Preaching For Life Change: It’s All In Learning To Preach Like Jesus
In fact, Chuck and I — along with Jack Hayford and Chuck Smith — once taught a seminary course on preaching. We each taught how we prepare and deliver sermons. At the end of the course, the students mentioned that all four of us had — without collaboration — emphasized the same thing: keep it simple! It’s easy to complicate the gospel, and of course, Satan would love for us to do just that. The apostle Paul worried that “your minds would be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” (2 Cor. 11:3 NASB)
It takes a lot of thought and preparation to communicate profound truths in simple ways. Einstein once said, “You don’t really understand something unless you can communicate it in a simple way.” You can be brilliant, but if you can’t share it in a simple way, your insights aren’t worth much.
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The Saddleback Valley is one of the most highly educated communities in America, yet I find that the simpler I make the message, the more God blesses it. Simple does not mean shallow. Simple does not mean simplistic. Simple means being clear and understandable. For instance, “This is the day the Lord has made” is simple while, “Have a nice day!” is simplistic.
Most people today communicate with a vocabulary of less than 2,000 words and rely on only about 900 words in daily use. If you want to communicate with most people, you need to keep it simple. Never allow yourself to be intimidated by people who think they are intellectuals. It’s been my observation that people who have to use big words are sometimes hiding bigger insecurities.
I believe simple sermon outlines are always the strongest outlines. I consider being called a simple preacher a compliment. I’m interested in seeing lives changed, not in impressing people with my “erudition.”
I’d rather be clear than complex. Jesus — not anyone else — must be our model. When we preach like He did, we’ll see the results He did.
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Rick Warren is founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA.