The process of preparing and delivering sermons has many similarities with cooking and serving good food. It is a comparison which arises out of the way in which the scriptures liken physical food to the spiritual food which is the Word of God.
The most famous verse on this is Matthew 4:4 when Jesus says, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ Then, in Hebrews 5:11 and following, the likeness is drawn between the milk, which is elementary teaching for the new Christian, and the solid food of the Word of God for those who are more mature in faith. Other verses linking food and God’s Word are Isaiah 55.1-2, and John 21:15 (and following) where Jesus speaks of the work of the pastor teacher when he tells Peter to care for his sheep and to feed them.
Different styles
Just as there are many different cuisines, so there are also many different ways of preaching sermons. African, English, French, Italian, Chinese, Greek, Indian and other ways of cooking all have distinctive features. So it is with different styles of preaching. Expository, one verse or word, narrative, topical, Bible story and devotional sermons are all examples. The all-important thing is that the spiritually hungry are fed but it is not true that there is, or ever has been, one mode of preaching God’s Word that can be described as the best way.
Down the centuries, there have been well-known preachers whose ministries have helped numerous people to grow in faith, hope and love but whose styles have varied enormously.
