Five Marks of a Good Sermon
What Makes a Good Sermon?
How do you know if a sermon is authentically good?
That question is hard to answer because people are tempted to confuse what they like with what is objectively good.
In fact, our own fickle preferences often unfairly impact our sermonic evaluations.
Our preferences on sermons can be impacted by our sin: we may dislike a sermon we really need to hear. Our sermon preferences can be impacted by circumstances: we may dislike a sermon that is beloved by someone sitting a few feet away facing a completely different situation. Preferences can be impacted by timing: we come to appreciate sermons we didn’t think much of at first or can’t remember why we once liked a sermon after hearing it again. What we like is impacted by our oratorical tastes: some people like preachers with a more dynamic delivery others like more tranquil preachers.
Our fickleness makes whether we like a sermon one of the least important things about it. We need to move from knowing what we like to appreciating what makes a sermon truly good.
I have listened to thousands of sermons over the years, I preach every week, and I lead a team of 20 preachers growing in the ministry of preaching. All that makes it important for me to define a good sermon as objectively as possible. Such objectivity helps us move beyond our shifting likes and dislikes to a more faithful evaluation of preaching.
At First Baptist Church, I have identified five marks of a good sermon. Like a musical chord with five notes, a sermon characterized by all five marks is a good sermon. If even one of the marks is askew, like a misplaced note in a chord, the sermon is deficient in some way.
Here are the five marks I use to determine a good sermon.
A Good Sermon Is Biblical
The first and most important mark of a sermon is that it must be biblical. Because we are called to “Preach the Word” an unbiblical sermon is not a sermon at all (2 Timothy 4:2). At least two realities are required for a sermon to be biblical.
First, a biblical sermon will teach a text of Scripture. In a biblical sermon the meaning of the passage of Scripture determines the content of the sermon. Average church members must clearly see how the content of the sermon and the words of Scripture match up. In biblical preaching God’s Word controls the content of the sermon.
Second, a biblical sermon will point to the grace of Jesus. The Apostle Paul says his job was to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8). Jesus Christ teaches that all Scripture bears witness to him (John 5:39). The central preaching assignment is to point people to Christ. Jesus makes clear that we must never consider a passage without pointing to him.
A good sermon is one that teaches the truth of God in the Bible and points to the grace of God in Jesus.
A Good Sermon Connects
One of the main ways biblical preachers fail to preach good sermons is through failing to connect with their audience. Good content that does not engage the people in the room is bad preaching regardless of your faithfulness to the text.
A good sermon is preached by someone who understands who is listening and what is required to serve them. This is based on the example of the Apostle Paul who became all things to all people (1 Corinthians 9:22).
In my ministry I have preached sermons to a few dozen people in old country churches and to thousands of people in downtown mega churches. I have “given talks” at large conferences and “given lectures” in Ph.D. seminars. I have read papers at professional societies where the expectation is that you will remain tied to carefully prepared remarks. I have also had debates and Q&As with all the spontaneity they require.
The dynamics of speaking in each of those environments varies considerably. If I show up on Sunday morning at First Baptist to preach to stay-at-home moms, young kids, and retirees the same way I show up to teach a graduate lecture to seminary students I will fail to connect and will not serve my assigned audience. I might say true words that would have been helpful in a different context, but my foolishness will dull the words spoken to the people actually in the room.
Too many ministers forget that the call to preach is a call to serve those who listen to us. Too many preachers stay in their comfort zone and preach the way they want or cluelessly preach to people they wish were in the room instead of the people who are truly present.
A good sermon connects with the audience by speaking to the real people in the room.
A Good Sermon Is Clear
When preaching, it is crucial that our true words be clear words. The Apostle Paul requests prayer that his message would be clear (Colossians 4:3-4). He does this because he knows unclear words are useless words that float through the air (1 Corinthians 14:6-9). Anyone who wants to be an effective preacher must work to be sure their sermons are not just accurate but clear.
Clarity is the gift preachers give listeners to help them hear the truths we proclaim. Four pointers help us preach clearly.
First, have a burden to communicate something specific. The burden is the idea of the sermon we are desperate for our people to see, embrace, and believe. You must have a burning in your soul for something to be true for your people after they have heard you preach. For preachers, desperation fuels communication. Your message will be most clear when the importance of it is burning in your heart.
Second, writing helps with clarity. Even when we have a burden that we are desperate to communicate there are still complex ideas that we need to work hard to clarify. If you are confused, try writing out your thoughts until you develop clarity.
Third, find some way to arrange your presentation to makes it easy for listeners to follow. When our listeners are disoriented by the progress of the sermon it creates confusion. We serve our listeners with the clear arrangement to the sermon. One way to do this is with a list of plural nouns. That is the way I have arranged this blog: Five Marks of a Good Sermon. If you follow along, you know exactly where we are, and it will aid clarity.
Fourth, develop illustrations. If you remember that the primary purpose of illustrations is to aid clarity, it will help you to avoid the risks of their use. One risk is avoiding illustrations altogether. People really need illustrations to help them see truth clearly. A preacher who avoids using them will be less clear. The second risk is using illustrations to the point of distraction. Illustrations can be overused to the point that they distract from the truth. That destroys the entire reason we use them.
A good sermon must not only be true, but understandable to our listeners. Good preachers move heaven and earth to make their sermons clear.
A Good Sermon Is Practical
Another mark of a good sermon is that it is practical. Our people must not listen to our sermons and wonder why they matter or what they are supposed to do after hearing them. One of the preacher’s most important jobs is to help apply the text of Scripture.
Pastors who love their people will think hard, pray fervently, and preach clearly about how proper biblical understanding will lead to proper biblical living. Preachers must help their people avoid the sin of hearing Scripture without implementing its teaching (James 1:22).
A good sermon not only helps people to understand the truth but to live in light of it.
A Good Sermon Is Passionate
This final mark is tricky and so I want to clarify what I am not talking about. In talking about the importance of passion, I am not talking about our tone of voice, demeanor, or mannerisms in the pulpit. I am not talking about whether we preach loudly or softly.
I am not talking about style at all. In fact, it is dangerous for preachers to give too much attention to style. Preachers are not performers and should not act as though they are.
Passion is fundamentally something internal to the preacher that has external evidence. The most important thing about passion is that the preacher, in his heart before God, be moved by the content of his sermon. Before a preacher delivers the sermon, it is imperative that he encounters God on the ground of the text he’s preaching. It is crucial that the preacher experiences the Holy Spirit changing him before he has a hope of preaching in a way that changes others.
This kind of passion will be obvious. That passion may take the form of quiet, steady, intensity. The passion may look like a loud, enthusiastic explosion of biblical truth. Whether loud or quiet, slow or fast, people must see that their preachers have been with God and are changed men because of it.
A good sermon will reveal a preacher impacted by the words he is preaching to others.
Preaching Good Sermons
Not all our sermons will be equally wonderful. They will not be equally liked by everyone.
But, by God’s grace, we can preach sermons that are reliably good. Embracing these five marks of a good sermon will help.
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