Great preachers have the ability to bring profound and high truths to the bottom shelf without compromising the greatness of the truth. Billy Graham has been the most successful evangelist of this generation by delivering messages that can be understood even by children. Great preachers know when to land. We often circle the airport many times before we come in for a landing. We might have noticed that it is a lot easier for us to know when the other person should have landed, than it is for us to know when to bring our own sermon down the runway.
Great preachers practice what they preach .
Communicators may get away with private sins, but not great preachers. They not only practice what they preach, they can also preach what they practice. Jack Hayford believes that the most effective style of preaching is to speak out of the context of what God is saying to your own heart. Great preachers know where they are going before they start. They know what they want their audience to remember when the sermon is finished.