Sermons that Stick

That's good. We don't have to make the Bible relevant; it already is. We do, however, have a responsibility to help people understand the Bible's relevance as we preach. Connecting with today's context does just that.

2. Open the Book

Entering our listeners' world is only as meaningful as we make the connection between their world and God's revelation. Majoring on heart-stirring stories, transparent confessions and motivational injunctions are the paths of least resistance for speaking; a sermon devoid of the Word will not "stick" in a person and result in lasting transformation. Only the Spirit and the Word can do that.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, "My speech and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and power, so that your faith might not be based on men's wisdom but on God's power."

All of us want our preaching to have power—real power, but that only comes through the Word of God.

The point I'm making is to open the Book, but you cannot forget to open their hearts to the Book. The preacher should invite the listener to engage in the Scripture, and this involves more than being an expository or text-driven preacher.

How often do you have your listeners actually turn to the passages and read them as you preach? Sure, it complicates your sermons. You might be able to get one more point or illustration into your sermon time if you just read the Word without waiting for your listeners to look up the text themselves, but is it worth the cost of a passive listener?

Asking your listeners to read the actual text of Scripture brings them into contact with the Word of God and helps engage them with your message, as well. When listeners turn to the passage you're preaching about and read it for themselves, they think through what God might be telling them.

In the second study, preachers only asked listeners to turn to their primary texts in 37 percent of the 450 sermons. When preachers mentioned other verses, they only asked listeners to turn to those passages 15 percent of the time. Another 6 percent referred to biblical passages displayed on a screen for their audience to read. The research supported the notion that perhaps more of us need to be sending people to the Word when we preach. We need to be mindful that the advent of video projection, PowerPoint and all the rest are wonderful—to a point. Technological advances never should become surrogate participants for worshipers.

Do you point people to the Scripture as you preach? Your authority as a preacher comes from one source—the Word of God.

Your power to speak into the lives of your listeners comes from His Word, as well. Look for opportunities to point people to the Bible as you preach.