Proclaimer Blog
Why a good start should not be important but is
I've enjoyed a few weeks away and noticed how many of the good books I read began well. Can you spot the openings? Click through for the answers. (I realise, by the way, that releasing my summer holiday reading habits is a dangerous business, but I'd just like to point out that this wasn't all I read!)
- Thirty years ago, Marseilles lay burning in the sun, one day.
- Everything comes to an end
- His children are falling from the sky
- Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again
- The thud of a big gun woke Ian Fleming from his doze.
Doubt you got them all, but then my reading tastes are a bit eclectic. The point is that the first line often draws you in. It hooks you.
So should it be with sermon introductions. They need to faithfully introduce the sermon, I think. You can't just tell your best one-liners. But they need to hook and intrigue and tell listeners – this is one for you.
But here's the thing. They shouldn't have to. In an ideal world, our hearers would be so hungry for the word of God that we could begin like John Owen, "The apostle in these verses carries on in his previous design." But the sad reality is that our messages have to accommodate to the fact that people are not hungry as they should be, they need to be persuaded to listen. And therefore, a good start is important. Don't write it first (before you know what direction the sermon is going to take). But do take care over it.