By Rev. Frank Walker
As a retired pastor, my relationship with sermons has undergone a profound shift in recent months. Instead of writing and preaching God’s Word to others (a role I hope to resume in time), now I’m more focused on listening to others preach it. I’ve always said that believers should be active hearers of the Word and not mere spectators, and now I’m finding out what this means.
My new vantage point has also helped me realize that I don’t look at sermons the same way others do. When I hear a sermon that’s meticulously rooted in God’s Word, buttresses its points by other Scriptures, is delivered with clarity, practicality, and a clear focus on Jesus, our only Savior, my heart leaps with joy. But others, listening to the same sermon wonder why I find it so captivating. The inverse is just as true. Sermons praised by others often leave me perplexed. When I ask them what resonated with them, their responses revolve around the preacher’s personality, style, and enthusiasm, not a faithful exposition of the text or a presentation of Jesus Christ.
With all of this, I’ve come to wonder how many Christians even know what to look for in a sermon anymore. They seem to be moved more by the feeling they get from it than by its content. Yes, they hear the preacher, but I wonder if they hear Jesus? Do they hear the call to faith? I’m sure that a lot of the disconnect stems from our modern tendency to elevate subjective feelings and experience over objective truth (thanks, Schleiermacher!), but this only underscores the importance of knowing how to listen to sermons.
Thus, the aim of this article is to equip believers with a more discerning ear. Not so we can nitpick and grade sermons like a high school English teacher, but so we can listen to God’s Word in a way that nourishes and edifies our souls.
Lively Preaching
Our beloved catechism reminds us that God’s people must be taught not by “dumb idols,” but by the lively preaching of the Word. But what does this mean? A few years ago, one of my students explored the meaning of “lively preaching” in a paper he submitted to me, concluding that it has little to do with a preacher’s pulpit theatrics (whether he paces back and forth across the stage or uses a “velvety preaching voice” like Joel Osteen). Instead, he insisted that it’s intrinsically tied to faithfulness to the living Word (Jesus Christ) and the written Word (the Bible), which tells us about him. To this, I give a resounding, “Amen!”
Hebrews 4:12 says that the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Yet, some preachers forget this and preach to God’s people as if their hearts were wood or stone. I’ve often, perhaps a bit sarcastically, referred to this as “sanctification by boredom.” One sermon I heard a few years ago was so devoid of life that I concluded the preacher believed the Holy Spirit does his best work when the congregation is asleep.
Sermons need not bore listeners, but they’re not supposed to entertain us either. There’s no place in the pulpit for actors, comedians, and clowns. Preaching is not a performance. It’s instructional and exhortational, which means that the preacher’s singular and vital task is to explain what the text means and how it applies to our lives, all the while encouraging us to grow in the grace of Jesus Christ. And he does this with the authority of Jesus Christ, who commissioned him to do it.
The Text
In Reformed churches, we assume sermons will explain the text (that is, the actual words) of Scripture. We call sermons like this textual, exegetical (a Greek word that means “to lead out”), or expository sermons.1 They are, admittedly, hard to write because they require the preacher to analyze his text in the original languages, interpret it within the historical and cultural context in which it was written, cross-reference his conclusions with other parts of the Bible, and do all of this in a way that’s consistent with both the immediate and broader biblical context.
If you’re wondering why exegetical preaching is not only important but necessary, it’s because the Lord uses his Word to sanctify his people. Jesus prayed, Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth (John 17:17). And Paul, in his charge to another minister of the gospel, exhorted Timothy to preach the word (2 Tim. 4:2). The power of preaching is not the preacher’s brilliance or insight or ability to persuade, but the Word itself working in our hearts. I like the way the Reformers put it. They said, “Leave it to the Word!” And when the Reformation moved men and nations as nothing else had ever done, they declared, “The Word did it all!” Like them, today’s preachers must let the Word do its work. They must explain the Word and not get in its way by injecting their own opinions and biases into it.
