How Technology Has Changed Preaching

And how it hasn't.

After listening to various sermons at the Memphis School of Preaching Lectureship, I walked over to the school library to do some work - such as writing this article.

I spent many hours sitting in this library during my two years at MSOP.

Writing in the MSOP Library.

Sitting in the library, I was reminded how technology has changed preaching. Old “sheet sermons” hang on many of the walls of the school library. Here are just a few of them.

Sheet Sermons in the MSOP Library

These old “sheet sermons” were basically “PowerPoints” before projectors and PowerPoint existed. Today, PowerPoint is used often along with a preacher’s sermon - like the picture at the top of this article.

Technology brought about this change.

Today, some preach from a hard copy of the Bible while others preach from a computer or tablet. Others write or print out copies of their notes, while others read their notes off of a screen.

Once again, technology has brought about these changes.

But there are some things technology hasn’t changed.

• The preacher still must preach God’s word (2 Timothy 4:2).

• The gospel of Christ is still the soul-saving message (Romans 1:16-17).

• Sin is still deadly and eternal life is still only given through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23).

That list could keep going.

While the ways we proclaim the gospel and the tools we use to help teach the gospel may change over the years, the content of the message must never change. 

While some things change, some things stay the same.