Five Minute Preaching Tips: Sermon Endings That Stick
Ever delivered a sermon that felt powerful in the moment but seemed to evaporate by Monday morning? The missing ingredient might be simpler than you think.
From my back porch, surrounded by nature and birdsong, I'm sharing a game-changing insight that transformed my own preaching: the art of ending sermons with purpose. Drawing from a personal experience where I preached what I thought was a compelling message about being "the light of the world," I reveal the critical mistake that left my congregation inspired but directionless.
Whether you're a seasoned pastor or just beginning your preaching journey, this simple shift in approach will help your messages stick, creating "Monday moments" that lead to genuine life change. Ready to take your sermons from informative to transformative? Listen now, and don't forget to share this episode with a pastor friend who might benefit from these practical preaching tips.
SPEAK LIFE WITH YOUR WORDS!
00:00 - Back Porch Reflections Introduction
01:05 - Learning From Personal Experience
02:11 - Practical Applications for Stronger Sermons
I'm sitting on my back porch just looking at the woods, listening to the birds, hearing the wind, and it's raining a little bit, and this is a place I come to just gather my thoughts and clear my mind, and I thought I'd share this time with you and call this a bonus episode. Back Porch Preaching Tips Back Porch Preaching Tips. And I want to give you some practical ideas in five minutes each week. And so here we go. In today's episode, I want to talk about how you end your sermon. Here's the truth. Don't let the end just be a point or an insight. Okay, you have to end it with some action, some application.
Speaker 1:
You've probably heard a sermon that was rich in content, that was full of truth, and then it just ended and faded out and you don't even know what you heard. I've done this myself. I can remember a sermon that I really loved, thought I was doing well, great outline, great points about being the light of the world, and at the end of the service we had everybody turn their light on their phone up and hold it up and with all the lights out, you could see all these hands that had been raised with their lights and it was a great picture of how we could be the light of the world. And I said go be the light of the world. And then I prayed, that was it. I gave no instruction of what that meant. I mean you can assume, but you know it lays flat. There's no action involved. So what I did on the next service? I changed it and I added these things. I said give a good tip at the restaurant today to be the light Wave at the person that pulled out in front of you Wave. Don't give any other sign. Okay, be kind to the person who cut in front of you at the grocery store. Be the light. Put action, put application to the end of your sermon. Here's the great tip.
Speaker 1:
Great sermons land the plane with purpose. They answer the question. So what now? You know Paul did this all the time. He gave theology, followed by application. Jesus ended his parables to call a call of action. Go and do likewise.
Speaker 1:
So ask yourself your next sermon. Why do I want my people to do, feel or change because of this message? What is the one thing they can apply today? And then say it directly, make it clear, put it in a statement, don't just say so. That's our message today. I hope to help you Say this week forgive someone you've been avoiding, don't wait, go do it now and see. That's a moment. I believe that carries to Monday. That's a sermon. They live not just here. So application for you today would be this week, as you write your sermon, just don't end it with a summary. End it with a summary, end it with a step. Give your people one clear action that brings the truth home and takes it beyond Sunday.
Speaker 1:
Okay, well, thanks for tuning in today to the Back Porch Sermon and if today's episode was good for you, you got something out of it. Share it with a pastor friend. Also, let me know what you think and if you want to, you can text Brian from the website. I'd love to hear from you. So I want to pray for you before we're done. I just want to go ahead and pray. I said Lord, help those who are listening today to not just preach but inform so lives may be transformed. Give us wisdom. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen. Thank you for joining me today and remember to speak life with your words.