Consider Jesus’ ministry. After his resurrection, Luke says that he opened the Scriptures to his disciples. But wasn’t this his usual method of teaching? Whether in the Sermon on the Mount or answering questions about marriage and divorce, he took his listeners back to the Old Testament and interpreted it correctly.
Jesus’ apostles followed the same approach. When Peter preached in Acts 2, his message was an exposition of a few verses from the book of Joel. Other sermons in the book of Acts focused on other passages of the Bible. Even when the apostles addressed Gentile audiences, though they may not have explicitly cited Scripture, they preached the text of the Old Testament. And consider the epistles: how much of their content explains either the Old Testament or the Gospels? More than most people realize. The book of Hebrews, for example, consists of detailed expositions of Psalm 8, 95, 110 and Jeremiah 31. It’s basically four exegetical sermons.
On the other hand, exegetical preaching has a few pitfalls. For example, every preacher, having feasted on the delicacies of God’s Word in his study, yearns for his hearers to savor every tasty morsel for themselves. After all, if it was “meat” for him, it must be meat for them, right? So, how many sermons have they overloaded with meticulous, even tedious, explanations of obscure Greek and Hebrew words, intricate grammatical structures, chiasms, philosophy, and more? My theology professor warned against this, saying that when a person buys a table or a chair, he Dosen’t expect to get the sawdust with it.
The reality is that preachers face the same limitations that everyone else lives with. Like others, they have only so many hours each week to do their work. They’re tasked with preparing one or more sermons, along with Sunday school lessons, Bible studies, discipleship training, counseling, and more. Because an in-depth study of the Word demands an enormous investment of time and energy, preachers often find it easier to preach topically or thematically — that is, to extract a single idea from a text and run with it, largely ignoring the rest. But do you see what this does? It reduces the entire passage to just one point and is, in essence, a not-so-subtle way of concealing the text rather than explaining it. And if that isolated point is even slightly off target, the preacher has failed to preach God’s Word at all. I’ve seen this unfortunate dynamic more often than I care to admit.
Rabbit trails present another pitfall for exegetical preachers. How easy it is to toss in a few details that are more distracting than essential! Being tangential, these non-essential points make sermons harder to follow and, thus, end up hiding the text in a different way. By contrast, a truly exegetical sermon will be clear and linear, moving smoothly from one point to the next without unnecessary complications. Listeners can actually hear Jesus speaking through it and can leave with a better understanding of the text, not scratching their heads, wondering what the preacher meant.
Exalting Christ
When Jesus opened the Scripture to his disciples after his resurrection, he also emphasized what the Old Testament said explicitly about him. The living Word and the written Word are, and always have been, inextricably linked. To preach the living Word divorced from the written Word (a common practice among liberals) is impossible since we cannot know Jesus and his self-sacrificing love for sinners apart from Scripture. Conversely, to preach the written Word without explaining how it reveals the living Word is ultimately pointless. Any astute moral philosopher can do something like this.
But what exactly does it mean to “exalt Christ” in a sermon? I’ve heard too many sermons that forced Jesus into the text artificially, finding him in places he wasn’t intended to be. Every rock must be a metaphor for Jesus since he identified himself as the Rock. Such contrived interpretations always fall flat, leaving listeners yearning for God’s grace with a dull and sullen, “Huh?”
The most authentic way to preach Jesus from any text is to let the text speak for itself. After all, the Lord is his own best interpreter. Is God speaking in it? That’s Jesus revealing himself to us. Is the Lord doing something significant (as if he ever did anything else!)? That’s Jesus, too, executing his marvelous plan of salvation in our behalf. In the Old Testament, we find Jesus actively preparing for his incarnation. He made the world in which he would live, setting the stage for his grand redemptive drama. He made man, fully aware that Adam would fall and that Adam’s evil descendants would crucify him at the appointed time. He made the wood that eventually became his manger, the thorns mockers pressed into his brow, and the tree on which he gave his life for our sins. In the New Testament, the focus shifts to all that Jesus has done for us and the grace by which we live in thankful obedience. We don’t have to find Jesus where he’s not, because he tells us where he is on every page.
