Boring Sermons

I am sure everyone has at some time attended a service that you found totally boring or you just never seemed to get the message that was being carried across to you.

I today experienced that and I felt totally lost in the sermon and was not sure what message was being carried across.

I have sat and thought about a few things why we experience a sermon boring - Here are some factors as to why and I will discuss each listed in short detail:

• Verses
• Context
• Application
• God's message or Preachers own message
• Not structured
• Correct pitch at audience
• Preacher
• Knowledge/research on topic
• Life experience
• Spirituality

Lets first look at the first three I listed - VERSES, CONTEXT and APPLICATION:

I am no biblical expert but I can tell that when verses are selected in a sermon which do not fit in with one another an individual listening to a sermon looses the message from the moment the preacher starts and if they are not in context with one another relating to the same topic you get lost instantly - why ? -  it confuses one to what or where the message is going and most people want to know how they apply the verses within ones daily life and if a preacher cant apply and show the context in which it was written to people when hearing the message you get lost just like I experienced this morning.

God's message or Preachers message:

You always find a captivated audience when its God's message and not the preachers message - ok so now you might ask what is the difference, well its easy to spot the difference and it is as follows:

With God's message is being carried across it cuts like a knife and why ? 

Hebrews 4:12 (New International Version)

 12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

If a preacher drifts off Gods word that is when you will experience a "bored" feeling as it becomes his message and not Gods word as Gods word is alive and active and is so sharp it will cut like a knife in your heart.

Not structured correctly together with audience involved

A preacher has to also ensure that the sermon is structured according to the audience - if an adult audience pitch it accordingly and if a youth audience do the same and when the audience is mixed there must be a balance between both as I believe only then can your audience remain captivated.

Preacher,Life experience and knowledge

If a preacher is not familiar with the topic presented an audience will pick it up easily and the same goes for seeing the research gone into the topic - if  not well researched together with  a preacher who presents a topic that they have no life experience in can become absolutely boring and I am sure many who read this article can relate to it as you have experienced it some or other time ?

Spirituality

Besides what I have mentioned another factor that we must not forget is where we are in our own spirituality as this can also lead to what we experience as boring and can be summed up like this:

If the message you listening to is perhaps pitched at to a lower level than your understanding of Gods word you can experience a "bored" feeling.  If the message is pitched beyond your level of understanding and a preacher does not give context and understanding you can also experience the same.

I have found that a sermon is only effective and captivating when the preacher pitches at the correct level, can apply the verses in context, is well researched, it is structured and most importantly everything must be Biblically based and if there is any life experience regarding the given topic.

I would just like to end by saying that if you going to preach - use Gods word for the basis of everything so that whatever you say can be confirmed by what the Bible says - It is the only way to keep an audience captivated and this ensures you are carrying Gods message and not your own message.