The Sermon of the Year competition at London School of Theology (LST) last night was won by a former primary school teacher with a powerful message based on Jesus calming the storm.
The competition, a collaboration between Preach Magazine and LST now in its third year, saw four finalists preach for 10 minutes each in a packed college chapel before a panel of judges – Antony Billington, head of theology at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, Anne Calver, assistant minister at Stanmore Baptist Church, Krish Kandiah, author and founder of Home for Good, and LST lecturer Chloe Lynch.
The winner was Lydia Lee, a former teacher who now works for her local church where she is part of a team running monthly all age worship services.
Her sermon was a moving meditation of Jesus in the boat on Galilee, relating the fear of the disciples to her own experience of anxiety and fear. The judges praised her delivery and content, referring to her 'incredible gift of moving us to tears one minute and laughter the next' and the 'honesty and authenticity' of her sermon.
She won a year's free tuition at LST, worth up to £8,000, which can be donated to another student if she chooses not to take up the offer.
The runner-up was Rebecca Coatsworth, a copywriter for Open Doors, who was praised for her powerful evangelistic presentation, who receives a 50 per cent discount on a year's LST fees.
The other two finalists were Corinne Broughton, an LST student who had very rarely preached before, and Methodist deacon Esther Longe, who gave a narrative sermon without notes, speaking in the character of the woman taken in the act of adultery in John 8.
The entrants represented a 63-year age spread, with the youngest born in 1998 and the oldest in 1935. Male entrants slightly outweighed female at 54 per cent to 46, and between 15 and 20 per cent were submitting their first sermon.
Around 30 per cent of entries were from ordained men and women.
There was a nationwide geographic spread, from Edinburgh to Cornwall and Durham to Canterbury, with Manchester, Liverpool, London and Bristol in between.
The scripts were assessed before the competition final and the 10 best have been printed in a book, Be Set Free, available from CPO.
LST principal Calvin Samuel said the quality of the sermons was 'fabulous' and that as a keen supporter of women's ministry he was glad to see an all-female list of finalists. 'Thank you for the way you have blessed us – this was not simply a performance,' he said.
Louisa Lockwood, editor of Preach, said: 'We have been delighted to see the competition go from strength to strength each year but particularly this year with Sermon of the Year 2018. As a team we are inspired by the consistently high standard and style of the entrants. It encourages us and has shown us that preaching is alive and well and still one of the most powerful agents of transformation in the church.'
