Homiletics is the science and art of
preaching. A homily is a sermon. Preachers are to proclaim the Gospel—the Good
News of Jesus Christ. Those who deliver messages not found in the Bible are not
preaching the Gospel. Those who deliver sermons that distort the Bible are not
preaching the Gospel. Faithful preachers follow the Holy Spirit in proclaiming the
truth of Scripture. Pastors do most of the preaching . If you are a pastor, you
are the shepherd of a flock—the congregation in a local church. You communicate
not only the words of sermons; you communicate who you are. You have a special
relationship with those in a local church. You and the congregation are all
members of the body of Christ. But members of the congregation look to you for
words of guidance and comfort—words inspired by God. They look to you as a role
model. Christ is the ultimate role model. But sheep follow a shepherd, and a
congregation follows a pastor. A congregation is concerned about how much you know,
but they are more concerned with how much you care. They want to know that you care
for them. After all, the two greatest commandments are about love—love for God
and for people. Most preaching is done in the context of an on-going
relationship between the preacher and the listeners. Preachers speak at a
certain time in history, to a certain people, in a certain place. The truth of
Scripture does not change, but the language in which the truth is presented
changes with time and from culture to culture. So a preacher needs to speak in
the heart language of the listener. One’s heart language is one’s language of
choice—the language spoken in one’s own home. When you preach, you should
preach from your heart in the power of the Holy Spirit. Listeners want to know
that you believe what you preach. As you preach, it is helpful to direct your
words to individuals, not merely to the congregation at large. That is, preach
as if you were having a conversation with individuals. Look at people, not at a
wall or at the floor. Sermons should not single out individuals, but the
preacher should communicate with individuals. The words of a sermon are not
directed only to one person. Instead, the words of a sermon are directed to the
congregation. The preacher speaks as if he were talking with an individual, and
the whole congregation listens. Of course, the preacher may preach louder than
if he were speaking only to one person. The preacher may vary the tone more
than if he were speaking only to an individual. But he still preaches while
looking at one person, then another individual, and then a third individual, and
so on.
In preparing sermons, it is helpful to discuss the proposed
sermons with other people familiar with Scripture prior to preaching to a
congregation. Other Christians have insights and may make you aware of errors
prior to your speaking to a congregation. Pastors may get together for
fellowship and sermon preparation. A preacher may learn from other pastors, but
a preacher should not copy sermons from others. 30 “Therefore,” declares the
LORD, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly
from me. 31 Yes,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who wag their
own tongues and yet declare, ‘The LORD declares.’ 32 Indeed, I am against those
who prophesy false dreams,” declares the LORD. “They tell them and lead my
people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They
do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the LORD . (Jeremiah
23:30-32)
If God has called you to preach, he will give you the words to
say. The way that you speak will be different from others because you are
unique. God spoke through the prophets of the Bible, and each of them had their
own style of speaking and writing. God speaks through preachers today, and each
preacher has a particular style.
In preaching, as in the Christian life in general, we should be
humble. When asked theological questions that we don’t have the answers to, we
aren’t afraid to say, “I don’t know.” If we make an error in a sermon, we say
we made an error. A good way to speak in regard to difficult theological
questions is, “My understanding is this . . ..” And it is a good
policy not to preach on matters that we have little knowledge
about. (For details and
for free course visit <www.missionstraining.org>)
