Preaching is the art of provoking hearts and minds toward Jesus and his kingdom. I believe it’s an art because I’m convinced it’s similar to painting or composing music. You can take a class on painting and learn the basic mechanics of brush strokes, but that’s way different than being Monet. Good preaching takes a lot of practice!
Biblical Foundations for Good Preaching
One simply needs to read the Old Testament to encounter some of the great preaching of the Bible. The prophets proclaimed to the people of Israel the truths of God in startling fashion. Jesus himself was a great communicator and genius at using parables to provoke the hearts and minds of his listeners. Throughout the Book of Acts, the Apostles and other disciples like Stephen and Phillip were great preachers.
Good preaching is extremely important within the life of the Church for at least two reasons:
- Preaching is a means by which people hear the story of God, the teachings and works of Christ, and the invitation to come to King Jesus and his kingdom.
- Preaching is a powerful way to encourage and challenge.
Five Goals
When I am studying, collecting ideas, mind-mapping thoughts, and prayerfully working on the sermons I preach, I have a number of goals that are in the back of my mind. I’ve found that they help keep me centered on Jesus as well as serve to keep me from becoming a “hobby horse” preacher who only talks about one thing in every sermon.
These goals also help ensure that I’m able to provoke as many of the hearts and minds as I can. You can’t assume that everyone is going to be engaged in the same way. If you aren’t intentional at attempting to communicate in a way that can engage everyone, you certainly won’t.
Here are my goals:
- Introduce People to Jesus
I want all of my sermons to clearly point people to Jesus and his kingdom. Christian preaching should be for Jesus, about Jesus, and done with Jesus’s presence through his Spirit. I hope that every single person who hears my sermons hears me say, “Life has many complex problems and challenges but I am telling you that Jesus has all of the solutions and ways forward that you need” in some way, shape, and form. - Glorify Jesus
It might seem obvious, but I hope that after every one of my sermons, Jesus was glorified. As people are to worship in all that they do, most Sunday mornings an aspect of worship that I participate in is preaching. I want Jesus to be lifted up through my words!
