5 things to avoid
Five Things to Avoid in Your Preaching
How to Stay Faithful, Clear, and Spirit-Led in the Pulpit
Every preacher has a voice. Some have volume too. But what matters most isn't how loud you are or how smooth you sound—it's whether your message is anchored in Scripture, fueled by the Holy Spirit, and aimed at the hearts of real people in real pews.
Over the years, I've heard sermons that sizzled but didn't stick. I've watched rookies fresh out of seminary swing for the theological fences and completely miss the congregation. I've sat through messages that felt more like lectures, and others that felt more like TED Talks with a verse taped on at the end.
If God has called you to preach, then preach with all your might—but preach with wisdom, humility, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. That means knowing what to pursue, and just as importantly, what to avoid.
Here are five things to steer clear of if you want to preach faithfully, fruitfully, and powerfully.
1. Avoid Preaching Without Prayer
The first step in sermon preparation isn't pulling out the commentaries or opening up Logos. It's hitting your knees. If the sermon isn't born in the prayer closet, don't be surprised when it falls flat in the pulpit.
Preaching is not merely a transfer of information. It is a spiritual transaction. You are declaring the Word of the living God to a congregation filled with souls who need encouragement, conviction, direction, and transformation.
2 Timothy 4:2 says, "Preach the word!" Not perform the word. Not pontificate about the word. Preach it—with urgency, clarity, and the unction of the Spirit.
Charles Bridges wrote, "Prayer is the conduit through which all real preaching flows."
No prayer, no power. No fire, no fruit. Period.
You may study for hours, polish every point, and rehearse your delivery, but if you haven't pleaded with God for His hand to rest on your message, you've missed the main ingredient. Ask God to prepare the soil of the congregation's heart before you cast the seed.
Pray before you study. Pray while you study. Pray after you study. Pray before you preach. Pray during the invitation. Pray for the Spirit to do what only He can.
2. Avoid Preaching Over People's Heads
God didn't call you to impress a room full of scholars. He called you to feed His sheep. If your message is too complex for the average 14-year-old in your congregation, you've likely missed your audience.
Sermons shouldn't require a theological dictionary and a decoder ring. Clarity isn't compromise. Simplicity isn't shallowness. Jesus used everyday language about sheep, coins, fish, and farmers.
"Profound truth, simply stated." That's not just a clever phrase—it was Adrian Rogers' entire approach to preaching. He believed that the deeper the doctrine, the clearer the delivery ought to be. You're not watering down the Word when you speak plainly—you're making it livable.
As Haddon Robinson once said, "Get the hay down where the sheep can eat it."
Use Greek only when it brings light—not to show off. If you need to define a word, define it simply. Don't teach people a vocabulary lesson. Teach them how to obey Jesus.
And remember Spurgeon's warning: "Some preachers put the food so high that neither sheep nor lambs can reach it. They seem to have read the text, 'Feed my giraffes.'"
You're not watering down the Word when you make it understandable. You're lifting it up so people can see the glory of Christ more clearly.
3. Avoid Preaching Without a Text
You don't have to preach verse by verse through books to preach the Bible. But if your sermon doesn't come from the text, it's not a sermon—it's a speech with a few verses tacked on.
You might have some good stories. You might even have some good advice. But if you don't start with the Bible, center your message in the Bible, and let the Bible shape your sermon's flow, tone, and aim—you're off the rails.
Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword..."
Your words aren't living and powerful. His are.
As Martyn Lloyd-Jones insisted, true preaching is not man's ideas lightly seasoned with Scripture. It is the heralding of divine truth with authority and power. It is text-driven, Spirit-empowered, and Christ-centered.
Start with the passage. Stay with the passage. Let every point, illustration, and application serve the text.
4. Avoid Preaching Without Application
Sermons aren't term papers. They're not designed to be admired for their structure and citations. They're meant to move people.
Biblical preaching should be rooted in truth and aimed at transformation.
Every sermon ought to answer the basic question: So what?
What does this mean for my marriage?
How does this shape how I raise my kids?
What should I repent of?
How should I respond?
Al Mohler once told our preaching class, "In every text, there is something to learn and something to do."
Warren Wiersbe added, "Truth without application leads to pride. Application without truth leads to error. But truth applied leads to transformation."
Don't let your people walk away thinking, "That was interesting." Let them walk away thinking, "That changes how I live."
Show them how to take the truth and walk it out in traffic, at the ball field, in the break room, and around the kitchen table.
5. Avoid Preaching Without the Gospel
If Jesus isn't the center of your sermon, you're telling the wrong story.
You can preach about marriage and miss the true Bridegroom. You can preach about parenting and never point to the Father. You can preach on finances and ignore the Treasure in Heaven.
We are not life coaches. We are not moral cheerleaders. We are preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ—crucified, risen, reigning, and returning.
You may not extend a full-blown crusade-type invitation every week, but every sermon should breathe gospel air. Don't assume the people in the pew already know the gospel—or that they've truly responded to it. Don't save it for a special Sunday. Weave it into every sermon like salt in a good meal—subtle, essential, and always present.
As Adrian Rogers rightly said, "The gospel is not the ABCs of Christianity. It is the A to Z."
Preach Jesus. Preach the cross. Preach grace. Preach repentance and faith. Preach the gospel until people see that their only hope in life and death is Christ alone.
Final Word: Preach With Purpose
Preaching isn't a performance—it's a stewardship. When you stand in the pulpit, you're not giving a talk. You're delivering a word from the throne room of Heaven.
Don't get distracted. Don't get detoured. Don't get diluted. Preach the Word with clarity, courage, compassion, and conviction.
Stay close to Jesus. Stay in the Word. Stay on your knees. Love your people well. And when you step into the pulpit, preach—as Richard Baxter said—like a dying man to dying men, never sure to preach again.
