TIPS ON GOOD SERMON DELIVERY AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS

            TIPS ON GOOD SERMON DELIVERY AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS 

A paper By Snr. Ap. Eni Offia at the Lagos Provincial Leadership Transformation Seminar held at Mt. Zion Int’l Headquarters on Saturday May 16, 2015.

CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION.

SERMON

Sermon is a religious discourse or an oration delivered by a member of the clergy as part of a worship service. It addresses a Biblical, theological, religious or moral topic. Its Elements include exposition, exhortation and application.

I will also want to define preaching as it will help our understanding especially as both are used interchangeably.

PREACHING.

The word preach in Hebrew is basar and it means to show forth, to publish, a messenger, bear news, bear tidings, to gladden with good news, or to announce. And the Greek word is kerusso and means to preach, publish or proclaim.

From the keywords in the above definition, a preacher is

a)      A MESSENGER. He is sent. He is on an errand, on a mission to perform a task.

b)      A BEARER OF GOOD NEWS: The message he is carrying on errand is good news to the people.

c)      AN ANNOUNCER: He is a messenger on a mission to announce the good news to the people he is sent to. Thus in preaching, you announce the good news.

In Mark 16:15 Christ sent His disciples and said to them, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel (good news) to every creature”

This is the job of the preacher. He is on a mission to preach the gospel and it is important to remember this when you are in the pulpit. Your job is to preach the gospel and the gospel alone.

THE GOSPEL IS THE MESSAGE:

 The gospel is translated from the Greek word “evangelion” to mean good news. It refers to the good news of the kingdom of God and of salvation by faith in Christ Jesus. It is the good news of what God has done to save man from condemnation, which has made it possible for sinful man to be reconciled to God and live righteously. It is the good news of what God has done to free man from the bondage and dominion of Satan and bring him into the liberty that is in Christ Jesus. It is the good news that man can have the spiritual life, that he can live the spiritual life, that he can be free from sinfulness and bondage to sin to manifest the righteousness of God. That in Christ Jesus he is set free from the power of death to receive the life that is in Christ Jesus. All this is made possible to man through the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Romans 1:16 – 17 says two things about the gospel

1)      It is the power of God for the salvation of anyone who believes.

2)      In it the righteousness of God is revealed.

Thus through the gospel the two fundamental problems of sin and condemnation of man is solved.  This is good and exciting news, the crux and kennel of every preacher’s message.

NOTE

v  Preaching is more than a lecture; it is an encounter with God as He speaks to His people. Through preaching God is primarily seeking to bring people into fellowship with Him, and the Holy Spirit seeks to move the will of the listener into action. The goal is not just to educate but to cause spiritual transformation and challenge Christians into action.

v  It is to develop and renew the mind, and persuade people to godliness.  Preaching should inspire people to greater faith and service to God.

v  The place of prayer; no sermon should be preached except it is soaked in prayers.

A preacher must understand the job he has to do and what he has to do to perform this job. This is the beginning of a good sermon.

STRUCTURING YOUR SERMON

1)      THE TITLE: It captures the message in a form that is easy to understand. It gives direction to the sermon. It should be brief, catchy, arouse interest, and easy to remember. It should capture the essence of the message.

2)      INTRODUCTION The introduction is very important. It is here that you awaken interest or lose it. People are going to decide during the introduction to listen to you or not. You must plan it well and plan it prayerfully. Here you begin to engage the audience. You can pose questions like “When is it best to die?” “How can man attain perfection?” “is it practicable to love your enemies?” Think about it.” “Why do Christians suffer in spite of promises of blessings?” You can also state the purpose of your sermon (what you will want the people to know) in the introduction and thereby set a direction for the sermon. You can also try identifying with the people in their grabbling with existential issues. When they know that you are part of the world, human, and facing the same challenges they face, you will connect better with them and get their attention.

3)      THE BODY: This is where you develop the message in the Topic or Theme. It is much deeper that the introduction and leads to the conclusion. Laying out the sermon will depend on the sermon type, which is broadly categorized into two.

a)       Topical message: This is the more popular method of preaching and focuses on one thought, a need or a problem people are facing. Here you chose a topic like Loving your wife, or Overcoming sin, examine it from the scripture and deal with it as a onetime message. The advantage is that it allows flexibility not found in following a long series and it is fresh every week with new topics. This avoids boredom that may come with a very lengthy series that is preached week after week. The topical approach is good for new preachers who may not be deep in knowledge and experience.

The major disadvantage of this message type is that it does not go in-depth, and may leave the people with a shallow and scattered view of the Bible or a topic, text or doctrine.

b)       Expository message: This method takes a text from the scripture, goes in-depth, expounds, analyzes, and explains as much as possible everything about the text in its aspects. It will go deeper into the historical and cultural setting of the Bible passage being preached, and then build a bridge to situate it and apply it to people of today. This method will explain what the text originally said, what the passage means and how it applies today. This will usually come as a series. You may spend weeks dealing with the text. In this type of message, you will need to do the following.

i)                    Read the passage many times to develop the topic or theme.

ii)                  Do background study of the passage. This will include the history, culture, geography, language and dispensation of the passage.

iii)                Discover what the passage meant to the original hearers

iv)                Gather appropriate illustration for the passage.

