Is there a small detail in your preaching that would yield disproportionate fruit if you gave it some attention? Maybe even a “non-content” element of preaching that would make your biblical content land with more precision and penetration? The answer is, yes, absolutely. Give some thought to your transitions!
As I listen to sermons in the classes I teach, it is often the transitions between points that either let a sermon down or help a sermon land with force. Each transition is an opportunity to give breathing space (for fast-paced preachers), or assurance of progress (for more ponderous presenters), as well as a re-entry point for distracted listeners, and an opportunity to restate the main idea at a key moment in the sermon. Then, of course, there is the main function of a good transition: to set up the next point in the sermon!
Transitions are small moments with big impact. In sporting terms, transitions provide assists so that the sermon points can score goals. Every coach knows the person giving the assist will get less glory but is critical to the team’s success.
So, hopefully, I have convinced you that transitions matter. Feel free to go to your next sermon and think through how each transition could be most effective. Or, if you want five specific suggestions on how to transition well, please check out this Bitesize episode on The Biblical Preaching Podcast!
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A compelling conclusion contains three ingredients: a look back, a look forward, and a definite finish. However, many sermon conclusions are harmed by extra ingredients. Here are a few to watch out for and avoid when bringing your sermon down to its landing.
1. The conclusion is not the place for new information. Do not go deeper into the text, nor bring in extra scholarship at this point in the sermon. A helpful story or quote could be helpful, but remember that you are trying to finish, not trying to add more to the message.
2. The conclusion is not the place for emotional manipulation. Do not try to ramp up the emotion at the end of the message. Let the affective force of the text do its work in the body of the message. While there is scope for enthusiasm and encouragement, listeners are rightly wary of added emotion designed only to stir response at the end of a message. It feels manipulative, so don’t do it.
3. The conclusion is not the place for an untrusting final effort. You have prayerfully prepared and presented God’s Word. Trust the Word and trust the Spirit. Do not think that if you just give one last push, then you will be able to push people into a response. Sometimes a brief message review can become one last try to drive the truth home to the listeners. This final and added push, often generated by the apparent lack of responsiveness in the listeners, is not faith-filled but is a fleshly effort to achieve a goal that is not ours to achieve. The Lord brings the growth.
4. The conclusion is not the place for a discouraging, downbeat fade towards the finish. A sea of apparently unresponsive faces can be pretty disheartening. But the conclusion is not the time to show your discouragement. If the listeners sense it in your tone, or see it in your face, then your conclusion will undo the good that may be present but invisible. Again, trust God to change lives, even if it feels like a failure in this moment.
5. The conclusion is not the place for disconnected applications. Some preachers feel the conclusion is a special moment to throw extra applications at their listeners. Don’t do it. After a message on prayer, don’t add in an extra “Oh, and also be sure to tell someone about Jesus this week and invite them to next Sunday’s special event.”
For a fuller explanation of the three ingredients for compelling conclusions and Peter’s acronym to remember them, please watch the video or listen to the podcast. We appreciate any help getting the word out about this new resource – thank you in advance for any likes, comments, reviews, follows, shares, and prayers!
The Biblical Preaching Podcast is live! My plan is to build on episodes with blog posts here so that you can get extra content on the blog, but also hopefully want to check out either the podcast or the related videos on YouTube.
In Episode 1, we discuss “Why Biblical Preaching?”
People often raise the issue of a changing society. The logic is simple – our world is changing at a rapid rate. Technology is advancing faster than ever; people are bombarded with highly stimulating, rapidly moving content, and consumers access information differently than they did even a few years ago. Therefore, many say that a verbal monologue delivered to a gathered congregation must be a mode of communication that should be consigned to history. Spurgeon’s Victorian England may have needed preachers, and maybe Lloyd-Jones’ twentieth-century London required preachers, but surely we now live in a different world?
In the first part of the podcast, we discuss the question, “why preaching?” We mention three reasons:
1. Because of the Biblical example – From Moses and Joshua, through the times of the Old Testament prophets, to the ministry of Jesus and the apostles in the early church, the consistent example is that of spoken messages pointing people to God’s person and purpose in this world.
Note: The world of the Bible is not monolithic. There were vast shifts and changes between the preaching of Moses in Sinai, and the message of Joshua in the Promised Land, to the proclamation of Paul in Athens or Miletus. And yet, through all the rising and falling of great empires, the shifting of cultures, the progression in God’s plan of history, still the pattern is consistent. God’s messengers spoke a word that changed lives and shifted history. It could be considered arrogant to think that our brief period of change should override millennia of shifting contexts in which preaching was a primary means of God working in the world.
2. Because of Biblical instruction – Paul’s final letter, written to Timothy, closes with the instruction to preach the Word. It is fascinating that he does not focus on spectacular spiritual gifts or any other possible emphases for continuing ministry beyond his own time. Instead, he urges Timothy to prioritize reading God’s Word and preaching it! In other places, we can see instruction that would lead us to consider preaching as a critical component of gospel ministry.
3. Because of theological reality – What is God like? He is a revealing, speaking and incarnational God. In preaching, we see all persons of the Trinity in action – the Father’s loving initiative driving the whole mission of God in this world; the Son’s revealing of his Father and rescuing of humanity is the focus of both Scriptural and biblical preaching; and the Spirit woos, convicts and changes hearts through preaching. In the podcast, I note how preaching (in this case, including spoken testimony), plays a key role in the story of salvation. Where humanity fell into sin by doubting the word of an apparently absent God, so God wins a redeemed people back based not on a great show of power but based on the apparent weakness of words spoken in the kingdom of darkness.
In the second part of the podcast, we get into why we use the label “Biblical Preaching” and whether that is the same as “Expository Preaching.” I will let you listen to the podcast to find out more! Please check out the podcast, follow it on your podcast platform of choice, and thank you in advance for every interaction with the podcast or YouTube clip, as it helps the algorithm spread the content to more people. Positive reviews are invaluable as we get the podcast going – thank you!
I’m excited to announce the launch of our brand-new podcast: The Biblical Preaching Podcast! Unlike the many great sermon podcasts, this podcast is designed for those who preach, those who are learning to preach, and anyone who cares deeply about the ministry of preaching.
My Cor Deo colleague, Mike Chalmers, will join me as we discuss all things preaching. Together, we’ll explore this ministry’s joys, challenges, and complexities.
Here’s what you can expect:
Engaging Discussions: Insights into various aspects of biblical preaching.
Special Guests: We’ll feature some amazing voices from the world of preaching—our first guest joins us next week!
Encouragement for Preachers: Each full episode concludes with a segment designed to encourage those in preaching ministry.
Bitesize Episodes: Shorter episodes focusing on one specific aspect of preaching.
Related Blog Posts: From time to time, I’ll share blog posts that dive deeper into themes we discuss in an episode. These posts won’t be mere transcripts but will provide additional perspectives, practical tips, or reflections to help you take the conversation further.
Our hope and prayer for this podcast is simple: that it will strengthen and encourage biblical preaching in churches around the world. Where biblical preaching thrives, the church grows healthier, and healthy churches reach their communities.
We want this podcast to be a gathering point—a place where preachers can connect, reflect, and grow together. This is your conversation! We’ll celebrate the goodness of God, explore the transformative power of rightly handled Scripture, tackle the complex realities of ministry, and share the joy of seeing lives changed through the preached Word.
How to Listen & Connect: 🎙️ Listen to the Podcast on Your Favorite Platform:
Biblical Preaching 