I can relate...however when these hirelings read from the scriptures it is the same as sermonizing to me because…one…most of them are not called nor qualified to divide the words of righteousness. Two…they typically are not living the life as described by the Lord on the mount that day. He bore the “Image and likeness of God”…the typical sermonizer does not…this bodes poorly for its hearers. Tatwo...:)

I would ask you then Neighbor…why do you say that or why is that so for you? No…simply put no. The Sermon on the Mount was a description of life in the Kingdom of God on earth coming from the mind of the Lord’s Spirit. Any “sermon or presentation” that does not compliment the picture painted by the Lord Yahshua Christ in His revelation there that day…is a counterfeit and false. To this day…when He speaks…when the “Word of God” speaks…He is revealing Himself to our spirits…this explains why the “sons of God” cannot stomach those unfortunate events. For further understanding simply look at the story that precedes that trip to the mountain that day…The Lord Yahshua is operating from the very throne of God in His power and authority…He is literally bearing the “full authentication and pleasure” of His Father and He’s only short time removed from the victory He won in the “wilderness and the three temptations from the dragon.” He then goes to a wedding in Cana of Galilee where He began the manifestation of His glory… He was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. They brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan. Then He took the “crowds” to the mountain and explained all that “He had done….was doing…and was going to do” which included that soon He would be imparting of the Kingdom of God to humanity…and how they are to live as a result. He spoke with an authority that the contemporaries of His day could not match and the people knew this. To be honest Neighbor…I rarely if ever consider the word in the last 30 years. Early on…as I remember…it seems that the preachers distanced themselves from that word in favor of a myriad of other preferred terms…it did not however change the payload of what was being delivered by the same. Tatwo...:)

The mental picture the word “sermon” creates for me is very much the same as you have described for yourself Neighbor. However my understanding of the invisible realms of the “spirit world” both the kingdom of the dragon and the Kingdom of God…always leaves me highly suspicious of those who spout forth “a lengthy tedious reproof, or exhortation.” I do not believe that this is merely happenstance…clearly the dragon is attacking the sons of God today. I would suggest that today we all should recognize as the “end of the age” is coming forth…so is the increase of the persecution upon the Body of Christ…which I believe that most of those “sermon preaching” characters are setting up for. They make "Christ" seem unpalatable and unnecessary to many...this brings reproach...I do not think that they all realize this either…nor do their congregants in most cases. By my standards…”sermonizers” as you Neighbor have defined them…that is if…I understand you I would agree…they are wolves in sheep’s clothing opposing the Kingdom and the people of God. Tatwo...:)

Expanding the discussion a bit perhaps…here Neighbor…you are defining what you acknowledge “worship is not” accompanied by your definition of what “Worship is…as…serious business” followed by additional details of your perspective? If one is to understand your focus here and the point of your OP…one must acknowledge…as you are suggesting…the “presentation” is included in the “serious business of a worship service” and you liken it to a “vitality infusion” which is a part of what you describe as the “high point of each week?” It is important that each understands “their definition of worship” in regards to life “in Christ”…and it is my assumption that you are doing just that. Initially you state that a “Worship service is a high point, make that the high point, of each week.” I think I am following up to this point. Here you are adding some detail to your description from immediately above…I have a question, you wrote…“For the word of God spoken, read, thoughtfully questioned and  considered  for best application, via exposition, is a builder of strength for use in all that is and will occur during the entire week, each week.” So…staying in context…you are discussing some of the “finer details” of the “presentation” element of a “weekly corporate worship service.” It is from here that I will ask this question…in regards to your statement…“thoughtfully questioned”…is that a publicly expressed “questioning” in the weekly corporate worship service? This does serve as a more detailed definition…from you Neighbor…as to your desire, preference, vision or expectation of the weekly worship service. Likening the experience, impact, or effect of a weekly worship service…to a daily intake of a fine breakfast meal each morning…? Tatwo...:)

Greetings to you Neighbor… This is a somewhat interesting “conversation” you have started here…I have read the thread 2 times in effort to try to gain a “working” understanding of all that has been posted. I am not sure I have done that…completely…normally I can sort through hyperbole but…sometimes in a forum I am just not sure. I did feel however a response to a couple of your questions may be interesting…if nothing more than to offer perhaps an additional perspective. So you are differentiating between what you define a sermon as…which is…“a lengthy tedious reproof, or exhortation” and a presentation…which is…” of the word of God the Bible, word by word, verse by verse, book by book.” The “sermon” in your mind negates the idea of a “corporate worship service”…whereas a “presentation” is an integral part of the “corporate worship service?” Tatwo...:)