{"id":31247,"date":"2022-09-10T15:22:49","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/5-dreaded-sermon-topics-and-tips-for-handling-them-gracefully\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:22:49","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:22:49","slug":"5-dreaded-sermon-topics-and-tips-for-handling-them-gracefully","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/5-dreaded-sermon-topics-and-tips-for-handling-them-gracefully\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Dreaded Sermon Topics\u2014and Tips for Handling Them Gracefully"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\">Mohamed Nohassi photo &#8211; Unsplash <\/p>\n<p><em>By Josh King<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This past Sunday I preached a text that dealt primarily with alcohol. I didn\u2019t want to do it.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve preached nearly every week for the past 20 years and, during most of those years, multiple times a week.<\/p>\n<p>As much as I love preaching, there are some topics I don\u2019t enjoy tackling. I know I\u2019m far from alone in this.<\/p>\n<p>I recently asked a few pastor friends about topics they dread addressing from the pulpit. The discussion revealed a few shared answers. Here are some of the subjects mentioned:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sex (particularly when children are present for the sermon)<\/li>\n<li>Submission<\/li>\n<li>End times<\/li>\n<li>Divorce<\/li>\n<li>Roles of deacons and elders<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s not that we don\u2019t like the text or don\u2019t know or agree with what the Bible says.<\/p>\n<div class='code-block code-block-1' style='margin: 8px 0;clear: both'> <\/div>\n<p>The problem for most of us is these can be divisive issues. And with these particular topics, the divisions don\u2019t tend to leave room for grace toward one another.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some practices I\u2019ve discovered and implemented to deliver messages on these specific topics with a bit more ease. Here are some \u201cpreaching hacks\u201d for each of these subjects.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Sex <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>When preaching about sex I use the word <em>intimacy<\/em> since there are children in the room.<\/p>\n<p>It gets across what I&#8217;m trying to say without making the parental ears squirm and the teenage ears too embarrassed to listen to me.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Submission<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>When preaching on the topic of submission, use others&#8217; voices. This topic is challenging for the majority of preachers simply because we&#8217;re men. And because many men have abusively handled such passages in the past, it can start us out in a difficult place.<\/p>\n<p>What I\u2019ve done is use the words of a woman in making the point. Kathy Keller has some great material on this subject, and honestly, says it better than I ever could.<\/p>\n<p>When I needed it, I simply put her image and quote on the screen.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. End times<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If you should come across a text that deals with the end times, make sure to anchor the sermon in the idea that God is ultimately in control.<\/p>\n<p>So much apocalyptic preaching can be sensational\u2014and honestly, boring\u2014due to so much conjecture.<\/p>\n<p>Say what you know, admit what we can\u2019t know, and remind them God knows it all.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>4. Divorce <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This can be hard to touch on because so many of the people in the room are personally affected by it.<\/p>\n<p>I like to include language that shows compassion for the various situations that sometimes lead to divorce. I&#8217;ll often say something like, \u201cNo one who has had a divorce set out to do so. If we follow God\u2019s design in (whatever area I&#8217;m preaching) we can avoid the pain and loss resulting from divorce.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>5. Roles of Elders and Deacons<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>There\u2019s a lot to unpack regarding these roles, and for many, their extended faith family isn\u2019t representing anything close to what can be found in the Bible on this topic.<\/p>\n<p>My best advice in this situation is to use the words of whatever denomination you\u2019re a part of.<\/p>\n<p>Just as we take the original languages of the Bible and use English words in our translations, I think we need to sometimes take an English word and use a denominationally colloquial one.<\/p>\n<p>That means when I preach in my Southern Baptist church or other Southern Baptist churches, I always refer to elders as \u201cpastors\u201d and deacons as either \u201cdeacons\u201d or \u201cministers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This helps me frame it in a way the listeners are likely more familiar with.<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear:both;margin-top:0em;margin-bottom:1em\">\n<div class=\"centered-text-area\">\n<div class=\"centered-text\" style=\"float: left\">\n<div class=\"u477ad89c07993e04ab40c14ffc800304-content\">See also&nbsp; What Churches Must Do to Reach Gen Z<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ctaButton\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As the sermon or sermon series progresses they begin to grasp that <em>pastor<\/em> and <em>elder<\/em> are synonyms. It removes those walls that say, \u201cElders are for them; we have pastors.