How do we preach Mark Antony style? How do we connect with and convince people who may have showed up cynical and skeptical? Last time we talked about letting people know that we know we sound crazy when we say something that will sound crazy to them.
We also, if possible, need to give the why. Some guy tells you he believes we didn’t really land on the moon. You think he’s off his rocker. But then he tells you why he thinks that way – you’ll still raise your eyebrows, but at least he’s given proof that he has a brain and has given this some thought.
So in the middle of a sermon you’re going to mention Satan. Don’t just mention Satan. Say, “I realize this may sound crazy, but I’ve come to a point where I believe in Satan. I mean, I look at the world and think, well, there’s got to be a source for all this evil.” OR, “And so God caused the sun to stop. And I understand that sounds impossible. But you know what? If there is a God, well then, nothing’s impossible for Him. I mean, making the sun stop is a piece of cake I guess.” OR, “Today we celebrate the fact that Jesus raised from the dead. And that might sound like a myth to you, like a tall tale, but did you know that there is volumes of hard core evidence to prove this? In fact, did you know that a ton of people, highly intelligent people, have tried to disprove the resurrection and actually ended up proving it and becoming believers in Jesus.”
Make sense? Let me know if you have a different way of doing this, but for me, when I talk about hard-to-believe stuff, I admit it sounds crazy, and I (at least briefly) explain why I believe it.
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Thursday, January 31, 2008
Preaching: Mark Antony Style (4 of 5)
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6 comments:
This may be a little off topic, but I think it is related.
For me, I've found that 4 questions drive my messages (I heard it from Andy Stanley, and it's really amp'd up my preaching):
1. What does God want us to know? (This is the big idea).
2. Why do we need to know it? (This is where the "Now, I know it sounds crazy..." stuff usually shows up).
3. What does God want us to do? (The application)
4. Why do we need to do it?
I've found that it's not enough to tell them the big idea--the audience needs to know why they need to know it. They don't just need to know what to do with what they know. They need the reasons for why they need to do it.
we really didn't land on the moon though it was all a conspiracy like Wag The Dog
this series is good
We try to communicate on this level but sometimes we revert into church talk mode
we did a series called I Doubt It too just to address crazy stuff like Easter
Series on crazy stuff are great but you have to remember that cynical skeptic is in the audience every Sunday not just when you are doing the series so you have to address the cynical skeptic weekly
mr. anonymous - you mean I can't just do a series once and expect that will fix everything? I thought preaching solves all problems.
Haha touche'
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