A thinking break

I'm currently trying to get my head around all the things I want to say on Sunday. It's Pentecost and that always seems to me like a good time to talk about vision and purpose and the amazing power of God to transform people and communities.

As I prepare, I know that what I must do is make the vision as clear as I can, as compelling as I can, and as Christ-centred as I can. I guess that all too often, when we get up to preach, we've spent so much time preparing what we want to say that we forget what it is that we want everyone to take away. I'm often guilty of that, and the end result is that probably very few people take away anything that really sustains them or challenges them over the long haul. On the other hand maybe I'm doing myself a disservice and God too for that matter! Anyway, there is always room for improvement and things to learn.

So, as I look at my confusion of notes and thoughts, I keep asking myself what is it that we should be doing or reflecting upon as a result of this Sunday's topic.  Perhaps I need a list of questions to ask before, as, and after I've done my preparation (assuming the preparation is done in good time, and therein lies another sad truth for many a preacher!). Here are some possible questions that come to mind:

• What should we be doing as a result of this message?
• What should we be doing differently as a result of this message?
• What should we be praying faithfully about as a result of this message?
• What question do we need to consider as a result of this message?

I'd just like to qualify this by saying that the main imperative is to let God speak, so these questions have to be seen to sit in that context. Thinking about it, it would be interesting to know what questions others ask when they are preparing talks and sermons.