Category Archives: sermon delivery

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Three Ways Preaching Can Be Improved

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This is a guest post written by Dr. Jeffrey Arthurs. Jeff is Professor of Preaching and Communication at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. We team up together each year to instruct Doctor of Ministry students in Preaching the Literary Forms of the Bible. He is the author of Preaching with Variety and Devote Yourself to the Public Reading of Scripture. I hope your enjoy and profit from his insights. I always do.

As a teacher of preaching for more than twenty years, I have listened to thousands of student sermons. Most of those sermons were biblically accurate, and most were theologically grounded. (I’m glad to see a growing trend toward Christ-Centered preaching). About half were interesting; about a third were clear; and about a quarter were applied with insight and specificity.

Here are my top three observations on how to improve:

(1) Think yourself clear. Our job is to “package” in 30 minutes what it took us 10+ hours to prepare. This demands ruthless simplicity. I’m not talking about dumbing it down. I’m talking about having your idea(s) so well in hand that you could deliver the gist of your sermon in 60 seconds or less.

(2) Be concrete in application. Come down the “ladder of abstraction” with real life examples. Show what the truth of the text looks like in actual situations for the actual people who sit before you. If the text urges us to be patient, ask yourself: when, where, with whom, how, and what hinders our patience? Read the Sermon on the Mount and notice how much time our Lord spends at the bottom of the “ladder of abstraction” with concrete application.

(3) Model. Be an example of speech, life, love, faith, and purity. Don’t be afraid to illustrate the text from your own life, either “positively” or “negatively.” To be sure, there are risks with each, but when done with humility, and when done in the context of pastoral ministry where you are more than just a talking head on Sunday morning, God’s truth through your personality is powerful. This is part of the way you can watch over their souls—by pointing out how you yourself are being saved through preaching.

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What We Preach No Matter the Preaching Portion/Pericope

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Abe’s new book is very helpful, especially in the discussion about theology and application.

I decided to select Abe’s new book, A Manual for Preaching: The Journey from Text to Sermon, as one of the required textbooks for my upcoming sections of PAS 513 Advanced Homiletics (Lancaster and D.C. locations of Lancaster Bible College|Capital Seminary & Graduate School).

Abe does an excellent job summarizing the preaching task with respect to what happens each Sunday in church. Think about your preaching portion from this morning or the one you will be preaching on this coming Sunday. Can you see your preaching fitting into the following description?

“So each pericope [the section you’ve selected to preach on] is God’s gracious invitation to humankind to live in his ideal world by abiding by the thrust/force of that pericope–that is, the requirement of God’s ideal world as called for in that pericopal world segment (e.g., listening to/obeying only God’s voice, from 1 Sam. 15 [where King Saul failed miserably!]. And as humankind accepts that divine invitation and applies the thrust/force of the pericope, week by week and pericope by pericope God’s people are progressively and increasingly inhabiting this ideal world and adopting its values” (p. 29).

If we’ve selected them properly, our preaching portions contain “God’s gracious invitation” to our listeners to inhabit “his ideal world.”

That happens when we urge them to be or do what the pericope is requiring (what Abe calls its “thrust/force”).

Sunday after Sunday the cumulative affect is growing more and more into the likeness of Christ (“inhabiting this ideal world and adopting its values”).

Can you see why it’s impossible for congregations composed of some with “ears to hear” not to grow into a mature Body?

I can’t think of anything more fulfilling than being the mouthpiece for God’s invitation to live in his ideal world. And as we do that each weekend, may He receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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How Reading the Wall Street Journal Can Help Your Preaching. Honest.

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The Opinion section seems fair and the writing is superb.
Photo by Allie on Unsplash

Several months ago I decided to go back to getting a newspaper again. I was close to getting a subscription to digital curated news, such as Apple News, but the reviews were not great. I chose the Wall Street Journal thanks to a generous discount for educators. Or, was it students? That’s not important right now.

