What Does a Good Sermon Cost? The Glad Sacrifice of Christian Preaching

What Does a Good Sermon Cost?  The Glad Sacrifice of Christian Preaching by David Mathis.

The Mondays. Sometimes they even creep into Sunday nights.

Various physical, emotional, and even spiritual letdowns often follow pouring yourself out in the pulpit. Lows that inevitably come after the highs of corporate worship. Regrets about what I didn’t say, or didn’t say quite right, or said and should not have. Even when “it went well” from all the preacher can tell, we feel an emotional deficit because of all it takes to prepare and deliver a sermon.

Maybe the most underrated aspect of the Mondays isn’t what’s now past, but what’s still ahead: next Sunday. Another week of preparation. Another seven days to shoulder the burden. Another week of pondering what to say, and the often harder work of what not to say. Another week of waiting on God to provide a word from his word to again feed and preserve the people.

Good Christian preaching and teaching requires regular, and at times enormous, self-sacrifice. In the preparation. In the moment. And outside the pulpit. It’s often a quiet, private, behind-the-scenes mantle the preacher’s wife and children see, but the congregation does not. It is not heavy lifting physically, but it can be unusually taxing spiritually and emotionally.  It is a burden good preachers gladly bear, and yet it is a blessed burden.

Mid-Sermon Mirage-  Every Christian knows what it’s like to hear a sermon, but very few know the personal costs involved in faithfully giving one. Hearing a sermon takes half an hour or so. Giving one takes days, if not weeks, and in some sense a lifetime. How easy it would be for a listener to sit comfortably in the pew thinking, I could do this, and better. It’s simple to see what he’s doing wrong. It would be a quick fix if he just asked for our help, right?

One of preaching’s many paradoxes is the disparity between how hard it is to stand up and preach well, and how easy it is to sit there and take it lightly.

Wouldn’t it be great if I were up there and telling people what I think? Wouldn’t it be nice to have all these people listen to my thoughts? All with little to no consideration of the actual pressure, the demands and deadlines, the dying to one’s own perfectionism and putting yourself forward to be misunderstood and criticized. Pride in some of us dreams of ourselves up front as the center of attention. Pride in others terrifies us from saying anything firm to so many, especially in public, face-to-face with a crowd of potential critics.  Pride will not only jump to speak when it’s puffed up, but button the lip when insecure. Preaching bids a man come and die to both.

Ready to Preach?

"Every now and then someone in the church will ask me before a sermon, 'Are you ready?' When asked, I greatly appreciate the loving care for me as a pastor and the anticipation for the preaching of God’s Word, and yet I always have to smile to myself as I think how to answer. 'Are you ready?' How do you answer that question?

From one perspective, I don’t know that I am ever fully ready to preach God’s Word. The holy weight of the task demands humility, brokenness and dependence. Preaching is a sobering task for which no one is ever fully ready, able or worthy. The pastor is merely a redeemed sinner that God graciously works through. We are but beggars, longing that God would magnify Himself through us as unworthy broken vessels. Therefore we preach, praying that God would graciously do what only he can do—cause growth (1 Cor 3:7).

In addition, no matter how much preparation one does, there is always more that can be done: more to read, more time in the text, more prayer, more time in crafting the sermon, more time on illustrations or application, etc. Readiness can imply the arrival at some point as if one is finished or has exhausted all that needs to be done. There is always more than can be done! From this standpoint, one is never fully ready. At some point in the preparation process, the pastor has to trust in the grace of God and get up and preach. We work hard in study and prayer and then trust the Lord to work.

The Preaching Moment and Why It is So Special

"Another week means two more sermons for me to prepare. And that means the weekly ritual of opening my Bible, clicking on the Logos program on the Mac, and grabbing my favorite fountain pen and the familiar canary legal pad.

