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FEATURE
The real question, though, is whether
I ever preach the same sermon all
over again? Do I ever unclip the ring
binder, slip the old notes in my Bible,
and go off to preach them? On very
rare occasions I have done exactly
that. I have felt such a weight of
conviction and prophetic burden
about a particular sermon that it
has travelled with me from church
to church on every visiting preach. A
few years ago I did this with a sermon
entitled ‘the elder brother syndrome’
all about the church’s attitude to
accommodating new Christians in
their midst. Every time I received an
invitation to preach, I felt that this
was the message I should take with
me – even to a ‘preach-with-a-view’.
It felt odd to preach those exact same
words over and over again, and ran
counter to almost all of my preacher’s
instincts. At the time, though, I knew
it was the right thing to do.
Asking other preachers about
whether or not they reuse old
sermons has proved to be an eyeopening experience. The reactions
have ranged from mild surprise at
the question to the prickly suggestion
that the questioner ought to rely
a little more upon the Holy Spirit!
Amongst most of them it provokes a
reaction not unlike that from a home
baker when asked if they were using
readymade pastry. This is followed
by a brief flurry of those who admit
they might reuse illustrations or
commentary notes. Few, though, seem
willing to admit to full-scale recycling.
It seems to smack of cheating and
hint at laziness. In all honesty, I do
reuse some sermons from my ‘back
catalogue’, but only in particular
ways.
FRAMED MAGAZINE PRINT
You know the kind of thing I mean.
Years ago somebody printed a
magazine on thick paper with
gorgeous full-colour illustrated plates.
Like any other magazine, it was never
meant to be anything more than
ephemeral. Having said that, the
LWPT8462 - Preach Magazine - Issue 2 v2.indd 50
quality and charm of the illustrations
means that somebody has chosen to
cut the illustration out and ennoble it
through framing. I do the same with
parts of old sermons. I ponder long
and hard over the words I choose –
like a poet selecting his metaphors or
a coach-builder choosing his veneers.
If I feel they have a particular
resonance or beauty then I will use
them again.
UPCYCLED CHAIR
Here is an old wing-back chair. The
people who built it really knew what
they were doing, which is why it is
still here. The timber of its frame
is tempered and formed just so to
make it last. Despite that, the original
owners would scarcely recognise it
now. On top of the original sturdy
frame the upholstery has been
chosen and re-chosen again to suit
changing fashions and contexts. I
do this with old sermons, especially
when preaching thematically. If a
particular structure has helped me to
frame the discussion of a challenging
topic such as suffering, free will, or
obstacles to prayer – I will reuse it. The
covering is different, of course, but the
structure remains the same.
BREAD-AND-BUTTER PUDDING
Stop! Before you throw out those last
few slices of stale bread, why not do
something with them? The judicious
application of a little butter, a generous
scattering of some plump sultanas, a
baptism of fresh egg custard and a few
hours to spare – and you could have
the makings of a tasty and warming
dessert. No one would recognise the loaf
once it was served up, of course, but it
is still there. In this way, I sometimes
reuse an old sermon. It has been broken
up, rearranged, had other ingredients
added, and been allowed to marinade
over time. In essence it is still there
though – same research, same biblical
emphasis and same challenge – but oh
so different.
09/01/2015 14:36:17