Biblical exposition is the key element in a sermon

The Christian Resources Exhibition (CRE), an annual trade show of hundreds of Christian charities and organisations, has commissioned a research about what Christians like in a sermon.

The survey has found that nearly 2,000 Christians believe in-depth Biblical teaching in a sermon is over twenty times more important than a good joke.

BIBLICAL EXPOSITION OVER SENSE OF HUMOR

"Biblical exposition" was the most important thing in a sermon for 44% of believers (49% of men and 39% of women), compared to 2% who said a "sense of humour" was important.

The poll also showed that 40% of Christians (44% of women and 36% of men) found practical examples of how to live out the Bible's teachings was the most important part of a sermon, while just one percent said personal anecdotes or stories were important.

The majority of Christians do not like long sermons, with 44% believing they should last between 10 and 20 minutes.

WEEKLY CHURCH SERMON IS NOT “OUTDATED”

According to the survey, the weekly church sermon is alive and well today. Nearly 90% of churchgoers disagreed or strongly disagreed that the practice was "outdated."

"It just shows you that people go to church for a real reason - to hear stuff that's really going to make a difference to them”, Stephen Goddard, from CRE told Premier.

SERMON OF THE YEAR

On the final day of next week's CRE trade fair the winners of the organisation's Sermon of the Year competition will be announced, with categories for both under and over-21s.

Sermon of the Year was inaugurated by the London School of Theology and the Preach Magazine and aims to unearth the preachers of tomorrow.

“YOUNG PEOPLE ARE NOT GIVEN A CHANCE TO PREACH”

"Out of the survey we found 50% of people in the pews on an average Sunday feel that young people are not given enough of a chance to preach in church", Goddard also highlighted.

"You can understand why it is that young people drift away. They're not involved enough", he warned.