10 Last Minute Preaching Tips

By Toni Ridgaway

As pastors, we must first preach the gospel to ourselves before we proclaim to the world the necessity of a Savior.  How damnable it would be to die of malnutrition while we busily prepare food for others.

—Scott Thomas

The best advice we ever give is that of a poor sinner to another poor sinner. As one who looks to herself, lest she also be tempted.  As one who knows he needs to be encouraged as well.  As one who doesn’t assume to know another’s heart and pain.

—Mark Altrogge

If one wanted to find the biggest problem in Christianity then listen to the preachers. Whatever most preachers are avoiding in their sermons. Whatever most preachers are not addressing. Those things are probably going to be the things that are most needed today.

—Sherman Haywood Cox II

Sermons are not made for paper; they are made for people. They are to be listened to. Just like Ford test-drives any prototype before they produce the vehicle, you should test drive your sermon by listening to it before you preach it.

—Mark Mohler

We all know that it is important to know what you are teaching, but it is becoming even more important to know how they are learning.

—Wayne Cordeiro

To help people change, you’ve got to help them see the lie they’re basing their behavior on. That’s why when you know the truth, it sets you free.

—Rick Warren

What the world is looking for is an authoritative Gospel spoken through a humble personality.

—P.T. Forsythe

People don’t transform because of a good message. They transform because of a great Jesus.

—Pete Wilson

Lectures are a fine way to impart raw information. But it's not enough to make disciples who make other disciples. Information transfer isn't enough, we need life transfer. Don't tell me, show me.

—Jon Reid

When preachers hold a Bible in their hands, they hold nothing more than pages of ink…Preaching brings the ink of the text alive—makes it real. The goal of preaching is to hand on an experience of God.

—Tom Rogers

Preaching Tip: Encourage Your Audience

By Peter Mead



Everyone needs encouragement.  We need it as preachers.  So we shouldn’t be surprised if our listeners do, too!  And yet, strangely, something that everyone needs, and everyone acknowledges is needed, seems to be strangely absent in a significant amount of preaching.  Let me encourage you to encourage people as you preach.

Don’t think exhortation is encouragement. 

There is a need for exhortation, but people need to be encouraged, too.  Exhorting involves persuasion and a hint of rebuke, but encouragement injects hope, confidence and life.

Don’t think guilt is encouragement.  

To put it simply, it is not.  Guilting people into conformity is a shortcut that may yield results, but it will be short-lived and counter-productive.  Allow guilt to come by the conviction of the Spirit, but don’t add guilt where guilt is not the issue—that is a form of legalism.

Don’t think that enthusiasm is encouragement.  

Your enthusiasm may be contagious, but people may sit impressed by your passion, yet not feel encouraged in their own.  Think through how to invest rather than simply demonstrate enthusiasm in your preaching.
There are other things we may offer and think we are being encouraging.  But consider both your passage and your listeners: how can this be preached in a way that will encourage them?  Robinson talks about the need for ten encouraging messages for every one rebuke.  It is so counterproductive when we get that ratio reversed.  Be encouraged as you read the Word, and look to share that encouragement as encouragement!

Using Humor

By Wayne Cordeiro


Envision that life is like a large, flat plain. At its edge is laughter, where life giggles and belly laughs without much effort. This is called the “Edge of Laughter.”

A lot of people build their lives too far from the Edge of Laughter. So it takes someone to do the best comedy act in Vegas to get them to crack a smile.

Live on the Edge of Laughter. Congregations that never laugh find that forgiveness comes hard. In a church that laughs easily, forgiveness also comes easily. Allow your spirit to be lifted by laughter. It will do more than just improve your communication, it will change your church.

Humor of Jesus
Jesus laughed. Where you might ask? Plenty of places in the Gospels if you have any kind of funny bone left in your body. Listen to these words of Jesus:

“It’s easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than rich man to get into heaven” (Matthew 19:24).

How do you get a camel through the eye of a needle? Do you start with the tail and start pulling him through? Of course people laughed. Jesus wanted them to, so they would not take themselves too seriously. As ambassadors of the King, you and I must also utilize humor to awaken people’s minds and hearts.

When people laugh, it reboots their computer and gets them thinking again. Have you ever experienced a computer crash? You wiggle the mouse, tap at the keys, maybe even kick it, but it doesn’t react. Well, that can happen during speeches too! You must jiggle your audience awake with joy.

