An Introduction To Tall Paul's Preaching

[00:00:01] Hello and welcome to Tall Paul's Preaching. I'm your host Paul Clemens, also known as Tall Paul and this is episode number one which is an intro into the sermons that I have preached at a local retirement community. [00:00:18] This intro is in place of my first sermon back in February 11th of 2018 which was not recorded. The retirement community invites people to preach on Sundays and they also provide a Catholic service there as well. [00:00:36] I have been blessed to be one of the chaplains that give sermons on Sunday for those who either don't have a home church to go to or those who can't make it out to their church that week. [00:00:49] It is a very nice service that they provide for their residents and may God bless them for providing it. I was invited to preach there by another member of the men's group I belong to, however, some of the other chaplains are related in some way to a resident. [00:01:09] I have the second Sunday of the month which is nice to have a routine and know when you will preach. [00:01:16] Yet I have the same holidays every year like Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Veterans Day so there is overlap on subjects each year since there isn't the same person preaching each week and we only see them once a month. I preach topical sermons, although I occasionally have running themes such as preaching about a different I am statement each time or going through the story of the prodigal son from different perspectives. The audience is there by choice, they aren't wheeled in in wheelchairs and left there captive so they must be able bodied and minded to attend. [00:01:59] Therefore, I preach like they already know Jesus and belong to God. Most of my sermons are targeted to mature Christians and are not beginner messages or calls to salvation. [00:02:13] We do get occasional guests and prior to Covid the average attendance was about 25 and after Covid it dropped to around 15 on average but has risen in 2024 to an average of 20. The majority in attendance are women with few men as women live longer and attendance reflects the gender mix of the residents. [00:02:41] The average age of attendees is in their 80s so I don't preach about how to be a good mother or father as they are already great great grandparents and they are in no need of instruction. I also avoid subjects like fasting and rather focus on encouragement, hope and finishing well. The service lasts for an hour and we start out singing those great ol hymns. I try to start out my messages with a joke to get things going. [00:03:20] We have about 35 minutes to preach, yet even with 35 minutes I have found that I often have to Take out some material from the sermon to get them to fit. [00:03:31] After the message, an offering is collected that goes to local charities that the residents choose and we also close out with the Lord's Prayer. I mention this as it will help you understand if I mention it in my message or prayer. We pray before and after the message and I invite prayer requests which we pray over at the beginning. I have edited out any personal references from the recordings. [00:04:01] I personally record my own messages using a recorder and not some professional device, so please bear with the lack of quality. [00:04:12] The first 38 messages were recorded on a Sansa MP3 player that also had the capability to record. [00:04:22] After that I used a handheld mini voice recorder and still do to this day. [00:04:29] I was very nervous for my first time ever preaching and completely forgot to record it. I may include that message in the future, however, even though I write out my messages fully on paper, I have found that it is different with each telling and there is a different feel to the live audience message. I also forgot to start the recording halfway through my first Mother's Day message and in September of 2023 my recorder froze and the message was not recorded. My upbringing was Calvary Chapel verse by verse and that is reflected in my preaching. A shout out and a God bless you to Bob Davis. [00:05:18] I use the King James version of the Bible. However, I translate the these and the Thous on the fly as I read it so it may seem like a different version, but if you are reading along with me please use the King James or Authorized Version version. [00:05:36] This is all for the Lord so feel free to use whatever you want for God's glory. [00:05:45] With that I hope you are blessed and if you grow or enjoy anything then praise God.