The Life Span of a Sermon

I often wonder, as I’m sure other pastors do, if a sermon lives on past Sunday morning. Preaching is a curious thing. I spend about 15-20 hours (give or take) a week on sermon preparation – reading, researching, studying, praying, making notes, outlining and, ultimately, writing and reading and editing. All for a sermon that lasts about 20 minutes.

So, I wonder…does the sermon live on past those 20 minutes? Does it live past Sunday afternoon? Monday morning?

Every now and then I get a little affirmation that, yes, God does in fact continue to use the words I write and speak. Every now and then someone will say something like, “Remember when you preached about…” or “I remember you said that in a sermon.”

More often I hear things like, “You should preach about that sometime,” just a couple of weeks (or days) after I did in fact “preach about that.” Those are the moments when I wonder, “Does the work – the prayer, the study, the wresting – make any lasting difference?”

Today I got a little shot of affirmation.

A few weeks ago an elderly couple attended worship at NWUMC. They are members of another church but worship with us from time to time. After the service on this particular Sunday, Mr. Noselew (not his real name) was very complimentary of the service and the sermon.

He asked if I write them out word for word or if I write an outline and fill in the rest in the preaching. I told him I do write them out, and that I actually preach from a manuscript. He then asked if I ever printed them out (I preach from my iPad). No, I had not before – except on the occasion when my iPad was on the fritz.

He then told me that if I printed it, he would love to have a copy. Well, I was over the moon. I told him, “Of course.” And I left church that morning with a little spring in my step. Honestly, I thought he probably wanted a paper copy because his hearing is not good and he didn’t actually hear the sermon. Regardless, I printed a copy and left it at the church for him to pick up.

This morning, Mr. Noselew called me at the church. He, again, complimented the sermon. I preached on “hope” that Sunday. He talked about how much he needed to hear that and that so many others did as well.

He said he went to visit a cousin who has been ill for quite some time. On his visit, knowing that his cousin needed a word of hope, he gave him a copy of my sermon. He went on to ask if he could copy the sermon and give it to others.

Wow! I have never been so flattered.

So I say all of that to say… it is wonderful to know that, yes, the words God inspires in me do in fact live on and make an impact beyond Sunday morning.

By the way, if anyone wants a copy of my sermons, I’ll be glad to print one for you.

I am ever grateful for the opportunity, the privilege, of proclaiming Gods word to God’s people. Thanks be to God!