I totally agree! What many parishoners don't know is that your pastor is actually thinking about you when writing/delivering his sermon. He takes what he knows about you and your situation and your prayers and your family and your community and you struggles and they shape the message. Maybe his messages are not works of art but are works of love directly for you.
Absolutely. One of the most difficult and time consuming tasks of sermon preparation is the illustration and application phase. I work hard to come up with illustrations that are relevant and understandable by the congregation (which in Tchula meant farming illustrations that I would never use in suburban Houston) and applications that deal with pastoral issues. Adams was right when he said preaching is also counseling from the pulpit.