The Sermon: Tips and Why It Still Matters



Words matter. They always have and always will.

This is especially the case for Christians. Christians believe God spoke all things into being. By God's word, there is something rather than nothing.

So when a person stands up (or sits down) and speaks to a gathering of people about the God who spoke all things into existence, it should matter.

Why? Because when we do that, we're imitating God. We're being like God. And even more than that, we are expecting God to work through the very voice he gave us. The voice he wants us to use when sharing his good news.

When we speak, we are intending our words to have an impact on the way things are. Specifically, we expect our words to carry enough significance - that they'll carry enough of Jesus in them - to change, shape, and transform the hearts and actions of those who listen.

This is why the sermon still matters. This is why it will continue to matter for as long as people give attention to the woman or man who commands the room with their voice.

But there's a problem. I was talking with a friend the other day who gives sermons on a regular basis. He was discouraged. Some days it feels like no one hears. It seemed like his words weren't changing anything. I think he would have preferred someone heartily disagreeing with him to what he'd been experiencing as of late: a congregation of people casually letting him know how nice his sermon was.

Nice sermons, that were meant to be hard-hitting and life changing, are perhaps the most discouraging thing of all.

So what is there to do about it? Even when the Israelites had hard hearts, God continued to speak to them. God, for all of history, has continued to change hearts through his love.

We shouldn't stop working to do so either.

That's why over the next few weeks I'll share a few tips that have helped me become a better speaker. Hopefully they can help you give more engaging and transforming sermons also. Hopefully we can all change hearts together and do our best to allow God to work through us in this most important work.

Stay tuned...

Disclaimer Part 1: I'm no expert. I've given just enough sermons to know how difficult they are to give and how much I have to learn (a lot!).

Disclaimer Part 2: Public speaking is a passion of mine. While none of these tips are all-encompassing, the tips will offer unique and, I think, helpful reminders/lessons for how to best engage your audience.




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