When people laugh it opens their receptivity. As their mouths hang open, the preacher can drop in truth for them to chew on. What a preacher says immediately after the laughter is the most important message he can speak. Laughter makes hearts vulnerable and the words he will speak will sink deeply and be reflected upon.
How can a preacher develop his humor?

1. Watch Life
Watch life for unique experiences. Develop eyes to see humor every day. How much life goes by and we are oblivious to it. I went to a collegiate game where the University of Oregon played UCLA. The people were wonderfully alive and sparkling with joy. They had painted their faces and their bodies! They wore clown wigs and just went nuts. It was such a joy to watch them!

2. Watch Comedy
One of the best tactics for developing humor is from some of the most funny people in the world, stage comedians. A comedian will plan his routine, crafting his lines and adjusting his timing. These are the professionals of laughter. If their humor is clean, watch it and take notes! Watch every gesture, tone and technique they use to draw laughter out of people around them.

3. Practice Laughing
Right where you are, wherever you are, laugh! That’s right, laugh. Yes I do mean you! Don’t hide behind your screen. Just laugh.

You may need some practice. We need to practice joy so that it becomes a natural reflex in life, not just in the pulpit but every day we live.

If we don’t laugh we’ll be more painful to live with. Those who don’t laugh are often the first critics. If you don’t laugh very much, it does not mean that you are holier than others. It might make you a Pharisee but it will not make you holier. Somewhere along the line, church people began to look like they had been baptized in lemon juice. We have become known for our deep-furrowed frowns. Holiness is not best advertised with seriousness but with joy.

One of the first Sundays after we planted New Hope a somber man sporting a scowl and crossed arms glared through me during the service. So I went over to him and gave him a big hug and said, “Good morning!” He was as rigid as a phone pole. He scalded me with a look that could blister skin. In a low growl he said, “If you would stop being such a funny guy, and just preach the Word, then maybe I’d come more often!” He left that Sunday and we haven’t seen him since.

In those early days we only had a handful of people attending. But since then 34,000 people have made first-time decisions for Christ through New Hope . We’re going to keep laughing! As Nehemiah said, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). A church that understands the joy of the Lord is a strong church.

Francis Chan on What Drives Prophetic Preaching

An Interview with Francis Chan

Francis Chan is a speaker and writer. Chan also serves as the President of Eternity Bible College, and is the author of Crazy Love (David C. Cook).

Editor's note: Before conducting this interview with author and pastor Francis Chan, I went to the Cornerstone Church (Simi Valley, California) website and watched his welcome video (the interview was conducted before he announced his resignation). In it he describes some of the convictions with which he started the church. He says things like, "Let's teach everything the Bible says, even if it doesn't set well with us at times. Who are we to judge God's thoughts?" "I want to prepare people for the moment when they face God." "He is the judge." That sounds like the heart of a prophet walking in the footsteps of Jeremiah, but like the Old Testament prophets, Francis also says, "We don't want to just live this life in fear. We want to have a love relationship." In this interview, Francis reveals well the heart impulses of preachers who bring a challenging word.

What makes a sermon prophetic?

For those who have the gift of prophetic preaching, it's as though God screams out to them from the words of the Bible. When I want to know what the Lord wants me to share with his people, he has made it clear to me at times, and biblical passages will come to mind. But there are also life callings—things he's given me that I've been passionate about because of my involvement in the church. I see the way people live and the things that are incongruent with the way that believers whom God approved of lived. Things such as the fear of God and a high view of his Word—a trembling at his Word—have been lost in American church culture.

Seven or eight years ago the Lord opened my eyes to the need to care for those who are in need around the world. He did this through my experiences but also through Scripture. All those passages leapt at me. Other leaders around the States were getting the same message from the Word.

Then a few years ago there was a leading to understand and emphasize the Holy Spirit. Those passages screamed out at me from the Scriptures. I don't think it was a coincidence that at the same time a lot of my friends who are leaders around the States were getting the same message.

In the last two years the focus has been on what the church is supposed to look like. What type of relationships are we supposed to have with one another biblically? I saw the stark contrast between the connection of the family of believers in the Bible and what we see today in the American church. Every time I'd read those passages, it just wouldn't leave me alone. And sure enough, as I looked around, other leaders were wrestling with the same things.

