Can a Young Preacher preach any sermon he/she wishes?
Well, yes and no. First, we are not going to tell any preacher what to preach and what not to preach. This would interfer with the spiritual freedom that a preacher has from God. But we do insist that preachers do not use the National Festival for a “soapbox” to promote some agenda, especially a social or political agenda. One of the marks of preaching is a sense of occasion. Just as a funeral or an ordination calls for a certain kind of sermon so this ecumenical festival celebrating gospel preaching calls for a certain kind of sermon. All Young Preachers at the 2011 National Festival will be asked to preach a sermon on one of the Ten Commandments. In addition, we will provide a list of supplementary texts for each of the commandments to help in the preparation of the sermon.
