Is your sermon really done? Four final questions to ask.

Finished! Or is it….?

We’ve all been there, and most of us still are. Writing a sermon or talk, and then the moment you click 'save' - if you’re anything like me - it’s downstairs for a coffee and the sermon doesn’t get another look-in before that final read through.

But had you actually finished preparing? Most likely, not quite.

How about a mental check list that you go through before that coffee? Yours will be different to mine, and may not include any of the following. But here are a handful questions which may help to avoid that, 'Why on earth didn’t I think of that before I delivered it?' moment - and help to tighten things up. Just a little bit.

1. Is it too long?

It’ll hardly ever be too short. And many preachers tend to preach longer sermons as they get older. Is there stuff that should really have been left in the study? Does anyone other than you really need to know this? Many of us try hard to say too much, when it would improve things to just simply say less, better.

2. Are the illustrations accurate?

Do they make the same point I’m trying to make? It’s amazing how many illustrations are in the same county as the point we want to make, but not the same town, let alone the same street. The very best illustrations live next door to the point you’re wanting to get across. They share a postcode. So ask yourself if your illustrations are saying what you are saying. And if not, could they be sharpened?

3. Have I applied it thoroughly?

That is, have I used a variety of applications for instances which will scratch where everyone is itching? Are there any demographic groups that just don’t get a look in from this sermon? And on a sliding scale that goes from ‘passing mention’ (on the left) to ‘I’ve been nailed to the wall’ (on the right), which end are you nearest to in your applications? Could or should you take half a step to the right? Or the left? But more about this another time.

4. At the end of it, will they know what you wanted to say?

In fact, do you know what you wanted to say? No, that’s not a joke. Sometimes I wonder what the preacher was trying to say, and other times I have even wondered if the preacher knew what they were trying to say. If you’re not clear about what you want to say, that’s a sure-fire way of making sure that no-one else will be either.

And finally, did you pray? Really pray?

Good! Time to go and enjoy a coffee!