Gospel-centered Preaching: March 2006 Archives

Excerpts from an article by Todd Wilken entitled A Listener’s Guide to the Pulpit:

“The central message of the Bible is Jesus Christ crucified and risen for sinners. If a sermon is really Bible-based, it will preach that Gospel.”

“Often, the difference between good preaching and bad preaching is not in what is said, but in what is left unsaid. More often, what is left unsaid is the Gospel itself.”

“Sometimes, a ‘Life-Application’ sermon does talk about Jesus. But since the goal of this kind of sermon is to teach people how to live, Jesus is presented as your teacher, your example, and your helper. The death and resurrection of Jesus might also be mentioned—as an example for you to follow of selfless love and self-sacrifice. Dr. David Wells says, ‘The Cross becomes exactly what it was in liberalism, that Jesus is reduced simply to a good example and we try to follow in His footsteps in the sense that we try to look out on life the way He did.’ In the ‘Life-Application’ sermon, Jesus becomes just another paradigm for you to live by.”

“If Jesus is mentioned, is He the subject of the verbs? This is simple grammar. Every sentence has a subject and a verb. So, listen to the sermon and do the grammar. Dr. Norman Nagel is famous for asking, ‘Who is driving the verbs?’ Is Jesus active or passive? Is Jesus doing the action or is He being acted upon? There is a difference between a sermon that says ‘I love Jesus,’ and a sermon that says ‘Jesus love me.’ One is talking about you, the other is talking about Jesus. There is a difference between, ‘Give your life to Jesus,’ and ‘Jesus gave His life for you.’”

(Part Two) (Part Three) (Part Four)

*Also, check out this blogger's posts on Gospel-Centered Preaching, here and here.