Rick Warren: How to Preach for Commitment with Stronger Conclusions

Some of the greatest preachers in history were great at introducing and delivering sermons, but poor at closing them. We preach Christ and we preach a gospel that calls for commitment, so powerful preaching presses for a verdict.

This is an area I spend a lot of time on when I’m preparing a message because a sermon without a conclusion is a message without a purpose. Changed lives come from great conclusions. John Stott said, “If there’s no summons, there’s no sermon.”

First, avoid these four common mistakes:

• Don’t just summarize the message. Ask people to act.
• Don’t announce that you’re concluding, especially if you don’t mean it.
• Don’t blame the clock and rush to a conclusion.
• Don’t introduce new ideas or extra points in your conclusion.

Instead, conclude by doing these things: Keep reading