The Goal of a Sermon

Recently, I have been reading through a book that I picked up a while ago but haven't gotten the chance to make much headway in it- Preaching & Preachers by D. Martyn Lloyd Jones. Here's a thought that I am continuing to work out into practice.

Any true definition of preaching must say that that man is there to deliver the message of God, a message from God to those people.... In other words he is not there merely to talk to them, he is not there to entertain them. He is there- and I want to emphasize this- to do something to those people; he is there to produce results of various kinds, he is there to influence people. He is not merely to influence a part of them; he is not only to influence their minds, or only their emotions, or merely to bring pressure to bear upon their wills and to induce them to some kind of activity. He is there to deal with the whole person; and his preaching is meant to affect the whole person at the very centre of life. Preaching should make such a difference to a man who is listening that he is never the same again.... It does something for the soul of man, for the whole of the person, the entire man; it deals with him in a vital and radical manner.

This is the kind of approach that Tim Keller describes as "Preaching to the Heart." And, if I am honest about the evolution of my own preaching, it is something that I have been mindful of for only the past 3 years or so. When I go back and listen to some of my old sermons (which is torturous for any pastor), I find that I often relied upon moralistic imperatives that sought to induce change by leaning hard on the will (3 reasons why sin is bad and you need to stop sinning).

Now, if this becomes the goal of preaching- preaching to affect the whole person at the very centre of life- then my points, my stories, my alliterations lose significance for they have no inherent power to change people in the heart. Often I hear pastors lament that their people don't remember their points a week after they are preached. If I am honest, I don't remember them either, and I am the one writing/saying them. But, if in the preaching event, the truth of the gospel is brought to bear and people are changed on the spot by the power of Jesus, then the exact phrasing a week later is really insignificant.

In fact, I agree with Keller when he says that he knows the Spirt is really working in his sermons when people put down their pens and stop from their note-taking. It is a good sign that the person has just moved from the transmission of information to a moment with God.

Next time you listen to a sermon, I hope it results in transformation that leaves your soul changed.