What is important is how the quality of WSJ’s writers is helping me be a better communicator of God’s Word.

Here are some lines from this weekend’s WSJ from one of my favorite writers, Peggy Noonan’s, Declarations: The GOP Tries to Make Its Case…

“If you weren’t moved by [Jon Ponder’s speech] you don’t do moved.”

Or, the reporting of Sen. Tim Scott’s speech which included the phrase,

“Because of the evolution of the Southern heart.” (explaining how “a black man who started with nothing [ended up in “Congress in an overwhelmingly white district in Charleston and beat the field, including the son of former-Sen. Strom Thurmond.”].

Or…

“[Republicans] hit on the one fear shared equally now by the rich, the poor and the middle: that when you call 911 you’ll go to voicemail.”

Or, my new favorite word I read several days ago: humblebrag.

So, in Psalm 18:23 David commits humblebrag when he claims: “I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt.” Much different than David’s confession in Psalm 38:18 “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.”

There are several times in the earlier Psalms when David voices humblebrag. It’s a great word to describe how David can crow even though there were many times he had to eat crow.

I just wished I had remembered to say it in the sermon. Oh well.

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) because of our attempts to become better wordsmiths.

Randal

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How Much of Your Sermon Is Original?

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I believe that but also know of other preachers who have preached this text better!

In the middle of the week I began thinking about how much of my sermon-in-the-making is the result of my own thinking. I know about the debate surrounding whether or not anyone can ever have a truly original idea. And I’m not talking about plagiarizing either.

I guess I’m asking you to think about what parts of your sermon development and delivery are your work.

Let’s begin with some thoughts about using someone else’s material:

On one side of the spectrum, think about those times when you rely on an English dictionary, thesaurus, or original language lexicons and theological dictionaries. Now go all the way to the other side of the line and think about borrowing someone else’s sermon title and structure.

In the middle I put quotes or paraphrases from our favorite authors, like Jonathan Edwards, Augustine, or William Goldman (author and screenplay writer of The Princess Bride).

So, what do I bring to the equation? Every week by the grace of God I…

  • trace the argument of my preaching portion and discover how meaning is made before I know what that meaning is.
  • determine how this text intends to elicit worship (I complete the sentence: “We worship the Lord this morning by…”).
  • know enough about my congregants to know this text is relevant.
  • create a structure that leads to the theological meaning of the text.
  • talk to my listeners about their Christian experience from the text while I write out my sermon manuscript.
  • make critical word-choices that affect how the sermon sounds (an ora-script within the manuscript).
  • smile at them to let them know I love them.
  • show them how the Christ-event makes this text come true for those who believe.

What did I miss?

May our Sunday “originals” continue to give God glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

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Why Looking At Them Really Matters

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The kind of response we’re missing these days, right?!

I’m reading Carrell’s chapter, Delivering, Not Decorating, and it’s no surprise that eye contact during sermon delivery would be mentioned.

If you’re wondering why eye contact is critical for our preaching and teaching it’s because: “Sustained eye contact communicates relationship.” (p. 148)

If you’ve studied preaching or worshiped with me, you know how I feel about the effect that relationships have on communication and pastoral ministry. It’s impossible to overestimate its importance.

One of Carrell’s respondents wrote to her:

“Some weeks it’s just too much work to try to pay attention and connect when he doesn’t even make an attempt to look up to acknowledge we’re all out here [emphasis added]” (p. 148).

Yikes!

The pulpit or positioning of preachers and teachers usually already creates some distance. We can’t afford to add to it by poor eye contact.

It’s true that visuals such as slides can hurt if constructed and used poorly. However, here are two things to consider:

(1) Know your material so well that you rarely have to look at it, except for maybe a few quotes, stats, or references. I suggest you manuscript/orascript your sermons each week and read them over a few times to absorb the essential concepts, flow, and key words. When Sunday comes you won’t need many notes at all. Trust me on that one.

