tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-642051953929467886.post5781322556073716293..comments2012-02-18T21:21:22.495+00:00Comments on A Toe in the Water: What Wesley didn't say about sermons!A Toe in the Waterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15985266737889326790noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-642051953929467886.post-34750574789045881292010-12-14T16:27:08.315+00:002010-12-14T16:27:08.315+00:00Thanks for your thoughts, Angela. My first sermon...Thanks for your thoughts, Angela. My first sermon goes back only to 1990, but I can still remember it and would be reasonably happy to preach it again! As a lay preacher, developing my gifting, I used to restrict myself to preaching twice a month - once in my own church and once elsewhere - and it was usually the same sermon. After critical analysis from my wife, I often changed it the second time!<br /><br />I'm not repeating any old Christmas sermons this year - I've used them up already! But yes, it's good to have some in reserve.A Toe in the Waterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15985266737889326790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-642051953929467886.post-16228187065167836152010-12-13T22:37:50.158+00:002010-12-13T22:37:50.158+00:00Being a Lay Preacher, and therefore in lots of dif...Being a Lay Preacher, and therefore in lots of different pulpits, I can 're-visit' sermons in a shorter space of time than a pastor in one fellowship. I am also conscious that sometimes as I drive home after preaching a sermon in a particular place, on the journey back I go over it and I realise there are parts I can develop/omit - and next time, in another place, the content may be 20% changed from Draft #1. <br />Furthermore, I think the 'burn it after seven years' approach is rather drastic - if there WAS good content then, then it remains good content NOW - and can be of personal benefit if not for public preaching.<br />I have my sermon notes dating back to the early 1970s [on paper - no PCs back then!] but I wouldn't DREAM of preaching those exact sermons again - although I am not ashamed of their content or theology. I think all gifts develop with use and practice, and those teenage offerings were fine for what they were then, but inappropriate now.<br />I'm intrigued that you have no other comments on this post - it is such a thought provoking piece!<br />Are your clergy friends all too busy writing Fresh Christmas Sermons - or is it that none dares admit to sermon recycling?<br />And although your father [and mine] had pastorates of twenty-plus years, that IS unusual these days. Surely if someone moves on to a fresh pulpit, it is useful to have a store of old sermons to provide a reservoir for those weeks when the workload has been heavy, and they can at least provide the bare bones of a fresh message?<br />blessings xAngelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13494078135251214182noreply@blogger.com