On Evaluating a Sermon

I know. It sounds really unspiritual to say we would ever evaluate someone’s sermon. If we are to follow Jesus, we need to know if what we hear from people is, in fact, from Him. It is not bad to think well about what we hear from the pulpit. There is good preaching. There is bad preaching. We are a discerning people.

I’m in a phase right now which I am affirming and refining my philosophy of ministry. It’s just good to think through everything on a semi-regular basis because we grow in Christ and are always reforming our ways to His words. No one is ever done growing. I like to share my thoughts with others. Today, I am thinking about what it means to have a godly sermon. God has been restoring my excitement and vision for preaching in the church over the past couple of years. Honestly, my own preaching has changed significantly in a short time. While some things have been affirmed for me, others have changed significantly. I use far fewer words than I once did. I have learned that lengthy sermons, even if they sound great, are typically a sign of pride in a preacher. At least, that was the case for me. What were hour-long sermons became more like 30-45 minute sermons because I worked to cut out everything that was me and trust in the sufficiency of Scripture. I’m not saying there is no place for longer sermons. But the text should drive our length, not what we think we have to say. I have come to generally distrust anything too lengthy because all Christians, including preachers, are actually instructed to speak less to say more (cf. James 1:19; Ephesians 4:29). The passionate displays of people rarely accomplish God’s righteousness. It seems to me that many people have moved a long way from the sufficiency of scripture in preaching. If we have to add our hype, whatever form that takes, to the sermon to make it more appealing, there’s probably not much that will sustain the health of the Christian body. As preachers, we are here to feed the people a good meal, not junk food. We forget that Christ is the chef, not us. We are waiters.

A sermon doesn’t have to be heresy to be bad. All we have to do to preach a bad sermon is forget about the sufficiency of Scripture. Consider what the Bible tells us:

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (1 Timothy 3:16-17). 

My words are not profitable for other people. God’s words are. If I spend my time speaking God’s words, they will accomplish much. If I spend my time speaking my words, whatever I build is for me and not God—it won’t last. The Scriptures speak to the condition of the church in large part. I think over a vast majority of sermons I have heard in my lifetime, and they pretty much follow the same format:

1. Open with a personal story, joke, or other hook.
2. Read a passage of Scripture or organize your topic to flip between many passages of scripture.
3. Hopefully talk about the passage of Scripture read.
4. Make an illustration or provide an object lesson.
5. Close the sermon with a challenge, application, and/or invitation.

In many cases, preachers rely on their charisma to carry the sermon instead of providing real meat for the congregation to chew on. They will jump to effective worldly homiletics in their sermon prep instead of dividing the word of truth rightly. Charisma may create followings, but it doesn’t produce mature disciples. I know because I used to rely on a certain level of charisma and loudness when I preached. People like it, but they didn’t benefit much. It is how I tripled the size of churches I pastored, but when I left, so did the people I won to the church. The stories, intrigue, and excitement produced “followers,” not disciples. Sadly, that’s where most of our churches today are. Their death is insured by the very thing they think will bring life. This is why Jesus said what he  did to the church in Sardis,

To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelation 3:1-6).

Jesus chastised the church because it was going beyond what it received—His word. After all, Jesus gave His disciples a simple instruction in His Sermon on the Mount,

For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:18-19). 

The focus is always to be God’s word alone. Notice the text, those who don’t keep and teach the Scriptures aren’t necessarily heretics, but they are least in the kingdom of Heaven according to Christ’s words. A sermon can sound good and Biblical, but still ultimately hurt rather than help, as Jesus made clear later in His sermon on the mount,

Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’ (Matthew 7:22-23).

Throughout Scripture, the command is always to never add or subtract anything from the text God has given,

You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you (Deuteronomy 4:2). 

I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book (Revelation 22:18-19).

Preaching is a serious business, and not a role to be taken lightly. It is why James warned,

Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment (James 3:1).

Needless to say, if we are ten minutes into a sermon and haven’t read the Bible, God’s words are an afterthought rather than the message. Unfortunately, I’ve seen some guys stand on stage during a sermon time for an hour talking about all kinds of things while the Bible sits there closed on the stand. I hear people telling their own stories and end up talking more about themselves than Christ. People boast in their own successes or the successes of their churches, trying to paint good pictures and get people excited, and effectively raise themselves up instead of, like we are taught in Scripture, boasting only in our weakness so God’s strength is made evident (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:9).

Some people also simply fail to exposit the text. In their sermon prep, they begin with a topic and go fishing for a text they can make work for the topic they want to talk about. Come sermon time, the lack of preparation is evident because they will read the text and then talk about a lot of stuff not addressed by the text. This problem in particular is exacerbated around holidays because “preachers” are trying to find a verse to fit a holiday. They’ll have three points, but those points are not provided by the Bible. Even if there is some good practical advice, the congregation was still served a mediocre meal rather than the word of God—which actually sustains us.

Some illustrations can be good. I’m not typically a fan because I think they most often stand in the way of the text rather than helping to explain it. Illustrations and object lessons take a lot of time when we could simply say what we mean and move on so people don’t feel like their time is being wasted. Much of the time, people will remember the cool illustration but not the Biblical truth it was meant to illustrate, so it is counter-productive.

Because people always feel a need to challenge others or make application at the end of a sermon, sometimes they will force it and apply the text in a way that it doesn’t actually apply. David slaying Goliath does not apply to our struggle against our “giants.” That is a narcissistic way of reading and applying the text, yet because preachers feel they have to be relevant and issue challenges, virtually everyone talks about us slaying our giants as if there is any real connection in the text at all. 

All this being said, I want to ask what makes a sermon biblical and good. What makes the words coming out of our mouths honoring to God and nutritious for the congregation? What should we major on and what should we cut out altogether? Ask any preacher, and you’ll get a different answer. While some people advocate for reading the text only, others allow for anything they think will attract people into church. If you are listening to a sermon, how can you know the sermon is actually good for you and the church you are in, and that you are not merely being manipulated by the hype but not consuming anything nutritious? Below, I am including a biblical sermon evaluation checklist, sermon prep checklist, and heart-check list so we can determine what is worth saying from the pulpit and what is worth listening to.

I have one final note before you look at the checklists. Though evaluation is important, it is also important for us not to become overtly critical people. No preacher is perfect. So, we should always strive for grace in our evaluations. It is selfish to evaluate the preacher before loving him enough to do it with much grace and understanding. After all, isn’t that what Christianity is all about? Grace.

I wrote this for myself as I am thinking about my own philosophy of ministry. Do not allow an evaluation form to become a source for hatred, a critical spirit, or division. Use it to grow.

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