The other day I was at a service where the sermon was around 12 minutes long (what's the problem with that I hear you say!). Well, for well over half the sermon, the preacher kept telling us what he was going to tell us.
Now, I can appreciate there can be times (and I'm sure we've all done it) a biblical text is chosen as the preacher expects to say a particular thing. But as they examine the text and its context more closely, they realise that what they were going to say doesn't fit. Or something new jumps out at them and they realise it's that they should be focusing on.
With that in mind, I can see using the "what I was going to tell you" formula as an opener. It gets the congregation curious what you are actually going to say and shows the preacher is willing to move from their position. But please, please, please not for the majority of the sermon. I found myself thinking every time they said "I was going to tell you" thinking "WHAT????!!!!" (Yes, the shouty text is intended).
So, what was the message from the sermon the other day? I have no idea, even when leaving the service I had no idea, but I could tell you what they were going to tell me.
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