What does God have to do with your sermon?

Across America, there is more motivational speaking being done from church pulpits than there is biblical preaching.

Why?

Because God often has little to no role in determining what a preacher preaches about, or the content of his sermons.

Turning their eyes to the congregation is often the first place preachers look when developing sermon or series topics. “What are the needs of the people? Where are they at? What’s standing out in today’s culture?” are the type of questions preachers use to spark sermon ideas. Many sermon series today are developed from discussion generated among church production teams, often with the preacher being just one of several participants.

Once a “good idea” is sparked, the preacher launches into research by checking out leading books on the topic (usually written by senior ministers of mega churches), as well as scouring videos, blogs, and other internet resources on the topic. From there, an outline is fleshed out and the development of the sermon or series is on its way.

Where is God in this process?

Missing!

Considering the church isn’t ours but is Christ’s church; considering the people we have the privilege of being under-shepherds for are God’s family, His children; considering the responsibility we have toward their spiritual well-being; and considering our influence in their spiritual development, perhaps it would be a good idea to start with God when planning a sermon or series.

Before stepping in front of a congregation it is a preacher’s responsibility to first seek what it is God wants them to say! God hasn’t appointed us to say whatever we want, do whatever we want, and directly affect His people however we want. Preaching is supposed to be delivering the message God has for His people. How can you know what that is without first asking God?

Prayer is the proper starting point for a preacher because it allows him to ask of, listen to, and look toward God in determining what should be preached to God’s people. Guidance from the Holy Spirit, and time spent in scripture can also be means of gaining direction from God about sermon messages.

Some preachers start there, then make the mistake of leaving God there. Once they have their topic, they’re off researching what everyone else has to say on that topic without first listening to God about the matter. Before jumping into extra-biblical research, spend time digging into the Bible looking for direct and indirect teaching about your sermon or series topic. Once you’ve looked at what God has to say on the subject, you can then broaden your study to the work done on the subject by others.

One of the most common practices among many preachers today is the preacher immersing himself in extra-biblical study and research before they look to what God has to say about a subject. By then, the preacher may already have all the material he has decided to use for his sermon, so the biblical study is more a means of finding biblical substantiation for the message. In this process, God has an insignificant role in sermon development and content.

Preaching is a man doing a spiritual work. At least, it’s supposed to be. How we go about doing it determines if it really is, or if it’s human effort producing a humanistic message.

How do you do it?

Scotty