Maybe the reason why I have always aspired to preach above average sermons is because the very first post-Pentecost sermon that we find in the New Testament was not only above average, it was an A+. Peter set the bar extremely high for all preachers who would come after him.
Now, I know that Luke, who is describing this first Book of Acts sermon might be giving us a more idealized version of what happened, but still, this was some really, really good preaching by Peter. Did Luke round up the worship attendance to 3,000 people? I don’t think those early disciples had ushers to fill out an attendance cards and get it back to the church office so we’ll take their word for it.
And how did they have time to print out all of those baptism certificates for those 3,000 people? So many questions! I know, I’m overthinking this as I tend to do!
But never-the-less, my goodness, whether this is a rounded-up attendance number or not, that’s a lot of people who responded favorably to that sermon. And the good news is that somebody remembered what Peter said in that sermon and it eventually got passed down to where Luke records it for us here.
Communication experts say that even if you preach a really good sermon on Sunday, by Wednesday, most people will only end up remembering about 10% of it. I was also reading some other research that says professors and teachers have a similar challenge in making their classroom lectures memorable.
That retention percentage goes up to 90% if the people who listened tell others what they heard. And if they practice what they heard, that means they will have remembered 75% of it. It’s 50% if they discuss what they heard in a small group which is what our small groups are designed to do. But it’s only 5% if they don’t do any of those things.
Maybe what makes a sermon above average isn’t so much how it is carefully crafted and delivered although that is very important, but in how people respond to it. If people continue to think about it, wrestle with it, share it, discuss it, and practice it, chances are that the sermon will have a lasting impact.
There are several reasons why Peter’s sermon was way above average on that Day of Pentecost. First and foremost, the Holy Spirit was present in a very powerful way that day. Peter and the other disciples had just been filled with the Spirit and now they were ready to share the good news of Jesus with those around them.
The second reason this sermon was so powerful was because Peter was offering the good news that Jesus who had been crucified on a cross, had risen from the dead. And because of this, God’s Holy Spirit has been poured out upon the whole world. This is good news for everyone regardless of nationality, culture, age, race, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, economic status, or physical or mental ability. This good news of Jesus is meant for everyone!
And then, I would say what made that sermon above average is that according to our scripture reading, the people who heard that sermon were very open to receiving that message of hope and good news. When you have a sermon that highlights the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection AND is delivered in the power of the Holy Spirit to people who are hungry to hear that message of hope and good news, that’s going to make for at least an above average sermon, if not, dare I say, a solid “A.”
For the past 35 years, I have been in search of preaching the elusive perfect sermon. I haven’t preached it yet, but I sure do love trying! But the good news for us preachers is that any sermon, even the clumsy ones that we preach, as long as it is preached in the power of the Holy Spirit and includes the hope and new life that we can have in Christ, those sermons will still preach and lives will be changed.
This is why the church calendar wants us to celebrate Easter not just one day, but for a whole season. These great 50 days, as this season of Easter is known is a time for us to continue to hear this amazing and life-changing message that Jesus is risen.
If Jesus is risen, then maybe my sleeping soul can come alive. If Jesus is risen then maybe I don’t need to carry around my guilt and shame anymore. If Jesus is risen then maybe I don’t have to live in despair and negativity. If Jesus is risen then maybe he can help me overcome my drug or alcohol addiction. If Jesus is risen then maybe that broken dream can give way to a new future.
If Jesus is risen then maybe my old destructive habits can give way to a healthier and more positive lifestyle. If Jesus is risen then maybe that means I’m not alone, the Risen Christ is always by my side. If Jesus is risen then maybe God can use me and my limited resources to make a positive difference here in my community. If Jesus is risen then maybe the God who raised Jesus from death to life can take my heart of stone and set it ablaze!
When preachers offer that kind of good news, yeah, they’ll be people responding to that. They’ll be people hungry to hear that. There will be people who will give church another chance.
Above average sermons are what remind us week after week after week that as the hymn says, “Because he lives, I can face tomorrow, because he lives all fear is gone. Because I know he hold the future. And life is worth the living just because he lives.”
Here’s something that I have observed over my years of pastoral ministry. Some of my best sermons have been preached at funerals and memorial services. I always feel an extra sense of the Holy Spirit whenever I move to the pulpit to not only provide care and comfort for the friends and family of the loved one, but to also remind all of us that death is not the last word. We are an Easter people!
John Chrysostom who lived during the 4th century is known as the best preacher who ever lived. He was so good at preaching that he was given the nickname, “golden tongue.” Isn’t that great! He is also known as the Patron Saint of Preachers.
He once told his congregation, “When I begin to speak, weariness disappears; when I begin to teach, fatigue too disappears. Thus neither sickness itself nor indeed any other obstacle is able to separate me from your love…For just as you are hungry to listen to me, so too I am hungry to preach to you.”
Chrysostom was so good at preaching that there would often be standing room only to hear him. During the time he lived, people didn’t attend church and sit in pews. They would often stand and the people could get unruly at times. The people were also very interactive during the sermon so they were known to applaud, or boo, or hiss.
Chrysostom didn’t like the unruliness of his congregation so after one of his sermons, he made an announcement to the people that from now on all applause should henceforth be forbidden. After he said this, the people ended up giving him a rounding applause.
Some of his sermons lasted two hours, and often times the people cried out for him to continue! He was known to be such a gifted preacher, that his audiences had to be warned to not have large sums of money on them because of pick-pocketers who were known to roam the crowd and rob people without them even knowing since they were so enthralled while listening to Chrysostom’s sermons.
One of the reasons he was such an impactful preacher was that he encouraged his congregation to reflect on the sermon over dinner later that day. His greatest desire was for people to allow the good news of Jesus to stay with them long after his sermons had ended. For him, the end of an above average sermon, was only the beginning for it to really sink in over time.
When I was in college and made the decision to become a pastor, a college friend of mine who had stopped attending church offered me this wonderful advice, “What ever you do, just don’t have boring sermons.” That was probably the best preaching advice I have ever received! “Just don’t have boring sermons.”
I’ve discovered that boring sermons really aren’t difficult to avoid as long as we preachers preach about the good news of Jesus and how Jesus can make a difference in our lives.
We Methodists are known for our emphasis on preaching. Here’s a famous painting from our Methodist history that you’ll find in many United Methodist Churches. The painter was the artist, Kenneth Wyatt who passed away just a little over a year and a half ago.
It’s a scene where John Wesley, the 18th century founder of Methodism in England was nearing the end of his life. He knew that in order for Methodism to grow in America, they needed ordained clergy. And so Wesley commissioned one of his Methodist leaders, an Anglican Priest, Thomas Coke to go to America and ordain Francis Asbury and others into the ministry. This is what led to us becoming what we know as today as The United Methodist Church.
[“Offer Them Christ” Painting by Kenneth Wyatt, 20th Century]
Wesley stood at the pier and as the boats departed, offered these words to Coke, “Offer them Christ, Thomas… Offer them Christ..”
And that he did, to the point where Methodists here in America grew and grew and grew all because those preachers offered them Christ. And when you offer people Christ, the Holy Spirit will take it from there, and lives will be changed.
So if anybody asks you how was the sermon today, just tell them it was above average because the preacher offered us Christ.
An Above Average Sermon
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