It's clear who are not the true prophets. A lot has to do with their lifestyle. When you look at the warnings about false prophets, much of it has to do with their character: their greed, lack of love, self-centeredness, pride. That shows them to be false teachers and reveals their hypocrisy. Paul tells Timothy you need to guard your life and doctrine closely.

So when you feel that God is bringing things to your attention in the Word, that's the first impulse of what becomes prophetic preaching.

Yeah, it seems like the Lord mixes his Word with my daily experience. It's so God-ordained at times that I can't deny it. But I always want the Word at the center of my preaching, because we can be fooled by experience. Satan is the master of deceiving us, so we must not base our preaching on our intellect or opinion. God inclines the heart of certain men to give certain messages, but it will always be in line with the Scriptures.

How do you know when to preach prophetically?

I don't know any other way to teach. I believe the Lord gives me a message every week. It's hard for me to teach unless I believe that God has given me that message for the people. I think it's part of a gifting. I don't know how to explain it, but I have an urgency every time I teach. I really do believe my message is from God, and it was something that he's revealed to me. Not everyone has that, but it seems to be the way that God works with me.

When the Lord is impressing on your heart to challenge people in certain ways, do you find that you preach on these ideas for a season in the life of the church, or is the leading more for individual messages?

I find joy and peace when I preach a hard message in love that I believe is of the Lord, even though I know it's going to be offensive to some people.

 

It's different all the time. For example, the other night I woke up with Ephesians 5:18-21 in my mind about what it means to be Spirit-filled. Through circumstances and through his Word, God has been speaking to me about my losing some of the joy in ministry. A lot of that is because I'm not living the Spirit-filled life that Ephesians 5:18 talks about: speaking to others in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, making a melody in my heart to the Lord, giving thanks for everything. I need to get back to being a thankful person, giving thanks all day long, and having a melody in my heart. So that's what I'll be preaching on Sunday. Now, is it going to be a series? I don't think so. Sometimes there are topics that I'll start speaking on, and God will impress on my heart that I need to go a few more weeks on it. Other times he'll put a Book of the Bible on my heart, and I'll preach through the whole Book, and it may take weeks or months.

What emotions do you experience as you prepare and then as you actually deliver the sermon?

Again, it's different. Sometimes I have a deep sadness for people who don't get it. God will give me a deep concern. Sometimes—I don't know if frustration is the word—but I feel a holy discontent over our lack of holiness. I'm bothered by the lack of concern in people over the things that God cares deeply about. Or I'm bothered that people are casual about sin, and God will reveal to me how serious he is about it in his Word. And so that gives me a real passion. At other times, again I don't know the word for it—anger is not the right word—but I see in Scripture leaders that get bothered because people aren't taking God's Word seriously, and sometimes I feel that.

Sometimes I feel tremendous joy. Sometimes I'm teaching, and I experience God's presence with me and favor on me, and when I'm done I feel like I just had the most amazing devotional time with him. When we think about experiencing the Holy Spirit, we tend to think of getting away into the mountains or the beach by ourselves, but there are times when I believe I'm being filled with his Spirit as I'm teaching people, and it really is a spiritual gift or a manifestation of the Spirit. Afterward I'm so grateful to God for letting me be used.

What mistakes have you made in prophetic preaching?

The biggest is a lack of love. There are times when I get so focused on what God wants me to say, but at the same time he also wants me to love the people I'm saying it to. First Corinthians 13 says it doesn't matter if I prophesy well; if it's not done in love, it profits me nothing. I certainly fall into that. Then there are other times when my own flesh comes in, and there's human anger or frustration versus a Spirit-filled thanksgiving and peace about me. So when I preach and I myself am not showing the fruit of the Spirit, I can fool myself into thinking that I nailed the passage because I proclaimed it boldly. At other times I fail because God gives me a topic that is serious, but I fear too much how people will respond. I try to think too much about how to say it in the perfect way to be least offensive. I fear at times I've even backed off from saying everything God wanted me to say because I was afraid of rejection. So it goes both ways.

How much should we think about saying things in a way that will help people receive what we have to say?

