ANATOMY OF A GOOD SERMON

Internet sermons are not the real experience – the Word of God needs to be listened to and submitted to in the local congregation to which the Christian disciple belongs.

But Cranmer’s Curate this week listened to a stand-out Christ-honouring sermon downloaded from the website of Dundonald Church in south London. It was on James 4v1-17, delivered to the congregation on Sunday November 14th and entitled ‘Fights and Quarrels?’. The preacher was the Revd Richard Coekin.

Here is a breakdown of why it was so good:

• It was delivered in plain English – there was no attempt to be flashily intellectual or impress with specialist theological jargon.

• It showed the contemporary relevance of James’ theme of conflict to the modern world and church but the biblical text set the agenda.

• The preacher was preaching to himself as much as to the congregation about the danger of friendship with the world. The humble personal engagement of the preacher made it all the more authoritative as a proclamation of God’s Word to fellow disciples.

• It was a serious sermon on a serious subject but was enhanced by human touches of humour. The illustrations from human experience were well-chosen and practical - they did not draw attention to themselves by trying to be cleverly inventive or 'original' but rather served the exposition of God's Word.

• The sermon recognised the specificity of the situation James was addressing in the churches he was writing to but clearly demonstrated the practical relevance of his admonitions to our own hearts and lives as sinners desperately in need of God's grace.

It is easy to take godly preaching like this for granted in a church where it is happening regularly. But the reality is that it is extremely rare in the modern church beyond the Evangelical comfort zones and therefore should be exported by a regional, cultural and social spreading out of ministers capable of delivering it.