(2) Remind yourself that you will be talking to them about them throughout the sermon/lesson. Limit, if not eliminate, the number of minutes you talk to them about the Bible. You should not let them stray from you for long. That means you will continue to direct your communication “at” them. Not that you’re necessarily preaching at them–remember that your relationship with them is key. But you are always engaging them and looking at some of them in the process.

Let’s do the hard work of preparation in the power of God’s Spirit so they don’t have to work so hard to pay attention. And may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Just Curious: How Has The COVID-19 Crisis Affected Your Preaching?

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Preaching To An Audience of “None”

This blog has never been aimed at generating lots of responses. I appreciate the ones I get, but know that, if you’re like me, you barely have time to read all the stuff you want to read and rarely have extra time for commenting.

But for today I wouldn’t mind hearing how the current COVID-19 pandemic has affected your preaching. Here are three possible scenarios; the last two are similar:

  1. If you are fortunate to be in a region that is still having church as “normal”
  2. If you have been preaching in church to no audience or maybe your worship team, but hoping your faith-family will watch
  3. If you have been preaching to your computer camera, hoping your faith-family will watch

So far, I’ve been experiencing #3 and it does change the preaching dynamics. One of the things I didn’t expect to feel is that it seems to be a bit harder for me to get ready spiritually. I have had to remind myself that this is still very important–life and death stuff. The pressure is not off.

Maybe it’s due to getting out of my regular routine. I’m still processing all of this.

And, then, of course, with either #2 or #3 preaching without parishioners is just plain weird. Bless her heart, my wife, Michele, has been great to sit directly across from me these past two weeks with the tall order of generating all the non-verbal and verbal dialogue I usually receive each Sunday.

What about your experience so far?

Thanks for taking a moment to share.

I am convinced that our Lord is still receiving glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) through your fine efforts.

Randal

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Remember, Our Goal Is Speaking To Our Listeners, Not Writing Sermons

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Consider writing out your sermon manuscript each week, but write it as you would want to say it, and then preach it without notes.

I’m slowly working my way through Carrell’s, Preaching That Matters: Reflective Practices for Transforming Sermons. Her chapter on sermon delivery provides interesting feedback from preachers on their practices.

Only a very small percentage of preachers practice their sermons out loud before preaching. I’m one of the ones who doesn’t.

However, I do practice speaking the sermon from the moment I begin writing the sermon each Monday morning. This is in line with Carrell’s findings:

“the path to increased transformative impact: [is] alter your preparation and delivery so that you honor the orality inherent in preaching.” (p. 142, emphasis added)

Carrell summarizes the “oral style” described by communication theorists, Dance and Zak-Dance. Two are especially noteworthy:

(1) “It makes conscious use of memory. The speaker need to be as free of notes as possible to concentrate on communicating thought to the audience.” (p. 142, emphasis added)

(2) “…speakers work to help the audience feel a part of the speaker’s thoughts and emotional processes.” (p. 143, emphasis added)

So, we write our sermons out like we’re speaking to our listeners. We know our material so well, including our carefully chosen words, that during the sermon we can get our thoughts across clearly and passionately and bring our listeners along minute-by-minute.

And all so that our Lord receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

P.S. Students often worry about forgetting what they’re supposed to say if they try preaching without notes. My answer is always the same: Look down at your Bible, take your cue, and keep preaching. You’re the only one who knows the orascript anyway.

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Getting Excited About the Emotional Component in Preaching

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My pastoral history now spanning just shy of three full decades has been in the context of what I will call the typical Bible Church. Which being interpreted means we don’t get too excited about the Bible.

I joke with our folks about this because it’s important for us to know who we are and how we’re wired. But, I have to admit that this does at times make me question my effectiveness as a communicator.

Think with me about this. If I am preaching God’s Word with faithful exposition—we’re a Bible Church, remember?—what does it mean if my listeners don’t get excited about God?

