Accuracy and quality are the preacher’s responsibility. How affective and effective the sermon may be, of course, belongs to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Sermon preparation is a way of life, a necessary discipline, and a serious mediation for the man of God, duly called and ordained to herald the royal proclamation of Jesus.
The Christian sermon is Gospel preaching. We only preach the Gospel. Only the Gospel is the sermon, notwithstanding necessary admonishments of law and requisite exhortations toward sanctification.
This is the litmus test for a Christian sermon: Did Christ have to die upon the cross for me to be able to say this and to say it as His very own message?
We have the Gospel in Word and the Gospel in Sacrament. Both are poised to declare the peace of the Lord, the good news of God’s forgiveness because of the life, vicarious atonement, and resurrection of Jesus the Son.
Undue Protestant antipathies toward Mary have muted not only her place in redemption history and its necessary connection to Christology, but also the virtue of virginity.