# 3 biggest pet peeves and 3 best tips for preaching



## Pergamum (Jul 12, 2008)

What are the things things you hate most that occurs in the pulpit 

(having to do more with methodology and manner than doctrine. We are assuming solid doctrine).

What are things you would like to see more of.



What are the biggest "sins" of preachers in the pulpit in their methodology and mannerism or way of delivery?

What are some things you would like to see more of?


How can preachers aboid dull sermons?


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## jambo (Jul 12, 2008)

I don't like the way preachers assume the listeners understand the language and terminology they use. It is actually quite surprising how many theolocial terms are not understood by members of the congregation. Likewise with illustrations from church history. Preachers often assume the congregation knows who Luther, Calvin, Cramner etc were and what the Reformation was all about. I must admit that as a young Christian when I heard an illustration about Martin Luther I thought it was about Martin Luther King. (It was a puzzle, he did not look like a German monk to me) 

The biggest sin I find is when a preacher begins an illustration by saying "A friend of mine..." I have heard the same illustration from different preachers in different parts of the country and it all begins with "A friend a of mine..." Do all preachers have the same friends? Why do I always meet friends of this friend but never the friend himself? Does this friend even exist or is it plagerism? Why cant preachers be honest about their illustrations?

One way some preachers may avoid dull sermons is just to stop preaching.

I would like to see more preachng that can be understood by a child and yet feed an adult.


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## Robbie Schmidtberger (Jul 12, 2008)

1. Not explaining worship and how each one is special, what it does, etc. For example - Worship is a conversation where God calls us into His presence, we respond in song, confess our sins through prayer. This is necessary as people think there is no difference between prayer and song. Why is there a sermon, why the tithe and who should tithe are all important questions too. 

2. Using the sins of others to prove a point, and not his own. Whenever we sin we break all the commandments. 

3. Speaking down to people, whether it be showing off knowledge of the languages to a condescending tone like the audience is children.

__ 

Preach from the heart, not speaking down to people, but carefully explain the passage and plead the biblical case... Not necessarily confessing all his sins to the world, instead showing how coveting is idolatry and how he really does want that new mac, ipod, Bavinck's new dogmatics, to wish he went to a better seminary, etc. 

Answer the questions, "Why is this passage important? Determine if the preaching points are adiaphora or if eternity is in scope. Other questions include... "How does this passage fit into the larger narrative of Scripture with redemption as the focus?" "How does the audience relate to the original context? Where is God in the passage? How is he described? Tie that to other places in Scripture where God does the same thing, or is described the same. 

be faithful to the text and explain it well, preach Christ and do the work of an evangelist... if it may be a dull sermon... the Lord is faithful and His kingdom will be built

Jack Miller of New Life PCA in Philadelphia, whatever one's qualms with his theology, was not the greatest and enthusiastic preacher. His ministry was defined by a devotion on God through prayer. And that cannot be missed. Prayer is essential to any biblically, faithful ministry


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## greenbaggins (Jul 12, 2008)

Pet peeves: 1. "Finally..." (ten minutes later) "Finally..." (ten minutes later) "Finally..." 

2. Monotone Scripture reading and monotone preaching. If it's that boring, then we don't need to hear it. 

3. Lack of unity in the message (often caused by straying far, far away from the text). This is a particular danger in topical preaching (which I almost hesitate to call preaching at all). 

I would love to see more expository preaching. I would love to see more dramatic Scripture reading (this can only be done after the text is understood to the best of one's ability, so that one knows what words to emphasize), especially speaking in a conversational tone while reading rather than a "reading" voice. Preachers should practice a gradual increase in dynamics and tension until the climax of the sermon (this is a very musical concept: in fact, preaching should be very musical), and then not too much in the way of denoument, since sermons should not have 5 endings (see pet peeve number 1).


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## Ivan (Jul 12, 2008)

greenbaggins said:


> ...Preachers should practice a gradual increase in dynamics and tension until the climax of the sermon (this is a very musical concept: in fact, preaching should be very musical...



