A Good Sermon

INTRO — THE SERMON JUDGING COMMITTEE

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1. A GOOD SERMON PROCLAIMS

Acts 2:14

Peter stood up and raised his voice.

He didn’t hide behind politeness or whisper his faith so no one would be offended. He didn’t wait for perfect conditions. He didn’t send out a survey to the crowd asking what style of preaching they preferred: expository, topical, or “ten minutes or less or I’m outta here.”

He stood up. He spoke up. He said what mattered.

Because a sermon is not a suggestion. It is a proclamation that God has spoken, and if God has spoken, silence is not an option.

We live in a world drowning in information and starving for meaning. Billions of digital words pour into our lives every day. Opinions. Hot takes. Self-help tips. Breaking news. Yet none of them can tell the soul who it really is.

Preaching is different.

It says:

Here is truth you can build a life on.

Here is mercy too strong to be earned.

Here is love that refuses to give up on you.

A good sermon doesn’t leave Jesus in the footnotes.

It puts Him front and center like He’s the point of everything.

Because He is.

Peter doesn’t begin by explaining himself. He begins by announcing God’s work. “This is that,” he says. What you’re seeing isn’t chaos. It’s fulfillment. It’s God keeping His promise.

When the Church proclaims, we are saying:

God is not finished.

The Spirit is still moving.

Heaven is still invading earth.

You may not feel it yet. You may not understand it all, but God is closer than you think.

A sermon that proclaims is a sermon that invites the heart to hope again.

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2. A GOOD SERMON EXPLAINS

Acts 2:15–21

When the Spirit fell at Pentecost, the crowd’s first reaction wasn’t “Praise the Lord.” It was, “Somebody spiked the communion juice.”

They were confused. Suspicious. Dismissive.

People today aren’t that different.

We ask:

Why would a loving God feel so distant?

Why does faith feel like fog I can’t quite grab?

Why does my heart still hurt even when I pray?

Faith is a mystery, yes… but not a maze.

So Peter explains.

He lovingly, patiently connects the dots.

He shows them that God has been preparing this moment for generations.

“This is what the prophet Joel spoke about…”

That line is an act of mercy.

Because God never asks us to take a blind leap into darkness. He invites us to take a trusting step into Light.

A good sermon is not spiritual noise; it is clarity for the confused.

It says:

Your life isn’t random.

Your pain isn’t meaningless.

Your questions are allowed at the table.

Peter says these are the “last days.” Not in the sense of panic or breathless prophecy charts, but in the sense that God’s rescue plan is in motion.

Heaven isn’t waiting behind a velvet rope any longer.

The Spirit is out in the open, chasing hearts.

A good sermon explains so people can see what God is already doing around them and within them. Because when you start seeing that God has been in your story this whole time, something beautiful happens.

Faith awakens.

Hope rises.

The heart whispers, “Maybe this is for me.”

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3. A GOOD SERMON EXALTS JESUS

Acts 2:22–36

Peter doesn’t spend long talking about the Church.

He talks about the Savior.

“Jesus of Nazareth…”

He says His name like it matters.

Not just Jesus the idea.

Jesus the person.

Jesus who walked dusty streets.

Jesus who cried real tears.

Jesus who touched untouchable people.

Jesus who was mocked and misunderstood.

Jesus who died with forgiveness on His lips.

Peter exalts Him as:

• Fully human — He gets us.

• Fully God — He can save us.

Miracles, wonders, and signs didn’t make Jesus impressive. They revealed who He’d always been.

Then Peter brings the crowd face-to-face with the Cross.

“You, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death…”

That is not a guilt trip.

It is a reminder that love cost something.

We weren’t spectators of Calvary.

We were the reason Calvary was necessary.

Yet death could not hold Him.

The tomb could not tolerate Him.

Grave clothes could not restrict Him.

God raised Him.

God enthroned Him.

God made Him Lord and Messiah.

A good sermon exalts Jesus until people stop seeing religion and start seeing a Redeemer.

Until hearts say:

He is more beautiful than the life I am living without Him.

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4. A GOOD SERMON BRINGS CONVICTION

Acts 2:37

“When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart…”

Conviction isn’t condemnation.

It is the moment the lies fall silent.

It is when God’s love gets personal enough to make us uncomfortable. When you stop thinking about “people who really needed this sermon” and suddenly realize…