- Hi, I'm Katia Adams. I often get asked all sorts of questions on the topic of preaching. So I wanted to share with you five of my top tips for delivering a sermon. Number one, body language, maintain eye contact, stand up straight. No one wants to listen to a preacher who looks like they don't want to be there. So make sure your body language is communicating that you're excited about what you're preaching on, and you're excited to share it with the congregation in front you. Number two, take your time and breathe. This is one that I need to remind myself because I get too excited and talk way too fast. But make sure that your nerves don't make you talk so fast that no one can really understand what you're saying. Make sure that you really slow down, breathe. If it sounds to you like you're talking too slowly, you're probably talking at a good pace. Number three, avoid jargon. Words like sanctification, justification, being washed in the blood of Jesus, all wonderful traits, probably not best to use them in a public meeting if you're not going to explain them. So make sure that the terms that you use make everyone in the room feel like they can engage with your sermon rather than making some people feel like they're excluded, or some people feel like they're inadequate, because they don't understand the christian phrases that you're using. Work really hard as you prepare and in the moment of delivery, to either avoid words of jargon altogether, or if you're going to use them to explain them really well. Next one, rely on the Holy Spirit. Once you've done all your work of preparing your sermon, it can feel tempting in the moment to ignore the Holy Spirit speaking to you when you're on the platform because you have the plan in front of you. But make sure in the moment of delivering your sermon, that you're listening to the Holy Spirit. When I preach, I've got two conversations happening. One is the conversation that's happening with my congregation, I'm preaching My message to them. The second conversation is with Holy Spirit that's going on inside my mind the whole time. And that conversation happens all the way through my sermon, as I'm trying to listen to the Holy Spirit nudging me to one point in the sermon or to another, or to a point that isn't in my sermon at all. So make sure once you're up on that platform, that you're listening to the Holy Spirit's guidance and leading in the moment. And last one, and this really is for before you deliver your message. Imagine the ministry time before you get up on that platform, for lots of preachers they struggle with the ministry time or the response time after their message, because they haven't thought about it at all. So they get to that moment and suddenly it's like they drop their message into landing and then they don't know what to do. So before you get up on that platform, imagine what you're going to do after your sermon. Imagine how you want people to respond and how you're going to lead them to respond. So, I hope that's all helpful for you. Thanks for watching. If you found this helpful, consider joining my E-course, Her Voice. It's a seven week course for women looking to grow their preaching gift.
