Why is this? Because the New Testament exhorts the preacher to preach the Word! Continually we are told that it is the Word that is to be preached. Paul directly exhorts Timothy to do this. He says to him,

Preach the word!

2 Timothy 4:2 - NKJV

Paul says that what he preached was the Word. He writes to the Christians in Rome,

The word of faith, which we preach.

Romans 10:8 - NKJV

The reason there was this emphasis on preaching the word was because it was the word, God’s word of promise, that the Lord had committed Himself to demonstrate as wholly reliable and wholly trustworthy. After Jesus gave to the disciples His Great Commission, it is written of them that,

They went forth, and preached every where, the Lord was working with them, confirming the word with signs following.

Mark 16:20 - NKJV

We need to follow their example and preach the word! It is His Word that the Lord will confirm with signs following. Surely it is confirming signs of the Lord that we want to see following the preached sermon. If this is so, then let it be the Lord’s Word that we preach!

At its most immediate level preaching the word means preaching scripture, at the ultimate level it means preaching Jesus who is the Word (Logos) and at the all encompassing level it means preaching the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul powerfully summarised this outlook on preaching the word in his declaration to the Christians at Corinth. He wrote to them,

For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord.

2 Corinthians 4:5 - NKJV

At a practical level, as it relates to preaching a good sermon, preaching the Word means taking God’s Word - as given by the prophets and apostles - and bringing it to life, relevancy and meaningfulness to the congregation.

It also means realising that as preachers there has to be an additional, further emphasis in our presentation of the Word. We are to present the Word as the Word of Faith. Our preaching of the Word must have an underlying groundswell faith. We are convey faith to the hearers by the Word we preach. God's people have to be developing and growing in faith. Indeed, the apostle Paul devotes a large part of Romans chapter 10 to this need for the preaching the word of faith. He writes pointedly of "the word of faith which we preach." Rom.10:8.

It’s going to be very helpful to note at this point, that the New Testament in Greek has two words for what we translate in English as "the Word". The first is Logos which is the written word. The second is Rhema. Rhema is scripture brought to life for the hearers. It is the Word speaking to the heart. It is this word, the rhema word, that produces faith. Paul declared this in his letter to the Christians in Rome. He wrote,

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word (rhema) of God.

Romans 10:17 - NKJV

Let me therefore say it once more as I end this part, a good sermon has God’s word at the heart of it!

Now with this there's one more thing to be said that is a consequence of the essentiality of preaching the Word and having God's Word at the heart of your sermon. It is this, if you are going to aspire to preach good sermons then you are also going to have to aspire to be a great student of God's Word.