Sunday, August 7, 2016

Why all church services should start with a question

I've written previously that good sermons require questions.

This morning in church, amongst others, I asked both of the following questions...
What are you looking forward to in the future?
Are you a cat or a dog person?

But, only one of these enquiries were given during "the address."

Over the last few years, if I can arrange it, I've always started the church services where I've preached at with a sharing/teaser question.

The reasons I do this are to attach a conversation with the act of welcoming those alongside you in the service, engage/reward those who actually turn up on time, introduce a topic which will flow through the service or be addressed in the sermon and open door for an easy conversation topic that I can ask anyone after the service concludes (especially if they have the shake-hands-at-the-door farewell).

Sneakily, I rather like the idea of posing a question right from the start of the service since, when you refer back to it later, those who were late might realise the importance of being punctual and, hopefully, this practice would eliminate the disconnect that can exist between the sermon and the other elements of the church service.

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