Earmarks of “Good Preaching”

Most of us have some idea of what we call “good preaching,” but you might have trouble defining or describing it to a friend. “Maybe I can’t define it,” someone said, “but I know good preaching when I hear it.” Since you are proclaiming the most important message human ears will ever hear, you probably want to be the best preacher you can possibly be.

Below are attributes that I think make a sermon effective, but it’s not an exhaustive list. These characteristics overlap and reinforce each other. They are named not only because of their importance, but also because the preacher has the most control over them. Even if you don’t completely agree with this collection of criteria, considering them should help you construct your own list—and doing this may make you a better preacher.

Good preaching grows out of a passage of Scripture. Every sermon does not have to be expository, but it must proclaim a truth found in the Bible, and it must be true to the message of the whole Bible. Many people extol the virtues of expository messages because these are more easily kept biblical and are less likely to stray into error. Even topical sermons that use several texts for support should grow out of a single passage. While your preaching will reflect your experiences, never base a message on your own experience. Your experience is not authoritative, the Bible is.

What a sad commentary that some sermons never connect hearers to the redemptive work of Christ Jesus. Our preaching must be Christocentric in order to be true to the Gospel. Even sermons based on Old Testament texts must bring our hearers to the claims of Jesus Christ. He is the message of good preaching.

Some people complain that the message of the Bible is irrelevant to contemporary life. Thus part of the preacher’s task is to reveal to his hearers the relevance of the truth found in the selected text. In order to do this, you must first understand what the biblical text meant to the original recipients. Then you must find a contemporary situation that is analogous to that of your text. This application is crucial. Effective sermons typically speak both to the “head” (cognitive) and to the heart” (affective).

You will craft an effective sermon only if you keep your purpose in mind. You will preach an effective sermon only if your audience discovers your purpose. This purpose should be based on the leading of the Holy Spirit, the need of your congregation, and the truth of the Scripture. This is so important, you should write out your purpose and the congregational need you expect the sermon to meet. Usually you should reveal your purpose to the congregation early in the message. Material in a message that does not support your purpose weakens the sermon and lessens the likelihood that it will accomplish your purpose.

Every sermon should call for a response from the hearers in keeping with the purpose and points of the message. The invitation should not always be the same, but it should always provoke hearers to respond to God’s message. The Gospel calls for men and women to respond to its demands. What will your hearers do with the claims of Jesus? How will they live out their faith in him? Now that they have heard this message, what do you want them to do? Omit the call for a response, and your sermon is merely a lecture.

If you—or your sermon—are boring, people will not listen. You must shape the content of your message in an interesting manner, and you must present it in an interesting manner. Useless repetition is wearisome. Variety in tone, pace, intensity, pitch, volume, position, and gestures will all help prevent boredom. You can learn much by observing speakers you find interesting and those you find boring.

Convoluted messages are difficult to follow. People will follow neither your reasoning nor your transitions from one point to another in overly complex messages. Let your sermon have a single theme, even though it will have multiple points. All of your points should support the theme and purpose. If they don’t, omit them.

Your word choices will in large part determine how clear your sermon is. Use words sure to be part of your hearer’s vocabulary. Use concepts meaningful to the culture of your hearers. Clarity will also be determined in part by how you organize and develop your thoughts. Good transitions between points help make your message clear. Be certain you make God’s truth as easy to understand as possible. We must reveal—not conceal—Christ.

People comprehend concrete concepts easier than they do abstractions. When you preach abstractions, you should illustrate them in a way to make them more concrete. Explain symbols. If you fail to concretize abstractions, you run the risk that some hearers will not understand. But worse yet, some of them may form wrong conclusions.

Illustrating each main point with a brief anecdote not only helps to concretize abstractions, it also helps to hold your audience’s attention. However, you must make sure that the illustrations actually illustrate the point and not merely serve as an anecdotal break. Both contemporary and historical illustrations can be used to keep your congregation’s interest. Be careful not to use personal experiences too often, and when you do, avoid the appearance of conceit.

The Gospel message must not become diluted with trivia. Find and preach the “great themes” of the Bible. Good preaching never majors on minors. If you will keep and review a record of your sermons, you can easily insure that you proclaim all God’s truth over a period of time.

At times sermons must include biblical truths that are negative, but usually these negatives can—and should—be balanced by corresponding biblical positives. Don’t leave the negatives or the positives out of your preaching. Preach judgment, but also grace and forgiveness. Preach hell, but also preach heaven.

We quickly lose interest in the commonplace. Over a period of time, a good preacher will use a variety of sermon types (expository, narrative, biographical, topical, etc.). Other characteristics that can and should be varied include volume, pitch, cadence, gestures, word choices, sentence length, number of points, illustrations, and invitation to respond.

Since God offers forgiveness to every sinful human being, good preaching must use language that includes people of every socioeconomic group, every nationality, and every race, sex, and age. We cannot afford to ignore or overreact to those who champion “politically correct” language. We must make every person feel welcome and important. Further, inclusive language must be lived out in inclusive behavior.

Good sermons are complete. The introduction prepares your hearers to consider the biblical truth you are about to proclaim. The points are all connected to a single theme. Every major idea of the biblical text is included, not ignored. And the message comes to an appropriate conclusion. Incomplete messages leave the hearers feeling “unsatisfied.”

Many of the characteristics mentioned above will make your message easily remembered. These include: illustrations, relevance, Bible text used, conclusion, and call for a response. Good preaching reaps multiple benefits because it is remembered!

Finally, good preaching is always an authentic expression of the preacher. Don’t copy another preacher’s style, vocabulary, or mannerisms; be yourself. Also, you cannot honestly preach holiness while living a carnal life. You may fool some people for a short time, but sooner or later they will know that you are fake because you don’t practice what you preach. And when this happens, your ministry will self-destruct. You must be genuine in what you say and do.

All of these characteristics are important, but the first group of five are crucial. Some of the second group might be lacking in a given sermon, but generally speaking, every message should contain every one of these characteristics.

You might also think that another important characteristic is that the sermon be “Spirit-anointed,” but I think anointing speaks more of the preacher than the sermon. You should anticipate the anointing of the Holy Spirit to help you to:

Because preaching is one of the most important aspects of ministry, you should constantly evaluate your preaching ministry—no matter how long you have been preaching. If you have a friend help you evaluate your preaching, be sure he or she understands the criteria you consider important. And be sure he or she will be candid, not just complimentary.

Preaching that meets all of these criteria requires hard work. If you have been called to a preaching ministry, I pray you can use these ideas to make your preaching more effective.