Pastor, when the final “Amen” is spoken and people begin walking toward the doors, what are they talking about?

Are they saying, “That was a great sermon,” or are they talking about the greatness of Christ? Are they impressed with the preacher, or has the Word of God caused them to examine their own lives? There is nothing wrong with someone thanking a pastor for a message, but the greater question is whether the sermon left them thinking about the man who preached it or the Savior who was preached.

Paul understood that danger. He wrote, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2) Paul was educated and capable of powerful argument, but he did not want the faith of the Corinthians resting on his personality, intelligence, or speaking ability. He wanted their attention fixed on Christ.

That should still be the goal of preaching today.

A pastor can be interesting, polished, funny, energetic, and easy to listen to, yet leave people spiritually unchanged. A congregation may enjoy the sermon and still never be confronted with sin, repentance, obedience, holiness, or the lordship of Christ. If people leave church entertained but never challenged by Scripture, something important has been lost.

Look at what happened when Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost. Scripture says, “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what are we to do?’” (Acts 2:37)

Notice what they did not say. They did not tell Peter what a wonderful speaker he was. They did not compliment his outline or delivery. The Word reached their hearts, and their response was essentially, “What do we need to do now?”

That is a response every preacher should desire.

The same thing happened on the road to Emmaus. After Jesus explained the Scriptures, the two disciples said, “Were our hearts not burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32) Their hearts burned because the Scriptures were opened to them and Christ became clearer.

Pastor, that is something worth thinking about when preparing a sermon. The goal is not merely to explain a passage correctly, although that is essential. The goal is for people to encounter the truth of God’s Word in such a way that they cannot simply walk away unchanged.

That does not mean every sermon must leave people in tears. Emotion is not the measure of good preaching. Some truth encourages. Some comforts. Some corrects. Some warns. Some strengthens a tired believer who needs help taking another step. But biblical preaching should accomplish more than filling thirty minutes on Sunday morning.

Paul told Timothy, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction.” (2 Timothy 4:2) That is a much broader assignment than simply making people feel good. The preacher is called to faithfully place God’s Word before the congregation and allow Scripture to do its work.

This also means the preacher must resist the temptation to become the center of the message. A congregation can gradually become attached to a personality instead of the truth being preached. The pastor may not intend for that to happen, but it is worth watching. If people remember the stories, jokes, illustrations, and personality but cannot remember what Scripture taught them, the sermon may have entertained more than it instructed.

John the Baptist expressed the proper attitude toward ministry when he said of Christ, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30) That ought to be written across every pulpit in one form or another. The preacher stands before people so that Christ can be seen more clearly, not so the preacher can be admired.

So, Pastor, listen occasionally to what people say after the sermon. Their comments may reveal more than you expect. Are they talking about you, or are they talking about Christ? Are they discussing something clever you said, or are they wrestling with something Scripture said?

Perhaps instead of asking, “Did you like the sermon?” we should be asking something far more important:

What did God’s Word show you today, and what are you going to do about it?