Which do you love more, the preaching or the people? Yesterday Michele and I enjoyed the rare opportunity to worship with another faith-family. The pastor, Lanny Kilgore, is a good friend of mine and a very good shepherd. What struck me about seeing him preach was how much he enjoyed the parishioners during the sermon. I could tell that he loved them as much as he loved preaching. In his book, Preaching & Preachers, Lloyd-Jones quotes Anglican preacher, Richard Cecil: “To love to preach is one thing, to love those to whom we preach quite another” (p. 105). Sometimes when I hear sermons, I get the impression that the sermon would sound the same and the preacher would preach the same even if nobody was listening. The people really didn’t matter to the preacher, but only the sermon mattered. Ask yourself how much the presence of listeners affects your delivery. May our Lord give us a heart that loves His people as much as we love the proclamation of His Word.
Category Archives: communication
What Keeps Your Sermon From Fragmenting?
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I recently returned from a wonderful week with doctoral students enrolled in Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary’s Doctor of Ministry track, Preaching the Literary Forms of the Bible. We met on GCTS’s Charlotte, NC campus. One of the things we talked about was keeping our sermons from fragmenting. Fragmentation happens when I (1) fail to follow the flow of thought created by the Author/author or (2) I choose to replace the existing flow of thought with my own deficient presentation. We noticed a tendency of not clearly stating the logical connections between moves or thought-blocks in the sermon. What is clear in the mind of the preacher is unclear to the listener. While you’re developing your sermon double-check all your transitions as you move from major clause to major clause. Ask if you are carrying the logic forward. As you know, theology is conveyed more through the logical flow of thought than in the isolated content.