Good Sermon, Pastor

May 28, 1999 - © Rev. Jim Plocher, Burlington, Iowa

Acts 2:1-21

Theme: Good Sermon, Pastor

I. Only if the Spirit cut to your heart

II. Only if the Spirit moved your faith

Have you ever walked out of church, shook the pastor's hand, and said, "Good Sermon"? I suppose most of us have. As a pastor, I wonder what that comment means. Did something make you think that day, or was the message suited to the struggles you face? Or did I really give it to everyone else and make you into a Pharisee? What if you don't comment "Good Sermon" the next week? Does that mean I was boring, out of touch, or dry?

Today I want to talk about what makes a sermon good, bad, better or worse. We celebrate the Festival of Pentecost, the Coming of the Holy Spirit. Peter stood up and preached a stunning sermon. Do you remember what he said? For that matter, our lessons for the past several weeks have related sermons from the book of Acts. Do you remember any of them as good sermons? Have any of my sermons stuck in your head? What makes a sermon a good sermon? It must be filled with the Holy Spirit so that it cuts to the heart and so that it moves your faith. Only then is a sermon a good sermon.

As we look at the account of Pentecost, several things about sermons stick out. Above all of them, however, is this: a sermon is good only if through it the Holy Spirit cut to your heart. For the Spirit to do that, you have to be listening. On Pentecost, plenty of people were listening. The disciples were all gathered together in a room. The miraculous sound of a rushing wind and the tongues of fire made people come running from all over. A large crowd gathered for a good sermon.

A sermon is not judged better if more people listen to it. Yet the best sermon possible does no one any good if they don't hear it. That is why I usually preach sermons to a group of people gathered in the pews. I also preach in a language you can understand. The disciples were moved by the Spirit to speak in many languages on Pentecost. The crowd commented that they heard the message in their native tongues. If I spoke in Chinese or German or Latin or Spanish, it would do most of you no good. A good sermon has people listening, paying attention, and understanding the message.

The copyright of the article Good Sermon, Pastor in Lutheranism is owned by Rev. Jim Plocher, Burlington, Iowa. Permission to republish Good Sermon, Pastor in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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