The Art of Preaching: Drawing Hearts to Jesus

Introduction

When people come to church, they’ll tolerate a cold sanctuary. They’ll endure singing that sounds like someone just died. They’ll even suffer through potlucks that are absolutely disgusting. But they won’t come back if the sermon is terrible.

My friends, I want to talk with you today about something that matters deeply to the kingdom of God—the sacred calling of preaching. In the Jamaican churches I grew up in within Britain, we didn’t call the pastor “the pastor”—we called him “the preacher.” Because his entire job was boiled down to one thing: proclaiming the Word of God.

The Purpose of Preaching

Let me be crystal clear about what preaching is not:

• It’s not about filling a vacant slot when nobody else is available

• It’s not an opportunity to ride your favorite spiritual hobby horse

• It’s not a chance to set members straight who disagreed with you on the board

• It’s not your opportunity to get even with anyone

Preaching is about drawing people to Jesus Christ.

Tragically, all too often these days, we don’t make appeals for people to follow Jesus. We share information without inviting people to make a choice.

Assume there’s somebody in that church who has never heard the gospel before, who will never hear the gospel again—and make that appeal that day.

Challenges Modern Preachers Face

Time

Nobody has time these days. Setting aside time for study and sermon preparation is one of the greatest challenges.

Resources

Dictionaries and commentaries cost money. The SDA Bible Commentary is fantastic—but pricey. Here’s a practical tip: when someone in your congregation passes away, visit the family and ask if you can take some books. Children these days don’t want books. You’ll find treasures like the old blue volumes by Ellen White on Daniel and Revelation—verse by verse—worth thousands of dollars, that families are happy to give away.

Space and Solitude

Where do you prepare? Physical space at home can be a challenge. Every room may be occupied. Finding quiet to prayerfully think through your sermon matters.

Shortened Attention Spans

We live in the video age. People are used to dopamine hits every 30 seconds. Research suggests IQ levels are dropping because we no longer memorize things. Instead of engaging in critical thinking, we ask our phones. And now with AI, people are losing the ability to reflect logically.

Mixed Congregations

Some in your pews are “theological giraffes”—they’re deep into nuanced theology. Others are “theological slugs”—they need the bare basics. You must speak to both ends of the spectrum.

As a shepherd, you can only go as fast as the slowest lamb in your flock. If you go too fast, the flock gets strung out—and Satan picks them off one by one.

The Foundation: Your Spiritual Garden

If you’re going to preach, you must grow a spiritual garden. This means having an intentional devotional life. If you don’t feed yourself spiritually, the well runs dry—approximately every six days from Sabbath to Sabbath.

Just as a physical gardener looks for harvests of beauty in every season, the preacher looks for spiritual harvests throughout the year—in good seasons and bad. This isn’t about quick cash crops from Scripture. It’s about a steady flow of spiritual truth and insight.

Know Your Bible

• Read through the Bible at least once every year—for me, that’s four pages a day

• Find a translation you love and buy two or three copies of the same edition

• Become intimately familiar with the layout so you can find passages quickly

• When one wears out, have it rebound while using another copy

Resources Worth Investing In

Consider Bible software like Logos or Accordance. For about $900, you can get thousands of dollars’ worth of books at your fingertips—especially valuable when traveling. There’s now an SDA package available with the Bible commentary pre-installed.

Your Bible Choices

Three Types of Translations

Paraphrases—ignore them like the plague. The writer of the Clear Word said explicitly: “This should not be used for Bible study” and “should not be used for public liturgical reading.”

Choosing Your Translation

The average American reads at a 5th-6th grade level. The King James Version is an 11th grade reader. When your purpose is to lead people to Jesus—not baffle them—choose a translation people can understand.

The New Testament was written in Koine Greek—the language of the streets. The Old Testament was in Hebrew, but after the exile, when Scripture was read, someone would paraphrase in Aramaic (the Targums). Your translation choice matters.

Formal translations are best for sermon preparation. Use two or three formal translations side by side. Dynamic equivalents have a pastoral place—when someone is on morphine, dying of cancer, they need Scripture they can understand.

Manuscript Traditions

• Majority Text: Most manuscripts, but mostly 6th-8th century

• Alexandrian Text: Fewer manuscripts, but 2nd-4th century (closer to originals)

• Eclectic Text: Weighs the evidence verse by verse from multiple sources

Modern versions mostly use the eclectic text. The King James comes from the majority text tradition. If you buy a Bible with a critical apparatus at the bottom, it shows you alternate readings from other manuscript traditions—nothing is hidden.

Factors to Consider When Preaching

Your Audience

Ask these questions before you prepare:

• Adventists or non-Adventists?

• Academics or general congregation?

• Linguistically mixed (do you need a translator)?