Many black preachers are very good at this. Once, many years ago, I was invited to preach at black Baptist church. It was quite the experience. During the sermon I was given a great deal of help. There was a give and take during the delivery of the sermon, a cadence, that was easily maintained. 

It was interesting.


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## jogri17 (Jul 12, 2008)

It is the job of the preacher to teach SLOWLY. Teach slowly and stay commited to expository preaching.


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## Romans922 (Jul 12, 2008)

Pergamum said:


> What are the things things you hate most that occurs in the pulpit
> 
> (having to do more with methodology and manner than doctrine. We are assuming solid doctrine).



- Stories and other illustrations that go over a minute and/or make a person think of the illustration and forget the sermon/text. 
- People who preach only Gospel or only application or only stories (there needs to be a balance without stories. Indicative AND Imperative).



Pergamum said:


> What are things you would like to see more of.



Preaching what the text says and not eisegeting





Pergamum said:


> How can preachers aboid dull sermons?



Preachers need to be excited yet humbled yet bold about the Gospel and the text they are preaching because it is God's Word and it is powerful. If they are not excited about it, it will not be exciting.


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## ColdSilverMoon (Jul 12, 2008)

Pet peeves:

1. Monotone/boring - he doesn't have to jump around the stage and shout at the top of his lungs, but if the content doesn't seem interesting to him, it certainly won't seem interesting to us. (Similar to Lane's second point)

2. Powerpoint presentations - I realize some people like this, but I much rather hear a preacher's sermon unfold rather than see bullet points on a screen, which are more distracting than helpful for me.

3. Too may personal anecdotes/stories - personal illustrations can be helpful, but they should be used sparingly. We don't need to hear the pastor's personal experience with every point in the sermon. 

Best traits:

1. Always end with Christ - the pastors of my current church and previous church both focused every sermon on every passage on Christ. I believe this is crucial.

2. Tell us about the original language and historical context - it is always helpful to give the actual Greek/Hebrew/Aramaic words and what the best translation is. It also helps to know the historical and cultural significance of the passage.

3. Refer to different passages in the Bible, but don't feel the need for everyone to turn and read them together - it can be disruptive to the flow of the sermon to flip back and forth and read all the verses mentioned together. It is great to refer to other passages and read the briefly from the pulpit, but I can read them later for myself, not during the sermon.


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## Pergamum (Jul 12, 2008)

PET PEEVES:

-8 year long sermon series. Don't tax the people. Manton might have wrote 1,000 pages on Psalm 119 but a glacial pace seems to exhaust people. Biting off bigger chunks is preferable to me (not sure if a dogmatic argument can be made on this though). Getting to know the broad context of a book seems better than a microscope under 1 single short chapter for a 6 month period.


--Preachers that are always trying to get you to do something, like "Can I hear an amen." I don't even like the "greet your nieghbor" formality between 1st and 2nd hymns or whenever at some churches. I especially don't like the every head bowed, every eye closed bit...I have sat and looked straight ahead and smiled at preachers before in defiance. Even among more solid preachers this occurs sometimes. The response is tothe Gospel and repentance in one's heart, and I can do that still and silent. Had a solid preacher that always told us to "Look up here, so I know your listening." I prefer looking down at my Bible. I'm too old to be scolded like a child or bossed. Respect the hearers.

--Overly negative preachers produce congregations that think that discernment is getting easily mad at anyone who differs with you slightly or being overly crtical. I see this a lot of Calvinistic circles.

--- I HATE the quavering voices that sound super sanctimonious [i.e. the Rev. Lovejoy], "Ohhhhh thou hooooliest GawwwD..." The sing-song nonsense and holy lilt of voice makes me want to shake the stufing out of preachers. If the Gospel is true, then talk to me and explain...you're not reciting Shakespeare.

Things I like:

---Broad sweeps of Scripture, tying themes together (witnesses to the internal unity of Scripture).

---Sermons that can be theological but still evangelistic and down to earth.

---For issues of mannerism, I like neatly dressed people who are polite in the pulpit and more positive than negative.


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## Leslie (Jul 12, 2008)

How about correct grammar? It's hard for me to listen to "Me and my wife went to--" or the like. I concur on much of what others write also, especially the broad sweeps of scripture.


