Video Transcript: Session 19 Introductions, Continued

Welcome back. This is session 19 of a class on making and preaching sermons. That means you're over halfway. So this is a good thing today. Just review  where we been. The last time we talked about introductions, excuse me,  introductions. And we talked about story as a way to do introductions. In fact,  introductions are the hook. And I mentioned them, how important introductions  are that you've got about two minutes or less, in order to hook people's attention before they'll pay attention to the rest of it. And And nowadays, you know, you'll  see people taking about phones because they're bored. And we're going to  reflect on introductions again today. Last time, we saw how a story is a  magnificent way of hooking people's attention, and grabbing them into your  introduction and stories are the way that Jesus used, you know, he would  introduce stories like The Parable of the Sower, and then use that as a way to  go on and explain how, in the, in the message part of it, how these things got  established how the word gets established in people's hearts and the different  reactions to it, but it started with a story. Now, the point of introductions again,  are these things, you want to capture people's attention. You want to establish  rapport with the audience, especially, this is a, this is not from preaching so  much. This is a communications image here, establish rapport, if you haven't  talked to this audience before, you want them to get to know you, and you want  them to get to experience you. And so you establish rapport, and you prepare  for the purpose. I'm going to repeat those this week and next week or this  session, the next session as we go on. That equals a strong beginning. As these three things happen, capturing attention, establishing rapport, and preparing for  the purpose of your message. Now, last time, again, we looked at story, today,  we're going to look at another one. And that is an intriguing question, can grab  people's attention can hook them into your message. There are many people  who are tremendously gifted at this. One is this man here. Now he is not so  much a speaker. He does a lot of speaking he does preaching. His name is  Philip Yancey. His very first book was entitled, Where is God when it hurts. And  he introduced that book with a story about a young woman, young mother,  she's a wife, she's a mother, and she discovers she has leukemia, she's got a  form of leukemia, and is in the hospital experiencing treatment. And the  treatment is causing her to lose her hair, cuts, treatment or chemotherapy is  causing her to feel pain in various places, nausea, etc. And people from her  church, come and give her advice. Not just listening to her pain, but some say,  you know, you must really kick God off. Another person comes, oh, you know  what God's just calling and he's giving you a privilege to suffer in his name.  Another saying, you know, you just got to praise God, and they'll go away.  Another thing is you just have faith you can be healed. And those are the kinds  of questions that lead into a life. Where is God when our hurts? What does the  Bible say? So that was his first book. And and since then, he has written many,  many books. And he still uses this, this method of questions as the introduction. 

Why is this young woman's sick? name is Claudia. Why is she sick? And I'm  going to share with you a video. Now this is not him preaching. But it's him  interviewing with another pastor at on a Sunday morning during the service. And you'll notice we're just going to do nine minutes. He talks about that first book,  where's God and then hurts but then he talks about an introduction to the further point of what he wants to say in that morning. And the introduction tells about  the time when he is an auto accident. And he's told that if he gets airlifted, he's  got to be airlifted to another place. And he may die in route. And so he has  seven hours sitting there knowing that this may be the end of his life. And he's  given a cell phone and say you better call those people you love and tell them  you love them because you may not survive the airlift because of the change in  pressure etc. Now, listen to the questions he asked in that situation. And then  we'll come back and analyze it. It is a great honor and a privilege to have the  Yanceys with us. Philip Yancey's books are well known to I imagine everyone  here he's sold 18 million copies. He's written 25 books. And I have every single  one of his books on my bookshelf. In fact, I brought them here as a visual aid.  There they are. And I didn't have them all. But last time he came, he very kindly  filled in the very small gaps that I had and sent me the other copies. So I do now have every copy. And this one you'll see particularly well, some copy of what is  amazing about grace. This is a book we recommend to every single person that  comes on alpha. It's a fantastic book, if you haven't read it yet. It's life changing.  But today, I want to focus on really his first book and his last book, both of which  are on the subject of suffering. And that's what I'm going to be particularly asking him about today. So but it's such a privilege to have you both here with us. And  these. The book I want to recommend is this book, which I've just been reading  the question that never goes away. This is the US edition. This is the UK edition. Why? And Philip's first book was on on that subject, where's God when it hurts?  And then recently, he's visited, well, tell us about three places that you have  visited. Because I wrote my first book, where it's going when it hurts. I'm often  asked to speak on that very question. And I've been to some very wrenching  places, Virginia Tech, after the shootings there, Mumbai, we happen to be in  Mumbai, India, the night of the bombings, a spontaneous meeting happened, I  had to speak again. And at the end of 2012, I thought back over that year, there  were three places of extraordinary but very different soft kinds of suffering. The  first was Japan, it was the one year anniversary of the tsunami. And they asked  me to come and visit the area that had been affected and speak to a national  prayer meeting, then, and that was in March, and in September, I went to  Sarajevo, the former Yugoslavia, which is the scene of the terrible war in the  Balkans. Four years siege around this town. 10,000 people died just one  horrible story after another of what humans did to each other. And then the last  one was a smallest in scale, but in many ways, the most poignant and the most  difficult for me. And that was in Newtown, Connecticut, the scene of the Sandy 

