Scoring a Touchdown with Your Preaching

Ti m Fi s h e r

Several years ago, an incomprehensible phenomenon began occurring in football games. Several players who made fantastic plays that allowed them wide open spaces to run in for the score began dropping the football in celebration just before they crossed into the end zone. As a result, what should have been easy touchdowns were overturned, and these players were mercilessly ridiculed for not following through in their big moments.

When it comes to preaching, we have to avoid making the same mistake—we have to get the ball into the end zone!

In football, the whole point of the offense is to score. The purpose of every practice, every play, and every minute of preparation is to help the offense score as many touchdowns as possible.

Similarly, we pastors cannot let ourselves drift away from the purpose of preaching. We preach for a response. We preach so that people will surrender their lives to Jesus. We preach so that people will have an opportunity to take a next step in their faith. We preach so that God will meet people where they are and help them become more like Him. We preach to create moments that will change peoples’ lives forever! Nonetheless, pastors have to bear in mind that these moments of transformation can happen only in the power of the Holy Spirit.

In the spirit of a classic sermon outline, let’s look at three important aspects of preaching for a moment of response.

A Pe r s o n a l Re s p o n s e

First, the response moment is deeply personal. Do not underestimate how God will speak to the people in your congregation through your words. One of the most humbling things you can experience is to realize that

God is speaking to people through you. God is moving in their hearts. God is calling them to surrender. God is drawing them to take steps of obedience that will forever change their lives—and you get to be a part of this!

This moment is sacred. This moment is terrifying. This moment is deeply personal. This moment is one pastors get to share with people as they make some of the most meaningful decisions in their lives. This moment can overwhelm us if we handle it in our own strength.

Consequently, every Sunday, I do a couple of things as I walk to the stage for worship service. Honestly, I count the steps as I climb to the stage so I won’t miss one, fall down, and look like an idiot. More importantly, I pray that the words I am about to speak will be God’s words. I pray they will bring glory to God and not to me.

Why is this prayer so important? Because I believe when pride walks on the stage, God walks off the stage. If I am counting on God to speak through me, then I need Him to be with me every step of the way. Better yet, I need to be with Him every step of the way.

I cannot do this on my own, but when I have surrendered that time to God, I am exactly where He wants me to be and doing exactly what He wants me to do. This way, when that moment of response arrives, I have the courage and the clarity to lean into that sacred space and challenge people to respond and be the person God is calling them to be.

Pr e pa r at i o n f o r t h e M o m e n t

Second, the response moment takes preparation. When it comes to planning a good sermon, you need to begin with the end in mind. Why am I preaching this sermon?

If I am counting on God to speak through me, then I need Him to be with me every step of the way. Bet ter yet, I need to be with Him every step of the way.

What response am I calling people to? How will I bring them to this moment? I believe how I prepare my sermon makes all the difference. At our church, we walk through upcoming sermon series outlines as a team and talk through the outcomes of each service, so we can brainstorm the best ways to create moments that will have the most impact. This extra level of preparation has increased the quality of our worship services and created some incredible space where many people have responded to God. Whether you are on your own or have a team of people to help you, make sure you are taking time to prepare for these sacred moments. A prayerful and thoughtful preparation can lead to meaningful, life-changing moments!

Th e I m p o rta n c e o f Pr e s e n tat i o n

Third, it is really important how the response moment is presented. (Pastors, I know you deeply appreciate the alliteration here!) Every person needs to have the opportunity to tangibly respond to how God is speaking to his or her life. As pastors, we cannot drop the ball here; after all, we are almost to the end zone!

Over the years, I have learned some very practical strategies that have helped me maximize these response times. For example, the best practical advice I ever received took all of the fear and uncertainty out of calling people to come forward at the end of the service. Just remember these three steps: 1. When you reach the response moment (heads bowed and eyes closed), have everyone who God is speaking to raise his or her hand. 2. Ask everyone with a raised hand to look at you. 3. Invite those with raised hands to come forward for prayer.

At our church, we then invite people who have decided to follow Jesus to meet us after the service so we can give them a Bible and celebrate what God has done in their lives. Win, win!

We have also experienced incredible response moments by inviting people to come forward to be anointed as a symbol of surrender or as a symbol of seeking healing from their hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Our prayerful and thoughtful sermon preparation and presentation will allow people to respond to who God is calling them to be in those powerful moments.

Nevertheless, when it comes to salvation moments, some of my pastor friends offer the whole congregation an opportunity to invite Jesus into their lives at the end of every service. They have every person pray the sinner’s prayer together, which takes away the awkwardness for the person deciding to follow Christ.

So, remember, preaching for a response is deeply personal. Preach with confidence trusting that God will use your words to speak life into His people!

Preaching for a response takes preparation. Preach with purpose and give everything you have to make the most impact where you are!

And finally, preaching for a response involves thoughtful presentation. Take that football and jump into the end zone! Preach for a moment of response that calls people to surrender their hearts to Jesus as they decide to become more like Him!

Prayerfully following the above steps will lead to touchdown moments for God’s glory.

TIM FISHER has been the lead pastor of Crossroads Community Church since 2013. Tim received a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Clearwater Christian College and has earned a master’s degree in ministry from Olivet Nazarene University.