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10 Deadly Preaching Mistakes to Avoid

8. Don’t Fail Us.

The congregation expects the pastor to live by the apostles’ testimony of Acts 6:4, “We will devote ourselves continually to prayer and the ministry of the Word.” That’s why they try to pay the minister well, so he can be on call for the congregation full-time and be well-prepared when he walks into the pulpit.

Pastors should love their study. They need a place where they can leave their Bibles and study helps, notebooks and other resources without danger of someone moving or taking them. Ideally, they need to block off numerous hours each week to spending sufficient time there so they will be ready to feed the flock when Sunday morning rolls ’round (as it surely will).

Every congregation will have members who can tell when the preacher is skimping on the preparation. (A friend who leads the worship in his church says the pastor whispers to him to “take a little longer with the hymns; I don’t have a lot this morning.” It’s an unusual pastor who would admit to that.)

God said to the spiritual leaders in Jeremiah’s day: “If (you) had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they would have turned from their evil ways” (Jeremiah 23:22).

A sermon should be conceived in the heart of God and birthed in His counsel, then presented to the Lord and His people—like the Baby Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:22)—only when it is fully ready.

9. Don’t Obey Us.

Everyone in the congregation has his/her idea of what constitutes a good sermon. And, some will be quick to tell the preacher what he should be preaching. Some want more sermons on sin (they’re against it) and on prophecy (giving dates and identifying the antichrist). Some want longer sermons (I had a man tell me he had no use for the music, that if the full hour was the sermon it would please him) and some want shorter. Some want more stories and others want none.

A pastor will listen to their requests respectfully and then say: “Pray for me. I do want to preach exactly what the Lord says.” No one can argue with that.

I’ll go so far as to say if the preacher did cater to the various requests of church members concerning the sermons, they would lose respect for him. Something inside them knows a man of God should get the sermons from God, not from the squeaky wheels inside the congregation.

10. Don’t Neglect Us.

Shepherd your people during the week, preacher, so you will be able to connect with them in your sermons on Sunday.

Last Sunday, my pastor preached a sermon on grief. He told me that was not his intention, that he had announced a different message altogether. However, something happened toward the end of the week that sent the congregation into mourning.

A young couple in the church had twins born prematurely recently and neither lived. One lived only hours, and the pastor had done a funeral, then called the congregation to intercession. This weekend, the second child died, breaking the hearts of everyone in the church, whether they knew the parents or not. So, the pastor shelved his message and preached to God’s people on grief.

No one has to tell you when a pastor has a shepherd’s heart. You will know his heart when you see him tending to the hurting sheep.

Jesus said some people watching the sheep are merely hirelings and cannot be depended on when times are scary and the sheep are endangered (John 10:12-13).

Pastor, thou shalt be a shepherd to God’s people.