Random Thoughts about Preaching and Being Preached To

Posted on April 22, 2026 
Filed under Encouragement, Resources

Canadian Christian writer and blogger Tim Challies has put together some “random thoughts” on preaching and being preached to –

“There are few matters more foundational to pastoral ministry than preaching, and few matters more common to the Christian experience than being preached to. Most pastors will preach thousands of sermons over the span of their ministry, and most congregants will listen to thousands of sermons over the span of their lifetime. This means we should think about preaching often and well!

In this article, I’ve simply collected some random thoughts on the subject and have alternated them so that half are for the ones preaching the sermons and the other half are for the ones listening to them. …”

Here are extracts from the first four –

“In my experience, sermons tend to grow in quality more by subtraction than by addition. Often, one of the best things a preacher can do to improve his sermon is to strip away 20 or 25% of his content as a final step in the preparation process. …

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Being obviously attentive as you listen to a sermon can be a great gift to the preacher. The preacher gains more than you may think from your looks of appreciation (or disgust), your attentive eyes (or tired ones), and your quiet amens (or groans). …

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The appropriate length, style, and format of a sermon can change over time and between contexts. We should expect that sermons preached at an Anglican Church in Sydney, a Baptist Church in Topeka, and a Dutch Reformed church in Cape Town will differ in many ways. … The challenge of any preacher is to preach the sermons that are suited to his congregation and not some other.

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It is good to listen to a sermon with an open Bible … the preacher assumes you will have an open Bible so you can follow along with him. This is difficult to do when you did not bring one or will not open it. …”

– Be encouraged to take the time to read and ponder them.