Love is the biggest issue. Paul talks about how he cared for the people, that he came to them like a gentle mother with her children. I read that and ask, do I have the gentleness, love, cherishing, and caring of a mother? My attitude should be that these people are like my children. I don't want to offend them unnecessarily. Yet at the same time, as a good parent you have to say the difficult things.

As we think about prophetic preaching, what often comes to mind is Old Testament prophets like Jeremiah. Does the transition to the New Covenant change the nature of prophetic preaching?

It doesn't seem like it changes that much. In Luke 6:26 Jesus says, "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets." The false prophets were loved by everyone, and everyone speaks well of them. In verses 22-23 Jesus says when they reject you, your reward is great, for that's what they did to the real prophets. So he's saying that the way people respond to us today should be similar to the way they responded to the prophets of old. There's going to be rejection. In many ways it's great if you get the same response, because it helps you understand that you're in a good lineage. Jesus showed that things haven't changed that much. We serve the same God and give the same message of good news and hope, but many people will take it as bad news and reject it.

As you've listened to others preach prophetically, what have you learned?

I've seen many people get away from the Scriptures, and I've never seen it end up with good fruit. I know I sound like a broken record, but everything has to be centered on the Word of God. If we start getting the applause of man, we can start relying on our intellect or instinct versus spending time in the Word. I've seen guys get lazy with the Word, and I can do that as well. While certain things have to be reemphasized because they're core issues, I've also seen a tendency to rely too much on things that God has taught us in his Word in the past, instead of studying the Word every week and getting a fresh word from the Lord.

How do you feel when you know that your preaching has been "in your face"?

As long as I'm confident it was Spirit-led and I did it with a heart of love, I feel great about it. I find joy and peace when I preach a hard message in love that I believe is of the Lord, even though I know it's going to be offensive to some people. In the flesh there are times when I get sad, because I know I'll lose some friends over it, but in the Spirit there's joy and confidence. If I don't face some rejection, I get more concerned.

You Can't Please Everyone with Your Preaching

By Peter Mead



The goal in preaching is not to please all of your listeners.  We know that.  But in our vulnerability, it can be very uncomfortable to hear that some are not happy with our preaching.  The challenge is to try to figure out why and then know whether to adjust or not.  Here are some possible reasons and possible responses.

Over Their Heads—Perhaps your preaching is simply not pitched effectively.  You use terminology that is unnecessarily lofty or academic and people simply struggle to understand you.  There is no virtue in this and you need to hear the feedback.  If you can’t make it understandable, it is your problem rather than theirs.  The flesh has a tendency to show-off, but there is no excuse for fleshly preaching.  Hear the feedback graciously and seek to change.

Overly Grating Their Tolerance—Perhaps your personality is simply grating and they struggle with you.  This is a hard one to quantify or change.  I suppose in an ideal world your increasing fruit of the Spirit as you mature should alleviate this problem over time (but what if they’re not growing?)  Sometimes two personalities will clash and it will always be a struggle.  Sometimes people hide behind the clash of personalities when there is an underlying sin issue that should be addressed (jealousy, bitterness, contempt, etc.).  This is a harder problem to address, but loving them is not a bad path to take.

Overly Burdening Their Lives—Perhaps your preaching is simply weighing them down with duty and burden.  This may be a misunderstanding of both the Bible and the preacher’s task on your part, or a misunderstanding of Christianity on theirs.  I would suspect the former.  Too many think that the preacher needs to “spiritually beat and berate” listeners in order to be truly preaching.  Too many have a sort of “flagellation by sermon” approach to spirituality.  Some listeners feel somehow better when they can walk out of church and say, “Mmm, I needed that!”  But this approach to Christianity will tend to break bruised reeds and snuff out smoldering wicks.

Overly Touching Their Hearts—Perhaps your preaching is simply touching too close to home.  If you are preaching in such a way as to target the hearts of your listeners, then many will resonate deeply with what you’re doing.  But in any church there will be some who are essentially hard-hearted, who want the preaching to meet certain criteria and stroke the egos of the religious and pious.  Some find it deeply convicting to “feel” as if they don’t really have a loving personal relationship with God.  They revolt at the notion that those who do not love Christ are actually “accursed.”  It’s painful, but if this is the issue, then the fact that a small minority are unhappy may be a strong affirmation of your preaching.  Would we prefer to have everyone be pleasantly untouched?

