{"id":32615,"date":"2022-09-10T16:16:27","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/6-keys-to-life-changing-preaching\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:16:27","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:16:27","slug":"6-keys-to-life-changing-preaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/6-keys-to-life-changing-preaching\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Keys to Life-Changing Preaching"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By\u00a0Dave Earley<\/em><\/p>\n

Few persons have ever preached with the transforming power and practicality of John the Baptizer. When he preached, lives were changed. From the sample sermon described in\u00a0Luke 3:7\u20139\u00a0we can learn six significant aspects of teaching the Word with practicality and power.<\/p>\n

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  1. Listen Attentively to the Word of God.\u00a0Before John could give the powerful message recorded in Luke 3:7\u20139, he had to get the message from somewhere. This section begins with the words, \u201cThe word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert\u201d (Luke 3:2 NIV).\u00a0John had great power in his preaching because he got his message from God. Never underestimate the power of a God-given message. Nothing gives a preacher more God-based confidence and Spirit-anointed boldness than knowing that he has a message from God for his church.\u00a0John got his life-changing message from God. Without the Word of the Lord, he did not have anything to say\u2014and neither do we.<\/li>\n
  2. Clarify Memorably the Main Truth.\u00a0<\/strong>He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. . . . He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, . . . \u201cProduce fruit consistent with repentance.\u201d (Luke 3:3,7\u20138)\u00a0John\u2019s message was very simple. Repent!\u00a0His sermon had one main point\u2014repent; one big idea\u2014repent; and one primary point of application\u2014repent. It does not get any clearer, simpler, and more powerful than that.\u00a0Never underestimate the power of simplicity.<\/li>\n
  3. Question Convincingly.\u00a0<\/strong>In his high-impact sermon on repentance, John knifed through the religious clutter in his hearers\u2019 lives by asking several convicting, convincing questions. \u201cWhat do you think you\u2019re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to deflect God\u2019s judgment?\u201d and \u201cWhat counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming?\u201d God used these probing questions to deeply convict the crowds of their sin and prompt them to action.\u00a0Never underestimate the impact of a well-phrased, well-timed question.<\/li>\n
  4. Challenge Directly.\u00a0John gave his audience a direct challenge. He said, \u201cProduce fruit in keeping with repentance\u201d (Luke 3:8 NIV). In other words, \u201cWords won\u2019t cut it anymore. You say that you are real God-fearers, prove it.\u201d In other words, \u201cPut up or shut up.\u201d\u00a0This is what separates a sermon from a lecture and a powerful communicator from a boring professor. In the message on prayer that I mentioned above, I actually stopped at one point, asked the audience to one by one look me in the eye and say, \u201cI am challenged to pray more the rest of this year than I ever have in my life.\u201d\u00a0Never underestimate the power of a direct challenge.<\/li>\n
  5. Apply Specifically.\u00a0<\/strong>John\u2019s message went from really good to great after his challenge. This is because he not only told them what God said\u2014repent; what to do\u2014prove they have repented; he told them how to do it. He gave them very specific application.\u00a0Every passage of Scripture has one primary interpretation, yet many applications. Sermons also should have one main point of truth leading to one clear challenge that naturally leads to several points of application.\u00a0Effective preaching evokes change in the hearer. It is more than giving information. It is a means of transformation. Transformation never occurs without application.<\/li>\n
  6. Always Ultimately Point to Jesus.\u00a0John\u2019s ministry was primarily about preparing the way of the Lord (Luke 3:4). The bottom line in all gospel-centered preaching is exalting Jesus and pointing people to Him. In fact, at the end of his message, John explicitly and intentionally pointed the crowd back to Jesus, saying, \u201cI baptize you with water, but One is coming who is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals\u201d (Luke 3:16).\u00a0Never underestimate the power of Jesus.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    See also  What Churches Must Do to Reach Gen Z<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    You and I can\u2019t save a soul. We can\u2019t change a life. We can\u2019t heal a broken heart. We can\u2019t fix a marriage. We can\u2019t deliver someone out of addiction.
    But Jesus can.<\/p>\n

    Powerful, life-changing, high-impact communication is preaching that points people to Jesus.<\/p>\n

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    Related posts:<\/h3>\n
    What Do Pastors Believe About the End Times? What Do Pastors Believe About the Book of Revelation? 3 Ways to Reach Non-Religious People in Your Community <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By\u00a0Dave Earley Few persons have ever preached with the transforming power and practicality of John the Baptizer. When he preached, lives were changed. From the sample sermon described in\u00a0Luke 3:7\u20139\u00a0we can learn six significant aspects of teaching the Word with practicality and power. Listen Attentively to the Word of God.\u00a0Before John could give the powerful … Continue reading “6 Keys to Life-Changing Preaching”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32615\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}