This week I heard messages from Paul Washer and Zac Poonen. Last week I heard from Leonard Ravenhill and David Wilkerson. And so on and so forth.
Now when I go to my home church and hear my pastor speak...I hate to say it...but I'm bored. I look around and wish people could hear what I have heard from all these great men. Is it me or my church? (I think most congregants are bored anyway)
Hard not to chuckle at your heading but ...
Pray for him ... and burn a CD and give it to him.
Because being bored is really your problem, it is also your solution. That’s good news. There is much you can do about it. Here are some suggestions (tried and tested by me):
Be sure to have your Bible with you, ideally one with a concordance, and cross- references. Take pens, colored pencils, sticky notes,– in a pencil case, along with writing paper tucked into your Bible.
Note your pastor’s key verse. Then check cross-references, to see how other passages relate. Do word searches using your concordance.
Ask yourself questions about the various passages you are examining – ex: the 5W’s and H (who, where, what, when, why and how) Record discoveries. Draw illustrations in the margins.
Use your colored markers or pencils to highlight verses or words. For example, I use blue to mark “faith” or related words, green for “rest”, “hope”…. Yellow for references to the divine, or eternal…..You get the drift.
Ask for divine enlightenment along the way. Note the prayers in the Bible and apply them to those who come to your mind, including your pastor.
Make notes and discoveries in margins or on your paper. Jot down any points you can grab from your pastor’s sermon along the way, and examine in light of Scripture.
You will walk out of church jumping for joy because of all the exciting discoveries you found in God’s word. And to think: He gave you your own personalized sermon!
What you discover for yourself, with God’s help, will stick far better than what you learn from someone else’s hard work – even those who are among the greats.
God bless your adventures.
Oh, by the way, I almost forgot one more suggestion: Share your discoveries on SI.
Diane
roadsign wrote:
Share your discoveries on SI.
Brother, I know how you feel! It's heartbreaking. Every sunday I'm reminded to pray for revival.
Martin
:lol: And I thought I was the only one!
Instead of passing cd's on to your pastor why don't you try to befriend him and use those great saints of the past to help edify him by sharing with him what these men have and do mean to you. Pray for wisdom. God bless.
Boring sermons were God's divine measures for me - like a big kick in the behind. He said, "It's time for you to grow up, and take responsibility for your own faith."
And to my surprise, I learned that I did not need to rely on sermons. I had God's Spirit, my Bible, a lot of good resourses, and my brain.
Amazingly, I had been sitting through sermons for 30 years before I figured it out.
Diane
fIRST OF ALL GREETINGS IN JESUS NAME. I READ YOUR POST AND WONDERED IF THE PREACHER WAS BRINGING THE WORD TO THE SHEEP AND FEEDING THE SHEEP IN TRUTH AND IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. IF SO THEN YOU DON'T GO TO CHURCH TO BE ENTERTAINED, BUT TO WORSHIP THE LORD AND TO HEAR FROM HIM.
BUT IF THIS IS NOT THE CASE MAYBE YOU SHOULD PRAY ABOUT THE SITUAUTION AND SEE WHAT THE LORD WOULD HAVE YOU DO. REMEMBER IT'S GOD WE ARE COMING TO HAVE AN ENCOUNTER WITH WHEN WE GO TO CHURCH. ANYWAY, I HOPE THAT HELPS. GOD BLESS YOU.
Now when I go to my home church and hear my pastor speak...I hate to say it...but I'm bored.
If there is nothing wrong with the content of your pastor's messages but you are bored with the delivery then you would be unfair to your pastor by comparing him with others who in your estimation are "better speakers" because of their delivery. If there is something wrong with the content then you should definitely pray for him and maybe even consider passing on some of the messages you have been listening to.
If the problem is the delivery but the content is definitely in line with and is God's Word, then don't be bored - be blessed - many a congregation doesn't have a man who will preach sound doctrine. Even the great apostle Paul was considered boring by some: "For they say, 'His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and [b]his speech contemptible
Grace and peace
Olan
Glory I will praise the Lord, sometimes you just need to get sick and tired of being sick and tired and then you are motivated, motivated to do what you had been putting off for just the right time… What God really looks at!
