SansBlogue posts on preaching:

1. Unless preaching brings the word of God to life it is pointless - no one wants to hear my (or your!) opinions or wisdom. 2. Unless preaching leads to action [it] is worthless except as entertainment, and frankly Shortland Street is more entertaining than most sermons! (Actually SS is preaching, and often contains an implicit call to action, it's just that the message is never Christian and often not even morally sound.) 3. The least significant of the four, requiring preaching to be memorable, will largely be covered by the combination of 1, 2 and 4... 4. Preaching is boring, because it lacks excitement it lacks largely because often one or both of the first two are weak. You'd have to work hard to make biblical preaching that connects to my life unexciting, but it can be done... But, if the preacher has been grabbed by the word, and plans to act on it themselves... That is bound to be exciting, because lives will change (not just pagans who are converted, but long term Christians who are too)

Nothing to really disagree with there, or am I wrong? Any other criteria for preaching that you would add? Do you think the sermon has been elevated to a far higher plane of importance than it should be?

Bonus question: Anyone ever walked out in the middle of a bad sermon? I've been tempted before.

(For our non-Kiwi readers, Shortland Street is a New Zealand soap opera.)