It’s amazing that after doing this thousands of times, the first thought that comes into my mind as I start is, “Now what am I really doing and how am I actually going to do it?”  Word studies, diagrammatical analysis, Greek and Hebrew, homiletical outlines, illustrations, introductions and conclusions, applications, implications, transitions, titles—sermon prep is not for that faint of heart or the lazy of spirit. But I have to admit that I love it. Really, it is my favorite part of my 'job.'

But it is far easier to forget what the design of preaching is than I would like to admit. In the forward to The Salvation of Souls edited by Richard A. Bailey and Gregory A. Wills, George Marsden provides this insightful context and quote from the preaching of Jonathan Edwards:  In the midst of debates over the Great Awakening, Edwards, made a revealing comment about the effects of preaching. During intense periods of awakenings, evangelists often preached to the same audience daily, or even more frequently. Opponents of the awakening argued that people could not possibly remember what they heard in all these sermons. [Jonathan] Edwards, responded that “The main benefit that is obtained by preaching is by impression made upon the mind in the time of it, and not by the effect that arises afterwards by a remembrance of what was delivered.” Preaching, in other words, should be designed primarily to awaken, to shake people out of their blind slumbers in the addictive comforts of their sins. Though only God can give them new eyes to see, preaching should be designed to jolt the unconverted or the converted who doze back into their sins (as all do) into recognizing their true estate (pp. 11-12).

6 Keys to More Effective Sermon Preparation

To be the Senior Pastor is, among other things, to be the primary feeder of the flock.  It's to be the lead teaching shepherd (1 Timothy 5:17-19).  

Pastor Jason Allen highlights 6 Keys to More Effective Sermon Preparation (which hopefully leads to more soul-stirring, Textually precise, God-honoring messages).

"Every pastor knows the constant weight of sermon preparation. Sunday is a standing, unmovable deadline. It is like living in final exam week, with a massive deadline before you every Lord’s Day. But the preacher’s test is a public one, for all to see. He will be judged by God’s people. And, more importantly, he will be judged by God himself.

To weekly stand before God’s people, open his Word, and be his spokesman is a daunting responsibility. I question the judgement—if not the calling—of those who take it lightly. That is why pastors spend so much time each week preparing sermons. To be a preacher is to be a sermon preparer.

Given the neediness of the church, the cultural pressures we face, and the general social upheaval of our times, how we preach has never been more important. That means our sermon preparation has never been more important either.

The Overcooked Steak: Personal Reflections On Sermons that Lasted Too Long

I've only been to really expensive steakhouses a few times in my life.  During these delicious feasts I discovered a simple principle: You really don't want to overcook an expensive cut of meat.  For most meat lovers a well-done steak represents a wonderful meal that was simply overcooked.

Most expository preachers who have received proper mentoring and exceptional seminary education know the plight of the overcooked steak.  How so?  When a large percentage of Spirit-filled believers (see 1 Peter 2:2; Psalm 119:97) go away talking more about the duration of your message rather then it's content the spiritual meal was likely (inadvertently) over baked.  Recently, I have had to own up to a few messages during a series on the Kingdom of God that fit this description.  Sometimes less truly is more.

Exactly how long should the sermon be?   Many factors need to be considered when answering this question.  Such as the communication/oratory ability of the preacher (in general, novice preachers and/or less gifted communicators should deliver shorter messages), the pulpit history of the congregation you are addressing (what was the average sermon length of your preaching predecessor?), and the specific context in which you are preaching (is it an outdoor wedding in 100 degree weather; are you a guest preacher; are you the Sr. Pastor; etc).  One of the best articles on this subject was written by a missionary to Africa; (you can read his post by clicking on the link above).

Three Factors for why Sunday's sermon may have been slightly (or greatly) overcooked: 

1) Excitement and personal passion.  This past week a group of church members attended a Milwaukee Brewer game.  As I watched the 3 hour 15 minute sporting contest unfold I could easily discern different levels of interest, excitement, and/or boredom in the crowd. Some interest waned by the second inning, others by the seventh, and some not at all.  The die-hard Brewer fans were easy to distinguish from some of the children who were simply there for the food and entertainment (two of my daughters fit this bill).  Whenever a preacher enters the pulpit he should be a man on fire.  By the time the expositor closes in prayer the goal is for the Holy Spirit to ignite that same holy fire for the truth in the hearts and minds of one's hearers.  An over-baked message can inadvertently lessen the potential for this kind of spiritual impact. 

