Are We Listening to Great Preachers Today?

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching (2 Timothy 4:2, ESV).

When I listen to a sermon, I have one overarching standard to judge it: “Does the sermon glorify Scripture?” It can be an exegetical sermon (verse by verse) or topical (a group of passages on one subject). 

But still the question. . . 

Am I drawn by this sermon into the presence of God, encouraged to follow Christ, and taught practical principles of spiritual formation—all from the Bible?

There’s been a shift from Great Preachers to Great Communicators today with speaking behind pulpits. Some talk and finally get to a verse 10 to 15 minutes into the sermon (not a good preacher for me); others preach for years while hiding secret sin (perhaps a good communicator but not a great preacher); some rattle from one thought to another without a coherent Scriptural theme unifying the message (I fall asleep!). 

Again, my question is: “Are we listening to great preachers?”

I recently read a list compiled by a professor who has studied great preachers for the past 40 years. While listening to a sermon, he would take two types of notes, one on the content and another on the preacher’s skills. Below are consistent practices that he noted with great preachers.

1. All had something to say. They didn’t substitute style for substance.
2. They didn’t wing it. While God is capable of blessing poor sermons, there is no excuse for preaching poorly.
3. Most limit their use of notes, rarely looking at them if used.
4. They had a way of bringing high truths down to the bottom shelf. People leave their sermons saying, “Now I understand,” and not, “Wow, he’s smart.”
5. Most were able to preach for under 30 minutes.
6. Listeners felt convicted by the Spirit by great preaching. They sensed the Spirit’s presence.
7. Great preachers have an authentic manner of telling anecdotes about themselves.
8. They told stories in the sermons. Shouldn’t be a surprise as Jesus did as well.
9. Many of the great preachers are funny, and they have a timely sense of humor to keep the audience listening throughout.
10. Great preachers don’t give a message and walk away. They preach for a decision in response to God’s truth.

I believe all of us have a mental conception of what makes a good sermon. Recent studies show that our brains, without any conscious intent on our part, determine very early in a sermon whether to tune in or tune out. 

Great preaching has a knack for keeping our brains tuned in!

One preacher describes a sermon as the interface of a person with God and that the sermon is carried by the Spirit to our soul. I’ve preached many sermons. One man who has been listening to me for 30 years recently came up to me after a sermon and said, “That’s the best sermon that I’ve heard you give.”

HHHHMMMHHM. . . was that a compliment or a sideways assault? Or both?

Fortunately, for both listeners and preachers, the Holy Spirit, not the preacher, has been tasked by Jesus to convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment.

Let’s all shout, “Amen!” The Spirit is the greatest preacher.