murder his pregnant wife with rattlesnakes. An absolutely fascinating read. It has it all. Snakes, alcohol, insanity, healings, etc. This writer gets drawn into this culture as he comes to appreciate, dare I say , love these people, yet he also knows that he will never be able to be in their tribe. It occurs in the area where I live and I recently was able to meet one of the characters in this book and had a chance to talk to him about the book.
Actually, I appreciate all the time and effort the judges have put into the competition. However, it would hardly be in character for me to be gracious.
I've actually put a fair amount of work into making my 'sermons' interesting and amusing while also fulfilling the criteria of the competition. I'd like the reader to walk away being able to se ...[text shortened]... same, or more, effort into evaluation. Ultimately, I just want people to enjoy the read.
Originally posted by kirksey957Thank you for your evaluation.
SharpeMother’s sermon is really more like a testimony. Her focus is on the passion and love she has for her family. I found this sermon to be one of the most teachable moments so far in the entire competition. She has gone to great lengths to talk about a specific pain in her life, namely that of her in-laws and the disruption it has caused for her en ...[text shortened]... choice: 4
Keeping integrity of passage: 3
Use of confessional preaching: 3
Pursuasiveness: 4
I fully agree with you about allowing our children to be affected by their choices and by life in general. I think it is vital for a child to experience difficulties etc. in order to know how to react in the best possible way. I guess you could say that sometimes it is necessary to NOT protect them in order to protect them long term.
Whodey
1.You stayed on topic but it took you awhile to get to your point.
2.You showed creativity in both the choice and interpretation of the passage.
3.You kept the integrity of the passage.
4.You framed this synopsis of David’s life with a couple of confessional-style paragraphs but I would have swapped out some of the detail of David’s life for some parallels in your own life throughout the sermon.
5. Life comes down to one thing and one thing only. Who or what do you love? That was your strongest statement in your sermon. If you had led with that and used your verse and some more personal detail to illustrate it, you would have had a very powerful sermon.