• How many people? (300 is easier than 30!)

• How many children and nursing mothers?

• What’s their educational background?

• Are they skeptical and disenchanted, or church leaders?

The Location

Practical questions matter:

• Do they have HDMI or VGA? (Carry both adapters!)

• What’s the PA system like?

• What are the acoustics?

• Is there a pulpit? (Some are too small for Bible, notes, and laptop)

• Is there audiovisual capability for PowerPoint?

Time Considerations

• When does the service end?

• Is there a hard cutoff?

• Remember: hypoglycemics and diabetics need to eat by 12:30

• In black congregations, they’re immunized against long sermons; in white congregations, not so much

I once stood up to speak at 12:30 and was told I had 10 minutes. When I asked a black pastor how much time I had, he said, “Brother, the next service is at 4:00—you need to be done by 10 to 4.” I had 2½ hours!

Choosing Your Topic

This is often the hardest part—especially for visiting speakers who know nothing about the congregation.

Planning a Sermon Calendar

As a pastor, gather the elders and:

1. Identify the spiritual needs of your church

2. Map out six months ahead

3. Assign dates to preachers

4. Create a balanced spiritual menu

Example plan:

• January: Topical series on Jesus and money (5 parables)

• February: Exegetical series on Ruth (4 chapters, 4 Sabbaths)

• March: Topical sermons from Psalms on bitterness, forgiveness, reconciliation, joy, peace

• May: Acts 1-5 from Pentecost to Ananias and Sapphira

Homemakers plan menus before shopping—they don’t buy random food! Likewise, prepare a spiritual menu for your congregation.

What to Avoid

• Obscure texts (fascinating for study, a snare in preaching)

• Novel interpretations (you’ll rub the audience the wrong way)

• Personal hobby horses

• Taking texts out of context

• Preaching opinions instead of convictions

Three Types of Sermons

1. Topical Sermons

Focus: What does the Bible say about a specific topic? (Faith, forgiveness, hope, death, etc.)

Structure: The “Triple Decker” (Intro, A, B, C, Conclusion)

• A, B, and C should be roughly equal in length

• Each point needs a mini-conclusion and linking statement to the next

Approaches:

• Inductive: Ask a question, systematically work to the biblical answer

• Didactic (from didasko—to teach): Start with a statement of truth, then explain it point by point, then summarize

Warning: Avoid the “Sandy in San Diego, Mickey in Miami, David in Detroit” approach—15 minutes of tearjerking stories with a Scripture reference thrown in at the end. You’re transferring authority from God’s Word to human experience.

Preparation: Use a concordance (exhaustive Strong’s) to find every verse on your topic. Read all 70-90 texts on forgiveness, for example, and you’ll understand what the Bible actually says.

2. Expository/Exegetical Sermons

Focus: Expounding a passage of Scripture verse by verse.

Key Questions:

1. Who wrote this?

2. When did they write it?

3. What did they write?

4. To whom did they write it?

5. Why did they write it?

6. How would the original audience have understood this?

7. How should we understand it today?

Example: 1 Timothy 2:13-15 says, “A woman will be saved through childbearing.”

Is Paul saying women who don’t have children are lost? No!

• Who wrote it? Paul

• To whom? Timothy (a young pastor)

• Why? Look at 1 Timothy 4:1-3—false teachers were forbidding marriage

• Understanding: Paul’s point is that women can get married, have children (the natural consequence of marriage then), and still be saved—refuting the false teaching that marriage leads to condemnation

• Application today: Where Satan attacks the church (e.g., on marriage), leaders must live lives that refute those false teachings

Expository preaching is rare today, but in my opinion, it’s the most powerful because it allows the Word of God to speak directly to hearts.

3. Narrative Sermons

Focus: Following someone’s spiritual journey through a story.

Example: Mary’s Three Journeys

Example: Woman Caught in Adultery

• She hears seductive words (sweet nothings)

• Then angry, accusing words (“Stone her!”)

• Then silence—a strange man writing in the dust

• Then the sound of the crowd walking away

• Then one voice: “Where are they that condemn you? Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

In a world of accusing voices, Jesus has the final say—and He doesn’t accuse or condemn us.

Your Calling

Don’t be afraid when you’re asked to speak—whether at a women’s retreat, Pathfinders, Bible study, Wednesday night prayer meeting, vespers, or Sabbath sermon.

It’s your chance to grow.

Preaching is an invitation for God to walk with you through a Bible study process—for you to grow. When you stand up filled with the joy of discovery, saying “This is what the Lord has shown me,” that joy is contagious.

The message isn’t from the preacher—it’s from God. As The Desire of Ages says:

“There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart and lives a life wholly consecrated to God.”

---

May you preach not to be heard, but to draw hearts to Jesus.