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7 Reasons to Preach God-Centered Sermons

Preachers everywhere face the pressure to preach messages that put humanity at the center. Someone has estimated that over 80 percent of sermons are human-centered.

David Wells writes:

It seems that God has become a rather awkward appendage to the practice of evangelical faith, at least as measured by the pulpit. Indeed, from these sermons it seems that God and the supernatural order are related only with difficulty to the life of faith. He appears not to be at its center. The center, in fact, is typically the self. God and His world are made to spin around this surrogate center, for our world increasingly is understood within a therapeutic model of reality. (No God but God: Breaking With the Idols of Our Age)

The alternative, of course, is preaching that centers on God. Rather than being less relevant, it is actually much more explosive and life-changing.

I spent some time thinking about this a few years back, and came up with seven reasons why God-centered preaching is better than human-centered preaching:

1. It glorifies God.

One reason to preach God-centered sermons is that it brings glory to God, especially in comparison to human-centered sermons. It reminds us that God is the hero of each text, and he gets the glory.

Human-centered sermons still talk about God, but place undue emphasis on our role and our needs. God does not yield his glory to another. This is ultimately a form of idolatry: putting anything else in God’s rightful place.

2. It is more accurate.

God-centered preaching emphasizes accuracy in the study and communication of a biblical passage. Scripture itself is God-centered, and preaching must be God-centered if it is to stay consistent with Scripture.

Human-centered readings misinterpret the text and lead to sermons that, while seemingly biblical, fail to recognize that the Father, Son and Spirit are the key characters, and we are participants, not the main players. When the God-centered purpose of the text governs the sermon, then that sermon is more accurate to the meaning and the purpose of Scripture.

3. It tells a better story.

God-centered preaching also exposes the false stories that hold people captive, even within our churches. The North American story promises happiness and peace to those who are successful, famous and rich. This worldview holds people captive in the never-ending quest to accomplish more, earn more and win the respect of others.

In contrast, God-centered preaching invites us into an alternate story in which peace does not depend on accomplishments, money or the praise of people. God-centered preaching likewise exposes the prevailing worldview as a lie, unfurls reality as God sees it and proclaims the truth that leads to freedom. It does not try to improve our lives within a false story; it tells a true story that leads to freedom.