Open Air Street Preaching Checklist

A Biblical checklist for your open air messages

What points should we be trying to build into our preaching? The following checklist, though hardly exhaustive, will assist in preparing your Open Air, Street Preaching message. A little study and it will greatly benefit the listeners…and the preacher!

God glorifying, not man
- Does the message focus on the preacher or on the God of the preacher?
- Does it portray God alone in His majesty?
Defines the nature of God
- God is good, holy, righteous, loving, just, sovereign, unchanging, creator, faithful, gracious etc.
- God’s utter holiness contrasts sins utter depravity.
- God’s sovereignty is slighted by man’s self will etc.
Presents a Biblical view of man
- Slaves to sin Romans 7:14
- Dead in sin Ephesians 2:1-2
- Subjects of God’s wrath Romans 1:18
- Enemies of God Romans 5:10
- Controlled by the sinful nature Romans 7:5
- Bound to disobedience Romans 11:32
- Powerless to save ourselves Romans 5:6
- In this depraved condition, the only option for man is to plead to God for mercy and grace.
Presents sin as primarily an offence against God
“Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight” Psalm 51
Presents a Biblical view of Christ
He is Deity. Always was, always will be! He is the Eternal Son of God, who took on human flesh John 1 etc.
Reveals the One and only Mediator between God and man
Does your message:
- Reveal Christ as the only way of being saved as opposed to human achievement?
- Educate what Christ saves from and what Christ saves to?
- Reveal what Christ achieved: That He fulfilled all righteousness on our behalf, suffered death on a cross on our behalf and then rose from the dead on the third day.
  “We preach Christ crucified” 1 Cor 1:23
Replete with Scripture
- Is the message God’s Word or the preacher’s word?
- Does the authority of the message come from Scripture or opinion?
  “…You have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness…” 2 Tim 3:15b-16
Christ offered as Savior/Lord
Salvation restores us to the proper place under God.
Repentance and saving faith are preached and explained
Repentance is a turning from ourselves, faith is a turning to Christ.
A response to the gospel message is declared
“God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent…” Acts 17:30

This article was written for Field Preacher by Paul Greenwood. Please remember that this article is freely available and non-copyright, however we do request that you reference the article, citing the author (Paul Greenwood) and this website.

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