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Sermon Construction and Presentation Reflection Paper

I had been in the teaching profession in college for more than 10 years already and have been
involved until now in ministry, teaching and preaching the Bible. With my experience in
preparing my own lecture and sermon notes and using presentation tools, I thought that what
the Sermon Construction and Presentation course would offer I already know. I was wrong!

While it may be true that experience is the best teacher, one cannot disregard the learning or
training that can be received from a teacher-student learning process such as I had experienced
in this course. I am glad that I took this course seriously just like the other courses I have
already taken at CLI despite my experience in preparing and presenting a lecture or sermon.

Personally, one of the important ways that this class has helped me is that it made me reflect
on my past experiences in preaching. In fact, this class many times made me smile in
embarrassment and made me think, Ah, so thats what I shouldve done or be doing next
time when I am reminded about a past preaching experience, which I could relate to a specific
topic or lesson in this class. It also showed me some flaws in the way I prepare the sermon
especially in how to conclude it. In addition, the class made me aware and conscious of my
mannerism when I am already in front of the audience presenting.

The most valuable lesson I found in this class is in the area where I thought I was weak, which is
the conclusion of a sermon. While it may be true that The old preaching adage reminds us that
preaching a sermon without knowing how to end it, is like taking off in a plane you have no idea
how to land according to the introduction of the article How to Write a Sermon Conclusion
(eHow), I realized that there is really no plane to land if the plane hasnt actually taken off. I
found that the sermon introduction must be equally important as the sermon conclusion since
the sermon conclusion must be written with the introduction in mind. What I thought earlier as
my weakness in writing the sermon conclusion is actually a sermon introduction weakness as
well. I plan to correct these weaknesses of writing the sermon introduction and conclusion by
writing the sermon body first so it becomes the basis of my introduction and conclusion.

Another lesson I found valuable is the use of sermon illustrations. In my experience I dont use
sermon illustrations intentionally. It just seems to come out when needed while I am presenting
the sermon. I never thought of it as something to be intentionally included while preparing or
constructing the sermon. But I have learned in this class its importance and that it need to be
planned and included in preparing the sermon. This is an area that I believe I also need to work
out. In fact, I plan to go through the Week 7 lesson on Effective Illustrations in Preaching to
improve in this area and to start intentionally including illustrations in my scheduled Sundays
School preparation and assignment in our church.

I am so blessed by this course and it is a great learning experience for me. I may have had a lot
of experiences standing before an audience to present but this class made me realize a lot of
areas I need to improve and grow in order to be effective in performing Gods call in my life in
the area of preaching a sermon. What I thought to be automatic or natural like the use of
gestures while presenting the sermon has to be planned and thought of according to the
different resource persons in Week 6s session. In fact, it is great to observe and learn directly
from observing the different sermon videos how each preacher used their body language in
presenting their sermon to the fullest advantage, however, for Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwells
preaching on Matthew 16:13-19, Keep Up With Your Keys, Im not sure if I could do the same
style as he did though personally it was really great preaching. The preaching videos had
exposed me to different styles and techniques of preaching by different preachers and I found
each style unique to each preacher. What amazes me is that no matter the style and technique
each has used, I am convinced that the message they intended to convey has actually reached
their audience because it has reached me as one of the audience watching and listening to
them.
The teaching videos of Andrew Bryant and Karen Friedman were especially helpful too since
what they taught was not limited specifically to presenting the gospel by preaching alone but is
also very useful in general ways of making a presentation.

Finally, as Prof. Henry Reyenga has said that though different preachers may have different
styles and that even I myself will develop my own style, I should never forget that the most
important thing is the content of the message, which is the Word of God, and the role of the
Holy Spirit in working in the heart of the audience listening. Personally, I am reminded of Jesus
Parable of the Sower where Jesus presented different types of soil, which He used to symbolize
the four different types of mans heart who will receive the gospel. And my prayer to God is
that whatever style or technique He may guide me to use in presenting the gospel, He will
make the heart of my audience free from hardness, stones and thorns so that the gospel may
not only grow but also bear fruit and multiply.

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