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## py3ak (Jul 12, 2008)

I dislike the imposition of artificial organizations on the line: the outline can be textual or logical, but it doesn't have to be Intro-Point1-Point2-Point3-Conclusion.

I dislike it when a preacher doesn't know where he is going or how to arrive and just talks around at random. Sometimes it seems that the really non-essential parts of the sermon are prepared with more care than the core of the message.

I also dislike cuteness and sentimentality. Telling me how a text made you feel doesn't normally qualify as preaching (even if your reactions to the text were right: don't tell me what you felt, show me why you felt it, by opening up that line of truth).

Of course, there are many other defects: adding "uh" after each line, either dramatically or because you don't know what comes next; trying to be poetical when you don't have a gift for it; speaking or gesturing unnaturally because "that is how to preach". 

What I would like to see more of is,
1. A judicious following of the guidelines set out in the _Directory for Publique Worship_
2. A demonstration of different sorts of connections in Scripture; I like it when someone is able to set out the logical, the organic, and the practical ways in which different parts of Scripture relate to one another. 
3. Variety and propriety in application: pointing out the implications of Scripture in more than one area, and applying it to more than one group. Some sermons make applications to all humans, and some to all Christians, and that is excellent; but I think you need to follow Paul's example and break it down further, talking to parents and children, husbands and wives, masters and servants, magistrates and citizens, officers and congregants, etc.


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## christianyouth (Jul 12, 2008)

The only one I can think of is 'preach praying'. It's when the Pastor prays and it's a mini-sermon. It seems like the people are being addressed instead of God.


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## Pergamum (Jul 14, 2008)

I used to really dislike the use of the old english in prayer (sounded pretentious)..thee thou thine blah blah yadda yadda

But this is another one of those items that good ol' Christian brethren and cistern at the PB corrected and explained to me that the old english of the King James had so entered their hearts that it became theire heart language and thus their prayer language.


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## Jimmy the Greek (Jul 14, 2008)

Due to an unexpected absence for planned pulpit message, I once heard a reading of one of Surgeon's sermons. It wasn't what I would call a "dramatic" reading, but it was a lively, sometimes emotional, reading by an older saint of one of his favorite sermons. It was also one of the best sermons I have heard.

When I hear somebody say "one should never _read_ a sermon", I think, "Man, you never heard one read like I heard."


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## bravebee (Jul 14, 2008)

1. I hate topical preaching. I've endured it so long in my church, that I would give my right arm to hear expositional preaching. Please preach the whole council of God.
2. I hate multiple tranlations and paraphrases interspersed throughout the sermon. If you have to do that kind of gymnastics to make the point, the Bible doesn't really say it.
3. I hate jokes for the sake of jokes. "The preacher's job is to proclaim the faith, not to provide entertainment for unbelievers -- in other words, to feed the sheep rather than amuse the goats."
J.I. Packer


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## Guido's Brother (Jul 14, 2008)

Well, if there's one thing I can learn from all of you folks, it's this:

As a preacher, you can never please everybody all of the time. 



But at the end of the day, it's not about pleasing people.


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## SueS (Jul 15, 2008)

bravebee said:


> 1. I hate topical preaching. I've endured it so long in my church, that I would give my right arm to hear expositional preaching. Please preach the whole council of God.
> 2. I hate multiple tranlations and paraphrases interspersed throughout the sermon. If you have to do that kind of gymnastics to make the point, the Bible doesn't really say it.
> 3. I hate jokes for the sake of jokes. "The preacher's job is to proclaim the faith, not to provide entertainment for unbelievers -- in other words, to feed the sheep rather than amuse the goats."
> J.I. Packer





I totally agree with all of the above - #1 and #3 were the two things that drove me to the brink at our former church. Also, the man in charge once told of a humorous experience that supposedly happened to him in a southern church he once pastored. Problem was, I read the exact same story in a magazine several years before that and wonder what the chances are that it happened in his church. Plagarism doesn't do much to engender trust in a pastor who is called to preach God's truth!


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