“Hello, my name’s Roly, and I’m going to be your guide through the scriptures this morning.”
With those words, our preacher today opened his sermon.
What a lovely way to begin! What a lovely idea!
As our “guide” he was acknowledging that he had a head start on us, but he wasn’t setting himself up as MasterBlaster. He had been over the terrain in preparation; he had given it some thought; he was going to try help us negotiate it.
His services – like that of a guide – were offered. We might choose to hire a different guide, but these were his services. There was a humility about the opening.
And we were going on a journey together – the introductory words were also invitational. I looked forward to the journey, to surveying various aspects of the landscape, being made aware of some of the potholes, and also being led to some great vistas.
There are of course many ways to preach a sermon, but I found this opening to be engaging full of opportunity.
What do you think?
If you are a preacher, how would you feel using it?
If you are a listener – what effect does it have on you?