I don’t know of any preachers, other than me and Mark, who make actual manuscripts of their sermons available before they preach them. I started doing so years ago after my son-in-law asked if I could make printed copies available. I did so, thinking some might be picked up after church. But, to my surprise, they were being picked up before church. So I started putting them on the sermon table along with the outlines.
I soon came to realize that some like to just listen, some like to fill in outlines, and some like to read along. I really don’t care which is done, as long as the message is being received.
Of late, sixty-five copies seems to meet the need. I do, however, try to keep a few on the table in case someone misses one, and would like a full set for later reference. If any aren’t left on the table after church, I look for ones that have been left behind in the pews. Usually I find a half dozen or so, but a couple weeks ago I found fifteen or twenty.
In case you’re wondering why, so did I. The sermon was on adultery and sexual immorality. When I shared my concern, it was noted that having a sermon on adultery seen in someone’s home might raise suspicious thoughts. I do hope that was the reason, and not that the message was being dismissed. And I do hope what I shared from Augustine is remembered.
When struggling with sin in his life, he confessed that when he let the enemy convince him to do what he wanted to do, what he wanted soon led to wicked desire or lust. Yielding to lust created habit, and habit unresisted created a kind of necessity. What started as a simple desire to do what he wanted, instead of what God wanted, soon became a chain that shackled him in cruel slavery.
Freedom from his slavery to sin came when a voice told him to take up and read. He took up the Bible, and read from Romans 13. “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in its lusts.”
When struggling with sinful habits, that is the only answer.
God Bless, Rick
Chatham Christian Church 