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“If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain. [ 1 Cor. 15:14]
It has become a great concern of mine over the past few years that some of our preaching leaves a lot to be desired and falls short of the Spirit filled gospel preaching of years ago.
There seems to be a lack of Biblical content and no burden in the heart of the preacher for the lost and the state of the Church of God. I ask the question where is the zeal, the fire, of past years. Our Lord said “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last and the living One; and I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore” [Rev. 1:17,18. NAS] Are we preaching a crucified, but risen, glorified Lord and Saviour?
If we note the text we find that it says, “our preaching”. Paul did not say my preaching. So then it is an exhortation to us.
In our text the Greek word translated “vain” in verse 14 is “kenon” [neuter nominative singular of kenos] which means “empty, hollow, devoid of reality”.
In verse 17 we get the second part of verse 14 repeated but this time Paul uses the word “Mataios”. The meaning of this is “fruitless, futile, wanting in result”. Our preaching will be fruitless if Christ did not rise from the dead. If that is the case, why bother preaching at all.
The preacher is not preaching to please the congregation but to exalt and glorify Jesus Christ. So the comments of the congregation when leaving the church should not to be taken too seriously.
I am reminded of something I read about recently. A Professor early in his preaching ministry was standing at the door to the church as people left and the remarks about his preaching were complimentary.
That is, until a little old man shook his hand and commented “You preached too long”. The professor was not too bothered over the comment because all the other comments were approving.
Then came another negative comment “You didn’t preach loud enough”.
It was from the same little old man. The professor thought it strange that the man had come through the line twice. When the man came through the line a third time and said “You used too many big words”. This called for some explanation. The preacher sought out a deacon standing nearby and said “Do you see that little old man over there, who is he?” The deacon said “Oh, don’t pay any attention to him”. “All he does is go around repeating everything he hears”.
What should a preacher preach?
Paul says “We preach Christ crucified”.[1 Cor. 1:23]
The preacher does not preach about Christ but a living Christ, yes, who one died, but lives “in the power of an endless life”. What then is a good message or sermon?
Well here are five ways by which I ascertain whether a sermon is a good sermon or not.
Was it scriptural?
One element that distinguishes preaching from other forms of communication. It is not a lecture or a discourse given in public. It is a divinely given and divine delivered message from the Eternal God. Paul says, “I received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you” [1Cor.15:3] Therefore preacher should make sure that it is a completely personally collected and experienced message. It should be from the heart and have the heartbeat of the preacher. Longfellow once said, “A sermon is not a sermon unless I feel my heartbeat”. This should be true for both the preacher and the hearer.
Was it clear?
A sermon should have order, unity and progression and should lead to a climax. Did the gathered company understand without going home and getting out the dictionary. Many years ago my mother who was quite well read came home after an evening service and got down the dictionary and said, “ I noted thirty five words in the preacher’s sermon tonight that I did not understand, so I must find out what they mean.”
Many years ago a local newspaper used to carry the minister’s Sunday morning sermon. In preparing one of the weekly editions the type setter mistakenly inserted an “L” for a “H” in the word “charity”. The text for the week therefore read, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels , and have not clarity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.”
[1 Cor. 13:1]
Was it interesting? One of the greatest mistakes is for a sermon to be boring.
In fact one of the greatest sins of a sermon is for it to be boring.
Someone has said “If you haven’t struck oil in ten minutes stop boring.”
To be effective it must be vocal, verbal, and visual. Movement, animation, humour and good illustrations are all part of a good sermon. Good illustrations are like windows to let the light in. It must be like building a house with windows, not a greenhouse with all windows.
A well known Christian once said that there are three types of sermons from the perspective of the hearer. “Those I can’t listen to, those I can listen to, and those I must listen to.”
Was it relevant?
An effective preacher is able to take a message from a prophet in Scripture and make that same message applicable to the contemporary people in the congregation.
All of us, men and women are sinners, either lost sinners or saved sinners, and we need the spirit sharp Word of God to keep us from settling on our lees. [Zep. 1:12]
A dear saint of God one said to me, “Talking about Abraham offering up his son Isaac does not effect me too much, but supposed we were in Abraham’s shoes and God was saying to us personally ‘Take now your only son/daughter and sacrifice them for me” Then we realise what Abraham felt and the faith he revealed.
Was it challenging?
D.L.Moody once said if you are fishing and get a fish biting make sure you strike to get it on the hook. Many times in preaching there are those who at the end of the sermon are interested but oftimes there is no challenge. There must be the challenge to a changed life whether it be for forgiveness and a saved life, or forgiveness and a sanctified life. “Save yourselves from the untoward generation” [Acts2:40]
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