The Easter story is the heart of the Christian faith, and a key moment in our church calendar.  So why might we struggle with preaching at Easter?

1. The story is so familiar

The Easter story comes up repeatedly throughout the year as we present the gospel in various situations.  Sadly, the most wondrous news of all can become stale and predictable. 

We can end up saying the same things about the cross and the same things about the empty tomb.  Listeners can bring assumptions from artistic images they have seen, or from presentations they have heard before. 

2. The wondrous truth can get buried

Each passage that we might choose to preach is saying something about Easter.  But sometimes, that theological and potentially life-changing truth can get buried in the story’s recounting. 

Or it can be lost because listeners get the sense they are listening to a famous old myth rather than the central moment of human history. When stories feel like a myth, listeners listen differently.

3. The preacher can feel flat

Familiar material, a busy time of year, and a preacher recounting history rather than feasting on the Word of God can lead to a flattened heart at the front of the church. We don’t want that, for our sake and theirs.

Peter Mead is mentor at Cor Deo and author of several books. He blogs at Biblical Preaching.

You can also listen to Peter Mead’s ten pointers for preaching Easter effectively in his Biblical Preaching podcast.