Elements of Effective Sermon Delivery

Yes, it’s been forever since I’ve posted. Moving and school have kept me occupied. I desire to pick it up again, with some new features. Soon.

I developed this quick guide to elements of effective sermon delivery for my Homiletics class at Faith Baptist Bible College. In first semester Homiletics we’re focusing on what to preach – learning to develop an expository sermon from a passage of Scripture. Second semester we’ll focus on how to preach – effectively communicating the sermon. But the guys will be preaching the sermons they’ve been working on this semester, and I wanted to give them a quick, helpful guide to some of the practical aspects of effective sermon delivery. I thought some of  you might benefit from it as well. Here you go. (I don’t usually try to alliterate, it just sort of happened.)

Your Heart

• Prayerful – Invest time in prayer throughout the preparation process and before the preaching event.
• Personal – Develop genuine concern, love, and compassion for the people you are speaking to.
• Passionate – Believe what you are preaching and feel a compelling burden to communicate it.

Your Head

• Finished – Prepare thoroughly and completely so that you know what the text means and what you will say about it.
• Familiar – Go over your message repeatedly so that you can communicate freely.
• Fresh – Review your message close to the time you will preach. Avoid distractions as much as possible without being uncaring or rude to people.

Your Mouth

• Awake – Do mouth calisthenics to warm up your vocalization muscles.
• Articulate – Pronounce your words clearly and correctly. Don’t mumble. Read your Scripture text clearly, reverently, and expressively.

Your Face

• Eye contact – Look everyone you can in the eye at least once.
• Expressive – Smile. Don’t look mad. Show compassion.
• Enjoy – You’re preaching the Word of God. What a privilege and joy! Show it.

Your Voice

• Clear – Lift your voice and enunciate your words. Hydrate before preaching, and while preaching if necessary. Use a small cough drop if needed.
• Confident – Declare your message without mumbling or stumbling around. Avoid “uh.” Just wait until the thought comes. Speak as the oracles of God (1 Peter 4:11).
• Controlled – Purposefully vary your pitch, projection/punch, pace, and pause for emphasis and interest.

Your Hands

• At ease – Keep them in a natural position.
• Accentuate – Reinforce what you are saying with appropriate gestures.

Your Body

• Starting point – The centered pulpit is the most powerful position on the platform. It should be your base of operation. Start from it and, if you move away, return to it.
• Stability – Maintain a poised yet energetic stance. Avoid nervous or distracting movement.
• Steps – Move in ways that emphasize the message, keep people’s attention, and connect with the audience.

Your Audience

• Focus – Concentrate on connecting with them, not on yourself or your notes.
• Not Fans – Do not seek their approval or affirmation. Speak to please God, not man.
• Friends – Help them along the journey that you and they are on.