A 7-Star Sermon

I absolutely love to preach. Preaching is my passion. I would preach each and every day if people would actually come and listen. I take preaching seriously with much time spent in prayer, study and preparation. This includes specifically thinking through seven goals for each message I preach. If I can hit the bulls-eye on each of these seven goals than I consider it a 7-star message.

Goal #1 - I strive to preach a message that is BIBLICAL! First and foremost, my goal is to make sure that I am actually preaching the Bible and preaching it correctly. I want people leaving church after hearing the message saying, "I heard the Bible preached today!"

Goal #2 - I strive to preach a message that is DOCTRINAL! My goal with each message is to go beyond just the surface of the Bible and also to include at least one area of a more theological depth. For example, two Sundays ago I included an explanation of "hypostatic union" and last Sunday I included the explanation of a "theophany." I want people leaving church after hearing the message saying, "I learned some theology today!"

Goal #3 - I strive to preach a message that is EDUCATIONAL! My goal with each message is to give a clear explanation of the meaning of the passage as well as the cultural and historical settings to that passage. I want people leaving church after hearing the message saying, "I learned something about the Bible today that I never knew!"

Goal #4 - I strive to preach a message that is PRACTICAL! My goal is to teach the Bible in a way that it can be applied to the every day life of those who hear the message. I want people leaving church after hearing the message saying, "I can use what I learned in my life this week!"

Goal #5 - I strive to preach a message that is GENERATIONAL! My goal is to teach the Bible in such a way that all generations - Senior Citizens, Middle Aged Adults, Young Adults, Teenagers, and Children in the audience can all grasp hold of the truths of Scripture. I want people leaving church after hearing the message saying, "Our whole family benefited from the message!"

Goal #6 - I strive to preach a message that is THEATRICAL! At the risk of being misunderstood for using the word "theatrical" about preaching, I simply mean this. My goal in preaching is not just in "what" I preach but also "how" I preach it. Along with spending a lot of time on the content of my sermon, I also spent significant time prayerfully and carefully working on the presentation of my sermon. I even practice it several times. I believe the Bible is the most exciting book in all of the world and I want to preach it in a way that is equally captivating. I want people leaving church after hearing the message saying, "I enjoyed listening to the message!"

Goal #7 - I strive to preach a message that is MOTIVATIONAL! The Bible tells us to be "doers" of the Word and not simply "hearers" of it. I want people to be motivated to take what they have heard and learned and apply it to their life. To me, the ultimate goal of preaching is "life-change!" I want people leaving church after hearing the message saying, "I am going to change because of what I heard and learned from the Bible!"

I'm sure that very few of my messages actually hit the bulls-eye in all 7 of these goals. But it is something that I strive for each and every Sunday.