What's your text and keyword for this Sunday?

It's always a little concerning when I cannot verify a sermon illustration (usually something purported to be historical and true) from any source other than sermons or sermon illustration sites. Early in my preaching I was not as discerning as I am now. While brainstorming with Preach360 App/Gemini, it suggested a historical illustration that I have seen before. I couldn't find any independent verification. To its (or apparently "his") credit, I asked directly and got this response: "That is a discerning question! To be completely honest with you—as one brother to another—the Waterloo Semaphore story is largely considered an apocryphal 'preacher's story.' While it's a brilliant homiletical illustration, most historians agree that news of the victory actually reached London via a human messenger (Major Henry Percy) who traveled by carriage and boat. There was no direct semaphore line across the English Channel at that time that could have transmitted a message in that specific way." Three things can be true: 1) As communicators of Truth, we should be very discerning about everything we say, including "brilliant homiletical illustrations". You shouldn't use something if you know it to be untrue. 2) We are sometimes lazy regurgitators of untrue stories, which merely causes them to spread more. 3) If you love an illustration that you know is apocryphal and want to still use it, just say at the beginning something like: "this is probably (or is) an untrue story, but it illustrates this point..." and use it. I find it hard to do that a lot, but have done it occasionally. Other approaches or thoughts?

Passage: Psalm 16 Keyword: Refuge Main idea: Because Christ was not left in the grave, we have a refuge that guarantees our joy in the presence of God forever. Anchor illustration: A god who takes for himself vs. a God who gives of himself Pre-lectio: Today’s sermon will be from Psalm 16. We all long for joy, don’t we? Why? Because life is hard. We are bombarded with pain and misery everywhere we look…another illness, another loss, another war, another thing to fear. Is this fear warranted? Yes it is. But where do we find shelter? Where do we go for safety? Is it even possible to find joy in the midst of it? King David understood this. He lived with real danger. He hid in caves. He was surrounded by death. He was constantly searching for refuge…for a place of safety. Psalm 16 is a song, likely sung, that answers that question. It shows us where true refuge is found and where joy is guaranteed. And if you are experiencing pain or fear today, you are not alone. David knew it. We know it. And Jesus Christ entered into it. Today, I want you to see that there is a guaranteed refuge. There is real and lasting joy. And it is guaranteed to us because Christ’s body was not left in the grave to decay. He rose from the dead on the third day…on Easter morning. Let’s listen carefully to find this joy from Psalm 16. Principle: God is our refuge (vv. 1-3) - Anchor: The true and living God has been and always will be a giving God who offers permanent refuge in himself. - God preserves us as OUR refuge (vv. 1-2): God is truly good, and even in trouble is OUR Yahweh (I Am) Adonai (Master) - God is a refuge for his holy ones (v. 3a): God cares for his people that he has set apart for himself, they are his chosen people, a kingdom of priests. - God delights to be a refuge for his excellent ones (v. 3b): Though the Psalmist sees God's people as the magnificent ones and delights in them, as speaking for Christ by the Spirit, this is God's view and thus he loves to be our refuge. - Transition: But the problem is that…

So I did not clear this with McKay and I have not used it in the new platform yet. But I just had the idea what if I asked the Gemini preach 360 module do a SWOT analysis of my sermon manuscript. And I was kind of blown away by it and then I asked it how it would potentially work the feedback into my sermon manuscript. And it was really good so you might consider trying it sometime yourself and next week I will try this in the actual platform that McKay has built and see how it works there. If you don’t know, SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

There will be a last sermon that someone hears and that you preach. Like so much of life, those may not be planned or in the way we may desire. I think about this a lot, for two reasons: 1) I’m a young cancer survivor (2x). 2) A woman who heard me preach was hit and killed while crossing a road that same evening (there’s a bit of a story here). This motivates me to seek to preach the good news of Jesus through his death and resurrection every time I preach. It could be the last time I get to preach. Or it could be the last sermon someone hears.