There are other reasons, and often a blend of more than one.  The challenge is to sort it through and preach for our audience of One, yet with a loving sensitivity to the many who sit and listen.  It is wrong to refuse to hear feedback, and it is wrong to try to please everyone.  Love Him, love them and respond to the feedback where appropriate.

Peter Mead 

BiblicalPreaching.net

Peter Mead is involved in church leadership at an independent Bible church in the UK. He serves as director of Cor Deo—an innovative mentored ministry training program—and has a wider ministry preaching and training preachers. He also blogs often at BiblicalPreaching.net.

Start with a Bang! Crafting a Memorable Sermon Opener

By Tyler Scarlett



Great books often begin with great opening lines. Who doesn't remember the beginning of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…"? What about the curiously blunt start to Moby Dick, "Call me Ishmael"? Authors know that if you waste a person's time at the beginning, chances are they won't stick around to the end. What's true with books is also true with sermons.

A preacher's worst fear is that the congregation will stop listening. What is far more dreadful than this is if the people never were listening in the first place. When one takes too much time verbally meandering into the sermon, the temptation to tune out the preacher becomes all too real. If your words wander, minds will, too.

Preachers often make the naïve assumption that the congregation arrives to church brimming with enthusiasm to hear the message. Who hasn't imagined members going to bed early on Saturday night, eating a hearty breakfast in the morning, spending an hour in prayer, and calmly driving to church with a Bible, pen and notebook in hand—being sure to arrive 30 minutes early? Seasoned preachers know this is rarely, if ever, the case.

By the time attendees find a seat in church, chances are many people already have had an argument, made plans for the rest of the day or (most likely) had an argument about their plans for the rest of the day. As Wayne McDill has noted, when most people arrive, they "are preoccupied with their own personal concerns, tired, bored, and suspicious that the preacher is about to make it worse."

People may be in front of us, but that does not mean they are necessarily with us. Ears are like tractor-trailer weigh stations. Just because you see them doesn't mean they're open. Given this challenge, the preacher's task of gaining a hearing is critical to effective communication.

Sermon introductions are a lot like chess. Mess up the beginning, and you may have messed up the whole thing. Ramesh Richards has gone so far as to say, "If you do not have your audience yearning (within the first few minutes) for the rest of the sermon, [it] might as well go home."  However, if you begin the sermon with a clear, confident, intriguing opener, it can draw people in instantly. It will assure them you are going somewhere worthwhile. It will pique their curiosity and compel them to follow along closely.

Granted, the opening sentence is not the most important part of the sermon. If the choice is between a good sermon opener and a clear, accurate exposition of the text, by all means jettison the opener. Nevertheless, if you lose your congregation at the beginning, you will have to work twice as hard to get them back by the end. Why not give your message the best possible chance to connect with people at the outset? Plan to start the sermon strong.

Whether it's "mama" or "dada," a baby's first words get a lot of attention. The preacher's first words should, too. Here's how to craft a memorable sermon opener that will give people a reason to sit up and listen from the very start.

1. Craft the opening sentence to be simple.

There is hardly anything more laborious and attention-squelching than a long, never-ending sentence that seems to drag on and on with exceedingly too many adjectives, as well as verbal tangents that go nowhere and continue along with virtually no conceivable end in sight. (Get my drift?)

Less is often more. This is particularly true with the sermon's first sentence. Bryan Chapell's advice about sermon introductions is wise: "Be direct. Be focused. Be specific."  Likewise, Haddon Robinson suggests, "The minister should make the most of his first 25 words to seize attention."  From the moment you begin to speak, keep it simple.

There is an old saying, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." What's true in life is also true in preaching. Bloviate at the beginning, and you likely will not draw in listeners. The start of the sermon also is not the time for stumbling around with "ums" and "uhs." Verbal speed bumps such as these tend to distract even the most sincere listener. To ensure the kind of clarity and brevity needed, it may be helpful to flesh out the sermon's first sentence or two on paper. Write it. Edit it. Rewrite it as needed. Make it say exactly what you want.

For instance, a message about the biblical foundation of marriage could begin, "Marriage is not just a good idea; it is a God-idea." That is not only true, but also very memorable. It is the kind of statement a person will scribble in the margin of his or her Bible and relate to friends.

