These excerpt model fits into the sermon human experience. He discusses the
story of Mary and Martha. When Jesus arrives, Martha is busy in the kitchen
while Mary is at the feet of Jesus. When preachers use everyday people or an
everyday occurrence, people become more attentive. As a minister, I know the
importance of keeping the attention of your audience. When speaking in terms of
things they can relate too – you have their undivided attention. The excerpt
shows: 1. First things first. Martha was more consumed with preparation for the
people than spending time with Jesus. We all deal with the hustle and bustle of
life. Between life, family, work, and school there is never enough hours in the day.
We must make spending time with God a part of our daily routine even when it
means stop what we are doing. We must make Him a priority. Second, Martha
wanted to pull Mary away from Jesus and into the kitchen. Distractions come –
daily. Like Mary we must be willing to walk away and put everything and
everybody on the backburner to spend time and do the will of the Father. In our
walk with Christ, people will not always support our stand for Christ. It is
important that we stand for we will reap if we faint not (Gal. 6:9). We will reap
valuable insight from the Father. There is nothing sweeter than being in His
presence.
Everyone has quit at something whether a diet, relationship, game, and some even
at life. Winning is hard work. I think about the people that train for years to go to
the Olympics but there is only one gold medal at stake yet they still train hard
knowing their chances of not winning the gold medal is greater than winning the
medal. d The only thing that is easy to achieving is losing. Losing takes no effort
all you do is quit. Many quit because they cannot endure trouble. As a Minister,
we love to preach and teach sermons on blessings and prosperity (those happy-
go-lucky sermons) but no one wants to hear about trouble. Trouble is a part of
the process that comes in many forms but the bible states that all things
(meaning the good, the bad, and the ugly) work for good. It’s hard to comprehend
how something good can come out of losing a child, getting a divorce, or being
diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. If we take inventory of our life, we will
see the greatest blessings occur during times of trouble. It allows us the see God
in a greater way. If you quit you will never make it to the finish line.
