I am going to start a series of posts today on the subject of the sermon appeal. The sermon appeal is a time in the sermon where the preacher asks the congregation to change in light of the sermon presented.

One of my preaching mentors told me once that every sermon, Bible Study, or religious lecture should end in an appeal. Certainly this is from a particular conservative evangelical perspective, but I do think that it is an important part of the sermon even for those who do not come from such traditions.

One of the great attractions of the appeal is that if you end with an appeal it will provide direction to your sermon. If the preacher thinks about the appeal, that preacher will know what she or he is asking the people to do with the message. This helps the preacher solidify and craft the message in a way that she may not have been able to do without focusing on the appeal. If you plan on an appeal, you will at least be directing your sermon in a particular direction. Focusing on a particular direction is very important.

Another great benefit of an appeal is that it provides a tangible way for the people to respond in the service. Certainly the “rubber hits the road” in the daily lives of the people you address as they attempt to live out the implications of the gospel preached, but the first step is to get them to move. People are more likely to live out that which they have publicly accepted. Certainly this is not always the case and there is a hypocritical impulse in all of us, but it is also true that change does happen and sometimes “taking one’s stand” is the first step to a more faithful life. Some can trace a change happening after sitting at the “mourners bench.”

Perhaps one of the strongest reasons for having an appeal is that it is the tradition of your particular congregation and/or denomination. If you have read this site for any period of time you know that I am not against tradition. Tradition is important. We should use tradition to promote the Gospel of the Kingdom. However, we should not allow tradition to stand in the way of our presentation of the Gospel. It is my opinion that in most cases a well placed and faithful appeal goes a long way towards promoting the truth that was presented.

In short, why have an appeal? Because it can help the preacher to ask herself “What do I want the people to do with this message?” For these reasons, I think you should carefully reconsider the appeal if you are not used to given them in your sermons.

In my sermon consulting work, sometimes individuals indicate difficulty finding something to “celebrate.” As you know, celebration is the time in the sermon where we intellectually experience the truth of the message. However, sometimes individuals look long and hard for something to celebrate and can’t find it either in the text or in their sermons.

Is There Good News?

First, look for the good news. If you have no good news then I am sure you will not have any celebratory components. Certainly there are times when celebration is not warranted, but in most cases, our sermons should have good news. So what do you celebrate? The truth of the good news in your text. I would definitely encourage you to check out Frank Thomas’ book They Like To Never Quit Praisin God for a method that centers around finding that Good News in the text.

Ultimately, if you have difficulty finding a celebration, then I would encourage you to attempt to find the Good News first. Then, more than likely, the celebration will jump out at you.

Where Is God’s Activity?

Second, look for God’s activity rather than ours. A sermon full of prescriptions will make it difficult to find something to celebrate. Certainly there are times when a “celebrative challenge” might be helpful, but sometimes we find it difficult to find the close in our sermon because we overemphasize our responsibility or activity over God’s activity for humanity.

Some of these sermons end up having the pastor either castigate the people for not doing “this or that” or they end up being prescriptions for the people to do “this or that.” This is not a conservative versus liberal thing. Liberals have their “this or that” moments just as conservatives. So sometimes we castigate the people for not being loving or making the newcomer more welcome. Sometimes we castigate the people for not following the commands of God. Sometimes we castigate the people for looking at the wrong television programs or wearing their “pants too low or skirts too high.” Sometimes we castigate the people for sexual promiscuity and other areas of sexuality.

Certainly there is a place for correction, but if that is all your sermon all the time, then it will be difficult to find the celebration. I would encourage you to think about and preach about what God does for humanity in addition to the ethical demands of living in line with God. Then you will find it easier to get that close.

Who Empowers The People

Finally, if you must emphasize our activity, emphasize God’s making our activity possible. Ok, there are times when we need to do a challenge. There are times when you must emphasize human activity. I would encourage you to spend a little time discussing how God makes that activity possible. God empowers our living. God makes godly living possible. God enlightens our mind to what we should do. So even though the brunt of your sermon may be about human activity, that does not mean that you don’t make room for God.

In short, if God is not in your sermon, then it is not a sermon, it is a “suggestion.” Whether you have a celebrative close or not, I would encourage you to make sure that what you say that your “Good News” should be plain in the sermon. In addition, who God is and what God does for and in humanity should be just as prominent as your prescriptions for Christian living.

Bible Teaching is not about simply transferring information.  It includes that, but it also includes changing the lives of the people you have been called to teach the Word to.  Rick Blackwood, in his article The Power of Multi-Sensory Preaching, uses a baseball metaphor to speak about the objective of the Bible teacher.

On first base is gaining the attention of the congregation.  Here the teacher must gain the attention of the people.  The teacher must order the lesson so that the people will desire to hear the message.  This is valuable to keep in mind.  You can do this with an effective introduction.  If you don’t gain them early, you can’t do much anything else.  This is your first step.

The second base is getting the people to comprehend the message.  People must fully understand what you presented if it is going to be effective.  It should be totally clear.  Bible teachers should make sure that people understand as the next step after gaining their attention.

The third base is helping the people to retain the message.  It is one thing to be interested, it is another thing to understand the message, but it is important to be able to remember the message.  As Bible communicators we must be in a position to help people remember the message.  I would argue that celebration is the natural outgrowth of comprehending the message of truth and that it aids in retaining the message.

Then we reach home plate when the people practice the message.  We can never be happy just with people hearing the good news.   Our purpose is transformation of people by helping them to practice what has been presented in the powerful word of God.

So effective Bible teachers should gain the attention of the people, move towards comprehension of the message, and then help them retain the message.  Finally, we present in such a way that the people will practice the message.  That way our messages will make a difference in the day to day lives of our people.