What Do Sermons Do?

Sermons. We are familiar with them as the central event of corporate worship. But why? What makes them so important? What do sermons even do?

They Teach Us

Sermons help us understand what the Bible says, which is to say, they teach us what God says. Your weekly Lord’s Day sermon ought to give you doctrine and truth and applications to think about. A good sermon will also help you better understand the passage that was preached. But that is not the only thing sermons do.

They Make Us Grow

How do sermons make us grow as Christians? By making our faith stronger. Sermons are faith workouts. As God’s word is being declared to us, we welcome it by faith in the moment of preaching. And as we do so, God uses his word to make our trust in him stronger by giving it something to exercise on, namely, Jesus and his many promises to us. We take this strengthened faith with us, even if we can’t remember everything that was said in the sermon. Because my faith is now stronger, it makes trusting God in my life a little more intuitive. And that is growth.

If you are sitting under nourishing sermons on a regular basis, be encouraged that you are growing, even if you can’t always tell.