On the radio program Issues, Etc., the host occasionally plays a sermon and analyzes it using the following criteria:
- How often does the sermon mention Christ?
- Is Christ the subject of the verbs?
- If it mentions Christ, and He’s the subject of the verbs, what are those verbs?
In a Christian sermon, Christ should be mentioned! This seems like a no-brainer, and it’s supported by John 15:26: “When the Spirit comes,…He will testify about Me.” So, Spirit-led preaching will testify about Christ.
And Christ should be the subject of the verbs. As they say on Issues, Etc., this is more than just grammar! Christ came, suffered, died and rose. It is He who seeks us, chooses us (John 15:16), and saves us from sin. He didn’t come to rescue us from being stressed out, or to make us feel good about ourselves, or to guilt us into doing good works. That’s what we have Oprah for. If a sermon neglects Christ’s work, it is not truly a Christian sermon, even if it’s preached by a Christian in a Christian church.
Lately I’ve been listening to sermons with these questions in mind, and it’s very eye-opening. So with all that in mind, I thought I’d share this sermon, from a recent episode of Issues, Etc., which I think is good. It’s by Pastor Jonathan Fisk, of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Perryville, New Jersey. If you like it, you might also like his website.
A final thought: I really don’t want to be hypercritical about this. I just think if a sermon focusses on Christ and what He has done for us, people might repent and be saved. If it focusses on some wordly problem (say, how busy we are, and that we need time to ourselves once in a while), that won’t fix the real problem of sin in my life, which is what I most desperately need.
Way to go, Derek, for pointing out that the Bible indeed talks about Christ and sermons should too. Here are 2 other verses where Jesus tells his followers that Scripture, specifically the OT, points to Him.
Luke 24:27 (ESV)
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Luke 24:44 (ESV)
Then he [Jesus] said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
I’ve been thinking about this ever since our converstation the other day. It’s really a helpful ruberic to use when listening to a sermon. You will be happy to know that Pastor Spittel passed the test with his Lenten sermon last night. Now we’re waiting to try it out for Pastor Andrae…(obviously, I’m kidding. Our church is blessed with extremely Christ-centered preaching).
Another Pittsburgh-area pastor described his aversion to “good-advice, topical” sermons like this: “You want a Mother’s Day sermon? I’ll give you a Mother’s Day sermon. You mothers are a bunch of sinners! You want a Thanksgiving sermon? I’ll give you a Thanksgiving sermon. You turkeys are a bunch of sinners!”.
Followed up, of course, with the message of Christ’s death and resurrection for sinners.