For preachers, it is wise to "deliver every sermon as if it were your last" so long as you keep in mind the principles listed in paragraph two and three.  I am learning that a overcooked sermon may not be boring it may have simply exceeded the reasonable saturation point of your flock.  A few of my recent sermons should have been turned into a two part message series.  To goal of all Christian ministry is to "present every believer in your spiritual care MATURE in Christ" (Col. 1:28-29).  Raising the spiritual bar in your ministry contest is a good thing (Heb. 5:11-14; Eph. 4:11-16) so long as it done with proper care and proportion.

2) Personal growing pains.  When I started preaching and teaching on a regular basis 13 years ago I would bring 17-19 half sheets of paper into the pulpit with me.  For good and bad, I said very little that wasn't in my sermon manuscript.  As I have grown and developed over the years I now try and bring fewer than 6 half sheets of paper into the pulpit. 

On the Preparation of Expository Sermons

"Dear Brethren,

You must ever consider it a sacred duty to bestow diligent care on the preparation of your sermons. You are not at liberty to go into the pulpit without having something to say to the people.

The days of inspiration are past. I am aware the fact is sometimes referred to that the Savior commanded the Apostles not to think beforehand what they should say when brought before kings and governors. It may be safely assumed that this language is inapplicable to ministers of the gospel now.

You will probably ask what I mean by preparation for the pulpit. I mean that you must understand the subjects you intend to discuss and that the method of discussion must be distinctly arranged in your own minds. If this is not the case, though you may say a great many good things, you will say them in a disjointed miscellaneous manner, and will not in fact deliver sermons. What you say will not be suggested by your texts.

Nothing deserves to be called a sermon which does not grow out of the text. One of the chief excellences of sermonizing consists in an exhibition of the natural connections between the subject and the discourse founded thereon. If such a connection is not shown, why have a subject at all?

True Preaching and Sanctified Sweat Go Hand in Hand (2 Tim. 2:15; Col. 1:29)

A Teaching Ministry that Edifies the Saints and Glorifies the Lord

At bare minimum faithful teaching is comprised of two essential components.  Preparation and delivery.  Or, more specifically stated, God-honoring preaching involves diligent expository study combined with on-target exposition and application. 

              The “diligent study” component is mandated in 2 Timothy wherein Paul instructs his young protégé, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.”[1]    

              The on-target exposition component is prescribed in many biblical texts but chiefly in  2 Timothy 3:16-4:2. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.  I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom, preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” 

              In short, the faithful bible teacher must read the text, explain the text, and apply the text.

The Approved Workman

2 Timothy 2:15, Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

Ezra 7:10, For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Isaiah 66:2b, But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

How To Avoid Being Labeled a Boring Preacher

The goal of this short essay is to provide ten practical tips on how to avoid being labeled a boring preacher. 

First, preach the Word of God with passion and conviction.  As Alex Montoya points out, “Passion is the power, the drive, the energy, the life in the delivery of the sermon.  Without passion, the sermon becomes a lecture, an address or a moral speech.”[1] The apostolic mandate is to preach the Word not to merely teach the Scriptures (2 Tim. 4:1-4).  Lloyd-Jones once told someone, “If you do not know the difference between preaching and teaching then you have likely never heard a sermon before.”

Second, use vocal variety throughout your expository message.  If someone attempts to deliver a sermon in a monotone manner it will likely put the congregation to sleep during the first fifteen minutes.  

If the preacher goes back and listens to his sermons on their I Pod they should be able to determine if they employed good vocal variety throughout the sermon.  It should be noted here that an emphatic point can be made by lowering one’s voice (like Rick Holland) or by declaring the truth in a demonstrative way (like Paul Washer).

