The Value and Depth of Your Sermon
The Value and Depth of Your Sermon
A sermon is not merely a spiritual message that you deliver to people in a meeting or during the Divine Liturgy. Rather, it is the essence of all your thought and your heart as well.
It is a message that gathers together all your spiritual readings, all your knowledge, and all your experiences. It also contains the fruit of your study of the lives of the saints and of Church history. If, during the sermon, there is an appropriate occasion for a theological, doctrinal, liturgical, or canonical reference, this too may be included. Thus, the sermon becomes comprehensive in every respect.
This is the difference between a rich, substantial sermon and a superficial one. The people who listen can clearly sense and know whether the preacher has prepared his sermon or is merely speaking without thought.
Hence, people are drawn to certain priests, coming to them from every place and eager to hear their sermons, because they feel that from their words they gain a treasure that fills their minds with knowledge and their hearts with inspiration and a desire for a better life.
When a priest preaches, he influences not only through his words but also through his spirit, the warmth of his feelings, and the depth of his conviction. The faith that is within him is transmitted to the hearts of his listeners, and his conviction persuades them.
For this reason, a spoken sermon is often more influential than a printed one. In addition to its meanings, it gains the power of the speaker’s voice, spirit, tone, emotions, and even facial expressions.
It is a great opportunity that God grants you through serving people by preaching. Therefore, do not let this opportunity lose its spiritual benefit because of negligence, lack of preparation, or reliance on previous knowledge.
Our holy Apostles gave the greatest attention to preaching, to the extent that they said: “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4).
This is the ministry of the word—the work of the holy Apostles.
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