"God cannot do everything." Such a statement certainly will attract the attention of skeptics and seekers. However, it also can serve as a powerful introduction to a message on Titus 2:2, "God, who cannot lie, promised long ago…"

A train conductor does not waste his voice by announcing, "Everyone needs to get on the train so we can commence our departure as soon as possible." No. All he needs to shout is, "All aboard!" and people listen. Just a few choice words confidently spoken can say it all. Make your opening sentence brief. The pithier the better.

2. Craft the opening sentence to be iconic.
If possible in the opener, give people a preview of where the sermon is going. Provide them with an appetizer that will whet their mental appetites for the main course. As the Roman orator Quintilian once said, "A flawed introduction is like a scarred face." It makes you want to run away. Be sure from the start to give the audience something appealing to attract them. 

 

Hollywood not only spends big bucks on producing high-quality blockbuster films but also puts a lot of time and money into movie trailers. Previews tease the audience by showing a glimpse of what can be seen in the feature presentation. It's the producer's way of saying, "You don't want to miss this!" A good opening sentence likewise can be a sermon trailer or preview of what's ahead.

God certainly began the Book of Genesis in this kind of iconic way. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Not only do those words introduce the creation account, they also implant a sense of wonder about who this God is and what He is going to do with His new creation.

I recently was preaching from Matthew 3 about the message of John the Baptist. I opened by sharing a story from my childhood about my dad's poor driving. In an unfamiliar city, my father unknowingly began driving the wrong way down a one-way street. I began the sermon/story with these words, "The man repeatedly was shouting, ‘Turn around right now!'" It not only introduced a man in my story, but it also introduced John the Baptist. The phrase, "Turn around right now!" became a refrain that I repeated throughout the entire message. A sermon opener that echoes the central idea of the text is a helpful touch.

George Orwell's book 1984 begins with the memorable line, "It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." There's something relatable, even familiar, when he mentions a cold day in April. Yet there's something puzzlingly unfamiliar about the clocks striking "thirteen." It is as though Orwell is telling the reader up front, "You are about to journey into a new and fascinating world." He gives a tiny preview of what lies ahead. Doing the same with your sermon opener will benefit your listeners.

3. Craft the opening sentence to be intriguing.
"Peaches can kill you!" Those were the unexpected first words out of my mouth from a series on temptation. I went on to explain that inside a peach pit is a mineral known as amygdalin. Under certain circumstances, that mineral can produce a new compound, commonly known as cyanide. I told my congregation that temptation often looks delicious, but hidden inside is something dangerous and destructive. A few days later, I someone told me, "Pastor, since that sermon I've never looked at a peach the same way. It always reminds me of how dangerous temptation can be." Such a shocking first sentence may help the sermon stick in people's minds.

Kent Edwards advises, "Effective first sentences could be paradoxical statements, twists on familiar quotations, or even rhetorical questions."  A sermon dealing with God's omniscience may begin by asking, "Has it ever dawned on you that nothing ever dawns on God?" Raising a thought-provoking question will inspire a search for the right answer.

Graham Johnston writes, "The opening line establishes a tension with the emotional ingredients to draw in the listener."  Your first words should force the audience to ask, "I wonder what's next?" Solomon began the Book of Ecclesiastes this way: "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!" (Ecc. 1:1) What a fitting way to introduce the reader to the king's angst about living a life without God.

When the apostle Paul addressed the men at Mars Hill, he gained an instant audience with his complimentary opener, "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects" (Acts 17:22). In just a few words, Paul commended his audience, raised curiosity and set the stage for his powerful apologetic.

In the same temptation series that I mentioned earlier, another sermon began with me announcing, "I want you to be a destructive alcoholic!" The room fell silent. I clearly had everyone's attention. The congregation was dying to know why I began with such a controversial statement. I followed it by calmly asking them to consider, "Wouldn't it be nice if temptation was this honest about its endgame?" Such unexpected sermon openers will arrest people's attention and give them a reason upfront to keep listening.

A Russian proverb sums it up well: "It is the same with men as with donkeys: Whoever would hold them fast must get a very good grip on their ears!"  From the moment you step into the pulpit, listeners instinctively are wondering, "Why should I listen today?" Your opening sentence should leave no doubt. Every preacher must earn the right to be heard. Start with a bang, and you will do just that.

