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The trophy was presented to Catharine by Chris Wright , Global Ambassador and Ministry Director of Langham Partnership , sponsors of Sermon of the Year 2021 . Chris commented , “ Catharine brought us powerfully to the cross , to the heart of the gospel and to the way God himself has turned towards us and crossed that divide and brought us to himself through Jesus Christ . Catharine ’ s message , in my opinion , had all three things that we at Langham Partnership seek to insist on when we are training people in biblical preaching , and that is : faithfulness , clarity and relevance .”
Our panel of judges , led by Antony Billington , chose the winner based on a number of criteria including identifying and engaging with scripture , handling of biblical themes and ideas and how the sermon connected with the theme .
Antony summed up the judges ’ feedback on the winning sermon , “ We found particularly helpful and effective Catharine ’ s interweaving of reflections , personal as well as biblical , with the re-telling of the story of the woman healed by Jesus . Along with her earthier asides , we thought that Catharine ’ s drawing on that story allowed her to address clearly this year ’ s theme of Cross the Divide .”
As organisers of Sermon of the Year we ’ d like to thank everyone who took part in this year ’ s event . Our sincere thanks also go to our sponsor Langham Partnership , associate sponsor The Methodist Church and supporter SPCK whose generosity means we can continue to present this nationwide event to encourage preachers and further the development of preaching throughout the UK .
You can read all top ten Sermons from this year ’ s event , including those from all the finalists in our Sermon of the Year 2021 book . It ’ s available at preachweb . org / books-and-diaries for just £ 7 including P & P .
If you ’ d like to take part in next year ’ s event register your interest now by email at lwptoffice @ lwpt . org . uk to receive entry details when published this autumn .
Sermon of the Year welcomes entries from preachers over the age of 18 of all denominations and with any level of experience . Go on – give it a go !
A New Membership Benefit
If you ’ re a member of LWPT – which means you currently receive Preach magazine and Ichthus each quarter – we ’ ve some exciting news about your membership package . Starting in September 2021 , you ’ ll also receive our NEW e-newsletter ‘ Preach news ’.
Coming to you monthly , Preach news gives you a short , quick round-up of what ’ s happening around the UK : events – online and offline , webinars , courses ; podcast of the month ; campaigns for your congregations to support ; AND additional member benefits within Preach news including a FREE ebook each month , plus occasional discounts in the Preach shop and elsewhere . It ’ s a guide to help you keep up to date with what God and His church are up to !
Make sure you ’ re on the mailing list
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Preach news will only be available to our members ! You can join at
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