In my last post I quoted David Jackman who said the only expository sermon worth hearing is "one where the voice of God is heard".

If you don't hear the voice of God as he has revealed himself in Scripture, then both the preacher and hearers are wasting their time.

However, at Moore College I ask our students to assess their sermons by answering three questions:
1. Was it true?
2. Was it interesting?
3. Was it relevant?

Today I want us to start to think through what makes an interesting and relevant sermon.

Drawing out the drama

Think about TV. What is the thing that makes you come back and keep watching after the commercial break?

The answer is the drama.

Drama is created when a conflict or complication to a story occurs. This induces in the watcher a need to have resolution. So most TV dramas will progress from the conflict to a climax and finally a resolution.

To frame this in another way: the scriptwriter creates a problem that needs to be resolved.

In sermons it is the same. What will keep hearers listening is that there is something significant to their existence raised by the sermon that want to hear resolved by the preacher.

Because we are dealing with God's words as we preach, the hearers' excitement should flow naturally from God's revelation and not merely from communication technique. So there are some things preachers should remember in preparing sermons.

1. The conflict/complication must arise from the passage being expounded, and not be imported form outside.

2. The drama is drawn out when the preacher moves from the complication to resolution. Bryan Chapell in his helpful book Preaching Christ calls this the "fallen condition focus" (fcf). The 'fcf' is the issue of complication raised and answered by the text, yet true of all humanity, including the hearers of the sermon. This is because we share the same fallen state as those in the Bible situation.

3. The resolution always has a gospel shape. This is because God's solution to the human problem is the gospel through which he is glorified. The resolution will display different facets of the gospel, but it is always the gospel.

4. If the conflict and resolution truly come from the section being expounded, the progress from conflict to resolution is where the passage can be taught.

5. The relevance for the congregation comes from selecting an appropriate 'fcf'. The sermon introduction should help the hearers see that the conflict raised by the passage is also an issue relevant to them.

Of course, all this means preachers must do some very hard work on the text we are expounding: introduction, complication, climax and resolution are all governed by the Scripture.

If this pattern is followed, then the voice of God will be heard in the sermon.