Hook, elementary school shootings where twenty 6 and 7 year old children and  then six teachers and and staff were killed. And a former Brit Clive Calver, who  was the director of the Evangelical Alliance here for years in Britain, is now the  

pastor of a church right on the border on the city limits of Newtown, Connecticut. It's one of the few thriving evangelical churches in that part of the world 3500  members, and he called and asked, Could you possibly come and speak again  on this topic? So 1977 was a long time ago. How many of you were not alive in  1977? Yeah, okay. That was my first book. And I wrote that book, because like a  lot of people, it was a barrier to my faith. I couldn't get past this question. If there is a good God, why did these bad things happen? years later, in 2012, I had  spent a lot of time with people who have gone through that tragedy. And I  wanted to write a new book about things I had learned from them, not so much  the personal quest of trying to figure it out for myself, but how we as a church  can and should respond to people who go through great tragedy. And it's not just of course, seeing those great tragedies out there. But it's also a very personal  thing. And you start the book by telling the story about your own father, just kind  of tell us about that. Yes, I was only one year old. My father is an extraordinary  man. I never knew him because he died that year, he was planning to be a  missionary to Africa, and like a lot of missionaries had accumulated a mailing list and was raising funds and getting people to pray for him. In 1950, he contracted polio, that was the great fear disease back then, in the US. 50,000 people a year were dying from polio. He was healthy and strong. But suddenly he was  paralyzed. He in fact, he was so paralyzed, he could not even breathe on his  own. So he was put in one of the iron lung machines that does your breathing  for you. And the people who were praying for him. They couldn't understand how God could possibly take a person like that was such a future ahead of him. So  they became convinced that he would be healed, they prayed believed he would be healed, and against all the doctors advice, he was removed from the iron  lung as an act of faith. And about a week later, he died. And I lived my whole life  under the cloud and the way that affected my mother, those around us our  family. So how old was he when he died? When he was 24, 24. And and how we I was one Yeah, just a year old. So I have no memories of him. No conscious  memories. The only thing I have of his is a Bible in which he records in the  flyleaf one person after another who, whom he led to Christ. So he was an  extraordinary person with great potential. And what I learned from that is what  we believe about this question matters. If we get it wrong, it can really lead to  bad things have happened in my own family. Now, of course, that mean many  things in your life challenges and so on. But, one, there was a particular  challenges when you broke your neck. And the questions that you asked at that  time, yes, I was on a book tour speaking, who knew book tours can be so  dangerous. And in a neighboring state driving back, I live in Colorado, it's a state of mouthful of mountains. As you probably know, if you've been there, and going