This sermon type gives the people a better overview and understanding of what the Bible is saying. You know where you are going week after week and nobody will say you are targeting them. Furthermore, you will not run out of ideas unlike a situation where you have to preach a new topic each week. It goes deep and exposes the people to the richness of God’s anointing word, produces strong and knowledgeable Christians in the process.

4)      CLOSING: This depends on the type of sermon and the purpose of the sermon. The closing must be planned, so that it will end properly and be effective.

i)                    A sermon that addresses sin and other types of short coming may call for a decision.

ii)                  A sermon of encouragement, may call for a long prayer.

iii)                A teaching sermon may require a summary of the points.

You will need to choose the most appropriate way to end your sermon in such a way as will sustain the after taste and deepen the message on the people. Bearing in mind the objective of the sermon, you will need to plan a conclusion that will help you achieve this. Ask yourself the following questions

·         How can I do a conclusion that will help accomplish the purpose of the sermon?

·         How can the conclusion challenge, motivate, encourage, and bring conviction.

It is very wrong to end the message abruptly. Some people when they have succeeded in having the people’s attention would cut short the sermon instead of using it to pass the message. Such method has no evangelistic value, rather it is an act in self-glorification.

TIPS ON ENDING.

a)      A summary of the teaching: This should evoke emotion and excitement to hold people’s attention.

b)      A relevant illustration that ends the sermon

c)      A final question to think about

d)     A prayer of closing and commitment

e)      A specific action to be made.

COMMUNICATING YOUR SERMON

1)      Use illustrations: Illustrations paint  pictures, and give examples to aid understanding. You can find illustrations from

i)                    The Bible: It is rich with stories and events that are relevant today and apply to every aspect of life. Jesus quoted copiously from the Bible to illustrate His points. Mk 12:14, Mk 2:25-26

ii)                  Life: Day to day struggles and experiences offer a rich source of illustrations. It can be personal experiences or the experience of others.

2)      Use catchy stories – Biblical stories or real life experiences. According to Dr Danny McCain, “Africans are story oriented and stories have been the main teaching tool in African society for hundreds of years.” Stories will add life and color to the sermon. Personal stories help the speaker identify with the people, and the people connect with him. It gives an emotional touch to the sermon. It helps the people see that you are not supernatural, that the challenges of daily living also apply to you. That you are not superhuman saying things or putting burdens on them that are easy on you.  Christ came in flesh and blood so He can identify with carnal man.

3)      Use proverbs

4)      Quote Jesus: He is the master teacher therefore quote him where possible to illuminate the topic.

5)      Quote other commentators for insight and to add expert voices. But care should be taken to ensure that what the scripture says remains supreme and undiluted as you do so.

All these must be on point and not just be told for fun or to entertain the people. They must help make the point and help understanding.

USING NOTES IN PREACHING.

NOTELESS PREACHING:  In preaching without notes, the preacher is full of the sermon and does not need to follow any note. He has prepared well and is comfortable with the language, topic and organization of the sermon. He has a good memory and is able to follow the direction of the sermon without the help of notes. The advantage is that it enables the preacher to flow without the line of thoughts being broken by reference to notes and inhibit smooth communication.

PREACHING WITH LIMITED NOTES: This could be simple notes in form of an outline or extensive notes. There is no rule on this. Each speaker would have to discover what is suitable to him. In this type, you write out clearly the introduction and closing of the sermon capturing clearly what you want to say. Limited notes help guide you in the flow of points and provide a fall back if you become nervous or if fatigue sets in.

PREACHING WITH FULL NOTES:  This means the preacher has prepared a full text of the sermon, but does not preach from it word for word. It does not mean reading a sermon, but preparing fully what to say in a note. This type makes a speaker go into his study to prepare, think, meditate, pray, write and improve language and grammar. It’s good for clarity of thoughts. A speaker who prepares full notes, is trusting the Holy Spirit to lead during the study as well as the speaking time. As a speaker studies and writes the sermon, he will constantly find better ways to organize and say things. He would do them better and better as he spends more time in study and meditation.

READING A SERMON: This is writing a full message and reading them to the congregation. This type require drama and emotion in the voice of the speaker. Emphasis on the appropriate words and ideas with body gestures to stress the points is needful. It has the advantage of making the speaker prepare well in advance. It avoids a situation where a speaker is sorry he did not say certain things correctly when he was speaking. This is because the manuscript ensures the message is communicated the way a speaker desires. The problem with this type is that it may not capture the people’s attention for more than a few minutes.

THINGS THAT NEGATE GOOD SERMON

1)      Late sermon in service: People are tired, hungry, and children become restless. This effects concentration and assimilation negatively.

2)      Bad public address system: This causing interference, breakings and inaudibility. It also causes distractions.

3)      Starting a sermon with excuses

4)      Too long a preaching: People tire in about 30 minutes and most of what needs to be said can be said in 30 minutes.

5)      Poor environment: Dirty environment, rowdiness, poor lightings, old pews, old and shaky pulpit, inadequate sitting arrangement, lack of fans etc.

6)      Poor preparation: inadequate or no prayers and meditation in the word.

7)      Using the pulpit to address things of personal interest and to settle scores

8)      Turning the sermon into a history class

9)      Difficulties: Economic, emotional, domestic, and other pressures.

10)  Negative approach and examples that tend to portray the people as good for nothings, the greater sinners or other things that create fear, portray God in bad light and increase the stress on the people. The average man lives in a world of problems; do not add to them by too many negative examples.