The Gospel in Every Sermon?

Warner asked for our comments on this video, so here goes.  Before you read on, watch it, then next time you hear me preach come and tell me if I succeeded.


My first reaction was to the Title.  Why the question mark?  Shouldn't that always be the case. Quite early on one of the guys says something like "Put the gospel clearly enough in every sermon so that if anyone hears it for the first time it's enough for them to be saved".  Yes, now I see what he's trying to say.  Normally in my preaching there are the truths from the Gospel but not always the core message about the death of Jesus and His resurrection.  But I am preaching to the converted.  Or am I?  How often do we hear of people in church for years who have just made their first commitment to Christ?  Maybe they've heard the news that Jesus can save them from sin and death lots of times, but today was the first time they really listened.  He also said "Tell them how to make the decision".  That's something I rarely do, and rarely hear.  That seems to be left to those who are ready to pray with people after the service.  I wonder if they're ready to pray with someone who wants to give their life to Jesus?
One of the guys received feedback from someone:- "I could have heard that message in a mosque".  I don't think I've ever heard a sermon that I could say that about, but I can think of at least one that came close - very close -and it wasn't based on an Old Testament passage either.
Now to the culture that these guys live in. They get letters about what they SHOULD preach about because someone's bringing a friend or relative to hear the gospel.  That's how committed their congregations are.  It is a different world.  I struggle to get useful feedback of any kind, they have requests!
The other thing I noticed about the culture, apart from is Americanness, was the view that "Evangelism should be a joy instead of a duty."  That might be quite a hard sell in our church, but we do "let people tell their stories" and it's true for us as much as anyone that "everyone loves a changed life".  Here they are talking about people being baptised as adults, which as also a rare occurrence for us.
I think we have a long way to go before we get to the environment I was hearing about in the video.  We need to be more open and engaged in conversations about our life with Jesus with other members of the congregation before we will be able to enjoy speaking of Christ with non-believers.