Preachers of the great awakening in 18th century america would have been most likely to give a sermon focusing on

The First Great Awakening or The Great Awakening was a movement of Christian revitalization that spread through Protestant Europe and British America, and especially the North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, leaving a permanent impact on American religion. It was the result of powerful preaching that gave listeners a sense of personal revelation of their need for salvation through Jesus Christ. Departing from rituals and ceremonies, the Great Awakening comprises an intensely personal Christianity for the common person by fostering a deep sense of spiritual conviction and redemption, and by fostering introspection and commitment to a new norm of morality personal.

Because of all this a predicate would have ensured in his sermon that instead of being predestined to condemnation, men and women could be saved by repentance of their sins. It would appeal to the passion of its listeners, condemning with energy the overflowing joy of salvation and the horrors of condemnation.