Kevin DeYoung has an excellent post (as usual) titled Nine Marks of an Unhealthy Church. The whole post is definitely worth your time, however, I thought his first mark of unhealth was particularly intriguing and insightful.

The more peripheral the sermon topic, the more excited the people become.

One of the things I’ve always loved about University Reformed Church (the church Kevin Pastors) is that the sermons they love most are the ones that deal with the most central themes of the Bible. They love to hear about sin and salvation, about the glory of God, about providence, about Christ and the cross. It’s not that they never hear (or dislike) sermons on the end times or social issues or financial stewardship or marriage or parenting, but they seem most passionate about the messages that major on guilt, grace, and gratitude. I’m concerned when a congregation gets tired of hearing about the Trinity, the atonement, the new birth, or the resurrection and wants to hear another long series on handling stress or the 70 weeks in Daniel.

So what sermon topics excite you? What sermon topics bore you? What does that say about the state of your soul or the maturity of your Christian faith? Do you yearn for the things God has emphatically revealed or do you simply want to be entertained or inspired? Do you desire your pastor to major on the majors or do you want him to spend his time on your little theological hobby horses?

What do your sermon preferences say about your soul’s health?