I know many preachers who struggle with questions about performance and effectiveness. How can my words change lives? Why would anyone want to listen to me? Is this sermon going to bomb? How can I possibly preach with the intellect of Tim Keller, the insight of John Ortberg, and the passion of Francis Chan? Now that's pressure! That's like getting crushed under a rock of pressure.

But here's the good news: God is bigger than our sermons. God the Father loves our people more than we do. God the Son is more creative than we are. God's Spirit was at work before we started our sermon, and the Holy Spirit keeps working long after our sermons get filed away.

For instance, when I resigned after nine years of preaching at our church on Long Island, my friend Doug told me that my sermons led him to accept Christ. That was news to me! How and when and what did I say that finally broke through to Doug? I have no idea. Obviously, I worked hard on my sermons, but more than anything, I'm convinced that God worked powerfully through the entire sermon process.

Don't get me wrong; I firmly believe in the importance of preaching skills—interpreting the text, creating the outline, finding illustrations, writing the introduction and conclusion. But after we've faithfully done our part as preachers, the pressure is off us. God has plans for our sermons that go way beyond our abilities. Believing that God is at work gets us out from under the pressure to perform.

In this week's sermon, Bryan Wilkerson points to the only life-giving Rock—"The Rock That Doesn't Roll." Bryan does a masterful job of stating his big idea (God is a Rock) and then developing it with a simple two-point outline. His sermon has theological depth and pastoral vulnerability.

Living under God's faithfulness,

Matt Woodley
Managing Editor, PreachingToday.com

Matt Woodley is the pastor of compassion ministries at Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, Illinois.