8/13/2019 Orientation on Sermon Delivery to Church Congregation

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ORIENTATION ON SERMON DELIVERY

INTRODUCTION

The most important aspect in church service or worship is the sermon its contents and delivery

Most church attendants expect sermons which contain powerful messages that assist them to

examine themselves and evaluate their personal performance as believers. So as to be sure whether

they are on the right direction or falling short and make amends if necessary. In view of thatsermon preparation must be done after thorough research from scriptures, and sermon delivery

must be tackled with all seriousness.

PREACHERS ATTIRE

Since the preacher stands tall before the congregants, his or her attire must be neat. He or she

must dress properly to avoid unnecessary criticism and condemnation from the audience. (Please,

am not talking about expensive attire, but rather neat attire with proper dressing.)

MODALITIES

a. Silent Prayer - A short silent prayer must be said by the preacher alone either before he orshe mounts the pulpit or soon after mounting the pulpit to have silent communion with his

or her Maker. Secondly, he or she must engage the congregation in prayer before he or she

begins to deliver his or her sermon.

b. The Pulpit - It is the tradition of the indigenous churches in Ghana like the MethodistPresbyterian, Anglican, Mennonites, and Evangelical Presbyterians. etc to often use the

pulpit during sermon delivery. Nowadays must of the churches use the Alter. Both are

accepted, because what is more important is the use of the eye. Eye contact is very

important in sermon delivery, because you have to watch the behaviour of your listeners

whether they are attentively listening to you or they are engaged in something else such as

conversation, sleeping or dousing. etc

However the delivery must not be look and say method from the pulpit. The preacher must

be him/herself. The preacher must not imitate others on how they deliver their sermons. Be

yourself and allow God to use you to win souls for Him.

c. Freelance Preaching - These days some preachers of which most of them are from thenewly sprung up churches ignore the pulpit during sermon delivery and often walk amongthe congregants in the course of the delivery. This newly adopted method helps a lot for

many reasons, because:

1. The closer you are to the people the better you can communicate with them andarouse their interest and catch their attention.

2. However, before the above method could be practiced efficiently and effective, thepreacher must do well to prepare his or her sermons early and read through several

8/13/2019 Orientation on Sermon Delivery to Church Congregation

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times before the delivery just to be conversant with the points he or she is going to

preach about.

3. The preacher must be wise and careful not to avoid his or her prepared manuscript.He or she must refer to the manuscript at short intervals to refresh his or her memory

and avoid deviation from prepared sermons.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE

1. Avoid making congregants to fall asleep when preaching. At times create a joke or crack ajoke to keep your hearers alive.

2. Preachers must not be dull. They must be active and lively. We must create a livelyenvironment through interactions to engage them. E.g. a. If maybe asking a question which

demands an answer from them. b. Singing a song / hymn. c. Ordering them to clap. etc.

3. Access your audience and preach to their level of understanding. For example: a. A sermonto be delivered at a theological institution should not be delivered at a normal Sunday

forenoon service in a village.

4. Avoid long sermons - Sermons must not travel more than 20 to 30 minutes. Preferablysermons must end by using 20 minutes.

5. Say a last prayer to end your sermon delivery before the Apostles Creed is said.6. See overleaf. ( Page 3)

EVALUATION

How do you evaluate your delivery?

a. What are the facial expressions and responses of your hearers?b. Were few or more of your audience dousing or sleeping?c. Were few or majority of your congregants leaving the premises?d. How was the atmosphere in the hall look like? Lively, boring, noisy?e. Were they acknowledging the message with the nodding of their heads to indicate that they

were following your message?

f. Were many of your listeners taking notes for future references? If not then later advise themto take notes so that so that they can refer to them to avoid forgetfulness.

7. Avoid unnecessary attempts to land or end a sermon, and then continue with the preachingPlease, when you make your mind to end or finish your preaching, do so. Do not continue to

put your hearers in suspense.

8. Avoid repetition of sentences, points, texts or scriptural verses.God richly bless us all, Amen!

Prepared by;

Rev. Ramseyer Obeng Danso

(Agent-in-Charge, PCG, North taifa Congregation)