Excellent preaching is biblical, authentic, contextual, and life-changing. By the power of the Holy Spirit, preaching moves from the text through the preacher into a specific situation toward the gospel’s goal.

Preaching is an exposition of scripture that proclaims the revelation of God and the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ with fidelity to the creeds and confessions of the church. Deeply biblical preaching proclaims a transcendent and divine Word from the Lord. In a secular world that believes it can live without God, preaching brings radical news about a bigger world, a new world, the real world. Christian preaching deals with profound, life-and-death matters that have eternal consequences. It is momentous.

Questions to ask of a sermon:
Was this sermon rooted in a particular text of Scripture?
What was the main point of the sermon?
What was the main point of the text?
Did the sermon say what the text says (theme) and do what the text does (purpose)?
What did this sermon tell you about Jesus Christ?
What did it tell you about what Scripture says about our situation and about God’s work of redemption?
How did this sermon deepen your knowledge and/or appreciation of God’s Word?
Was the sermon faithful to the central doctrines of the Christian faith and the creeds and confessions of the church?


Preaching reflects the preacher’s commitment to embody the preached word.

In union with Christ and in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, preachers themselves must be suffused with “the life of God” Eph. 4:18. This deep union with Christ must manifest itself in the form of godliness and integrity on the part of the preacher. Christian preaching has authority, conviction, and passion because its source is not merely the preacher but Christ making his appeal through the preacher.

In so far as you know this preacher, is there integrity between the preacher’s words and life?
Did the preacher’s tone and demeanor fit with the message of the text, the purpose of the sermon, and the preaching situation as a whole?
Did the preacher exhibit passion
and conviction through the message?

Preaching must be sensitive to the cultural and congregational context in which it takes place.
Preaching proclaims the gospel of grace, calling people at once to believe it and to live a new life that fits with it. Preaching seeks our continuing conversion, our “dying and rising with Christ” (see Ro. 6:1-11), always acknowledging that this new life comes as a gift of the Spirit and in the context of Christ’s body, the church. Preaching is always connected with the church. Preaching seeks to be part of the Spirit’s work in creating a new people and a new community.
Preaching is an act of the church and is one of the means of grace by which Christ gathers and builds his church.

Preaching ultimately goes beyond the church itself and proclaims the kingdom rule of God over all things and mission of God “to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. ” (Col. 1:20).

What was the purpose of this sermon as you heard it?
What did the sermon encourage or empower you to do?
What behaviors or attitudes did it confront?
What grace and hope did you hear in the sermon?
In what ways did this sermon build up
the body of Christ and you as a part of it?
How did the sermon relate to unbelievers in the audience?

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