Corkin' Good Sermons
I know what you’re thinking: “This is a pretty arrogant name for a sermon website!” Hear me out. The genesis of the name is this: My preaching mentor, Dr. Haddon Robinson, once said to me,
Too many preachers preach a mediocre sermon and then try to rescue it at the end with a corkin' good story.
I have heard it done and I have done it. So, in order to attract some attention to the site and not take myself too seriously I chose: "Corkin' Good Sermons." In my defense, I left the exclamation point off the end.
The purpose of preaching is not to make the preacher look good or the listener feel good. The purpose is for all of us to be more like Jesus because we have heard and submitted to the Word.
Transformation is the Goal, full stop!
After forty years of preaching, I have a very intentional and deeply held philosophy about sermons, preaching, and sermon goals. I will spare you the ninety-page version but these are the key points of my communication philosophy:
We must never mock God by hearing His Word and walking away unchanged—going about life without reflecting. We must be doers of the Word. We must be changed by what we hear. The purpose of preaching is not to make the preacher look good or the listener feel good. The purpose is for all of us to be more like Jesus because we have heard and submitted to the Word.
Second, every sermon must be clearly and accurately drawn from the Text of Scripture.The sermon must “read out the meaning” of the Text and never “read in the desired meaning or opinions” of the preacher. Even the most brilliant, interesting, and creative speaker cannot match the wisdom and value of the Word of God. If a preacher is only sharing his opinion or clever quotes or compelling stories or scintillating “visions” he saw, he has profoundly failed the listeners.
Third, the message must first impact the preacher before being shared with the listeners.Preaching is not an “occupation” in the sense of being a way to make money and gain status by speaking in public. Preaching is a “vocation” in that I must hear from God through His Word, then submit to His Truth, and then humbly share His Truth.
Fourth, in the Bible grace and truth are the valid methods of motivation.I must say what is true even if it is hard to hear and I must say it with grace. Guilt and shame are not valid or helpful ways to motivate. Each person is generally stocked up for life on both guilt and shame by the time they are ten. We get guilt from those in authority over us, from the devil, from religious systems, and most profoundly from ourselves. We need to hear the hard things from the Bible to be sure. But we don’t need a drubbing about being guilty sinners. Our primary identity, once we have trusted Christ, is that of “saints.” Our primary identity is not that of “sinners” and not even of “sinners saved by grace.” We are saints who are capable of sinning. As such, we need grace and truth, not guilt and shame.
Fifth, quality preaching is hope based.It is the tenor of a presentation that says, “In dependence on the Holy Spirit we can do this! God does not mock us by giving us commands that we cannot obey. He does not entertain Himself by watching us squirm and fail.” If He said to do it, we can do it.
Sixth, helpful preaching is “we” based and not “you” based.The preacher who sees himself as a fellow learner from Jesus is both more accurate in his thinking about reality and much easier to hear. The preacher who preaches down from his self-constructed pedestal of “maturity” or “calling” or “training” or “fame” or “general arrogance” is nearly impossible to learn from.