I am thrilled to announce the publication of my new book, Twelve Sermons Which I Love to Preach. I began this project intending it to be a Christmas gift for my family. But as the book developed I realized that it might be of interest to people beyond my immediate family. I whittled my “favorite” sermons down to twelve, wrote an introduction about my own preaching experiences, added a chapter on how I prepare a message, and finally included a classic hymn appropriate for each sermon. It has been fun to refine these twelve sermons for publication and distribution with the hopes that they will encourage and edify the body of Christ.
The following is an excerpt from my book where I describe some of the interesting experiences of preachers:
Preachers can usually share some interesting experiences that happen during a Sunday morning sermon. One of my former professors, Dr. Grant Howard, had been invited to preach at a church in Arizona. He was about halfway through his message when a woman stood up and asked, “What do you want me to do, take off all my clothes?” Fortunately, she was gently ushered out of the auditorium by a kindly deacon before she could act on her mental confusion.
My most embarrassing experience as a preacher took place at my home church where I had been invited to deliver the Sunday sermon. It was a warm, summer morning and the hospitality committee had prepared lemonade and cookies for the congregation to enjoy between Sunday School and the church service. Having taught Sunday School for the previous hour, I was pretty thirsty. The chilled lemonade was so delicious and refreshing that I drank two full glasses. Thirty minutes later as I sat on the platform looking forward to preaching my sermon, I began to feel “nature’s call.” As the minutes ticked by, I realized this was a call that I could not ignore.
During the next hymn I decided to quietly leave the platform and visit the restroom during the pastor’s prayer. I returned a few minutes later much relieved. But the pastor had finished his prayer and was asking the congregation where was his guest speaker! I knew that I had to answer his question before beginning my sermon. With a face flushed with embarrassment, I briefly explained the consequence of enjoying two glasses of delicious lemonade before the service. Everyone had a good chuckle about “nature’s” inopportune call on the preacher.
Twelve Sermons Which I Love to Preach is available on Amazon for $9.95 ($4.95 Kindle Edition). https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Twelve+Sermons+Which+I+love+to+Preach&ref=nb_sb_noss