Preaching Sanctification in Lutheran Sermons - some key differences from motivational preaching

What this piece does that's valuable:

It doesn't just critique the motivational approach—it offers a genuine alternative with concrete examples. It's not just about telling preachers what not to do but also showing them what to do.

It holds proclamation and embodiment together without collapsing one into the other. That's the balance most preachers are hunting for.

It trusts the reader. It's not over-explaining or hand-holding. It lays lay out the pattern, demonstrates it twice, gives a diagnostic tool, and let them work.

Who needs to read this:

-Seminary students who've been marinated in both therapeutic preaching models and pure law/gospel theory but haven't seen how to integrate them.

-Experienced pastors who feel the tension but haven't had language for it.

-Anyone tempted to turn Sunday sermons into TED talks with a Jesus ending.

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A Lutheran pastor once expressed something like this: “I often feel caught between two impulses. On one hand, I want to give people practical guidance for daily life. On the other hand, I want the sermon to remain what it is: an act of proclamation.” He was talking about preaching Sanctification for the life of Christian hearers.

I understand that tension. I live in the midst of it almost every week. 

I’m not thinking here about the approach that can sometimes lean more toward a style of merely offering tips for daily living, life strategies, or motivational steps. You are the actor and Jesus is the helper. The Lutheran sermon has a different centre. It proclaims God’s forgiveness In Jesus from Scripture for the benefit of the hearers in their daily life. It does not merely coach or advise; it delivers Christ.

The danger of the "tips for daily life" approach is that it can flip the structure—the practical tips become the foundation, and the Gospel becomes the motivation fuel. "Here's how to live better... and Jesus helps you do it!"

The danger of only proclamation without any guidance is that people hear "You are forgiven" and think "Great... now what?" 

Here's a starting point for Sanctification in sermon preparation: The proclamation creates the ground from which practical guidance grows—but the guidance must always flow from the proclamation, not stand alongside it as an equal partner.

Architecturally, it could look like this:

Foundation: Proclamation - "Christ has reconciled you. This is done. You are His."

Structure built on that foundation: Implication - "Because this is true, you now live as one who is reconciled."

Practical expression: Guidance - "What does that look like when you're anxious on Tuesday morning?"

A possible approach that keeps proclamation central while offering practical grounding could look like this:

The Pattern:

1. Name the real struggle (meet them where they are)
2. Proclaim what Christ has done (this is the weight-bearing beam)
3. Show what that proclamation looks like embodied (not as tips, but as "this is what reconciled people do")
4. Anchor it back in the promise (so they leave with Gospel, not with a to-do list)

Here's a practical example of a sermon dealing with certain Hope in and uncertain World: 

Example 1:

[Name the struggle] You wake up anxious. You believe God's promises, but you don't feel hopeful. And then comes the guilt: "What's wrong with my faith?"

[Proclaim] Your hope does not rest on your feelings. Your hope rests on Christ's Word. When Jesus said to that thief, "Today you will be with me in paradise," the thief's emotional state didn't matter. His confidence level didn't factor in. Jesus spoke, and it was done. That same Word is spoken over you: "You are mine. You are forgiven. I will never leave you."

[Embodied implication] So what does a baptized, forgiven, claimed-by-Christ person do when anxiety hits? You hang on to the promise. You can even speak it out loud. Not to generate a feeling, but to hear the Word again—because we forget by Tuesday what we heard on Sunday. You say: "I am baptized. I belong to Jesus for He has claimed me." You're not trying to convince yourself. You're simply affirming again what's already been given.

If you can't even do that—if the words won't come—then you let someone else speak them to you. Call a friend. Come back to church on Wednesday. Let the body of Christ carry what you can't carry alone. That's not failure. That's what the community is for.

[Anchor back in promise] Your hope isn't in your ability to feel confident. Your hope is that Christ's Word is stronger than your doubt. He holds you when you cannot hold Him. That's Gospel.

Example 2:

[Name the struggle] Everything you see contradicts hope. Your marriage is breaking. The diagnosis is grim. How do you "live in hope" when reality screams otherwise?

[Proclaim] Colossians 1:20—Christ "has reconciled all things to himself, making peace by the blood of his cross." Not will reconcile. Not might reconcile. Has reconciled. Your broken marriage, your failing body, your prodigal child—He is reconciling all of it. The thief still died on that cross, but Jesus' Word turned that death into a doorway to paradise. You live as one who has already been reconciled to God.

[Embodied implication] What does a reconciled person look like on Tuesday? You forgive—not because you feel forgiving, but because you've been forgiven. You're living out what's already true about you. Christ has reconciled all things; therefore, you are called to be an agent of reconciliation in your small world. You show up at the hospital. You make the meal for the grieving family. Not because you have answers, but because reconciled people seek peace.

You show up at the hospital. You make the meal for the grieving family. Not because you have answers, but because reconciled people show up—because Christ showed up for us.

You grieve honestly. Jesus wept at Lazarus's tomb even knowing resurrection was coming. There's no pretending in the Kingdom. Hope doesn't deny pain; it denies that pain gets the last word.

[Anchor back in promise] This isn't a to-do list to become reconciled. This is what reconciled people do—because that's who you already are in Christ. You're not earning it. You're living from it.

    As you reflect on this approach, you notice the key distinction:

Motivational tone: "Here are 5 tips to live more hopefully" (you're the actor, Jesus is the helper)

Lutheran tone: "You are reconciled; here's what that looks like embodied" (Christ is the actor, you're living from what He's done)

The practical guidance becomes descriptive (this is what reconciled people do) rather than prescriptive (do these things to become/feel hopeful).

As you prepare and write you sermon, this could be an useful diagnostic question:  after you give practical guidance, ask, "Could someone hear this and think their standing with God depends on doing it?"

If yes, it needs to be anchored back in the proclamation.  If the guidance flows naturally from "because Christ has already done this, you now live as one who..." then you're likely in the right path.

In the end, I would say: Don't be afraid of the mess in the middle. Some Sundays people will leave and live beautifully from the Gospel. Other Sundays they'll leave and forget everything by the parking lot. Some will hear the proclamation and weep with relief. Others will hear it and think "that can't possibly include me." Our job isn't to make the proclamation so practical that it's fail proofed. Our task is to speak the Word faithfully and trust that the Spirit does what the Spirit does.

The thief got one sentence from Jesus. One. No follow-up sermon, no practical application, no three-point outline to remember. Just: 'Today you will be with me in paradise.' And it was enough—because the Word did what the Word does.

The most pastoral thing we can do is proclaim clearly, give enough embodied shape that people can see what reconciled life looks like, and then trust the Word to do its work in ways you'll never see.

It that's your case too, sounds like we are wrestling with the right questions. That's half the battle.