"Sermon Borrowing"

It is sin to use the sermons or thoughts of another and pass them off as your own. God has called the preacher to be a student of the word for his particular flock. I am not against using others' material, but when I do, I am careful to give credit. I pretend that preacher/author were sitting in my congregation. I make sure I give enough information that would credit him but not draw uneasy attention to him.

Too many lazy, shoddy preachers are preaching others' material because they will not do the hard work God requires. They should never step foot in the pulpit.

 

You know there are a lot af catchy ways to say reuse someone elses ideas or work

The pastor I was called to preach under told me to

That was always my favorite. How many others can we think of?

Most preachers I have known would be flattered to know that some part of one of their sermons was useful to another preacher. Reading sermons of great preachers of the past that relate to the text I am working from is a part of my normal preparation and study. Another preacher I served under once told me to "read at least one sermon from someone else every day."

If you have been listening to preaching for very long at all some ideas are bound to recirculate. I went to a preachers meeting one time and we heard a great message. I wrote down the outline knowing that I would work it into a future message. After the service I was talking with another preacher about the message and his wife showed me where she had written the outline down in her bible, over 30 years before - the exact same outline.

I preached a revial meeting one time and after the service a visiting pastor told me he knew where my outline came from. He said that it was from the "outline file" at fruitland (Fruitland Bible Institute in Hendersonville NC. I have never actually been there but a lot of their graduates pastor churches in Western North Carolina). I thought it was a completely original message, but he said my outline had been on file at Fruitland for 20 years.

Well, not to ramble but my feeling is preach what God lays on your heart. He should be the ultimate author anyway. If you feel you were overly influenced by another man's work, give him the credit.

 

NC Tentmaker

Good comments. i was a pastor's conference a year and half ago. When the pastor began his message, he ended up outlining word for word what I had outlined over 6 months earlier. I do not post my outlines, and this was one that I had done completely on my own and never heard anyone else ever do before.

If we are preach context correctly, then really we all should have similar outlines

 

The sermon audio message, said that Rick Warren is famous for saying that. I wonder if both did

 

The sermon audio message, said that Rick Warren is famous for saying that. I wonder if both did [/QB]</font>[/QUOTE]Comparing RW's sermons to Dr. Rogers----is like comparing a sling shot to a Atom bomb!!

 

According to J.C.Ryle , Augustus Toplady ( 1740-1778 ) said " I am of the opinion that the man who cannot , or will not make his own sermons is quite unfit [ to be a preacher ]." Toplady was a fine preacher and author , but he is best known as the man who penned " Rock Of Ages " .

 

Why is it assumed that the person is "unable" or "unwilling" to make their own when they use someone else's? I had a visiting preacher hear me do a sermon on the salvation of the soul, it was exactly what he wanted, asked me for my notes (I have him the transcription), and I don't know, nor do I care if he gave me credit, because all the credit should go to God. (Personally, he should just give God credit.)

 

I don't think it's as important that he give you credit (although he should) as it is that he not leave his people thinking that he did the work to put the sermon togethr when he did not do the work to put the sermon together.

 

The OP raises the question of borrowed sermons

But let me put this in the reader's ear concerning borrowing

Folks come to me----Preacher! Do you have a book in your library on __________? And if you do can I borrow it??"

There is a 99.999999999999999% chance that if I'm fool enough to lend it out---I'll never---no ever ever never see "hide nor hair" of that book again!!!!!

Of course, when it comes to borrowin' a sermon---I've never had anyone interested in any of mine!!

 

Comparing RW's sermons to Dr. Rogers----is like comparing a sling shot to a Atom bomb!! [/quote]

regardless of how you fell about RW was not the point. The point was someone said that Adrian said it and sermon audio said that RW made that statement famous.

I was simply asking if one was wrong or if both said it.