Most ministers are trained to go to the Scriptures to find their preaching material. I affirm the value of that practice. But in the process of preparing a church sermon each week, they sometimes forget what their bottom line is.

Preaching is not an end in itself. In other words, the goal of these messages is not to have people say that you are a dynamic speaker. Of course, if that’s how your listeners feel, great!

Carefully explaining what the Bible teaches also falls short of the ultimate purpose. Again, it’s obviously to their benefit if listeners learn more of what the Bible has to say under your ministry.

In short, preaching should seek to make people more Christ-like. We preach bible sermons to challenge listeners to put into practice the words of our Lord, along with the many other commands found in the Bible.

If after years of ministry your congregation is essentially the same people they were spiritually as when you came, you probably haven’t done your job all that well. Think about Christ. After three and a half years with His disciples, there were huge changes in how they lived. Were they perfect? No. But in many ways their lives had been radically transformed.

In what ways will those in your congregation be more Christ-like as a result of the years you invest with them as their spiritual leader? That’s a question all pastors need to wrestle with, and it relates directly to their preaching.

It’s also another reason why early on in your sermon outline preparation you need to figure out not only what your sermon subject is, but the desired response being called for as well.

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 “The truth is, the preaching method you were taught isn’t working for you. I’ll show you another approach you might want to try. If it feels better—great. If not, I can suggest some other options. But the three-point outline is definitely not you. Even when you try to make it work, it’s not only unnatural, but it’s almost impossible to follow what you’re saying.”

I wasn’t sure how this preacher would take my advice. Fortunately for me, he was quick to agree. A little later in our conversation he thanked me repeatedly and said that suddenly he felt like a free man. Many times he tried to get what he wanted to say into three points, but the approach never felt right to him.

The truth is, three compatible points all starting with the same sound or letter is not how anyone talks in today’s world—except ministers, and even then, only when they’re preaching bible sermons. It’s an outdated mode of communication that many pastors need to put to rest. The reason they keep using it is because it’s the system they were taught, and to date they haven’t come up with an alternative.

Unfortunately, those three preaching points almost never have a response orientation. They are usually statements of fact that fill the bulk of the church sermon time with information. And because applying three different points is difficult, the message conclusion usually ends up being a closing illustration rather than calling for any kind of specific response.

I told this minister to stop thinking three points and start thinking:

1. What’s my subject?
2. What’s my desired response?

These were to become parts one and two of his church sermon. In other words, he would begin by talking about the subject at hand and how it related to his text. Next he would go to the response being called for.

At this point I need to stop with my story because I haven’t yet told you what the remaining two questions are that need to be considered in this approach.

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