The winner of Sermon of the Year 2020 has been named today as William Wade. 

Sermon of the Year is the annual award of Preach magazine and was held this year online because of coronavirus. 

The award, in its fifth year, aims to promote the art of sermon writing and preaching across all Christian denominations.

It is open to preachers of all ages, who are asked to submit a 1,500 word sermon around a particular theme.

This year's theme was "Made by God".

Wade was one of four finalists who had the opportunity to broadcast their sermons live online.  The winning sermon was then voted for by members of the public.

Wade, who grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, said it was a "happy surprise" to find out he had been voted the winner. 

"And I've just got to say, the whole process ... was such a healthy challenge," he said. 

"Thank you for the trophy, I'm going to cherish it." 

Alexandra McDonald, commercial director at SPCK, sponsor of the award, said: "As we all know, this has been a very challenging time for all of us, for some more than others and our thoughts and prayers go out to them.

"We were so pleased when Preach magazine said they were going to host the final online.  It's meant that many more people have been able to see it and as of today, there's been an audience of over a thousand people."   

Watch the winning sermon here: