Probably the most common, second to classroom deliveries, delivery of (more or less) planned oratory in the Western World, the sermon deserves our careful attention.

I gave it some, a while back, and came up with this:

Church Reporter: Tips for writing better sermons

(POSTED: 9/19/11) . . . What about (self-imposed) TIME LIMITS FOR SERMONS, say 12-15 minutes for Sunday, three or four for week days? This calls for TIGHT WRITING, a heavy dose of Strunk & White’s OMIT NEEDLESS WORDS. That’s onetime Cornell University English prof William Strunk Jr. and his onetime student, the essayist E.B. White, in their book The Elements of Style, which would make good reading for any preacher.

A few of the S&W rules, adapted to preaching:

* PLACE YOURSELF IN THE BACKGROUND: It’s the message not the messenger. Not “I was reading a book the other day, and it said . …