…The sermon is aimed primarily, although not exclusively, at the hearts of the congregation. I use “heart” here in the sense in which it is used in Old Testament Wisdom literature: to refer to the center of a person, to the part of the human person that needs to be guarded because out of it flow the issues of life (see Prov 4:23).

It is true that in some churches sermons are often simply [dry] lectures in theology.  While good theology is a good thing, a sermon should not just be a lecture in theology. A sermon is theological, to be sure, but a sermon also involves the will, the emotions, and of course, the heart.  Craig Bartholomew put it well in his little book, Excellent Preaching: 

 …The sermon is aimed primarily, although not exclusively, at the hearts of the congregation. I use “heart” here in the sense in which it is used in Old Testament Wisdom literature: to refer to the center of a person, to the part of the human person that needs to be guarded because out of it flow the issues of life (see Prov 4:23). This is not to say that propositional and emotional dimensions should be lacking, but they should not dominate the sermon. There will always be a cognitive, propositional dimension to a sermon, but a sermon is denatured when it becomes a lecture. In my experience some preachers, as they recognize the need for depth and rigor, end up transforming the sermon into a lecture aimed almost entirely at the head. Such sermons may be instructive but will not open up the whole of a person to the reality of God in an existential encounter. Similarly, emotions clearly have a part to play in preaching, but we are all too familiar with sermons dominated by endless tearjerker stories that may move us emotionally but again fail to open us up to the reality of God. Rather preaching must be directed at the congregation’s hearts, for it is at this deepest level of our being that we connect with God.

Craig Bartholomew, Excellent Preaching, p. 12.

Shane Lems is a Minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and is pastor of Covenant OPC in Hammond, WI. This article is used with permission.