U took the words right out of my mouth they are not there to entertain you, how ever that is what we are accustomed too. THEY ARE GOD’S MOUTH PIECE.
The bible speaks about esteeming those who God used when you first heard the Gospel. David Wilkerson, Paul Washer, Zac Poonen and so forth are they the speakers that God used when you first heard the Gospel? Did they lead you to Christ? Did they tell you that your name would be written in the Lambs book of lives and when you turned your back on him and went back to your drinking and your night life, were they praying for you? Were there words ringing in your ears? Did they lay hands on you and prayed for you when you were first Baptized in the Spirit? I don’t think so :-)
They are God’s mouth piece and when your Pastor Speaks whether it be as an encouragement or reproof there is always a Fresh Rhema word that goes forth. It may be in the beginning or it may be in the middle or even often times in the end, but it’s there don’t miss it, don’t miss your word.
Listen
Hi Santana...
I understand what you're talking about. I used to be a part of a moderately large Church that advertised that they "have programs for everyone." Ironically, the programs were typically controlled by the same small group of people. If you were not involved with the programs, you were not seen as an important member of the Church.
So I did what every other "good Christian" would do. I "got busy."
I eventually became so involved in the Church that I spent nearly every day involved in some sort of Church function. On Sundays, I attended services (and at one point started a children's "bus ministry" that eventually picked up about 450 kids). On Mondays, I attended prayer meetings. On Tuesdays, I attended "College and Career" ministries. On Wednesdays, we had our mid-week meeting. On Thursdays, I attended Bible studies and helped at the local Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship. On Fridays, our Church held "revival meetings." On Saturday, we held visitation (and there was many other events always going on). This does not include all of the music practices, play practices, special meetings, etc... As you can tell, the Church liked to keep people busy.
Currently, I attend a much smaller (but growing) Church. While the Church is limited in its resources, it is not limited in the presence of God. I've been more blessed with the three instruments at this new Church than the entire orchestra at the other Church. While this new Church is certainly interested in winning the lost, they don't attempt to achieve "growth" through expensive social means. There are certainly a few programs at the Church -- but they are purposely limited so that the "Church" does not attempt to replace your own family. The Pastor is much more concerned with your spiritual welfare than your physical attendance. It took a while for me to get used to the "peace" at this Church -- but I am glad to not feel pressured to be involved in multitudes of "official" Church functions.
As for the messages -- I agree with Mike. You should offer your pastor a CD or DVD of the messages found on SermonIndex. Explain to him how you have been blessed by those messages. You might be suprised to find that he could be just as deeply impacted as you were!
Regardless, I will be praying for you!
:-)
Now when I go to my home church and hear my pastor speak...I hate to say it...but I'm bored.
I think it is important to also understand that when a pastor is close to God they are sensitive to what the Lord is saying to that local church. This has less to do with the eloquence and grandure of a wonderful message and more to do with what the Lord is saying to the congregation [i]right now
Always remember also that God did not call your pastor to compete with Ravenhill or some of the other ministers on this site. Their roles are somewhat different than these other men. The pastor is to seek God for a word from God to the congregation. There are specific needs that the people have that cannot always be addressed in carefully crafted messages. I am all for deep teaching and expository preaching. But lets not get confused. Sometimes the Lord has a simple word to say from a simple person who is not of excellent speech.
God Bless,
-Robert
This helps out a lot. I truly believe it is I that has the problem, =). What my pastor speaks is the Truth and like everybody said, continue to pray for the man. Thank you.
"He said, "It's time for you to grow up, and take responsibility for your own faith." " Diane (Roadsign said)
Wow. That's crazy.
2 suggestions to the orginal question, to be simple:
*1.* [b]Share what you said with us with your pastor.
2. (This is after reading RobertW's post) [b]Consider moving to a different church.
And either way, I still recommend Diane's(Roadsign) post. "Bring a concordance with your bible and do a short study on what your pastor is speaking about."
Blessings and may God lead you and your pastor to say continually in the presence of God.
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