It is not our Word that we preach. And it is not with our own authority that we preach. And if we are powerful preachers, it is not in our own power that we preach. So what principles shape this calling as it comes to us? What mold do our own gifts and personalities need to fit into as we work? I humbly suggest that the following are worth consideration.
The transition from preaching occasionally to preaching weekly came for me a little more than three years ago as I was called from an associate pastor position to lead a church plant. My preaching courses in seminary and the books I’d read had focused on style and content. How to exegete the text, then outline the sermon. How to deliver it in such a manner that I wouldn’t put the congregation to sleep. What I didn’t get a lot of was principled foundations. So I’ve had to cobble them together on my own, picking up pieces here and there. I’m far from being an accomplished preacher, but I do think I’ve got a set of principles now that guide my sermon preparation that are helpful. And as men aspiring to preach ask me how I go about thinking through and preparing, I find myself more and more going to these principles.
Everyone has their own style. And you hear often enough that you can’t and shouldn’t try to sound like your favorite preacher. Be yourself. That’s excellent advice. But we are also stepping up into the pulpit to fill a role that is, in some important ways, alien to us. It is not our Word that we preach. And it is not with our own authority that we preach. And if we are powerful preachers, it is not in our own power that we preach. So what principles shape this calling as it comes to us? What mold do our own gifts and personalities need to fit into as we work? I humbly suggest that the following are worth consideration.
1. Is it true to the text?
We as preachers may have a lot of useful things to say. We may even have a message that is biblical, but if we are going to open God’s Word and preach a passage of Scripture, we should preach that passage and do so faithfully. Let the passage determine the content of your sermon. This is not only a consideration as you begin, but something you should check for at each stage of your sermon preparation. Have you understood the text? Is your sermon outline true to that message? Do your supporting elements further that message?
2. Am I preaching Christ? Is it gospeline?
I am well aware of the discussion surrounding the necessity of preaching Christ from every text. I am convinced that it can and should be done. If we are not preaching Christ, what are we preaching? Is it some truth about God? It is comprehended in Christ. Is it some aspect of our salvation in God? It is apprehended in Christ. If it is the law, then will you place that command in the context of the gospel, as God does consistently in his Word? Every sermon should be a brushstroke on the canvas on which you paint for your congregation an image of Christ in words, an image that is compelling in its beauty for those who would believe and terrifying in its wrath for those who are lost. Christ did this with his disciples after the resurrection. Every New Testament author did this in his use of the Old. Each sermon in Acts points to Christ in the Old Testament. What are we preaching if not Christ?
