What people are inclined to do is preach ideals. Prayer: good, forgiveness: good, faith: good, sin…bad. You have to remind them sin is bad every week or they might forget. It sounds dumb when you say it out loud, but that is a lot of sermons that get preached.
Ideals are where we end. You have to understand where people are now. Then you can map out the road from where they are to where they want to be. People will love you for that, because they are desperate to hear that there is a way out.