Nothing is more important to the Christian church than preaching: ‘It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe’ (1 Cor 1:21). Every preacher should aim to be a better preacher. Poor preaching makes poor churches. I write not as the expert preacher whom others should imitate but as one who has been observing many preachers over the last almost half century – some very good and others, many others, very poor. The Scriptures, the history of the church and the biographies of great preachers give many pointers to what we should aim at and what we should studiously avoid. I myself have tried to preach for almost 40 years and have often felt ashamed at my efforts. It should be added that a congregation makes a preacher. If the flock are prayerful, spiritual and attentive it will draw the best out of the preacher. It must also be stated that without the help of the Holy Spirit the best of preaching will be lifeless and unblessed.

I often used to hear it said that we should not look to the preacher. If it is the gospel that is being preached it should make no difference whether it be the Apostle Paul who is preaching or William Macleod. We should go to hear the gospel, not the man. Now there may be a grain of truth in that. God is able to bless the ministry of any man. Sometimes a poor, unknown preacher can be used in the conversion of a great man, as happened in the case of C H Spurgeon. However, while God for His own glory will sometimes take us by surprise, it cannot be gainsaid that the lazy, careless, worldly, unthoughtful, unprayerful preacher is far less likely to edify your soul than the carefully prepared, godly, gifted, well-trained, spiritually-minded man. The one who would expect to hear as good a sermon from William Macleod as from the Apostle Paul fails to recognize the gifts and grace and measure of the Holy Spirit which God has given to some men more than others.

In this editorial I would like to look at twelve faults which preachers should avoid.

1. The multiplication of words with few ideas⤒🔗

Some men have the ‘gift of the gab’ and this can be more of a snare than a gift. Even in one-to-one conversation some men can be boring because they take so long to answer questions or to state their opinions. Preachers generally tend to be talkers and love to hear their own voice and this can be a real danger. Standing in the pulpit no one interrupts and so you, yourself, must be self-conscious and self-critical. Realise that it is possible for people to find you tedious. Strive to get more thoughts and ideas into your sermon. Keep moving on from one thought to the next. Lots of words have a soporific effect and lead the congregation to daydream. Vary the flow of words. A silence can sometimes be very effective. Beware of preaching for too long. Aim at half an hour or 40 minutes as a maximum. No matter how good you think you are, after half an hour people tend to switch off. Never say ‘finally’ twice in the same sermon. Spinning out the conclusion can be exceedingly tedious.

2. Not personally developing theologically←⤒🔗

Some ministers scarcely get beyond the little theology which they learned in Seminary. Ten or twenty years later they are still trying to spin a sermon out of the same minimal group of ideas. No wonder the people are bored! Ministers should be constantly reading good solid works of theology – the Reformers, the Puritans, the Scottish and American nineteenth century theologians and the best works of today. They should use good Reformed commentaries when preparing their sermons but more than that their general knowledge and grasp of theology should be constantly increasing. Spend hours each week meditating on passages of Scripture – and not just on the texts on which you hope to preach – turning them over, questioning them, trying to find out more and more of their meaning and their application. Ministers are to be constantly busy working in the goldmines of revealed truth finding nuggets for themselves and their flocks. Some might say, I don’t have time for heavy reading. If you don’t, you shouldn’t be in the ministry. The Apostles spoke of the way they spent their time: ‘We will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word’ (Acts 6:4). There is something far wrong if you do not spend at least half the week reading, praying, meditating and preparing sermons.

3. Not preaching Christ←⤒🔗

Reading the biographies of the greatest theologians, church leaders and preachers I have been struck with the fact that often on their deathbeds they have regretted that they have not preached Christ more. It is easy to preach on the history, the geography, the society behind a passage, to tell entertaining stories, to deal with current affairs, to enter into theological disputes, to defend the Christian faith and to forget that we have been called to preach Christ. When Paul states what he preached, ‘we preach Christ crucified’ (1 Cor 1:23), he was setting before us the central theme of all our preaching whatever the text used. Christ is the Saviour for sinners and the food for Christians. Do the hungry sheep in our congregations look up and are not fed? What terrible guilt lies upon the unfaithful shepherds (Ezek 34)!

4. Not aiming at the needs of the congregation←⤒🔗

On my third year in secondary school I had a maths teacher who was very clever but a poor teacher. In the class there was one bright and very diligent pupil. Having explained a mathematical problem this teacher would check if the clever student had understood. If he had, the teacher would then move on to the next problem. As a result of this the rest of us in the class made little headway. As preachers we should try to get to know our congregation and their needs and the best way to do that is by visiting them diligently and not just speaking about the weather and the latest local gossip. In our sermons there should always be a word for the unconverted as some of them are usually present. We must remember too that even church members may never have been converted. There should be a word for seekers, for those lacking assurance, for backsliders, for old Christians and for ‘the ewes with young’. Be sure in preparing your sermons that you prepare the application. Some leave it to the end of a sermon but it is probably better to give a little application at points on the way through. This helps to keep the interest and show the relevance of the message. If it doesn’t have application, whatever it is, it’s not a sermon.

