It was an odd sermon introduction. The guest preacher stood up to speak and told the congregation, "If you didn't know better, you'd think this was a classroom or a seminar. I'm standing here at the front, and you are all seated to listen. Many of you have pens and notebooks ready to take notes. But our purpose today is to worship God, not to teach a class."

As I glanced around me, I could see he was right. Aside from the drum set and instruments up front, the room's arrangement looked little different than a college classroom.

The preacher had a point; the purpose of a sermon is to do much more than impart information. Partnering with the Holy Spirit, it aims at transforming lives by bringing people closer to God. Yet that doesn't mean conveying information effectively isn't important. Knowledge is a crucial part of transformation. And recent research has yielded insights into how our brains receive information. For preachers these insights are especially ...