Article Index
5. What is the most encouraging way to say it? Every week, when people listen to you preach, they have three fundamental needs:
- To have their faith reinforced
- To have their hope renewed
- To experience love restored
When you stand up to preach, anticipate that people listening have had a tough week. Your role is to encourage them to not give up. If you preach to the broken, you’ll always be relevant! Don’t pride yourself on “telling it like it is.” Tell it like it can be!
6. What is the simplest way to say it? One thing that was absolutely true about Jesus—He taught profound truths in simple ways. We often do the reverse so that we can feel that we’ve gone deep. Charles Spurgeon compared preaching to the bucket in a well. If there is anything of value in it, it will appear bright and reflective. If there is nothing in it, it appears deep, dark and mysterious.
By the way, “simple” does not mean superficial, shallow or simplistic. It’s a Christlike skill to make profound truth understandable in simple terms.
7. What is the most personal way to say it? People relate to stories. The most powerful form of advertising is still the personal testimony. That is why, while the Pharisees spoke in footnotes, Jesus told stories. And it’s also imperative to be transparent and confessional in our preaching. The greatest communicators drop the mask and get personal.
8. What is the most interesting way to say it? I’ve heard plenty of guys say that we shouldn’t preach to entertain people, but the very definition of entertainment is to arrest and hold someone’s attention. While a sermon should never be reduced to a mere comedy routine, it’s okay to be funny. You don’t have to be dry to be spiritual. And we should never be afraid of being interesting.
Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, one of America’s largest and most influential churches. Rick is author of the New York Times best0seller The Purpose Driven Life. His book The Purpose Driven Church was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for pastors.
For the original article, visit pastors.com.
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