The Sermon Vault

Famous Sermon Analyses

We ran history's most iconic sermons through Sermon Coach. See how the greats score — and what every preacher can learn from them.

Baptist/Evangelical1963

“I Have a Dream”

Martin Luther King Jr.

Delivered on August 28, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, King's sermon-speech addressed 250,000 people and became the defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement. Rooted in the Black prophetic preaching tradition, it blends the cadence of the Baptist pulpit with the urgency of a nation in crisis. King drew on Amos, Isaiah, and the American founding documents to articulate a vision of racial reconciliation grounded in God's justice.

97Overall Score

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Reformed/Presbyterian1891

“The Greatest Fight in the World”

Charles Spurgeon

Delivered as Spurgeon's final address to the Pastors' College Conference in 1891, just months before his death at age 57. The 'Prince of Preachers' was gravely ill, battling depression and gout, yet poured his final pastoral energy into this charge to young ministers. It is a sermon about the sermon — a call to fight for faithfulness in preaching the Word when liberalism and cultural compromise were eroding pulpits across England.

91Overall Score

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Reformed/Presbyterian2008

“The Prodigal God”

Tim Keller

Originally preached at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan to a congregation of young professionals, many skeptical of organized religion. Keller's sermon on the Parable of the Prodigal Son — which he reframes as the Parable of the Prodigal God — became his best-known message and eventually a best-selling book. Keller argues that the real shock of the parable is not the younger son's rebellion but the elder brother's self-righteousness, and that both sons are lost. The 'prodigal' (meaning recklessly extravagant) is ultimately God himself, who spends his love lavishly on both rebels and rule-keepers.

95Overall Score

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Baptist/Evangelical1957

“Who Is Jesus?”

Billy Graham

Part of Billy Graham's historic 1957 New York Crusade at Madison Square Garden, which ran for 16 weeks and reached over 2 million people in person. This sermon represents Graham at his most focused: a clear, simple, urgent presentation of who Jesus is and why every person must respond. Graham preached to a postwar American audience grappling with prosperity, Cold War anxiety, and a growing sense that material success hadn't delivered on its promise of happiness.

90Overall Score

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Pentecostal/Charismatic2019

“The Parable of the Talents”

Sam Adeyemi

Sam Adeyemi is the founding pastor of Daystar Christian Centre in Lagos, Nigeria — one of the largest and most influential churches in West Africa. A trained engineer turned pastor and leadership teacher, Adeyemi bridges the worlds of practical leadership development and biblical preaching in a way that resonates deeply with African professionals and entrepreneurs. This sermon on the Parable of the Talents was preached to his Lagos congregation and reflects his signature approach: grounding practical wisdom in biblical text, with a particular emphasis on stewardship, personal development, and the responsibility to multiply what God has given.

89Overall Score

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