Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Today, I want to talk to you about the issue that many preachers preach monotonously, repeating the same things year after year. This can be very boring for the listeners and loses its meaning, as they hear the same words again and again.
This issue is not new, but the life of the Church has not provided an answer to it. And, unfortunately, it can lead to believers becoming tired of hearing the same words and feeling weary of monotonous, dull sermons, falling asleep during the service.
One of the main reasons for this might be the fear of preachers to share new ideas or topics that might cause controversy or disagreement among the congregation. But I want to emphasize that we must be open to new ideas and perspectives in order to grow alongside the believers who live in challenging times.
Also, preachers often focus too much on simply repeating what they have heard from other preachers, instead of delving deeper into the Word of God and interpreting it in the context of our modern lives.
Christ called us to preach the Gospel to the whole earth, and we must do so consciously, feeling responsible for those to whom we preach. We must do everything possible to help people understand that God loves them and that His Son, Jesus Christ, died for them on the cross.
But if we preach monotonously, how can we be sure that our words truly help our listeners understand the Gospel? How can we be sure that we are saying what our listeners need if we do not know their needs?
So, how can we fight the monotony of sermons? How can we find new words to help our listeners understand the Gospel? First and foremost, we must get to know our listeners. We need to know who they are, what concerns them, and what questions they have. We must listen to them and learn how we can help them understand the Gospel.
Secondly, what we can do is learn new things. We must read the Bible, study theology, explore the history of the Church, and the experience of other preachers. Learning will help us find new ideas that we can incorporate into our sermons, making them more engaging and relevant for our listeners. We can also turn to scientific research and literature that can help us better understand what we are speaking about.
Thirdly, we can turn to the Holy Spirit. We must pray and ask God to help us find the right words and ideas that will meet the needs of our listeners. We should remain open and sensitive to what the Holy Spirit might be saying to us during the sermon.
And finally, we must remember that we are not preaching for ourselves, but for our listeners. Our goal is to help them understand the Gospel, not to showcase our own erudition or present new ideas. We must speak in a language that our listeners understand and use examples from their lives to be closer to them.
Therefore, I want to encourage all preachers to take a step towards new ideas and new ways of thinking in order to make our sermons more engaging and stimulating for our congregations. Let’s breathe new life into our preaching ministry to make it more vibrant, diverse, and interesting for our listeners.
And let us not forget that our main goal is to deliver the Word of God to our common people.
Thus, brothers and sisters, let us not be afraid to use new ideas, be creative, and get to know our listeners. May the Holy Spirit fill us with wisdom, understanding, and love, so that our sermons help people understand the Gospel and come to Christ. Amen.
Br. Ergatis Ikonikos (Ecumenical Patriarchate)