I reckon that one of the endemic weaknesses in much of my preaching is that I am so keen to squeeze all the good material into my allocated time, that I cram them full of cognitive content and fail to give my hearers any kind of chance for their affections, their emotions, their desires or their aversions, to catch up with all the stuff I am putting in to their minds. I hope and trust that the stuff I am trying to put into their minds is true, edifying, worthwhile and important. I work hard to get it across with as much clarity as I can.
But I notice when listening to sermons, that I myself need the preacher to help me not only to know what I ought to know, but also to feel what I ought to feel. I ought to have my love for God warmed afresh, my hatred of evil rekindled, my longing for God's promised future deepened, my affection for my brothers and sisters in Christ refocused, and so on.
I don't mean that preachers should use emotional manipulation. I mean simple things like (a) pausing from time to time to reflect on how wonderful/challenging/fearful (or whatever) this is, (b) helping me grasp that the preacher actually feels it himself, (c) giving me an example of someone expressing how they have responded to this word by having their affections stirred or shaped. It's a little hard to tie down just what I am saying, but I think (and feel!) it is important. It may be that this is a weakness in the preaching of others of us and not just me.