How to Stay Faithful, Clear, and Spirit-Led in the Pulpit
Every preacher has a voice. Some have volume too. But what matters most isn't how loud you are or how smooth you sound—it's whether your message is anchored in Scripture, fueled by the Holy Spirit, and aimed at the hearts of real people in real pews.
Over the years, I've heard sermons that sizzled but didn't stick. I've watched rookies fresh out of seminary swing for the theological fences and completely miss the congregation. I've sat through messages that felt more like lectures, and others that felt more like TED Talks with a verse taped on at the end.
If God has called you to preach, then preach with all your might—but preach with wisdom, humility, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. That means knowing what to pursue, and just as importantly, what to avoid.
Here are five things to steer clear of if you want to preach faithfully, fruitfully, and powerfully.
1. Avoid Preaching Without Prayer
The first step in sermon preparation isn't pulling out the commentaries or opening up Logos. It's hitting your knees. If the sermon isn't born in the prayer closet, don't be surprised when it falls flat in the pulpit.
Preaching is not merely a transfer of information. It is a spiritual transaction. You are declaring the Word of the living God to a congregation filled with souls who need encouragement, conviction, direction, and transformation.
2 Timothy 4:2 says, "Preach the word!" Not perform the word. Not pontificate about the word. Preach it—with urgency, clarity, and the unction of the Spirit.
Charles Bridges wrote, "Prayer is the conduit through which all real preaching flows."
No prayer, no power. No fire, no fruit. Period.
You may study for hours, polish every point, and rehearse your delivery, but if you haven't pleaded with God for His hand to rest on your message, you've missed the main ingredient. Ask God to prepare the soil of the congregation's heart before you cast the seed.
Pray before you study. Pray while you study. Pray after you study. Pray before you preach. Pray during the invitation. Pray for the Spirit to do what only He can.
2. Avoid Preaching Over People's Heads
God didn't call you to impress a room full of scholars. He called you to feed His sheep. If your message is too complex for the average 14-year-old in your congregation, you've likely missed your audience.
Sermons shouldn't require a theological dictionary and a decoder ring. Clarity isn't compromise. Simplicity isn't shallowness. Jesus used everyday language about sheep, coins, fish, and farmers.
"Profound truth, simply stated." That's not just a clever phrase—it was Adrian Rogers' entire approach to preaching. He believed that the deeper the doctrine, the clearer the delivery ought to be. You're not watering down the Word when you speak plainly—you're making it livable.
As Haddon Robinson once said, "Get the hay down where the sheep can eat it."
Use Greek only when it brings light—not to show off. If you need to define a word, define it simply. Don't teach people a vocabulary lesson. Teach them how to obey Jesus.
And remember Spurgeon's warning: "Some preachers put the food so high that neither sheep nor lambs can reach it. They seem to have read the text, 'Feed my giraffes.'"
You're not watering down the Word when you make it understandable. You're lifting it up so people can see the glory of Christ more clearly.
3. Avoid Preaching Without a Text
You don't have to preach verse by verse through books to preach the Bible. But if your sermon doesn't come from the text, it's not a sermon—it's a speech with a few verses tacked on.
You might have some good stories. You might even have some good advice. But if you don't start with the Bible, center your message in the Bible, and let the Bible shape your sermon's flow, tone, and aim—you're off the rails.
Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword..."
Your words aren't living and powerful. His are.
As Martyn Lloyd-Jones insisted, true preaching is not man's ideas lightly seasoned with Scripture. It is the heralding of divine truth with authority and power. It is text-driven, Spirit-empowered, and Christ-centered.
Start with the passage. Stay with the passage. Let every point, illustration, and application serve the text.
4. Avoid Preaching Without Application
Sermons aren't term papers. They're not designed to be admired for their structure and citations. They're meant to move people.
Biblical preaching should be rooted in truth and aimed at transformation.
Every sermon ought to answer the basic question: So what?
What does this mean for my marriage?
How does this shape how I raise my kids?
What should I repent of?
How should I respond?
Al Mohler once told our preaching class, "In every text, there is something to learn and something to do."
Warren Wiersbe added, "Truth without application leads to pride. Application without truth leads to error. But truth applied leads to transformation."
Don't let your people walk away thinking, "That was interesting." Let them walk away thinking, "That changes how I live."
Show them how to take the truth and walk it out in traffic, at the ball field, in the break room, and around the kitchen table.
5. Avoid Preaching Without the Gospel
If Jesus isn't the center of your sermon, you're telling the wrong story.
You can preach about marriage and miss the true Bridegroom. You can preach about parenting and never point to the Father. You can preach on finances and ignore the Treasure in Heaven.
We are not life coaches. We are not moral cheerleaders. We are preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ—crucified, risen, reigning, and returning.
You may not extend a full-blown crusade-type invitation every week, but every sermon should breathe gospel air. Don't assume the people in the pew already know the gospel—or that they've truly responded to it. Don't save it for a special Sunday. Weave it into every sermon like salt in a good meal—subtle, essential, and always present.
As Adrian Rogers rightly said, "The gospel is not the ABCs of Christianity. It is the A to Z."
Preach Jesus. Preach the cross. Preach grace. Preach repentance and faith. Preach the gospel until people see that their only hope in life and death is Christ alone.
Final Word: Preach With Purpose
Preaching isn't a performance—it's a stewardship. When you stand in the pulpit, you're not giving a talk. You're delivering a word from the throne room of Heaven.
Don't get distracted. Don't get detoured. Don't get diluted. Preach the Word with clarity, courage, compassion, and conviction.
Stay close to Jesus. Stay in the Word. Stay on your knees. Love your people well. And when you step into the pulpit, preach—as Richard Baxter said—like a dying man to dying men, never sure to preach again.
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