Sermon Tips from Dacon Training

Intro

And the preacher tells the story of Jesus Christ who is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. This should seem obvious, but how many homilies have we heard that barely mention the name of Jesus Christ? Preaching will test the faith of a preacher who regularly must answer the question, “Who is Jesus Christ?”

Scirghi, Thomas J.. Longing to See Your Face (p. 1). Liturgical Press. Kindle Edition. On All Saints’ Day, every year, the church chants the first three stanzas of Psalm 24. R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Today, the preacher, standing in the sanctuary, serves as the mediator between the Lord and the people. The preacher views the people in their relationship with God. The people ask how they may be made ready to meet the Lord. Preaching is about preparing the faithful to meet the Lord.

Preaching is a most important work of the priest. The church declared at the Second Vatican Council, “For since nobody can be saved who has not first believed,

the people should hear an old story in a new way and understand how to adapt it to their lives.

Teach, delight, and move.

Again, the purpose of preaching is to name grace, that is, to locate Christ’s presence here and now. We need to be wary, though, of finding Christ solely with the success stories,

God dwells also with the failures and the losers. Their loss may be transformed into a means of finding the Lord, and this becomes a sign of grace.

Scirghi, Thomas J.. Longing to See Your Face (p. 16). Liturgical Press. Kindle Edition. ALWAYS FIND HOW GOD HAS WORKED THROUGH AND WILL CHANGE US IN THE READINGS. CHALLENGE THE CONGREGATION TO TAKE ACTION BASED ON WHAT GOD DID.

Scirghi, Thomas J.. Longing to See Your Face (p. 16). Liturgical Press. Kindle Edition. Scirghi, Thomas J.. Longing to See Your Face (p. 13). Liturgical Press. Kindle Edition. Scirghi, Thomas J.. Longing to See Your Face (p. 12). Liturgical Press. Kindle Edition. Scirghi, Thomas J.. Longing to See Your Face (p. 3). Liturgical Press. Kindle Edition.

When Jesus opened the Scripture he did not merely explain a lesson to the disciples. Rather, like a great storyteller, he opened the story so that they would find themselves within it and their lives would be renewed. Good preaching continues to open the Scripture so that the faithful may find themselves within the gospel story once again.

Scirghi, Thomas J.. Longing to See Your Face (pp. 19-20). Liturgical Press. Kindle Edition.