The Difference Between Good Sermons and Bad Sermons

How can you tell the good sermons from the bad sermons? There are plenty of ways to tell if your congregation is inspired by what you tell them every week. One easy way to tell of course is that if your congregation is fidgety or falling asleep, you might want to take a different approach with your next sermon. What makes sermon writing difficult is that telling the difference between good ones and bad ones is so subjective!

How many weeks do you look out at your congregation and find half of them nodding along with you while the other half look like they are counting the seconds until they can escape? Sure, that's an open-ended question, but for many it could be more than they would like to admit to.

Good sermons can speak to all of the members of your congregation regardless of individual ages, personalities, family dynamics, politics or any other individual traits that might normally inform their opinions. A good message will inspire your church members to take your words and thoughts to heart and apply them to their own lives. A good message will also inspire them to bring in their friends and other family members next week.

Of course, knowing this is one thing. Figuring out how to write good sermons on a regular basis is entirely different.

One of the biggest differences between sermons is the enthusiasm with which they are delivered. If you simply stand up front and drone on in a monotone voice every week, it won't matter how important or wonderful your words are, people will most likely be zoning out and looking at their watches until the weekly talk is over.

On the other hand, if you show your congregation how inspired you have become by the week's sermon, it will not matter if the message itself is perfect or not. Clunky delivery and odd wording can easily be overlooked if the speaker shows enthusiasm and passion for his topic!

This is just one of the differences that separate sermons that are inspiring from those that are not. As you continue working with your congregation you will learn how to tell the difference between a good sermon and a bad sermon before you stand up to deliver it!