Karis Preaching: Gospel-Centered Sermons

In this post, I shared the first essential aspect of a faithful sermon. It must be expositional, deriving its main points from the points of the passage. Here is the second essential: a faithful sermon must preach the gospel. Gospel-centered sermons proclaim the person and work of Jesus as the only hope for its hearers.

Too many evangelical sermons end up reinforcing legalism. Stop doing this! Start doing that! God's people are left in one of two places. They're proud. They think they're doing well enough. They're in despair. They know they aren't measuring up at all. Gospel-centered sermons expose our hearts. We know we struggle to keep that command or believe that promise. The faithful preacher brings us to Jesus who forgives us of our sins. He gives us the hope found in Christ's life, death, and resurrection. He points us to the power of God's Spirit that can remake us into Christ's image. He demonstrates, no matter where in God's word the passage is found, how the text brings us to Christ.  

Gospel-centered sermons don't just tack a gospel presentation to the end of the message. Christ is the sermon's sum and substance. Karis Church practices gospel-centered preaching. Don't settle for sermons that tell you what to do but never offer any hope. Karis isn't the only church that takes this approach, but we train our preachers to proclaim the gospel. Wherever God guides you, find a family of believers that comes to church hungry for God's word and hungry for the gospel of Jesus.