The One Thing Every Great Sermon Has In Common

Text Bryan

Have you ever wondered what separates good sermons from truly transformative ones? The answer isn't found in seminary textbooks or public speaking courses.

A simple yet profound quote revolutionized my entire approach to preaching: "You can preach a good sermon without loving your people, but you will never preach a great sermon without loving them." This insight was like putting on glasses I didn't know I needed, bringing everything into sharp focus. While technical skills matter—proper interpretation, effective delivery, perfect timing—they're merely beautiful wrapping on an empty box when love is absent.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
I once heard a quote and it changed the way I see
preaching.
It changed my entire way ofthinking when I plan my sermon.
And it wasn't from a seminaryclass, it wasn't from reading a
public speaking book, eventhough I love to read and learn.

(00:23):
Even though I love to read andlearn.
It actually came from a pastorteaching at a conference and he
said this this is so good.
He said you can preach a goodsermon without loving your
people, but you will neverpreach a great sermon without

(00:49):
loving them.
And hearing that quote wow.
When I hear that quote again,it reminds me.
It's like somebody handed me apair of reading glasses I didn't
even know I needed and all of asudden things come into focus.
And all the technique and allthe training in the world, as

(01:11):
good as it is, to help us seethe text clearly, what matters
most is that people see Jesusclearly.
And when we love, when we trulylove like Jesus, people will
see him.
When we teach or when we preach, that, to me, is the most

(01:33):
important thing we can learn ascommunicators and I know many
pastors out there that love topreach.
They just don't love the peoplethey're preaching to.
They love to preach, they justreally don't love those in front

(01:55):
of them.
Well, here's our main thoughtfor today yes, you can preach a
good sermon without love.
Yes, you can get the timingright, you can deliver with
energy and, yes, you caninterpret Scripture correctly.

(02:20):
But think about it this wayImagine someone handing you a
gift at Christmas.
The bow is beautiful, thewrapper is perfect and flawless,
and you open the gift and youlook down inside with all this

(02:40):
excitement and there's nothingthere.
And that's what preachingwithout love feels like.
It's impressive on the outside,but it's empty at its core, and
a good sermon is all it willever be, because something is

(03:02):
missing.
It's something you can'tmeasure At its core, and a good
sermon is all it will ever beBecause something is missing.
It's something you can'tmeasure, only something you can
feel, and that is love.
This is something I've come tounderstand over my years of
preaching.
Polished sermons don't movehearts.

(03:29):
Love does.
Then there are other pastorsthat I know who preach the same
sermon, less polished, but theyhave a genuine love and a
passion for the people they'repreaching to.
I've seen this happen at afuneral that I was preaching.
One time I got up and did mypart and I did it well.
I had good scriptures, I had astory or two.

(03:50):
But the pastor that came upafter me, he knew the family
very well and when he began tospeak you could feel it in the
room.
His love for them was evidentand it's not your knowledge so
much as it is the love you havefor the people in the room.

(04:11):
It's like when my youngestdaughter I guess she was around
four years old came running upto me on Father's Day around
four years old, came running upto me on Father's Day, she
handed me a crumbled piece ofpaper covered in crayons.
The words were misspelled, thedrawing didn't look anything

(04:32):
like me I'm much bigger thanthat but I didn't care because
behind that messy piece of paperwas love, and that's all that
mattered to me.
I'm not going to lie.
I might have teared up just alittle.
And when a preacher loves, it'sobvious.

(04:56):
It flows through them.
You can hear it in their voice.
You can hear it in their voice.
You can see it in their bodylanguage.
Everything they say says I loveyou.
The way they preach, it reallycan't be taught, but it is easy

(05:16):
to see.
How can we love people when wepreach.
I'm going to give you two waysto do that today.
Number one you must love God.
Now that part seems obvious,right, but you can tell.

(05:36):
When a pastor isn't close to Godthe words might be correct, the
timing is all good, buteverything they say has no
weight to it, and I know this tobe true.
If your own relationship withGod is not good, it will be

(05:58):
obvious.
It will be obvious in thepulpit.
When your connection with Himis dry, your preaching will be
dry in the pulpit.
That's why I believe the firstthing we need to do as pastors
is not work on the sermon, butwork on our relationship with

(06:21):
God.
That is the foundation of everysermon you will ever preach.
The second thing we need to doyou must love people.
Real love for people will turnany good sermon into a great
sermon.

(06:42):
When you love your people, youunderstand them.
You know their struggles, theirneeds, their lives.
That changes the way you preach.
Your words connect on a deeperlevel because they come from
this core understanding of yourpeople.

(07:02):
Think of it like this the way Italk to my wife and my
daughters is very different fromhow I talk to a stranger With
my family.
I know them, so I know whatthey need to hear.
With a stranger I can be polite, but it's not on the same level

(07:24):
.
There are many great preachersthat I've heard that can spin a
great story, turn a phrase.
They're engaging, they'reamazing to listen to, they're
energetic and interesting, butwithout love they will never
reach their full potential.

(07:46):
I think Paul said it best in 1Corinthians.
He said if I speak in thetongues of men and angels but
have not love, I am a noisy gongor clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powersand understand all mysteries and
all knowledge and I have allfaith to remove mountains but

(08:07):
have not love, I want you to getthis I am nothing.
Don't miss this point.
Without love, it's all useless.
A preacher without love isnothing.
You're really just one of thenoisemakers out there.

(08:30):
You're making a lot of noisebut you're not making a real
difference.
Do you really love the peoplein front of you?
Do you really love the peoplein front of you?
Do you really love them the wayJesus taught you?

(08:53):
Or has ministry become so hardthat you stand up there every
Sunday and you preach angry andfrustrated?
Maybe you're dealing with yourown pride and you're making it

(09:13):
about you, when it should beabout serving others.
Your love for God has to comefirst, your love for people has
to come second, and it shouldshow every time you preach,
because here's the truth yourpreaching might be good, but

(09:38):
without love, it will never begreat.