around one of those mountains in February, I hit a patch of ice. And the car I  was driving went off the side of the road turned over five times like this, I was  belted in fortunately, and didn't know how hurt I was I was taken to a little clinic.  And it was a good doctor. But if he if they still teach courses in bedside manner,  he flunked because I'm lying there. And he comes in and says, Well, Mr. Yancey, you've got a broken neck. Oh, that's bad. Yeah, but it could be worse. Because  you see, it's not right next to the spinal cord. So you're not in any immediate  danger of paralysis. Oh, well, that's good. Well, yes, but it's right next to the  carotid artery. So actually, you're in immediate danger of dying. Oh, that's bad.  He literally did. And he said, he said, we've got a jet standing by to fly it to  Denver, because this is a small town for emergency surgery. But just between  you and me, if the carotid artery has been punctured, you're not gonna make it  to Denver. So here's a mobile phone, you should call the people you love and  tell them goodbye, just in case. So as it turned out, for, for the next seven hours, I was strapped down as they're doing arterial dyes and all these different  procedures to find out how hurt I was. He did free one arm so I could call the  people that I loved and tell them goodbye. And that was a hallmark experience  in my life. Yeah. And what was the big question for you at that moment? Yes, I,  you know, I'm sitting there thinking, Okay, let's see, I made my living as a  Christian writer, this could be my last hour, I need to come up with something  here. And what occurred to me is that so much of what we spend our lives  worrying about, how does the lawn look? What kind of car do I drive? How much money is in my pension fund? How many books have I sold? Those did not  occur to me for the next seven hours. In fact, as I lay there, I could only think of  three questions that were worth my time. One was, Who do I love? Who will I  call on that mobile phone and tell them goodbye? Who do I love? What have I  done with my life? And am I ready for whatever is next? Those were the only  three questions worth my time. And I later reflecting back realize we should all  be living in light of those questions every day. But we get so distracted by just  the busyness you know, the to do list, all of that, that we we let those sink into  the background and this traumatic experience, really put them into the  foreground for me. And I've tried to learn from that. Not every day as urgently  but to live in light of those questions ever since. So just think of a message that  he's got to share about pain and suffering and facing death. You know, the  question of Who do I love? This? Does my life did my life count for anything?  Those kinds of questions are huge, and are ones that people work past. And  that's it. You know, if I was in that situation, those would be the questions that I  asked. Now, this method of using intriguing questions is powerful. Another  person who is very, very good at that is Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvy, a longtime pastor  of Hollywood Presbyterian Church. And then he became the chaplain of the use  of the United States Senate. And he used this method often and when he was  pastor of a church, he would send out a thing to his congregation saying, let me 

know what your greatest questions are. And then he would take those  questions, and he would develop messages. And then he put those messages in a book. Here's two of them, asking God your hardest questions by Lloyd J.  Ogilvy, or Now this I think was the first one that he did this way. Ask him  anything God can handle your hardest questions. And so in there are questions  about can I forgive someone? Why do children die of starvation in this world?  Tough questions, but they're the kind of Questions that stick with you, that make  you say, I want to know more about that? I want to know the answer to that  question. That's the point of using an intriguing question as your introduction.  Now Jesus was somebody who was a pro at this as he is in so many things.  Let's just look at a few of the questions. He asked Matthew 16. He says, Who do people say the Son of Man is? The picture is that the disciples and Jesus are  kind of walking along? And Jesus just asked this rather intriguing question, Who  do people say I am? And the answer is, well, some say you're John the Baptist  come back to life. Some say you're a prophet, you're Elijah are one of the  prophets that you come back to life. And then the big question was, who do you  say that I am? And it's Peter who answers and you remember the answers you  are depending on the translation, God's Messiah, or you are the Messiah, or you are the Christ. And here's Jesus response, Blessed are you, Simon, son of  Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in  heaven. And then he goes on to say, and on this rock, I will build my church.  Now, you can debate on your theological background about what Jesus meant  there? Did he mean, Peter was the rock? Or does he mean that confession that  Jesus is the Christ? But notice how Jesus used the intriguing question, to get at  that question of how will I build my church? I'm gonna build it on people who  acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah. Now there are all sorts of you look  online and put in questions that Jesus asked, you can get all kinds of responses  there, but just look at some of these that are used as an intro to messages.  Here's seven of them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? Now that was  question asked a blind man that was coming, asking for healing, and the issue  of faith, do you have faith? And then that becomes discourse on faith? Why are  you afraid? Oh, you of little faith that was in a storm and the disciples are afraid  and it becomes an occasion to teach on faith. What do you think about the  Christ? Now? That's a fascinating, intriguing question, because it was asked of  the Pharisees. And he used that, to jump off on a message from the Old  Testament about the Christ, and how David calls him his Lord and et cetera, et  cetera, et cetera, it becomes a marvelous teaching moment. Do you love me?  That's the question, intriguing question that Jesus asked Peter after Peter had  denied the Lord John 21 is Peter's restoration of the ministry. But the whole  message of you know, I want you to turn I want you to feed my sheep, I want  you to feed my lambs began with that question. Do you love me? Or number five there? Why do you call Me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you? That's the end 