Third, prepare a sermon manuscript not academic lecture notes.  If one’s sermon notes could be mistaken for a theological journal something’s not right.  It is critical to remember that when writing a sermon you are preparing an oral manuscript to be heard with the ear.  John MacArthur’s sermon manuscripts on “Grace To You” look much different than his books on the same texts of Scripture.

3 Practical Tips re:Sermon Preparation & Application

Photo Credit: revchadbrooks.com

1) Study like a Scholar.

Do the hard book work (2 Tim. 2:15).  Including exegesis, hermeneutics, word studies, commentary helps, prayer for illumination (Psalm 119:18) and for wisdom to be kept from error.  See Walt Kaiser's Toward an Exegetical Theology, Roy Zuck's, Basic Bible Interpretation, and Don Carson's, Exegetical Fallacies.

2) Plan like a Shepherd (put your pastor hat on).

After the careful exegesis of the Text (scholar work) evaluate your congregants in light of it's truth (pastor work).  Think specifically about the types of people to whom you will be preaching (eg: the cynics, the moralist. the rebel, the immature babe in Christ, the new believer, the seasoned saint, the overwhelmed, the grieving, the retired, the eager, the singles, the gullible, the apathetic, the know it alls, the non-Christians, and the transgressors).  Pull out your church directory when reviewing a rough draft of your sermon.  Think about Joel Beeke's lectures on well-placed arrows.

The better you know your flock the more intentional you can be in the pulpit as you "reprove, rebuke, and exhort with great patience and careful instruction" (2 Tim. 4:1-5; 1 Pet. 5:1-4).  You should not start with the needs of the people when writing a sermon but you also must not ignore them in the process of sermon writing and preaching.  We must do more than lecture about the Bible.  We are pastor-teachers not seminary professors.  We must holy jealousy (2 Cor. 11:2) for our people's spiritual well being.  We should pray Colossians 1:9-10 for our congregation.  Spurgeon noted that too many preachers ignore, "the sins of the businessmen, the temptations of the times,and the needs of the age he scarcely ever touches upon.  Such preaching reminds me of a lion engaged in mouse-hunting." We are striving for preaching that changes lives.

We should ask the following questions when preparing your sermons: A) What would happen if they never apply this? B) What makes it difficult to believe? C) What makes this truth a challenge to live out? D) Why is this truth so important for this generation of Christians?  E) How will doers of this truth improve our church? (this can be a great appeal during your message if the flock buys into this or that).  F) How will doers of this truth impact our world?

Expository Study (2 Tim. 2:15) and Sanctified Sweat

I refer to my weekly preparation as the "blessed grind."  H.B. Charles is spot on here.  "A desire to preach without a burden to study is a desire to perform."  The church has too many clowns in the pulpit today.  Here is one such example of a megachurch SBC pastor who doesn't get it.

Watch this video and you will see how desperately America needs a biblical reformation.

The pulpit is the rudder of the church brothers.  "Preach the Word in season and out!"

The Preaching Moment by Rick Holland

"The Preaching Moment"
By Rick Holland |

from The Expositors Blog

"Another week means two more sermons for me to prepare. And that means the weekly ritual of opening my Bible, clicking on the Logos program on the Mac, and grabbing my favorite fountain pen and the familiar canary legal pad.

It’s amazing that after doing this thousands of times, the first thought that comes into my mind as I start is, “Now what am I really doing and how am I actually going to do it?”

Word studies, diagrammatical analysis, Greek and Hebrew, homiletical outlines, illustrations, introductions and conclusions, applications, implications, transitions, titles—sermon prep is not for that faint of heart or the lazy of spirit. But I have to admit that I love it. Really, it is my favorite part of my “job.”

