Sermon Evaluation #5

Patterns of Preaching – preacher:  John S. McClure

1. What is the focus of this sermon?  By emptying ourselves of our enmeshed perspectives we can become filled with the love and compassion of Christ.

2. How did the sermon use the text to address the contemporary situation?    Using Philippians 2:5-11 the speaker dealt with us needing, in our day, to abandon those things which we may hold on  to, and seek to instead be emptied of these destructive tendencies.  Only then can we be filled with the compassion and made able to follow the journey which Christ laid out for us.

3. How did the sermon offer hope or the message of God’s promise to the listener?  The hope, for me, was vague and weak.  The sermon started off well, almost pointing towards a hope of being emptied so that we can be truly filled and end the journey well, but it ends on a rather empty note.  Being a Good Friday sermon the tension of leaving Christ on the cross may be intentional, but it also leaves a vague feeling of discouragement at the end over all.  Recommit and see what happens seems to be the promise.

4. How was the sermon transformative?  How might we be changed from hearing this message?    Honestly, I thought it rather vague and too diffuse philosophically to be transformative. It does make one think about possible “powers that we have”, but is too vague to really point to real change.

5. Were the logic and structure of the sermon clear?  Did it flow smoothly and coherently?  I appreciate how the sermon was structured, and it was ordered in a clear laid out way.  But I thought this pattern was rather “clunky”, finding neither a rhythm or voice.  I understood what he was saying but it was more like pieces glued together than a unified whole.

6.  What was most memorable about this sermon?  Though not a positive memory, the idea of our journey in Christ not being assured of victory was an interesting thought.  Even if the faith stays on the margins it is still real and the only full answer.  I like the tension it creates but I think it could have been better developed and phrased.

7.  Any suggestions for improvement?  Too vague.  My response to this is, really, “so what?”.  What does this mean for me?  I don’t really know what to do with this, so I probably would quickly forget it.