Distractions during sermon

[Kathi]

It adds beauty to it

To each their own

 

[Claudya]

I've seen this done before and it can be nice, it can be manipulative, and it can be distracting, not to even mention the valid point that those who are hard of hearing will have a hard time understanding the sermon. The musician doing the playing needs to be very good to be able to do this well and not just be a distraction. Many aren't this good and it turns into a disaster. Also, even if you have the right musician and the right speaker to make this work, there is still a time and place for it, and I don't think that time and place is at every Sunday sermon. But then, that's just my personal preference.

I guess for a wedding service sermon it would be okay, because weddings are all about emotional crap stuff anyway.
Or some very special moment in some sermon on a special sunday, on Good Friday or so. But actually it really just adds cheese and drama to it, but no real depth.

As for playing on people's emotions, yes, this is true. But I don't think it's wrong if it's done for the right reasons. Afterall, the hymns/songs that were sung are all designed for the same purpose. The background music before or after the service is designed for the same purpose.

Yeah the hymns are a different matter. But the sermon is about teaching, not about stirring emotions. Imo sermons should aim for the rational part of my brain first and for my heart second. If they occassionally aim for my heart first and my intellect second, that,s acceptable too. But some preachers dodge brain and heart altogether and aim for lower instincts, like instigate fear or play on our egos, and that's where it's merely manipulation.

Even the sermon itself is worded to play on emotions and the pastor (if he is a good speaker and doesn't want to lose his audience) will use his non-verbal communication (body language, tone of voice, etc) to his fullest ability in order to get his point across and keep people's attention (which necessarily involves playing on their emotions).

Keeping attention is fine. It's important that the preacher does not put their entire audience to sleep.
But I disagree on that involving a play on emotions.
Maybe there's a cultural difference here. I noticed politicians' speeches tend to be a lot more emotional in America than they are in Germany, maybe it's the same with sermons.

 

[Obadiah]

...Keeping attention is fine. It's important that the preacher does not put their entire audience to sleep.
But I disagree on that involving a play on emotions.
Maybe there's a cultural difference here. I noticed politicians' speeches tend to be a lot more emotional in America than they are in Germany, maybe it's the same with sermons.

It's probably a matter of the words I chose. By "emotions" I'm not just referring to making someone feel sad, happy, or excited etc. I'm also referring to things like making them want to pay attention, creating desires, such as desires to follow God, making them feel resolve and determination, etc. Sermons are not always just about teaching, although that is normally part of it for sure. Teaching is simply giving information in a way that the listener can learn the information. A pastor once told me that preaching a sermon involves giving information in a way that leads people to make a decision and act on that information. To lead someone to action always involves creating some kind of emotional response in them.

I guess for a wedding service sermon it would be okay, because weddings are all about emotional crap stuff anyway.
Or some very special moment in some sermon on a special sunday, on Good Friday or so. But actually it really just adds cheese and drama to it, but no real depth.

Yeah, those are exactly the kind of situations where it has worked well, as long as it was combined with a musician that knows how to do this.