PREACHING

MINISTRY | PREACHING

Preaching on Good Soil

Sermons that make Jesus accessible

BY J.J. VASQUEZ

What is the purpose of preaching

If you answered, To tell people about esus, you are only halfway there. nd before you udge that statement harshly, you should know it comes from esus teachings.

In Matthew 13, esus told a parable about a farmer sowing seeds. or our purposes, let s think of the story as that of a preacher delivering sermons.

The seed (sermon) encountered three obstacles that threatened the fruit of the farmer s (preacher s) labor: the path, the rocks and the thorns. s esus e plained, the rocks represent a lack of depth, which results in a person falling away when persecution comes.

The thorns symboli e common hindrances: the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth (verse ). Thorns are distractions that keep people from prioriti ing God and His ord.

You don’t need to change your seed. You just need to adjust your aim.

These are tough challenges. There is only so much a preacher can do about persecution, worry, and material concerns among parishioners. o, we turn our attention to the seed that fell along the path, the first reason preaching does not produce fruit. esus e plained it this way: hen anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path (verse 1 , emphasis added).

That s it. It s that simple. reaching fails to produce fruit when it is not understandable.

By contrast, verse 3 says, The seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, si ty or thirty times what was sown (emphasis added).

I ve heard people say, ust preach esus. It s the Holy pirit s ob to illuminate.

That is true. But according to esus, it is our ob to make the message accessible. e must scatter the seed on the soil, not on the path where it has no chance.

The seed isn t the problem. God s ord is as relevant as ever. The gospel has always been, and always will be, good seed. ou don t need to change your seed. ou ust need to ad ust your aim. n accessible sermon is not only understandable, but also applicable, practical, memorable, desirable, and possible.

I m so passionate about this, it is literally the mission statement of the church I lead: e e ist to make esus accessible to anyone. e understand our niche in the body of Christ and in our city. That s why of our attendees are people who became Christians within the past three years and who did not previously attend a church.

If you are sowing seed on good ground, you too will have to learn to preach to people who have never been to church. That means you can no longer assume your hearers know who oah is, or aul, or even esus especially esus. hen you show people who esus is, they will want to know Him. If you make esus accessible, many will choose to follow Him.

It starts with changing the way you think about the structure of your sermon.

relevant as ever. The gospel has always been, and always will be, good seed. ou don t need to change your seed. ou ust need to ad ust your aim. but also applicable, practical, memorable, desir able, and possible. sion statement of the church I lead: e e ist to

Establish the Problem

Instead of writing an introduction to your sermon, establish the problem. ne of the most common mistakes preachers make is assuming people care about what they have to say. Church people may care. The unchurched probably do not. But everyone cares about their problems. hen I was in high school, I failed chemistry twice mostly because I didn t care about chemistry. I could not hear the teacher speaking over the

voice in my head asking, When in my life am I ever going to use this?

In the opening seconds of your sermon, attendees are asking the same thing. nd that uestion will drown you out until it is answered. or e ample, you wouldn t start a sermon with, Today I m going to talk to you about aul. o one cares.

Instead, you might begin by saying, Today I want to help anyone looking for a second chance. hat are the pain points of those in attendance hat are their felt needs hat personal story can you tell to let people know you share their pain Consider starting there.

Put Flesh On It

ohn 1:1 says, The ord became esh and made his dwelling among us. esus made God accessible to you and me by entering our world. ccessible preaching does the same. It puts skin on theory, theology, principle, precept and prophecy making these things relatable and applicable for daily living. s you prepare the message, ask yourself, How does this apply to the businessperson, single mom or dad, cancer fighter, abuse survivor, college student, or retiree? How does your message enter their world

It s not necessary for every message to touch every sphere of life. But as you work through this process, you walk in the footsteps of Moses, who brought the ord down from the mountaintop of revelation into the valleys where the people needed to live it out.

Apply Principles to the Problem

Instead of crafting points, think about how to address the problem. tart with practical actions, the application of biblical principles to everyday life. Then move to the heart issue. s an e ample, my wife, Li , recently preached a sermon called low your oul. he used L as an acronym for four action steps: Take a sabbath. This is practical and doable, even for people who don t go to church. fter all, who would dispute the value of taking a day off • Less is more. In other words, don t overcommit. Be open to interruptions. esus made time for people. e can create margin in our schedules to do the same. • Weight on God. eight is a play on words.

Li s point was that we can never e perience true peace until we ask esus to forgive our sins and take the weight of an iety from us (Matthew 11: 3 ). This is the heart issue.

Deal With the Heart Issue

The heart is the aim of preaching. It is what esus wants to transform. o matter the sermon title or action items, the heart issue is always the same: eople need esus. reachers are not motivational speakers. e preach esus. But people don t know they need esus. o we use human needs and biblical principles when pointing to the Cross. eople think the sermon is about them until they finally reali e the truth: It has always been about esus. e end on the heart issue because everything that separates us from God and one another originates in the heart. hen we preach to the heart issue, God will change hearts, and good fruit will follow. It begins with inviting people to surrender their lives to esus.

Life is complicated. But the gospel is not. ccessible preaching is as simple as establishing a problem, applying cripture, providing action steps, and pointing to esus the ne some won t know they need until you finish your message.

J.J. VASQUEZ

is lead pastor of Journey Church (AG) in Orlando, Florida.