Comments on: Caught in the Act

By: roger

roger — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 05:16:17 +0000

Hey just more proof that it was never Gods will for one man to be stuck with trying to feed the sheep every week.

1Jo 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received from him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man should teach you and ye need not that any man should teach you and ye need not that any man should teach you : but as the same anointing teacheth you concerning all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

You will say this: he was dealing with certain Hearsay. But I say: but as the same anointing teacheth you (concerning
all things)
Mat 23:8 But you must not be called Rabbi, for One is your teacher, Christ, and (you are all brothers.) equal!
Mat 23:9 And call no one your father on the earth, for One is your Father in Heaven.
Mat 23:10 Nor be called teachers, for One is your Teacher, even Christ.
Mat 23:11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
Mat 23:12 And whoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he who shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Mat 23:13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Jesus said
Mar 10:43 But so it shall not be among you: but whoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:
Mar 10:44 And whoever of you will be the chief, shall be servant of all.
Luk 22:26 But you shall not be so: but the greater among you, let him be as the lesser, and he who governs, as one who serves.
Luk 22:27 For which is the greater; he who reclines, or he who serves? Is it not he who reclines? But I am among you as He who serves.
I am a house church advocate and host with experience. I was a pastor / preacher and know the trials of preaching and it is not Gods will. In our groups we all preach all share what God is showing them for that week. It is Great to hear from the saints every week. The letters of the New Testament are not written to the pastors of ……they are written to the SAINTS OF…..Pastors didn’t exist and never should have …one reference and a whole movement is born…Protestants…

By: toscana

toscana — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 04:59:20 +0000

E grande io ha trovato il vostro luogo! Le info importanti ottenute! ))

By: Big Mike Lewis

Big Mike Lewis — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 07:36:55 +0000

I have heard one of our brotherhood greats (popular Pepperdine speaker) at a youth rally tell nearly word for word a Jerry Seinfeld stand-up routine as if it were his own experiences on his flight there.

I own too many stand-up CD’s to not notice it. I didn’t say anything, but he lost my respect. I won’t say his name, but he knows he did it.

By: elder eli

elder eli — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 07:25:26 +0000

I grew up in an Amish church. They believe in general preparation
with the Spirit guiding the message, given in German. As a young boy sitting on a hard backless bench it was quite boring. Once, one of my friends pulled out one of his hairs, caught a fly, and tied the fly to the end of the hair, creating a nice diversion. The preacher noticed the airial show, and without a pause reprimanded the young lad; then
kept right on exhorting the congregation. Funny that out of all those
Spirit-led sermons, that is one of the few I remember anything about!
Seriously, I agree with Peter that we ought to listen to God rather
than men!

By: Beverly Choate Dowdy

Beverly Choate Dowdy — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 05:04:00 +0000

Many times over the years, I have sat in assemblies and heard guys preach verbatim–articles from Christianity Today, books by Watchman Nee, passages from Swindoll, Stott, and others. I never confronted anyone about it, but felt such frustration and sadness. What a privilege these men had to preach. How easy it would have been to share the source of their inspiration. How insulting of them to assume no one in their audience had read or heard any of these materials.

By: John Dobbs

John Dobbs — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 18:19:47 +0000

I’m late in the game here…but what a great subject and wonderful post / comments.

I cannot make the same claim that Tim Spivey does… (ironic statement in this thread anyway!) … when in college I preached Jeff Walling’s “What Is A Disciple” word for word. I know it was word for word because I spent so long with my tape recorder writing down every word. I preached Marvin Phillips’ “How To Build A Fire Without Burning the House Down”. I practically read Jim McGuiggan’s God of the Towel to the church in weekly installments. I guess you could say I had room to grow … but the content heard each week was good stuff for the church.

Even now while preparing I sometimes go to Sermon Central and key in the text … scan several sermons for a good story or humorous remark … seldom find anything I would lift entirely. In a turn of events not long ago I had my text selected and was cruising through some sermons at that site. I came across one that I loved and I decided to use it almost ‘as is’. Turns out it was my own. No wonder it was so good.

How many preachers have visited a member and left a note, ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock’ and had a return note the next Sunday, ‘I was naked in the garden and I hid from thee’. I’ve heard VERY WELL KNOWN preachers tell this as if it happend to them. And several times at Tulsa…in the same place even! Not good!

Finally, I was thankful Bonnie told us about her dad. You know, he ministered before computers and internet … things that it was once said would save us so much time. ha! I wish I had known the man.

blessings to all…thanks Mike…

By: LDB

LDB — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 22:50:11 +0000

I am a member at a Full Gospel Baptist church and we are so blessed to have a pastor that really devotes himself to the study of the Word. His messages show it – he has a powerful message empowered by the Spirit of God. Someone on here said that three days of locked away prep time won’t let you know what your congregation needs to hear. I strongly disagree…if the person preparing has a vibrant relationship with the Lord and is tuned in to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, he will know exactly what God has for his flock. There were many times the Lord spoke to Moses and told him what to tell the children of Israel. I believe God still uses pastors that way today if they genuinely seek Him.