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>General preaching principles<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>I\u2019ve offered some preaching hacks on approaching some specific topics that may make you cringe a little (don\u2019t avoid them; they <em>are in<\/em>&nbsp;the text, after all).<\/p>\n<p>Now, here are some general principles to keep in mind before you approach any sensitive or difficult subject.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Preach with a plan. <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>You can preach through books, larger sections of text, or even start in Genesis and work your way through the Bible.<\/p>\n<p>I preach the schedule provided by <em>Explore the Bible<\/em> and really enjoy having our church small groups and worship service centered around the same text each week.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever you do, if you have a plan and a direction you can\u2019t be accused of cherry-picking a text.<\/p>\n<p>This is helpful for those topics like submission or giving. Even if someone thinks you&#8217;re coming at them personally, you can let them know your sermon topic has been scheduled for some time.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Use the original language. <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>I usually encourage pastors not to do this, but if a text is hard to preach because of a certain word, consider using the Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic word.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, anything dealing with slavery can be sticky because of the disgusting history of the U.S. in that area. It can be helpful, therefore, to go ahead and use the word &#8220;doulos&#8221; throughout the sermon.<\/p>\n<p>In this scenario, you could start by defining the word to get everyone on the same page. This will help you preach on the topic while avoiding the pain the words &#8220;slave&#8221; or &#8220;slavery&#8221; can trigger.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Remind yourself they need this. <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>All of the Bible is beneficial, and all of it needs to be preached.<\/p>\n<p>Even if you aren\u2019t a big fan of preaching apocalyptic sermons, know that God wants you to read it and know it for some reason, and that it\u2019s your honor to reveal that reason to your church.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Jump in with both feet.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Truly, the easiest way to preach difficult passages is to preach them clear and strong. Don\u2019t waver. Say what the text says and then move on.<\/p>\n<p>Think of it as \u201cripping off the Band-Aid.\u201d You may also find your congregation has been hungry to hear a clear teaching on that troubling topic for years.<\/p>\n<p>There are times when we\u2019d rather not face the emails or after-service confrontation. Hopefully these \u201chacks\u201d will help you get through that topic or two.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, it&#8217;s rarely what you said that makes people mad, it\u2019s how you said it. We can all learn to say things better.<\/p>\n<p><em>Please share some of your \u201cpreaching hacks\u201d in the comments. I can use them myself, and it will benefit our readers. &nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>JOSH KING (@JoWiKi)<\/strong>&nbsp;<em>is the&nbsp;pastor of Second Baptist Church in Conway, Arkansas, husband of Jacki, and father of three boys<\/em>.<em>&nbsp;He\u2019s also a co-host of the EST.church podcast.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-box su-box-style-default\" id=\"\" style=\"border-color:#000000;border-radius:0px\">\n<div class=\"su-box-title\" style=\"background-color:#333333;color:#FFFFFF;border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px\">Dig Deeper at Lifeway.com<\/div>\n<div class=\"su-box-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"border-bottom-left-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px\">\n<div class=\"one-third first\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"two-thirds\">\n<h2>The Bible Handbook of Difficult Verses: A Complete Guide to Answering the Tough Questions<\/h2>\n<p>Josh McDowell &amp; Sean McDowell<\/p>\n<p>  FIND OUT MORE <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class='yarpp yarpp-related yarpp-related-website yarpp-template-thumbnails'>\n<h3>Related posts:<\/h3>\n<div class=\"yarpp-thumbnails-horizontal\">  How Do Most Pastors Plan Their Sermons?  Making the Apocalypse Understandable: 7 Keys to Preaching Revelation  3 Strategies for Cultivating a Biblically Literate Church  3 Ways to Reach Non-Religious People in Your Community <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mohamed Nohassi photo &#8211; Unsplash By Josh King This past Sunday I preached a text that dealt primarily with alcohol. I didn\u2019t want to do it. I\u2019ve preached nearly every week for the past 20 years and, during most of those years, multiple times a week. As much as I love preaching, there are some &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/5-dreaded-sermon-topics-and-tips-for-handling-them-gracefully\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;5 Dreaded Sermon Topics\u2014and Tips for Handling Them Gracefully&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31247\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}