Sacred Roots Workshop

Ses s i on 7: L i v i ng i n the Way

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2. The reasoning behind this form of cultural calendar observance is evangelistic: recognition of cultural days will create a point of contact with the unchurched .

3. Much sermonizing and many sermon series may generally serve as the basis for organizing the Church’s themes and emphases, in place of the cultural secular calendar.

a. Series on household formation: Family Life Series

b. Topical or expository series: Stewardship and Giving

4. Often, whether the focus is the cultural secular calendar or the sermon series, a comprehensive covering of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth is absent or eclipsed .

5. Most evangelical churches dedicate a week both to Christmas and/or Easter. But immediately following these key dates, the services tend to return to occasional themes based on the pastor’s best judgment of what ought to be the congregational focus!

6. This “tyranny of the pastor’s sermon file” speaks of two ongoing possibilities.

a. If the pastor is historically grounded and contemporaneously wise, s/he will give sermons and teaching that reflect both the biblical history as well as the issues of the day.

b. If the pastor is not historically grounded, s/he will give sermons and teachings based purely on their own judgment, with no sense that his/her