Tyler Scarlett 

Preaching.com

Tyler Scarlett is the pastor-teacher of Forest Baptist Church, located in Forest, Virginia.

Preach a Crisp, Clear Gospel Message

By Larry Moyer


For me, it all starts by communicating ten words, “Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead.” This is the crisp and effective message that transforms lives and secures our eternal destiny. There is a power in this Gospel that is awesome. It is imperative that you are confident in the message you are communicating and that you communicate it as clearly and simply as possible. As I often explain, “The Bible is 66 books, but the Gospel is ten words—Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead.” It is the preaching of the Gospel that makes evangelistic preaching effective. In order to preach the Gospel, it is crucial that we have a clear understanding ourselves.

We also need to have a heart to communicate the “good news” of Christ to a lost and dying world. You don’t just want to preach to your audience. You want to communicate with them.

It’s been said that too many speakers are like Christopher Columbus. When he started out, he didn’t know where he was going. When he got there, he didn’t know where he was. When he got back, he did not know where he had been. If you understand what you are about to present, that will not be the situation. What is clear in your mind will become clear in theirs. To communicate and not just speak, you must understand that every Gospel message must tell your audience three things:

1. You are a sinner
2. Christ died for your sins and rose again
3. You have to trust Christ

This way, they know their condition, God’s remedy, and their need—to trust Christ. When those three truths are objectively explained, you have communicated—not just spoken.

I find that expository evangelistic preaching is very effective in presenting a crisp, clear Gospel message. Presenting your message in this fashion allows them to hear what God said first. That way, they leave knowing that if they have a struggle with what you said, their struggle is ultimately with God, not you. God’s Word is alive. That’s why to take a particular text and explain it to lost people in a way that is powerful and relevant lends force to your message. However, if you are preaching to reach the lost, don’t assume they have a Bible with them or know where to find the text you are preaching on. Carefully direct them to the text. Also remember they probably aren’t familiar with many stories from the Bible or may not even understand common Christian terminology, so speak their language.

By the way, that does not mean that every expository message that you give has to be directed to lost people. But appealing to lost people through an expositional message directed to believers will be the subject of a future article. The point I’m making is whenever possible, when you speak to lost people, do it through an expository message prepared just for them.

Unfortunately, evangelistic speakers too often have a reputation for being condescending. While we have to explain to people that they are sinners, we don’t have to say it in a way that is pompous. Remember that we are to preach a Gospel of grace, not guilt. The audience needs to recognize they are sinners, but also hear that there is hope for our sinful condition.

When preaching the Gospel message, it is imperative to use repetition. With the fast-paced lives we lead, many of us have lost the art of listening. Repeat whatever is necessary in light of your text, your situation, and their need. The main thing you repeat is the “big idea” in your message. Watch your audience; if they looked confused, restate things in a different light or use an additional illustration.

As you preach crisp and effective Gospel messages, your enthusiasm for the Savior must be displayed. Enthusiasm is contagious. Get excited about the message God has given you to preach and what Christ did on the cross. If you are not enthusiastic about your Savior, they won’t be interested in knowing Him.

Do the above items guarantee that people will come to Christ? No! But that’s not your responsibility. Your job is to bring Christ to people through crisp, clear, evangelistic messages. God’s job is to bring people to Christ. You do your part, and God will do His.

Larry Moyer

Dr. R. Larry Moyer is an author and the founder/CEO of EvanTell, Inc, a ministry committed to studying the Scriptures carefully and presenting the gospel clearly. He has earned degrees from Philadelphia Biblical University (B.S.), Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M.), and Gordon-Conwell Seminary (D.Min.). In addition, Philadelphia Biblical University awarded him the honorary Doctor of Sacred Theology degree (S.T.D). He is a visiting professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and an adjunct teacher at Word of Life Bible Institute in New York and Florida. His several books include Show Me How To Answer Tough Questions, 31 Days with the Master Fisherman, 31 Days to Walking with God in the Workplace, and 21 Things God Never Said; he also is a contributor to Biblical Sermons edited by Dr. Haddon W. Robinson, Leadership Handbooks of Practical Theology, and numerous other church leadership publications. You are invited to peruse a breadth of affordable materials in the resources section of the EvanTell website.