But it is far easier to forget what the design of preaching is than I would like to admit. In the forward to The Salvation of Souls edited by Richard A. Bailey and Gregory A. Wills, George Marsden provides this insightful context and quote from the preaching of Jonathan Edwards: "In the midst of debates over the Great Awakening, Edwards, made a revealing comment about the effects of preaching. During intense periods of awakenings, evangelists often preached to the same audience daily, or even more frequently. Opponents of the awakening argued that people could not possibly remember what they heard in all these sermons. [Jonathan] Edwards, responded that “The main benefit that is obtained by preaching is by impression made upon the mind in the time of it, and not by the effect that arises afterwards by a remembrance of what was delivered.”  Preaching, in other words, should be designed primarily to awaken, to shake people out of their blind slumbers in the addictive comforts of their sins. Though only God can give them new eyes to see, preaching should be designed to jolt the unconverted or the converted who doze back into their sins (as all do) into recognizing their true estate (pp. 11-12).

Common (Faulty) Assumptions About Bible "Exposition"

One pastor helpfully notes, "In my second post, I want to address how those faulty assumptions about giftedness lead to an errant view of expository preaching.

Assumptions about Bible “Exposition.”  This may step on a few toes, but I might as well say it plainly right up front: I just don’t think a number of the most widely-known preachers today are truly doing Bible exposition, even though they define their preaching by those terms. Referring again to the panel discussion video I watched, all the men on the panel are considered world class expositors, yet only a few of them, in my view, are both surrendered to the text and preaching its full intent and implications.

For a sermon to be classified as “expository,” it must derive its central message exclusively from the biblical author’s intended message. The sermon’s principles, therefore, must rise naturally from the structure and force of the text in light of the surrounding context. D.A. Carson’s explanation is important: Expository preaching is preaching whose subject matter emerges directly and demonstrably from a passage or from some passages of Scripture. In other words, its content and structure demonstrably reflect what Scripture says, and honestly seek to elucidate it…

"The Blessing of a Messy Desk."

Picture of my office with my beloved books and Starbucks

My wife and I often joke about the ideal working desk. As with our home she prefers a perfectly tidy desk with everything organized in its proper place. I on the other hand appreciate the blessing of a messy desk. When I read this article by Michael Kruger a few months ago I laughed out loud and said "AMEN." Enjoy.

"Last week I finished a key portion of one of my research projects. And then I did what I normally do during such times (indeed, it is coming a bit of a tradition)–I cleaned up the colossal mess that I had made.

Before it was all said and done, books were strewn all over my desk, across my computer table, on the floor (on both sides of my desk), and up against the wall.

My wife stopped by the office with the kids and was so aghast at the chaos that she snapped the picture below and sent it out on Twitter.

Expository Preaching: the Natural Overflow of Biblical Inerrancy

 

What is biblical inerrancy and how does this doctrinal conviction impact one’s pulpit ministry? 

An inerrantist is someone who believes that the holy Scriptures are divinely inspired and that the original manuscripts of Scripture are free from error.[1] 

 “Inerrancy is the claim that when all facts are known, the Scriptures in their original autographs and properly interpreted will be shown to be without error in all that they affirm to the degree of precision intended, whether that affirmation relates to doctrine, history, science, geography, geology, etc.”[2]

Because the ultimate author of Scripture is the Spirit of truth (see John 16:12-15) we can have complete confidence that God’s Word is pure and perfect (see Psalms 19; 119).  The apostle Peter put it like this, “And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:19-21).  A perfect God could only produce a perfect revelation.

"Our Greatest Danger as Christians is ______ "

The late Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once wrote, "Our greatest danger--indeed I feel it is my greatest danger-- is to read the Scriptures too generally instead of looking into them, listening to every phrase, taking hold of every utterance, asking questions concerning every statement.  Everyone of these statements in Scripture has a profound and rich meaning if we but take the trouble to look for them."

