Preachers stealing sermons

[barry72]

How would you feel if you heard a minister preach a sermon and then later heard the exact sermon word for word by a well known speaker?

[Evang.Benincasa]

The Better question would be how do you feel?

[Sean]

As long as they are not selling them on the black market its ok...LOL

[n david]

If I heard the same message twice by different ministers, I would feel it could be a clue that it's for me, or has something which I need to hear!

[Abiding Now]

A sermon reveals a part of a preacher's life experiences, his prayer life, his Christian dedication and some times years of study. To mimic that "exact same sermon word for word" is very telling about the preacher that "stole" the sermon. This is not to say, that a preacher could hear a message, be moved, inspired and prayerfully extract things that touched his heart and then weave those extracted thoughts into a sermon of his own. jmho

[jfrog]

Originally Posted by barry72

How would you feel if you heard a minister preach a sermon and then later heard the exact sermon word for word by a well known speaker?

The messenger and the message is gods. God can do with them both as he pleases. IMO the preacher worried about his message being stolen is wrong because it was gods message to begin with. And if it wasnt gods message then something bigger is wrong.

[barry72]

Well, I agree that God can use the message no matter who gives it. But, on another note, I don't know that I can agree with a minister taking a sermon off YouTube word for word and not mentioning anything about the source.

[Abiding Now]

Like one fella was given to say about "stealing sermons".............. "I've been stealing from Paul and Peter for years".

[Reader]

Originally Posted by barry72

How would you feel if you heard a minister preach a sermon and then later heard the exact sermon word for word by a well known speaker?

If the minister gave credit as to where he obtained it, fine. If he did not, I would have to question his integrity.

This is not about the first minister becoming upset that this happened. Chances are he will never know of it. On the contrary, it is about the honesty and integrity of the one using a sermon someone else spent time praying and studying over and passing it off as if they put it together.

If any minister were to regularly do this, I think I would find another church (even if he gave credit each time). Any pastor who will not spend time in the bible themselves and pull from it the things needed to specifically minister to the needs of the members....well, they aren't worth much as a pastor.

[bishoph]

The reality is no one but the two or more preachers in question really know who was the "first" to preach it. Just because it is the "first" person you hear preach something does not mean they were the "first" to preach it. I have two sons who are in the ministry, and I know for a fact they have preached some of the messages they have heard me preach over the years. (They have told me/even called and asked for details etc.) I have had messages broadcast and heard them repreached.....they are not MY messages, they are God's....they are NOT my intellectual property, they are God's.....if they can help someone.....so be it.