Sermon Central
-
Does Your Preaching Skirt Around The Nature Of God?
By Peter Mead on Apr 23, 2025
Let’s pour our energy into effectively speaking of the God who reveals Himself in the Word.
It seems obvious, but it clearly isn’t. Paul wrote, "I preach Christ, and him crucified." Yet there are too many sermons that contain little more than a tip of the hat to the person of Christ.
It would probably come as a shock to many preachers to discover that their preaching seems to skirt around the personal nature of our God, but listeners pick up on it once their antennae are tuned to the difference.
The sermon may be engaging, illustrated, perhaps personal in terms of the preacher’s own life and personality. The message may encourage, exhort, rebuke, educate, etc. The preaching may be lively, energetic, enthusiastic, humorous or whatever. But somehow, if the preaching doesn’t offer the personal God of the Bible, then it will always feel inadequate.
Somehow preaching that misses the person ends up targeting elsewhere, and with a different tone. It becomes educational and exhortational, focusing on us and our responsibility to implement some biblical advice or instruction. The difference when the person is preached is that the focus shifts to response rather than responsibility, an invitation rather than imposition.
It is so easy to pressure people to perform, or to offer a gospel of private benefits, but to fail to mention the person who is at the heart of the gospel both offered and applied.
I was reading a book looking at a time in history when two streams of preaching could be traced. Those deaf to the difference seem to deny the distinction, but just reading the different ways in which Christ was described was so telling. One side offered a few cold truths; the other side was overflowing with description of a compelling and captivating Christ, and then only seemed to scratch the surface. I can tell you facts about lots of people, but I will talk about my wife differently. It was almost as if one side had barely met Christ, or if they had, hadn’t found him particularly gripping.
What if we could invent a double thermometer? One part to measure the warmth of the preacher toward Christ, and the other part to measure the heat of the pressure on the listeners to perform? I suspect that if the thermometer were measuring the temperature from the preacher in pressuring the listeners, there might be a sense in which the two measures are almost mutually exclusive.
Let’s pour our energy into effectively speaking of the God who reveals Himself in the Word. Let’s trust that to draw and stir and motivate and captivate and challenge and convict people who are listening.
We need to preach Him. He changes lives.
Related Preaching Articles
-
Just What Is Pulpit Plagiarism?
By Ron Forseth on Jan 1, 2024
Executive Editor of SermonCentral.com Ron Forseth answers the thorny question in defining pulpit plagiarism.
-
Why Preparing Sermons Takes Me So Long
By Joe Mckeever on Jul 31, 2020
Proper preparation is not for the faint of heart. It takes prayer, study, and practice.
-
Managing The Clock In Your Preaching
By James O. Davis on May 29, 2020
James O. Davis reminds preachers that the length of a presentation is not determined by the clock but by the crowd.
-
The Critical Relationship Between Pastor And Worship Leader
By Chuck Fromm on Mar 4, 2020
Worship Leader magazine editor Chuck Fromm discusses the key imperative in a pastor establishing a meaningful relationship with his/her worship leader and team.
-
Busting Out Of Sermon Block
By Haddon Robinson on May 28, 2020
Give your sermons new life every week with this timeless advice from Haddon Robinson.
-
Energizing Your Sermons With Multisensory Preaching
By Rick Blackwood on Jun 2, 2020
Rick Blackwood helps preachers communicate God's Word in a form that is engaging, crystal clear, unforgettable, and more fun for the speaker.
-
Why I Love To Preach
By Joseph M. Stowell on Nov 25, 2021
Joseph Stowell says he loves preaching, but it's not like anything else he loves. Read this article and remember why you love to preach.
-
Your Mother's Day Sermon, Pastor
By Joe Mckeever on Apr 30, 2020
Why is it so difficult for pastors of all ages to preach Mother’s Day sermons? Pastor-to-pastors Joe McKeever gives some assistance.