Jesus said that his sheep would hear his voice and follow him (John 10:27). Does Jesus’ voice resonate in the sermons we hear today? Does he clearly articulate who he is and what it means to follow him? Is that divine call clear and unmistakable? I hope so. Indeed, I pray so, because the life of the church hinges on it.
Covenant Theology
The last point I want to make, which in some ways sums up all that we’ve said thus far, is that preaching must also be covenantal. Scripture doesn’t allow us to treat its many teachings as isolated and independent concepts, bearing no relationship to one another. The Bible is a single book. Its message is unified, teaching one way of salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. Everything in it is connected to everything else. Covenantal preaching, therefore, evaluates each text — from Genesis to Revelation — in the light of God’s one plan of salvation through the Son.
This has some profound implications. For example, it reminds us that the Lord doesn’t give one message to Congregation A and something completely different to Congregation B. Exegetical sermons, regardless of where they’re delivered, should be broadly consistent, though their applications may vary slightly depending on the specific needs of each audience. It also means that we need to understand how God’s covenant — his comprehensive plan of salvation — relates to each individual believer and to the church as his body. What is the Lord doing for us as individuals? What is he accomplishing for the body of Christ as a whole?
But for evaluating sermons, covenantal preaching carries an even more specific meaning. The covenantal nature of Scripture requires every preacher to try his best to interweave as many of its teachings as possible throughout his teaching ministry. Why is this so crucial? Because this is precisely how God’s people grow. Peter wrote, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby (1 Pet. 2:2). And again, But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18).
Now, not every sermon will teach us something we didn’t know before. New isn’t always good. A preacher who proclaims doctrines no one has ever heard of should be rejected right away! Most of the time, we simply need to be reminded of things we already know, so the Holy Spirit can apply them to our lives in new ways. After all, we’ve changed since we last heard that portion of God’s Word. So have the circumstances of our lives and the world around us. Sermons summon changing Christians who live in a world of constant flux to place our unwavering trust in the one who never changes, our Lord Jesus. Hebrews 13:8 says, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. As we heed this call of the gospel, our gracious Savior gradually molds us more and more into his own glorious image.
So where does this leave us as hearers of God’s Word? A recent sermon I heard prompted me to consider this very question. I then discussed it with my children and grandchildren. But I believe the answer to it is fairly straightforward. When we listen to the preaching of God’s holy Word, we have to ask ourselves three basic questions.
1. Did I learn something from the text in the sermon or, at the very least, learn to apply it in a new and insightful way? Did the sermon explain the details of God’s Word and relate them to my walk of faith? Was its teaching consistent with the rest of Scripture? Do I understand the Bible better because of it? Or did I merely close my Bible after the Scripture reading and not pick it up again?
2. Did the sermon help me see Jesus more clearly, illuminating his person and work?
Did I distinctly hear how he saved me from my sins? Was the passage presented to me in a way that shows my Savior active in my salvation? Did it encourage me to reflect on his triumphs so that I can walk with him in greater faith and obedience?
3. Did the sermon contribute to my spiritual growth? Here I’m not talking about a generic personal development, but specifically about growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, increasing my appreciation for all that he did for me. Would I thrive — and not just survive — on a steady diet of similar messages week after week?
I understand that no sermon is without fault. I don’t expect them to be. I also recognize that the Lord, according to his sovereign good will, often works through sermons that aren’t up to par. That’s his prerogative. It’s also good news for preachers, since our sermons are never exactly what they should be. But we should never use this comforting truth as an excuse for lowering our expectation of sermons. Preachers must fulfill their sacred duty of feeding the sheep.
Preachers must give their full attention to sound preaching, and congregations must commit to faithful listening. Accordingly, we must encourage our shepherds to set forth a rich banquet of fine delicacies from his Word every single week for the glory of God and our good. And we ourselves must partake of that feast. Amen.