Whats Your Point?
August 5, 2026

A preaching professor called it “Sesame Street Worship”: one theme, all elements focused on it, including the sermon. “Today’s letter is A. Can you say ‘A’?” He didn’t mean it as a complement

Attention spans have changed with television, Instagram, and media that keep the story short. Arguably, the trend has also shaped preaching. Once upon a time, a sermon could last an hour or more. George Fox is reported to have preached for three hours as a thousand people listened intently, as Fox later reported,

“…amongst whom I declared God’s everlasting truth and word of life freely and largely, for about the space of three hours, directing all to the Spirit of God in themselves that they…might all come to know Christ to be their teacher to instruct them, their counsellor to direct them, their shepherd to feed them, their bishop to oversee them; and might know their bodies to be prepared, sanctified, and made fit temples for God and Christ to dwell
in (quoted in Sixteen Quaker Leaders Speak by Leonard S. Kenworthy, p.

Preaching experts now recommend shorter, focused sermons so that people can process them easily. This may go against all that a preacher was taught about exegesis and homiletical structure. I first chafed at the thought of crafting a sermon around a single idea or truth from the passage. I mean, doesn’t a good sermon have three points? That’s what I was taught. That’s what I have observed in most preaching.

And the points should alliterate, shouldn’t they? People will remember longer.

Jay Y. Kim in Analog Church: Why We Need Real People, Places, and Things in the Digital Age, marveled at the people’s response while observing worship and preaching in Haiti. He contrasted the experience with American worship: 

How was it that a setting so utterly devoid of the sophistication we’re used to in the United States—bright lights and big sounds, technological
advancements and dynamic personalities—could be so undeniably powerful? (p. 58).

Then he answered his own question:

…minimal resources plus a strong sense of community plus awareness of their need for Jesus equals a transcendent experience (Ibid). 

Simplicity.

A laser focused message, grounded in Scripture, situated in community, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

What else do we need?

Maybe we are trying too hard. Are we making it complicated to encounter the living Christ?

The same need exists today: “awareness of their need for Jesus.”

Try it. Determine the single subject of the text you feel led to preach next Sunday. It may have two or more ideas that complement the subject. How can you drive home a single message? Distill your sermon to one power-packed sentence. If you can concentrate your message into one sentence, it will be clear to your congregation because it is clear to you. If not, they will decide what they think you were driving at, and it may not be your point at all. Make sure the people walk out with that sentence reverberating in their hearts and minds.

…sharpen the take-home truth into its final sermon form. Many times the sermon form of the take-home sentence will differ little from the truth form. We don’t often end up with something that could be etched in stone on a building, but we do our best to present God’s good revelation in the most
exact, compelling, and memorable way possible (Sunukjian. Invitation to Biblical Preaching, 136, 141).

 

Make your point. 

 

 

 

 

ABOUT

Jeff Blackburn has been proclaiming Christ for over 43 years. He served Friends congregations in Indiana and Kansas. His most recent pastoral assignment was with Greensburg Mennonite Church, Greensburg, Kansas, where he enjoyed nearly 30 years of ministry before being called to coordinate the Friends Preaching Initiative in 2024. He works with aspiring preachers and ministry students on campus, often preaches in churches in the region. He developed three new courses for a preaching certificate offered through Barclay College, and he created a preaching lab for Barclay students to work on their communication skills.

Jeff grew up in small-town Indiana, attending Quaker Haven Camp every summer before counseling and directing camps. He is a graduate of Barclay College and Huntington University. He wrote for Adult Friend and The Fruit of the Vine (Barclay Press, Newberg, Oregon) for many years. Jeff enjoys music and singing, although he can’t read music very well. He continues to serve as the moderator for local schools’ spelling bees.

Jeff has written one book, Light at the End of the Funnel (Amazon, 2017) recounting the experience of surviving an EF5 tornado that devastated his town in 2007. He and his wife live in Greensburg where they are near enough to play with their grandchildren on a regular basis. The Lord put it in his heart to help train the next wave of preachers and to encourage active ministers to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).