Also, my husband teaches the adult Sunday School class. He also puts much study time and prayer into his lessons. I believe that the faithful reliance on the Holy Spirit on a daily basis is just as valuable (if not moreso) as the “fly by the seat of yours & the Spirit’s pants” attitude that many seem to have. There have been some at our church (we’re kind of a mixed bag sometimes) that have been critical of advanced preparation of sermons and messages. Some have told my husband to loosen up and just let the spirit lead him – what they don’t realize is that’s what he’s been doing all week. Some of these people have actually gotten up and taught or given a testimony by the seat of their pants – they kept emphasizing “I didn’t prepare this, I’m just letting the spirit lead me…” as they rambled and didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Go figure…

Also – I visited a church one time and witnessed a preacher preach a message I had just seen on tv by another pastor! Word for word, prop for prop! I was appalled. I also teach women’s Bible studies and at conferences, but I have never used another’s message word for word. I have borrowed ideas and given credit. I can’t even imagine telling a personal anecdote as if it were mine… seems like lying…

Anyway – interesting posts…I enjoy this blog.

LAURA

By: cecil eager

cecil eager — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 15:46:05 +0000

“The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him.” Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, January 6.

By: Kent Dickerson

Kent Dickerson — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 11:59:25 +0000

I had a lesson early on in borrowing from another serman. I tried something I had seen Mid McNight do when I was young. He would read a passage from an old
Bible, say something like “I don’t like that” and tear out the page. He moved on to tearing several pages out, then had a lesson on our accepting all of the Bible. Did not go over well for me even though I did credit him with the idea after. I leaned that sermons need to fit your own personality.
I found you hit a place after a couple of years of two sermons and one or two bible lessons a week that you have a hard time picking something new to preach on. It’s no wonder that it has been quite common for preachers to move on every 2-3 years to another church. Of course if you stay, it forces you to move past your favorites and learn something new in scripture and that is a good thing.

By: John

John — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 06:05:51 +0000

I’m all for a new website called “www.mikecopefreesermonmanuscripts.com”

By: John

John — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 06:01:29 +0000

missionary-type: “If I feel called to use parts of a lesson that someone else wrote, not because of my own laziness but because it is just the message that needs to be heard, could that not be the Spirit?”

My case in point….lol. This is what I was thinking in my earlier post. Missionary-type said it much better. (I just might use that)

By: Canada Jim

Canada Jim — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 00:17:22 +0000

Used two Fleer quotes this morning. Gave him very loud credit. It felt so… liberating. Not that i didn’t do that last week, the week before that, the week before that…

By: Royce Ogle

Royce Ogle — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:53:19 +0000

Some of those first preachers said “Go find 7 good men, filled with the Holy Ghost, to take care of waiting tables”, “We will give ourselves continually to prayer and the ministry of the Word of God”.

I suspect that more time was spent in prayer than in actual sermon prep. Could you preachers be more effective if those two tasks were your only responsibility? I believe it is still that important. Rather than being a “jack of all trades” to the congregation, I am convinced that if you had time for extended prayer and pouring over the word, the finished product would be greatly improved.

By: missionary-type

missionary-type — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 18:19:52 +0000

It’s frustrating to me that spontaneous and Spirit-led have, in some circles, become synonymous. Equating the two seems to limit our view of the Spirit’s power. If I sit to prepare a lesson with an open heart and an open mind, am I not open to the leading of the Spirit? If I feel called to use parts of a lesson that someone else wrote, not because of my own laziness but because it is just the message that needs to be heard, could that not be the Spirit? Or if I write nothing down beforehand and get up to speak, are my words guaranteed to be from the Spirit? Certainly not. It is not our job to decide when or where God and His Spirit will work. All we can do is humbly ask for His help, which we may or may not receive in the way we desire. So I prepare, I make the best use of my resources and I remain open to some last-minute intervention. I can be Spirit-led and still use my God-given wisdom to get me through the rest of the time.

By: MW

MW — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 00:33:32 +0000

Hmmm… I don’t know which I’m more surprised about – the flat out number of responses that this post has gotten, or the amount of “conversation” about the legitimacy of lifting others words and claiming them as your own.

Surviving on the foundation of a person’s ownership of what they create, maybe I’m a bit biased. But, then again, I keep thinking about Dr. Fair’s wife warning him of the “lake of fire” when he fibbed… Yeah, that’s not what John’s words were referring to, but still…