Preaching is serious business. So is listening to a sermon. For those of us who take preaching seriously as it should be taken, there is sometimes the desire to evaluate the sermon. Sermon evaluation is not necessarily a bad thing. There are indeed good reasons and ways to do so. I do believe that a preacher must always be striving toward improving his preaching. It is a good thing to read books and blogs; and have conversations with fellow preachers on the task of preaching. However, in this post, I would like to give some reasons to not evaluate the sermon itself. At the outset I must note that the type of preaching I am speaking of is doctrinally sound, expository preaching. If someone is not faithfully preaching the Word, they should be evaluated and confronted appropriately. But for those who are faithful\u2026<\/p>\n
Preaching a sermon is quite a different thing than any other sort of public speaking. Therefore, to evaluate a sermon by the same parameters as you would a political speech, for example, is inappropriate. There is a special power in preaching the Word of God that it is not present in other type of public speaking. In the preached Word, the Holy Spirit is present, applying the message to the hearts of believers. In this, the work of the Holy Spirit is not something that can so much be evaluated. It is possible that over-evaluating, over-structuring, and over-regulating could hinder the work of the Spirit. This is not something we want to do. Without the Holy Spirit putting into effect the preached Word, our efforts are futile.<\/p>\n
This is not to say that it is not at all about the delivery. Nor is this to say that preachers shouldn\u2019t work on the art of delivery. This is more to say that the listener should not spend his time critiquing the delivery of the sermon. It is possible to give too much attention to the delivery, and miss the message and the work of the Spirit. The Spirit can work in the poorest of deliveries, so long as the content preached is the Word of God.<\/p>\n
Someone who is the most skilled of public speakers, yet does not preach the Word, is not a good preacher. Someone else who may stutter, yet is faithful to preach the Word, is a far better preacher. Essentially, it\u2019s not less about being \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad\u201d, and more about being faithful. There, the Holy Spirit can work.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Possible Consequences of Sermon Evaluation<\/strong><\/p>\n It is hard enough not to fall into the temptation of wanting to preach our \u201cbest sermon ever.\u201d If that becomes our goal, it is a wrong pursuit. Let our goal be faithfulness.<\/p>\n This goes for the preacher and the hearer. The preached Word is not a product or a service that is to be offered. Our aim should not be to offer the most well-polished product or service in town. Again, this is not to say that preachers shouldn\u2019t strive to preach well. This is a reminder that the sermon is a proclamation directly from the God of heaven.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let us be faithful. And let us at least consider these things before we evaluate another sermon.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Preaching is serious business. So is listening to a sermon. For those of us who take preaching seriously as it should be taken, there is sometimes the desire to evaluate the sermon. Sermon evaluation is not necessarily a bad thing. There are indeed good reasons and ways to do so. I do believe that a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,27,1],"tags":[451,452,678,698,699,872,974,975,1024,1114],"class_list":{"0":"post-1107","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-faith","7":"category-gospel","8":"category-uncategorized","9":"tag-evaluating","10":"tag-evalutation","11":"tag-jenkins","12":"tag-josh","13":"tag-joshua","14":"tag-not","15":"tag-preachers","16":"tag-preaching","17":"tag-reasons","18":"tag-sermon","19":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1368,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/a-short-practical-guide-to-preaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":1107,"position":0},"title":"A Short, Practical Guide to Preaching","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"April 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"There is not a one size fits all method or structure of preaching. There are many ways to study, structure, and faithfully deliver the Word of God to God\u2019s people. That being said, I will mention three important elements to consider in your study and delivery of God\u2019s Word. You\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"bible\"","block_context":{"text":"bible","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/tag\/bible\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/04\/pulpit.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2420,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/simple-preaching-like-c-h-spurgeon\/","url_meta":{"origin":1107,"position":1},"title":"Simple Preaching like C.H. Spurgeon","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"July 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I have learned so much about preaching from reading Charles Spurgeon. Whether it is reading what he says about preaching, or watching his example of preaching by reading his sermons, it is evident that his nickname, the \"Prince of Preachers\" is fitting. I was struck again by his example as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "theology"","block_context":{"text":"theology","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/theology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/07\/70948.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/07\/70948.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/07\/70948.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/07\/70948.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3518,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-life-and-ministry-of-dr-martyn-lloyd-jones-lessons-for-the-christian-minister\/","url_meta":{"origin":1107,"position":2},"title":"The Life and Ministry of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Lessons for the Christian Minister","author":"Joshua Mills","date":"April 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"INTRODUCTION The greatest need for the church today is to have faithful men who will proclaim the whole counsel of God. Instead of feeding the sheep, preachers today have simply sought to entertain them. The aim of this paper is to look at the life and preaching ministry of David\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Church History"","block_context":{"text":"Church History","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/church-history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/04\/640x480.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/04\/640x480.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/04\/640x480.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":893,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/fresh-for-preaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":1107,"position":3},"title":"Fresh for Preaching","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"April 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"As a preacher who strives to be gospel centered, and to ever and always preach the gospel, and for the many other preachers who do the same, it can sometimes seem difficult at to always preach the same gospel, and keep it the forefront. That is not because we tire\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Flavor\"","block_context":{"text":"Flavor","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/tag\/flavor\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1299,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/proceed-at-once-to-the-text\/","url_meta":{"origin":1107,"position":4},"title":"Proceed at Once to the Text","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"March 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I was reading a sermon by Charles Spurgeon not too long ago, wherein his opening remarks he stated, \u201cLet us proceed at once to the text!\u201d That little, almost insignificant phrase struck me in a way that made me pause. 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