“All Scripture is God-breathed,” according to 2 Timothy 3:16. But when it comes to Sunday morning preaching, some passages may prove more profitable than others. Here are some characteristics of the best preaching texts.
A complete unit of thought, not a scrap of words.
Long enough to provide the preacher with some meat for his discourse, short enough to enable him to cover the material in one sermon.
As clear as possible. Some dark passages may not be helpful as texts.
Full of color. Life illumines life, and the more the text speaks of human life, the better it as the basis for a sermon.
A presentation of the gospel. Sometimes the gospel message must be seen in contrast or in fulfillment of the text, but there should be some relationship of the material to Jesus Christ.
A message for the preacher. If the text says nothing to him, then he will say nothing to the people.
A message for God’s people. Twentieth-century man is like first-century man, but he is also different. The text should speak in such a way that we can apply the message to our world.
-W. A. Poovey
Leadership Spring 1983 p. 36
Copyright © 1983 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.
