Every preacher I know wants to get better; we are all clawing forward amid the windstorm of our own inability. In this I don’t pretend to be an expert but I do have the sand in my face. I’m with you trying to get there.
Previously I cited 4 ways to improve your preaching from a more administrative, preparatory way. I have also highlighted ways to help in prayerful preparation. However, in this post I want to talk about a few items that you can do in the delivery of the sermon that I have found to help. Let’s call them 5 friends that you want to invite to every one of your sermons.
1. Word Pictures: Do you want to liven up your sermon? Hang up some pictures. Paint some rooms. Open a window. Sermons should not smell like an old musty closet; you need some air, some life, and some color in it. This whole world is stamped with God’s creative seal, therefore find how it illustrates, elucidates or further communicates your point and go and get it. If you want more help on this read Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. You could also read Thomas Watson, my man was a homiletical artist. I also found this book helpful. Fill your sermon with word pictures.
2. Interrogatives: We too often forget that the sermon is a conversation. No we are not audibly dialoging back and forth but we are at our best when we are homiletically talking backing forth. If the sermon is simply the giving of information then interaction will be limited. It will be like getting a tour through an old museum. Instead we want to engage our listeners. One of the best ways to do this is to ask questions. You might ask,”What does a lack of prayer say about your view of yourself?” This crucial step makes the person actually answer in their minds. You could just say, “A lack of prayer indicates that you believe that you are self-sufficient.” However, that crucial step, repeated dozens of times during the sermon helps to keep people tracking and finding the answers in the Bible. Fill your sermon with questions.
3. The “2nd Person Plural”: This goes along with the previous point, you have got to engage people. If your sermon is propositional (and it must be) then it must call them to believe something, address something or do something. Mixing in some 2nd person “You!” is very helpful. Of course that could go overboard so you want to mix it up. I have found Mark Dever to be a very helpful example of this. He has a ton of phrases that he uses, such as: friend, brother, sister, you, we, church, single person, married person, Christian, men, women, children, etc. Thoughtfulness here will only help you hit the mark.
4. Personal Transparency: The preacher is most effective when the sermon’s truth has gripped him. He not only needs to know the subject but he needs to believe it. As a result the sermon will seep down into his life and get ahold of him. This brings about conviction, repentance and change. It is healthy and helpful to model this as a pastor. I should also say that taken to its extreme this could lend itself to a public personal show every week. This would become a distraction and problem. Be gripped by the truth and then show how it grips you, in so doing don’t make it about you.
5. Acknowledged Tension: Since you are preaching propositionally there is going to be some type of opposition to the truth. “Husbands must love and lead their wives.” There is the truth right out of Ephesians 5. Now don’t just tell people why to do it and that they need to do it, actually tell them what type of opposition there is to doing it. Expose the idols that get in the way. Show that a love for self and stuff will always suffocate a love for God and others. Tease it out and put it on display. I like how Matt Chandler repeatedly does this in his preaching. He says things like: “What are the obstacles to obeying this truth.”
Another aspect of acknowledging tension is to tease out the difficulty of the passage. For example, we are called to forgive one another. What about those who will not confess or repent? How do we handle that? How does 70 times 7 play out? Tease it out. Your people are already thinking it, you should have thought of it, so go ahead and work it out. Remember, you are a shepherd.
Conclusion:
These are things you can do right away and they will bring immediate impact. As I look back on sermons that have seemed to have the most traction they have most often been the ones when I have faithfully unfolded the passage, gotten out of the way and let these 5 friends loose. Give it a try, I guarantee it will work. If not, then I’ll give you a full refund.
There have been countless actors, musicians, athletes, and politicians who have publicly spoken out in favor of Gay rights. Many from these same spheres have themselves disclosed that they themselves are gay. It has become commonplace to have television shows and movies with gay characters. Characters like Oscar on The Office have helped to gradually move the meter on public opinion.
That was the big question from our kids before bed last night. The story that answers it tells us something about us as image bearers.
Every May about 30,000 people come to visit us in Omaha. The people are great; they’re friendly, happy, and help the local economy. We like them. However, we may not even notice them if it were not for their lanyards and large badges. So we do see them; and people like me, locals from behind a pair of Oakley’s out walking our kids, we watch them. I also try to learn.
I have always been a list guy. If I can get it down on paper then I may actually get it done. The downside to such lists is that you may develop such a lengthy list that even Methuselah couldn’t live long enough to get it done.
Nehemiah would have none of this. In chapter 5 he gets after his people like a spiritual Orkin man. He diagnosises the infestation of selfishness and calls them to repentance. Thankfully, the people respond. In repentance they restore what was taken.
We all have blind spots. We have our issues. Whether we are talking about personal, social, or theological blind spots, we have them. And to say you don’t, is to, well, make my point.
Recently my wife and I were enjoying lunch at Costco (aka shamelessly filling up on the free samples) when we encountered a very interesting scenario.
Prior to becoming a pastor I worked in the insurance industry. One aspect of this job that I really enjoyed was my regular time with so many different people. As I tried to get to know them I found out that most were not believers. I knew that in order to reach them with the gospel I needed to be more intentional. I began a quick little file called, “hit-list.” Contrary to the title this list was a list of unbelievers whom I was praying for and hoped that they would come to know Jesus. I would keep a file that referenced various types of conversations, needs, and burdens that they have expressed. I would also reference how I planned to try to reach them. (this became somewhat difficult to explain to the IT guy when he asked why my boss was on my “hit-list”).
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. 
I was recently spending some time with a minister who is nearing retirement. He was going through his office and packing up boxes, books and other personal items. He directed me to a large box and told me to take a look. I saw dozens of manilla file folders with names on them.
I had an interesting “day-dream” recently. Before I get to the specifics and why it is important I should say that I am generally not a proponent of day-dreaming. This is because such thinking is often just a manmade tent for me to store all of my highlight reels of personal awesomeness or other examples of things I would control and fix–if I were God. In other words day dreaming is often musings upon what it would be like if God were not God and I was.
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