The "Old Mother Hubbard" Sermon
THERE are three types of sermons that have been imposed on patient congregations times without number.
The most common one that comes to mind is the "Old Mother Hubbard" discourse. I take no credit for originality in its description since I read it many years ago but unfortunately have mislaid the original. The basis for the sermon is a nursery rhyme that is straightforward and to the point:
"Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard
To get her poor dog a bone.
But when she got there the cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog got none."
This ditty may represent the scriptural text, which is first read. Then the preacher begins to elaborate.
"You see from this text," says he, "that Mrs. Hubbard was a very old woman. She lived in a poor miserable hovel all alone except for her one companion, an ancient dog of uncertain lineage. She was very poor, having scarcely enough money to keep herself alive, to say nothing of her faithful companion. We can gather that she was a widow whose resources had almost reached the vanishing point. Yet she was the soul of kindness and generosity. Despite her own hunger, her first thought was for her devoted canine companion. She went to the cupboard, hoping against hope that there might be some scrap even a solitary bone to keep him alive a short time longer. But as she must have known, even the last bone was gone. In her wretched condition, what was she to do? The record does not say, but leaves her in her sad plight, etc., etc., etc."
The "A. G. T." Sermon
The second type I have designated the "A.G.T." sermon. It is usually scripturally based but shows a paucity of preparation and comes off the top of the head of the preacher. It lacks coherence, but the lack of prior thought and background information is compensated for by the interspersion of innumerable exhortations. It is indeed primarily a hortatory type of sermon the easiest to preach if adequate preparation has been neglected.
"You must come up onto higher ground" was the frequent interjection of one such preacher, though he didn't explain just how this spiritual ascent was to be accomplished. Apparently he felt that one should lift himself with his own bootstraps by substituting good works for a saving faith. Like Coolidge's pastor, he was against sin and inveighed against specific sins with great emphasis. It is doubtful if his congregation even heard his repetitious exhortations for, like a child with a nagging mother, audiences become adept at tuning out such preachers, especially since they are inclined to be long winded.
Oh, yes---the "A.G.T." classification? Well, that comes from a saintly grand mother of the Baptist persuasion who felt that to criticize the preacher or his sermon was next to blasphemy and akin to the unpardonable sin. Therefore she would refrain from unkindly remarks and simply refer to the sermon as "all good talk." I have been subjected to many such "A.G.T." sermons since she passed on about sixty years ago.
The "Wotta" Sermon
Another sermon closely allied to the last category and which shows similar lack of preparation is what I call the "wotta" sermon. This is usually presented by an ebullient extrovert who feels that praise and adoration are best expressed by the frequent use of "wottas." "What a wonderful thing it is to be a Christian!" "What a wonderful revelation we have in the Bible!" One can hardly criticize him for an occasional interjection of "What a wonderful Saviour!" although even that, like the too-frequent use of "Amen, brother" and "Hallelujah!" loses its impact if repeated too often.
One could go on categorizing various sermons ad infinitum. The basic weakness in all faulty sermons, in my opinion, is lack of preparation. And preparation, to include both study and prayer, is a painful process. It requires discipline, study, contemplation, systematic planning and time.
Probably the best advice found in the Bible is that given by Paul to Timothy. Youth need not be a handicap. Said Paul:
"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example." "Preach the word." "Hold fast the form of sound words."
And the counsel by the Master Himself when He said:
"Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man . . . which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old" (Matt. 13:52).
To bring forth things both new and old requires reflection and study. And in so doing, it is important to remember that along with the exhortations and counsels must be given the simple process of how the God-given ideals for our lives are to be realized. We must ever point the hearers to Jesus, whose grace is sufficient. Then we must help the one who is seeking for victory to see how this grace is to be appropriated. The listeners in the pew want above all else to know the "how" of victorious Christian living.
