Online sermons

Who are those sermons for? You know, the ones that someone (possibly you) dutifully posts to your church website each week.

We’ve just refreshed our church website and as part of that process I determined to sit down and think why we were actually posting our sermons online.

Here’s my (perhaps surprising) conclusion: the only reason we post our sermons online is for members of the church who want them. Perhaps they were absent one week? Or sick? Or teaching in Sunday School? Or just wanted to rehear what they listened to live? It could be one of a number of reasons, but in each case, we’re posting them for (in our case) members of Christchurch Harborough, not for you.

You may be surprised by my conclusion because such posting has become an industry in itself. And, of course, before the advent of the Internet, we had CD ministries and before that, cassette tapes. Remember those? It’s a wonder that Spurgeon ever got by. Although of course, in his day, his sermon was transcribed, printed and on sale within a few days of his preaching it.

But I still want to maintain the priority. Making sermons available – however you do it – is primarily for church members. There are a number of reasons for this.

First, a good sermon is preached by someone who knows you. It should connect with you, as part of a church family in a particular setting and a particular time. It takes the text, expounds it faithfully and applies it relevantly. It should not be generically applied, as though it was spoken to every Christian in every part of the world who ever lived. It is a sermon in a moment in time in a place in time. A sermon from St Adrian’s (is there such a saint?) cannot do this.

Second, a good sermon is a communal experience. It is not something to be received individually but applied corporately. Some applications will apply to the whole congregation. Others may be individual but need to be worked through with help from others. Making sermon listening a 1-2-1 experience can be profoundly unhelpful and goes against the thrust of church history.

Third, a ‘local’ sermon gives you opportunity to dialogue. Sermons may be a monologue at point of delivery (though this will vary from setting to setting), but they are never a monologue in their entirety. The ability to be able to confirm with others what you heard, ask questions, press for more explanation, query understanding, and pray-in applications, is always essential to a good sermon. We divorce this kind of conversation from preaching at our peril. So, do Internet sermons have any place at all? Is there a risk of throwing out the proverbial baby with the bath water? Of course there is; let me suggest some circumstances where it’s useful to have access to another church’s archive.

First, if you’re moving home, it can be an excellent way to assess a prospective church’s ministry. In fact, it might be even be a factor in deciding whether you want to move somewhere in the first place. It should not be the only way you assess a church, but it is surely one of the key ways.

Second, if you attend a church where the teaching is dismal and there is very little you can do about that, it can be an excellent way to keep going. There are other things you should consider, by the way (perhaps more on this another time). However, such messages can sustain barren times.

Third. If you are wrestling with a particular book or passage, someone else’s insights can help. Let’s say you’re reading through Job, as I am at the moment. Maybe you don’t have any books on Job, but you notice Anytown Evangelical (whom you know and trust) had a series a while back. Perhaps it might help.

Fourth, if you’re hungry for more than your church can give and you have time to spare, such sermons can be a great way to develop and grow. Listening to someone else’s sermons can give the boost you need.

But in each case, online messages are never a replacement for your pastor’s preaching. They can be a help, an adjunct, an illumination, but they are not a local church sermon honed just for you. As someone once wisely said to me: ‘John Piper is not your pastor.’

Online sermons – helpful? Yes, sometimes. Essential? Hardly. Let’s learn to cherish what’s right in front of us.