2. For A Lifetime Preaching…

3. “Preaching, in order to be fresh and vital, takes hard work. The work can be quite agonizing at times. In fact, the longer you are in the ministry the more discipline and determination is needed to accomplish the work.” Bruce Mawhinney in Preaching with Freshness

4. “As time goes by a certain smoothness comes with the experience of the years. That smoothness has a more professional sound to it, but it may also bring with it a certain dullness.” Bruce Mawhinney in Preaching with Freshness

5. Challenges to Preaching Effectively over the Long-Haul 1.The New Consumerism “Without altars, we talk less and less about eternity and more and more about the here and now.” Calvin Miller, Marketplace Preaching

6. Challenges to Preaching Effectively over the Long-Haul 2. Christianity as a subculture Church has become an addendum to American culture. Disassociation with the market-place centers preaching on “insiders.” “Separation from the world” is double-edged.

7. Challenges to Preaching Effectively over the Long-Haul 3.Loss of appreciation for Divine Drama “A sermon that loses its godly summons is at best a current event and at worst a morality monologue.” Calvin Miller, Market Place Preaching

8. A Church….Overly Influenced by the Secular and A World….Hungering for the Transcendent Church “life” takes its cues from the self-centered “spirit of entertainment.” We trade the demands of Christ for a larger crowd.

9. Altars are the meeting places between God and humanity where the transcendence of God transforms and “abundantly pardons and saves to the uttermost.”

10. Summary New Consumerism Influence of seculars— reality of a continuing hunger for the transcendent Christian Subculture Loss of Divine Drama

11. Interventions The why and who of preaching are prior to the how of preaching The message and the messenger are inextricably linked “How do I become a living memory of God; how do I accept and connect; how do I lift up the individual story into divine history?” Henri J. M.Nouwen

12. “The strategy of the principalities and powers is to disconnect us, to cut us off from the memory of God. It is not hard to see how many of our busy actions and restless concerns seem to be disconnected, reminding us of nothing more than the disorder of our own orientation and commitment.

13. When we no longer walk in the presence of the Lord, we cannot be living reminders of his divine presence in our lives. We then quickly become strangers in an alien land who have forgotten where we come from and where we are going.

14. Then we are no longer the way to the experience of God, but rather in the way of the experience of God. Then, instead of walking in God’s presence we start walking in a vicious circle, and pulling others into it.” Henri J.M. Nouwen in The Living Reminder

15. Acknowledge that life is passing you by Life passages are doorways to greater insight Starters for preaching come from a variety of sources, but…

16. All starting points must be connecting to the authoritative reference point USA Today Current Events Chance Encounters BIBLE Daily Bible Reading Listening

17. Read widely The six-fold path Novels Historical Biography Diary/journal Poetry Hot interest

18. Gathering Background Information and Illustrations Regularly gather/file/review Newspapers, periodicals, web news Use the experts in your congregations

19. Practice Self-Evaluation Observe audio and video tapes of yourself Critique voice--timing--personality Find a supportive critic

20. Study the Sermons of Great Preachers Classics Alexander MacClaren Charles Spurgeon 20 Centuries of Great Preaching Contemporary Books Preaching to a Post Modern World by Graham Johnston, Baker Books The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative by Steve Mathewson, Baker Books

21. Limit your usage of preaching web-sites Preaching.com PreachingToday.com Sermoncentral.com Crosswalk.com ChristianityToday.com