Nine Marks Of A Good Sermon

Christian people deserve to hear good sermons when we gather for worship (or when we download something from the internet). We don’t need great sermons, except once in a long while. We hear too many poor or mediocre sermons, and this discourages many people. The church of Jesus Christ is in urgent need of better preaching—and I suspect that has always been the case! When people in the pew are given the opportunity to comment on their experience at worship, the quality of preaching always receives the most attention. This is true of both Catholic and Protestant preaching. Christians in both traditions testify that preaching is the one element of the worship service most likely to impact both their attendance at the service and their engagement with the worship. Time after time, Christian people report that better preaching is their number one desire when it comes to public worship. It is no surprise to anyone when I assert that the preaching of the good news about Jesus Christ and the teaching of the Bible are as needed today as ever. When done with competence, preparation, inspiration, and passion, sermons have power to motivate people to faith in God and love toward one another. Good preaching connects people with a power that transforms life. Good preaching shapes personal behavior and public values. Good preaching moves nations to endure hardship, resist evil, and establish justice. Good preaching converts the unbeliever, consoles the burdened, and instructs the eager. Good preaching triggers an exploration of vocation that is at the heart of the call to gospel preaching itself—good preaching begets good preaching!