The second is to climb inside the heart and mind of the author, with the help of the Holy Spirit, and form your points from his.

If your sermon is confusing, it means you haven’t worked diligently enough on behalf of your listeners.

God, protect my tone.

If you can tell a good story that fits your text or introduces your topic, people will be anxious to hear more.

As the great British preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, “Let your sermons be full of Christ, from beginning to end crammed full of the gospel.”5 That’s what we’re after: sermons crammed full of Christ.

Endings matter. How many books have you read, movies have you seen, or TV series have you watched and loved that were ruined by a lousy ending? We don’t want our otherwise strong sermons to be weakened by sloppy endings.

Clarity is paramount in effective communication. Commit to closing with clarity regarding what Christ has done and what God calls His people to do. If you are clear through the majority of your sermon but confusing as you close, it will cast a cloud over your entire sermon. Strive to close with maximum clarity.

Rather than limping across the finish line late Friday or throwing something together Sunday morning, I started writing my conclusion on Thursday. This ensured I was fresh when writing it and helped me know exactly where I was headed.

The riskiest part of every sermon is always the illustration. It either clarifies or confuses. There is no middle ground.