Preaching Lab: How Difficult Should Sermons Be?

[@LateToTheGame27]

Good stuff!! Appreciate your words of wisdom and experience! 😎👍🏻

[@preachtheword1689]

J.C. Ryle "Simplicity in preaching" is a good read.

[@axljoven984]

Thank you, Pastor Matt! It definitely hurts me to see people not benefiting from the sermon because it's too complex. Especially for visitors who were clearly not been blessed in regards to education. In our country (Philippines) we often invite people to come to church, some of which are uneducated due to poverty, so they are not used to hearing technical and scholarly explanations. Usually they only visit once, and I sometimes feel bad because somehow it seems a wasted opportunity for them to know the word. Even when preachers are preaching the Gospel (praise the Lord!), they usually do it in a way that the invited, uneducated people are having a difficult time comprehending it. I believe the Holy Spirit is the one who opens the heart and eyes of unbelievers, but I sometimes think that some preachers are not that helpful because of their insensitivity to the hearer's comprehension level. God bless you more, Pastor Matt!

[@lizpryz]

I really crave a deep and highly "academic" sermon and often find my local service to be a bit too "casual". I feel like richer sermons encourage me to study even more, and I'd rather be stimulated to ask questions for clarification rather than have concepts oversimplified.

[@bennywaters5736]

Hi Pastor Matt, I am thankful to God for your content. I regularly preach at my church's evening service. I went to Bible college 10+ years ago, and am a lay leader at my Baptist church. I often struggle with feeling that I pitch too high. But I also seek to preach from my heart, declaring how the Word has affected me. This to me connects with others, and shows how the word is living and active (Heb 4.12). Grace and Peace

[@bennywaters5736]

Pastor Matt, a question about your up and coming theology conference...will you have access to it online some how?? - I would love to come, but I am here in Australia

[@SAY.8.18]

Excellent message. I can apply these thoughts in many areas of my life.

[@CCiPencil]

I want to be challenged and have content above my level. It motivates me to go deeper in the Bible

[@photographer157]

Great video, as always, Matt. Any time I preach all I get is, “that was wonderful”. I had to ask for constructive critique of my preaching to hear about the depth level and then was advised that the level was good. It’s certainly a very important matter to consider, particularly in this day and age where people often don’t know what they believe and the word evangelical doesn’t mean much. I’ll be considering this matter in my preparation for preaching from now on, starting with a sermon on Ephesians in September at my Church. God bless, Ben.

[@donaldmorrison9940]

My parents’ minister was a man called Angus Smith who was, by all accounts, one of the best, most solid ministers the Western Isles produced, and that’s a crowded field. His favourite thing to do was to come out a sermon, come up to a group of young people and ask, in Gaelic of courses, “did you agree with everything you heard there?” Sounds warmer in Gaelic but I love that.

[@davidleonard6593]

I agree with you about preaching the text. I am a retired architect, I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours teaching recent graduates. I think pastors avoid using terminology to too great extent. Over the years, first in a professional program in college, later in practice, it has become extremely evident that if a person learns the "terms" he is already halfway to understanding what they need to know. In my profession I have learned thousands of terms, in the last 40-years I have been a Christian I have learned hundreds of Christian terms. I believe that being presented terms such a monergistic vs synergistic regeneration helps the person learning the principles of what they represent and commit them to memory. Another would be learning the phrase Ecclesia Reformata Semper Reformanda makes it possible to clearly understand the concept and commit it to memory. Again I have learned thousands of terms in my profession. My commitment to God is as important to me as my livelihood.

[@macthemessenger]

When I teach me how to preach I say to preach a little bit above their level so they have something to reach. But I like the way you put it as well. Good stuff Pastor Matt.

[@josephkilmer7440]

As a Baptist pastor, when I began my preaching , I think I tried too hard to prove that I was smart and intelligent. As I have aged and grew more confident in God’s grace and strength, I simply allow the passage to dictate. Some passages are simply hard, but most can and should be understood by the “common man”.

[@michaelarmstrong7300]

I preach at a nursing home, so I have to keep it one main topic, and stay with it, since I have 15-17 mins. A rule of thumb know your church, and follow the Spirit of God.

[@brockburlando702]

You nailed it

[@michealferrell1677]

We are in the process of evaluating a potential Elder for our church and this was a helpful video for our efforts. We are a 1689 confessional church and would have much in agreement with your church . Thank you , I listened often . A side question , as far as translations into languages from around the globe , how much of this is currently being done using the majority text as a basis as compared to the modern Critical text ?

[@branttrainstation]

Let get this straight one sermons are to show us just how far we fallen short of the glory of Yahweh Romans 3:23 a pastor of a church it's very difficult there are at lease three levels of believers in the congregations well seasoned believers these have spent many years listening reading studying the word then there believers who have spent three to five years then new believers the shepherd is to speak to all three at the same time some believer may want it technical and scholarly then there's believers who are not ready then there's believers who need to be encourage like what Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 3:2,1 Peter 2:2,Hebrews 5:12-13 my prayers are with you Thank you

[@PsJefferyK]

I’m a ps. I always asking me the questions too how hard I need to be and etc

[@dollamillz]

Hello, do you know if there will be recordings of the Image of God Conference?

[@MatthewEverhard]

Yes for sure!

[@Creationhorse]

@@MatthewEverhard I can't find your email address anywhere, so I'm messaging you here. Someone is posing as you and replying to comments. There are some on your Hold Fast the Faith book post. I took screen shots. And clicked on your picture. It's your name and picture but they have no videos or subscribers. It's not you.

[@mythco.3461]

How could I get in contact with you, Mr Everheard, I just have a quick question

[@MatthewEverhard]

See my about page.

[@mythco.3461]

@MatthewEverhard I sent an email (different name though). It's not a very serious question but I am looking to see how you would handle such.

[@mythco.3461]

@MatthewEverhard also there's not much on your about page about contact, I just checked you video descriptions.

[@julioalvarengamartinez8829]

it depend on the flock you are preaching to i am preaching in central america over here we have a lot of ilitarate people at church, and a lot of biblicaly illitarate people also so we canot go that deep from the start. new believers and a lot of people that come to church for the first time so we canont go to the deepths of the word but every one has their own crowsds to preach to just take that in account pastor Matt

[@JohnVianneyPatron]

It is patronising to hear a dumbed down sermon. What is really annoying is when a preacher delivers a badly prepared sermon and another pastor is in the pews listening to it. It truly is hard for a chef to eat someone else's cooking!

[@marquescameron2459]

You should exegete the text and the people. You should know your audience.

[@Omlet221]

I am really confused why this was recommended to me, I am very atheistic

[@dnzswithwombats]

That's very religious.

[@dnzswithwombats]

Shallow, sugar-fest, dumbed-down preaching is the norm around here. I don't know why. It's like giving a hungry person a single grape to chew on.

[@dnzswithwombats]

Spot-on! Preachers trying to be entertainers to compensate for the dumbed-down sermons week after week is very common