Saturday is the preacher’s best friend and worst nightmare.
It’s our best friend because it imposes a real deadline. It says to us, Like it or not, tomorrow’s “go time”. Like a good friend who will tell us we have food on our face or our fly is down, Saturday creates in a real sense of urgency: the curtain opens soon.
Saturday is also our worst nightmare. Have you every been deeply satisfied with a fully-written sermon or detailed outline that you had finished on Wednesday (I know, it’s rare), only to discover upon open that same Word document on Saturday night that it was, well, crap? There’s this moment of terror followed by a quick calculation: “Should I fix this sick puppy or is it back to to drawing board?”
It’s the worst feeling ever, because it unleashes a cascade of emotions and questions:
What if my sermon sucks?
What if, because it is not coherent, people will miss what God has to say to them?
What if they begin to believe all my sermons are like this?
What if my preaching professor at seminary was right about me?
(Ok, so maybe you’re not this dramatic all the time, but fear sends us to strange places.)
But what if Saturday and the dreaded Saturday Night Sermon Revision can be redeemed?
I think it can. Here is one reason why and two examples of how.
God has given us his grace. This is ultimately where we start and end, isn’t it? With God’s goodness to us (when we least deserve it). With God’s grace to us (when we least expected it).
Last summer we were on vacation and were in a little bit of hurry to get from our morning destination to our afternoon destination that had a deadline attached to it. If you watch this short clip from Tommy Boy (about the 0:25 – 0:33 mark), you’ll get the idea. We were hungry (hangry, as they say), so we stopped at a Sonic drive through.
It. Was. Taking. For. Ever.
So I was doing what all good dads do: a lot of yelling. I may have told my children they were ungrateful and, well, you can probably fill in the rest of this lecture.
Then God’s grace intervened. We got up to the window. Perhaps it was because I was gesticulating wildly and red in the face before rolling down the window with a sweet, “How are you?” that the woman who handed us our food said, “Sorry about your wait. It’s on us today.”
Slapped in the face by God’s grace. Because that’s how God rolls.
So the rest of the trip was my attempt to redeem the moment with a conversation about God’s grace with our children. And a little confession and forgiveness on the way.
So this Saturday, what would it look like to put a pause between your conviction that “This is the WORST sermon I’ve EVER written” and the fact that God loves you with an indescribable love?
Let the grace of God wash over you (or slap you silly). It’s that overwhelming.
So… that’s the why. Here are two ways to do that.
Turn your deadline into a dare. The deadline part is not going away. So take a risk you may not otherwise have taken. Be bold in your preaching. What have you got to lose? I dare you. (P.S. God’s grace is much more offensive than your biggest risk.)
Turn your fear into focus. What if this is your last sermon? What if you only had this one chance to talk about your topic, the life-changing Word that comes from God? Get clear and focused. What has the Holy Spirit put into your heart to say?
God’s grace first. Then deadlines to dare and fear into focus. You’ve got this. (Actually, you don’t. But God does.)
Sleep tight, preachers.
P.S. If you are itching to improving your sermons, I can show you how in this workshop. But don’t wait forever; rates go up tomorrow at midnight.