Top 20 Christ-Centered Expository Preaching Checklist
- Preach the text/Preach Christ and His Kingdom (redemptive history, epoch, person & work of Christ, eschatological fulfillment in the Kingdom of Christ)
- Honor the Authors of the text
- Apply the text in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
- Preach with authority as an ambassador of Christ
- Understand preaching as an eschatological act of spiritual war that demands prayer and Spirit-given unction
- Preach the sermon and not the outline
- Remember the outline is primarily for you and not the congregation
- Prepare sermon notes in thought blocks with orality mind
- Keep your audience in mind as you prepare
- Concretize illustrations and application bringing theological truth down the ladder of abstraction
- Use an illustration like a window not like a painting
- Start strong. Do not slowly ramp up. Finish strong. Do not introduce new ideas in the conclusion
- Do not narrate your sermon moves and make sure sermon moves are connected and not abstracted from one another (why I prefer to say moves and not points)
- Avoid statistics and lists (if used—personalize)
- Do not lose the text or allow the congregation to lose the text as you preach
- Do not lose the genre as you preach
- Make sure the sermon honors the form and the feel of the text
- Always bring the gospel to bear on religious Pharisees, Sadducees and idols
- Remember that the Gospel is the key to justification and sanctification
- Ask – Did Jesus have to be resurrected for this sermon to work? If not, start over
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
Thanks for this! This is a very good list. I’ve actually been gathering everything I can get on expository preaching lately and this is a perfect article for my research! I love number 20.
Ray,
Thanks for the encouragement! Hope you continue to find the site helpful.
[…] Top 20 Christ-Centered Preaching Checklist. A great tool, from a great preacher. […]
[…] Top 20 Christ-Centered Expository Preaching Checklist Here’s a good article to print out and read over before preaching any sermon. […]
[…] David Prince: […]