5. Not communicating←⤒🔗

Some ministers seem to be in a world of their own in the pulpit. They are speaking in a strange language which the congregation does not understand. They are talking to someone in the ceiling above the congregation’s head or in the book-board. There is no eye-contact with the congregation. There is no direct speaking or telling their people the joyful good news of the gospel. Use clear simple language and short sentences. Strive to explain and labour to be simple. Short illustrations can be like windows giving light. Attention can be caught by making brief allusions to every day events, things which happen to you and to them, or matters which are of interest in the media. But great care must be taken that the illustrations do not distract minds from the message. Demonstrate to people their need and then proclaim Christ as the only answer.

6. Not preaching from the text←⤒🔗

The Bible is the authority behind our preaching. We are not preaching our own ideas, or our wisdom, or the church’s beliefs or a popular philosophy. We come as ambassadors from the King of Heaven and our message must be, ‘Thus saith the Lord’. All our preaching should be exegetical. That does not mean that we have to preach in series working through books of the Bible. That is one method. But whenever we take a text, it should not be treated as a springboard or mere starting-off point. Such preaching not only lacks the authority of the text but soon becomes dull and superficial. All preaching should explain the verse or passage in its context. When our preaching follows this pathway it will always retain a certain freshness, because the Bible, no matter how often you read it, is always new and relevant.

7. Not adequately prepared←⤒🔗

Some are more tempted than others to ‘wing it’, as they say. You may be a ready talker, you have two or three ideas, you launch forth from the text and hope you will get ‘liberty’. I remember one minister who justified this method by asserting that he believed that his most prepared sermons were the least blessed. To me his preaching seemed terribly repetitive and predictable. Sometimes we will all find ourselves in the position where for one reason or another we feel uneasy at our lack of preparation. And we know what it is to be helped by the Lord in such situations. But these situations should be rare. Let us not offer to the Lord what has cost us little or nothing. Remember preaching is our main job. Don’t scrimp on the time you spend in preparing. Put your heart and soul into it. Make an occasion of every time you preach. Imagine that you will be addressing 1000 people and try your very best. There may be only 10 present but God is there listening and that is what matters. Jesus encourages the most diligent preparation for meaty sermons: ‘Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old’ (Mt 13:52).

8. No clear structure←⤒🔗

Some ministers have no clear structure to their sermons. Often it is like a Bible study, going through a passage and offering some edifying thoughts. The hearer finds that little is retained in the memory. Seldom is any point driven home. Worse still is the ‘preacher’ who starts from a text and wanders wherever his thoughts lead him. To keep people’s attention and to impress the truth upon the conscience it is best to follow, more or less, the traditional format for a sermon. Start with an introduction which states the theme and shows its relevance. Then give three or four points drawn from the text and developing and applying the theme. Finally draw all together with a conclusion which seeks to impress the importance of the message upon the hearers. It is helpful to your hearers if they can see where you have come from and where you are going as you make your way through the sermon. It also helps yourself in the delivery. Finding a good structure is almost half the work in preparing a sermon.

9. Artificiality←⤒🔗

Acting and artificiality in the pulpit is an abomination to God and to man. Beware of pulpit voice. Some ministers have developed a whine, or a sing-song voice, or a sickly smiley face. This can be terribly off-putting. A conversational style of speaking can be very much more impressive and engaging to the hearer. It makes them feel that you are talking to them and mean what you say. Artificiality, pretended tears and unnatural gestures distract and undermine the sermon. Beware of imitating others, even great preachers, in their idiosyncrasies. Be yourself.

10. Not speaking with passion←⤒🔗

Artificiality is off-putting and so also is a cold ‘take it or leave it’ type of delivery. In preparation, try to feel your message and strive to be convinced of its importance and relevance. As you go out to preach remember that you are there representing Christ. Think too of the desperate needs of those before you. Be caught up in the glory of the truths you have to declare. Beware of the curse of professionalism – doing a job for the pay at the minimum cost to yourself. Put your heart and soul into it. Paul often spoke with tears and so did M’Cheyne. Paul reminds the Corinthians of his preaching, ‘As though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God’ (2 Cor 5:20). Having preached in this way, holding nothing back, but giving your all, you will be shattered on the Monday following.

11. Do not misuse the sound amplification system←⤒🔗

Never bang the pulpit! Microphones and amplifiers were never designed to convey such noise. It is a torture to people with hearing aids or nervous complaints. Shouting should be strictly limited for the very same reason. You can speak with tremendous stress and emphasis without raising your voice. A slight lowering of the voice can be much more impressive. I remember one minister coming to our communions many years ago. He shouted all weekend and made myself and my congregation totally miserable. The following Wednesday night a gracious old minister visited and preached warmly and it was like sweet balm to our souls.

12. Not accompanied with prayer←⤒🔗

Prayer is vital in preparing a sermon, in preparing yourself to preach, in preaching and in following up the preaching. The Apostles gave themselves to the ministry of the Word and prayer. Jesus spent whole nights in prayer, and if He needed that how much more do we! Paul seemed to be praying without ceasing. Along with prayer let there be expectation. Look for God to come and convert sinners and to sanctify your congregation. Without God nothing of eternal value is achieved. The best sermon is dead. Oh to pray more! Have your regular times of prayer daily and your special days of prayer.

Be men of prayer! Be prayerful congregations and see what God will do.