When I examine the professing evangelical Church in my own hometown and speak with pastors from around the country it is clear to me that many Christian ministries today are a mile wide and an inch deep.  In this vein, shallow, "surfacy" Bible study has become the norm rather than the exception.   As in the Old Testament it is"like people, like priests (Hosea 4:9)."  Apparently meaty, text-driven exposition repels too many "seekers" and church consumers (members); so a great number of preachers have adopted 25 minute sermonettes for Christianettes in order to keep their consumers happy.  Superficial church growth is often more important than making "mature disciples."

This problem is nothing new (see Hebrews 5:12-14).  (A.W Tozier and Al Mohler, among many other church leaders  have made very similar observations).   Tragically, biblical illiteracy defines a large percentage of American evangelicals today.  I take issue with this "surfacy approach" to Scripture because it is clearly out of step with Jesus' "Great Commission" (Matthew 28:18-20- teach them to observe ALL that I have commanded you) and with the apostle's Spirit-directed philosophy of ministry (Col. 1:28-29- We proclaim Him...that we might present EVERY person mature in Christ).  How can we expect church members to dig deeply into the infinite riches of Scripture when very few preachers model this from the pulpit?

I have long said that I learned how to study the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15), and in some ways to teach the Scriptures, before I attended my first seminary class.   When it comes to good bible study methods 'as much is caught as is taught.'  My pastors John MacArthur, Rick Holland, Jerry Wragg, Ken Ramey, Phil Johnson, and Kent Kolstad modeled how the approved workmen handles the Word of truth. They set an example for us to follow (1 Cor. 11:1).

When the majority of Christian preachers today teach the Word of God in a general (surfacy) way should we surprised when the flock views the Daily Bread as a five course meal?  God help us all.

How Long Should a Sermon Be?

 

If you were to "Google search" my name a number of ministry pages from 'yesteryear' would come up including a link to a somewhat humorous back and forth I had with Dan Phillips over at Pyromaniacs from four or five years ago.  In the comments sections of a blog post Dan and I were discussing and debating, "How Long Should a Sermon Be?"  Is their a magic number?  How long is too long?  Is 20-28 minutes the perfect length, as the authors of Saving Eutychus suggest? 

This past week a faithful missionary pastor wrote an insightful article on this very subject.  This blog post captures the spirit of what I was trying to say myself many years ago (only Brian says it is so much better).  1 Peter 2:2-3.  Enjoy!

 

How Long Should a Sermon Be?

By Missionary-Pastor Brian Biedebach

 

According to at least one recent poll, the most frequent preaching length is 20 to 28 minutes. If that is true, it is a telling indicator about the spiritual shallowness of churches today. Many churches have already done away with their evening services and if the popular trend is to reduce the sermon time on a Sunday morning, our generation is receiving less than half of the biblical teaching our parents received.

How is it that we think we can grow more with less preaching of God’s Word? I don’t buy it, that pastors today can preach with greater depth in 20 minutes compared to the 80 minutes (or more) pastors used to be given (between the morning and evening services).

Not too long ago, someone in my church told me they thought my sermons were too long. I was thankful for their honest desire to help me better shepherd our flock. And as I thought about the reasons they may have come to that conclusion, I considered the following possibilities:

Why I Love to Study and Preach the Word of God

I love studying the Bible because as the glory of God is revealed in the pages of sacred Scripture it often sucks the oxygen out of my sanctified lungs leaving me prostrate in wonder, love, and praise. 

Studying through meals is not an uncommon experience for those who get to spend concentrated amounts of time with God in His Word. 

In this vein, it is not surprising then to read that Moses went forty days and nights without food or water while communing with the Bread of Heaven atop Mount Sinai!

In depth, expository study allows a redeemed sinner to experience mountaintop moments of doxology similar to what Handel recounted when writing his musical masterpiece, "Messiah."

It is said that "when Handel completed the 'Hallelujah Chorus' he exclaimed to his servant, 'I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God himself.' Again and again his servants found him in tears as he put to paper an awesome phrase or a devout passage.  And then, after the last monumental Amen had been written, he confided to a physician, 'I think God has visited me.” The exaltation with which Messiah was created is found on every page of the score.'"