of the sermon on the plain is the counterpart to the Sermon on the Mount in  Matthew 5:7. And in this message, Jesus is talking about varieties of ways to  live. And then he's saying to the people there, why am I teaching you and you're  not doing it. And then he gives that wonderful parable about the house built on  the sand and the rains come? And you know, and it falls, and there's a house  built on the rock, and it can withstand any storm? And so that question,  becomes the lead in to a great message on obedience? Or what do you want  me to do for you, again, a blind person? Why do you see the speck that is in  your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye, becomes  the message on judgment? Don't judge, don't judge people. And instead, you'll  look at yourself, etc. So these are the kinds of questions that Jesus says, in fact, many have written books about them. Here's one by a man named Butch.  What's the name there? It's okay, it's where he took these questions of Jesus,  developed messages on them, etc. So think about intriguing questions. What  are the intriguing questions that might serve as a beginning to a message as a  hook to draw people in to say, I want to know more? I want to know the answer  to that question. Here are some I've used at various times, why does God allow  children to die of starvation? That's a question that torments me. At times in my  prayers for children in Africa, where there's a drought, and numbers are  incredible. Why does God allow children to die of salvation? starvation? I use  that wonderfully powerfully at a time when the statistics showed that one child  dies every seven seconds in the United States because of starvation or, or  starvation related diseases. And so what I had at the beginning of the message  was somebody just started ringing a bell and every little just very Quiet tinkle.  And it was in the back of the auditorium. And they just stood there for my  message. And every seven seconds. Seven seconds later, in sometimes I, when I first started it, I told them what was going to happen. And then I asked the  question, Why does God allow children to die of starvation, ding, ding, and just  stood there silent for about 15 seconds so that the bell had rung twice before I  went on to say, how we're going to answer that. And again, looking at scripture,  it was a powerful way of introducing the sovereignty of God, but also the desire  that He has for us to be involved in solving the problems and bringing the  kingdom of God to fruition today, by being engaged in his work. Can I really  forgive and forget, introduced with that message holding a sledgehammer  because at one point, I was so angry at someone, I found that I was working  with a counselor who told me you got to externalize your anger. And so I would  take my Sledgehammer in the backyard, and just pound on the ground with a  pound on the ground. But I was so angry at somebody that I thought had  betrayed me and mistreated me. And, and so the question was, okay, who's  done that to you? Does God forgive me, even if I do the same sin over and  over? To find a way to mix that with an intriguing way of bringing people in? Is  God really in control? All you got to do is get some headlines of newspapers, 

where you live, or the news of the world right now. And you say, is God really in  control. These are ways that God can use to catch people's attention through  you. And so as you're thinking your message, we're going to get to how you  develop the body of the message in a couple of lessons. But as you think about  your message, think about an intriguing question. Sometimes that might hook  people in. So this is another way to hook people in. It's a good way to do  introductions. We'll continue this discussion next time.