As preachers and teachers, we need to earn the interest of our listeners rather than assume they are interested.
I realize the word “earning” may not qualify as one of your favourite words. Afterall, we preach a gospel of grace. We proclaim the good news that salvation cannot be earned but must be received as a gift. So, when it comes to salvation, the word earn doesn’t belong in our vocabulary.
But when it comes to sermons, there is a sense in which it does. Let me explain.
In a perfect world, a preacher shouldn’t have to try and earn people’s interest because people would already be interested.
But we don’t live in a perfect world. When people show up for church, they have other things on their minds than listening to a sermon. Like Mary’s sister Martha, they are often distracted by many things. It might be family tensions or financial pressures; it could be their Sunday afternoon plans or a Monday morning deadline at work. So while people may be present in body, they can still be absent in mind and heart as we begin our sermons.
That’s why we need to earn their interest rather than simply assuming we already have it.
Thankfully, there is a way you do this. As we start our sermons, we need to touch a need in the lives of our listeners. We must point out a need our listeners have that will be addressed in the passage we will preach.
We let our listeners know that today’s message will speak to a need they have. It could be the need to have faith when life gets turbulent. It could be the need to forgive when we want revenge. It could be the need to live with God’s perspective on pain. It could be the need to guard against spiritual hypocrisy. You get the idea.
We discover this need in our sermon preparation. We speak about this need in our sermon introduction. As we do, we gain people’s attention. We earn their interest rather than assume their interest.
You may say, “This makes extra work for me as a preacher or teacher. It’s a lot easier just to open a passage and begin to work through it.”
I’d say, I agree with you that this means extra work. You have to get clear on the need the passage addresses and then bring it out in a pastoral way as you begin the message.
I’d also tell you that the extra effort is worth the work. You see, as you do this, you’ll find people engage with you more. You’ll see it in their eyes. You’ll sense in their body language.
Earning interest rather than assuming interest is one way you serve people as a preacher or teacher. You do some extra work to help your listeners get past their many distractions and turn their attention to God’s Word.
So as you begin to communicate God’s Word, make an effort to touch a genuine need in the lives of your hearers. A need the passage will address as you go through the exposition.
As you do this, you’ll go from assuming interest to earning it.
For more help in growing as a preacher or teacher, check out Rick’s Preacher to Preacher Podcast.
Rick and Linda Reed 