How do we preach to those who have heard it all? Here are seven ingredients:

• Round out Bible characters. For many sermon veterans, familiar Bible characters are flat, one dimensional, either good or bad. But real people have inner tensions, complications, and mixed motives. When a preacher portrays that, listeners identify readily.
• Get specific about application. An example is more powerful than an explanation. There’s a world of difference between telling someone that prayer changes things and sharing a fresh example of a situation transformed by prayer.
• Let it grip your soul. A critical quality in preaching effectively to those who’ve heard it all is sincerity. If our sermon is honest and heartfelt, a truth as common as “Jesus loves you” can thunder in the hearts and minds of our listeners.
• Address the tough question. We would like to think that hearing a lot of sermons would answer most of a person’s questions. But people who have heard it all love to hear a preacher tackle the tough ones.
• Probe their spiritual condition. It’s nice to be profound; it’s more important to be penetrating. When we probe the depths of the human heart, we challenge people.
• Harness the power of story. Jesus came telling stories. Listeners will rate even the most elementary idea as great preaching if we can help them feel it one more time in their hearts.
• Utilize surprise. When we tell stories from an unexpected point of view, adopt the contrarian perspective, or use a surprise ending. We can have a great impact even on people familiar with the conventional.