First Person Sermon

Last Sabbath, I had the joy of preaching in the "First Person, Dramatic Narrative Homiletic Form", which is just a technical term for "Role Play" Sermon or "Story" Sermon. For the brief moments of a sermon, instead of talking about the Bible...one gets to see the Bible come alive...hence my working title for these sermons as "Bible Alive."

For 27 years, I've had the joy (and sorrow) of working at the craft of writing and presenting these special forms of preaching. Rather than the usual "three points and a poem" type of sermon, these sermons draw in the listening into the Bible story through the verbal material that is story in content and from the perspective of the Bible Character.

The first sermon I can remember writing is one that I still do. Nicodemus, on the morning of the Sabbath, when Jesus lay in the tomb. It continues to be one of my favorites, one that I've preached many times to this day. At first, these sermons were delivered behind the pulpit in a suit and tie. Later, in 1993, through the encouragement of friends, I added the costume element to the sermon form.

To date, there are are over 50 first person dramatic narrative sermons that I've had the joy of presenting...at least once.

Last Sabbath, October 22, 2011, I had the joy of doing a "History Alive." For the first time, presenting a historical character, this time being Hiram Edson, a person from the early days of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was such a blessing reading, writing, figuring out the different scenes that suggested themselves, buying costume elements at Goodwill stores, selecting songs to sing during the presentation, and finding the props needed to tell the amazing story of "The Great Disappointment." The Morning After.

For this presentation, rather than working alone, I included 3 of the youth of my church as well: Robell Nyirendah, played the part of the Daniel 2 Image, Emil Samuel played the part of King Nebuchadnezzer, and Augustin Cordaba-Chang played the part of Daniel. They did a fantastic job being the "eye candy" illustration while "Hiram" preached his revival "sermon" within the sermon.

I praise God for the successful creation and presentation of this message, and for a wonderful facility to present such worship offerings to God and the church...and for a wonderful church family that values creative...out of the box...ministry.

Love to All