You could come to my defense and say, “Well, that shows what kind of spiritual mettle they are made of.” I appreciate your support. I, of course, could come to their defense and say, “Well, that shows what kind of preacher I am.”

In her book, Preaching That Matters, Carrell’s chapter on delivery includes a section, Embracing Emotion. In my limited experience, that subject matter leads to citing reasons why emotionalism is dangerous. That discussion may have it’s place, but in Bible churches like mine the more important discussion is what it says about my preaching if preaching the Word doesn’t create an emotional response.

Carrell writes,

“the thirty thousand-plus listeners responding to sermons in this study constantly report low levels of emotional response to preaching, even though they long to be inspired. ‘I was moved emotionally’ is consistently one of the two sermon response survey options that receive significantly lower scores than the others” (p. 135).

That could be as much my problem as theirs.

I had a rare victory last Sunday evening preaching Psalm 15. It begins with a question: “O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? While explaining what the question means I asked,

“Have you ever thought about whether God would enjoy a visit with you in His home?”

We almost got excited (*smile*).

Before Sunday, is there anything in your preaching portion to get excited about? I mean, don’t go overboard or anything, but may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we aim at both an intellectual and emotional worship response.

Randal

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Passion and Compassion’s Affect on Sermon Delivery

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Two Keys To Effective Sermon Delivery

In her book, Preaching That Matters, Carrell’s chapter, “Delivering, Not Decorating,” includes the following powerful quote:

“If passion and compassion are not emotions you feel for your content, your listeners, or the hurting world, then you may need to attend your spiritual journey. If you feel these emotions but are not showing them in your sermons as fully as you feel them, you need to work on your delivery.” (p. 132)

I’m writing this on Saturday evening which means many of us are preaching tomorrow morning. Which scenario do you anticipate being your biggest struggle? You’re not feeling it or you’re not showing it?

If you preach through books of the Bible, let’s say Numbers, for instance. I can guarantee you will struggle feeling passion for every preaching portion in that book (“Sorry, Lord, but You know how hard that is!”). But even in a series through the beloved Psalms, we’ll have our moments.

Then, there is this thing about passion and compassion for our listeners. That’s what pastoring is all about, isn’t it? Tomorrow morning we get to love our people through the exposition of Sacred Scripture.

There’s still time tonight and tomorrow morning to ask God for a level of passion for Him and compassion for them that honors Him.

Finally, let’s ask the Lord to help us convey that passion and compassion appropriately, in a way that represents Him well and is true to the way He’s made us. And may He receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) through it all.

Randal

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Key Questions Your Sermon Delivery Answer

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There’s nothing wrong, necessarily, with folding your hands like this. Really.

In her book, Preaching That Matters, Carrell has a chapter titled, Delivering Not Decorating. You may recall that what I’m benefiting from most in the book are survey results of hundreds of listeners. For instance, she writes,

“Listeners use elements of the speaker’s delivery to determine the answer to many crucial questions: How much does the speaker care about us? How important is this topic? How sincere and credible is the speaker?” (p. 130)

Usually, discussions about sermon delivery focus on voice and body, things like volume, rate, and movement. All of this is often aimed at helping preachers be more interesting. But look at the questions above. The way we preach affects much more than being interesting:

Sermon delivery communicates relate-ability or pastoral care. This is where the pastor-theologian focuses on the “pastor” part. It’s where we let our folks know we love them dearly, as much, if not more, than preaching itself.

Sermon delivery communicates the life-and-death nature of God’s Word to us. I’ve said before, that one of my most common comments on sermon evaluation forms is, “I don’t sense that what you’re saying is important.”

Sermon delivery communicates our own interest in God and shepherding God’s flock. We can preach in a way that shows we’re in this with them, that we’re hearing God speak to us too.

For the sake of God’s glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) we don’t want to preach and have one of our listeners say,

“When he preaches, it sounds like he doesn’t care–about what he is saying or about us. If he doesn’t care, why should I?” (p. 130).

Randal