After 40 years of preaching and 36 of writing this article, I asked myself which was the best sermon I had ever preached. Theologically correct, well presented and full of passion. It is like yesterday that I preached my first sermon. I remember it so well, I can preach it today without notes.
Let’s say 80 sermons a year for 40 years, that’s over 3 000 sermons. But which was the most effective one? After some serious thought, I am convinced that for all of us our most effective sermon is our lives. Not what we say, but how we live. The way we handle success and failure, praise and criticism. The way we live in the public spaces and importantly, the way we behave when no one is watching. It is our walk, not our talk. A great sermon does not need a building or a pulpit.
You may not be a Pastor or Dominee, but your life is a sermon to your family, friends and even total strangers.
It may be that you are the only Bible that some people read. Long after all my sermons have been forgotten and all my articles have gathered dust, people will remember my life and yours.
Your lifestyle has the power to draw people to God or drive them away from Him.
