Jun 21, 2013

When Your Own Wife Doesn’t Say Anything about Your Sermon

I was amused and encouraged by these words from Tim Keller. Evidently I’m not the only one who has these conversations with my wife.

I remember, some years ago, to when I sat down with my wife. You know what that’s like – on the way home – after the sermon. First you are hoping she will say: “Great sermon, honey.” But if she doesn’t say anything, you fear the worst. I remember one day we really got into it. I said “let me ask you, how often do you think it was a great sermon? How many weeks out of the month?” And she said “no more than one in every four or five weeks.” So, we sat down and here’s what she said: “For a good part of your sermon, your sermons are great. They are rational and biblical, and they are exegetical. They show me how I should live, and what I should believe. But every so often – suddenly at the end – Jesus shows up. And when Jesus shows up, it suddenly becomes not a lecture but a sermon for me, because when you say this is what you ought to do, I think to myself, ‘I know, I know, okay. Now I am a little clearer about it and I am a little more guilty about it. Fine.’ But sometimes you get to the place where you say, ‘This is what you ought to do, though you really probably can’t do it; but there is one who did. And because He did it on our behalf, and because He did it in our place, we believe in Him. We will begin to be able to do it.’” This is true only to the degree that we understand what He did for us. And she says: “That’s different. One time out of four or five, your lecture becomes a sermon when Jesus shows up and I want to do that. I have hope. And I begin to see how I can do it.” (Gospel-Centered Ministry: 1 Peter 1:1-12 and 1:22-2:12)

Is it silent in the car on the way home from church? Perhaps it’s time to get some honest feedback from your wife. It may sting a bit. But it may also change your preaching for the better.

Question: Do you ever have these kinds of talks with your wife? If so, what have you learned about preaching from your wife?