Category Archives: Chapell, Bryan

God honours his Word

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God honours his word.  As John Stott has written:

‘Behind every word is the person who speaks it, and the authority he possesses or lacks. God’s Word has power for the sole reason that it is God who speaks it. His Word is creative (“for he spoke and it was done,” Ps. 33:9), productive (“my word … shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,” Isa. 55:11), and redemptive (“it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe,” 1 Cor.

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How to begin a sermon

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I’m afraid that many of our hearers would respond to the title of this post by pleading, “Please don’t!”

To be sure, if preachers are brave (or foolhardy) enough to think that they have something worthwhile to say, then they are going to have to work hard during the first 30 seconds of the message if they hope to take any of their hearers with them.

As usual, Bryan Chapell offers sound advice.

Purposes of introductions

To arouse interest in the message.  …

The components of sermon application

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Bryan Chapell suggests that preachers should ask four questions if they are to offer faithful application:-

1. What does God require of us? (Instructional specificity)

Preachers answer the question, What does God now require of me? by providing instructions that reflect the biblical principles found in the biblical text. This instructional specificity translates the text from ancient history to present guide. For the guidance to reflect accurately the Bible’s intent, a preacher must discern the biblical principles reflected in the text that were directed to the people of that time and then apply them to the people of this time.…

How to end a sermon

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I’m probably not the only preacher who sometimes finds it difficult to know how to end a sermon.

Bryan Chapell has some helpful hints.  Here’s a summary.

1.  Poems and quotations have limited value

The modern hearer tends not to appreciate high literature.  And, in any case, why give the final word to someone else?

‘Unless the poem says precisely what you intend, says it better than you could, and touches a deeper chord than you can reach, frame your own final words.’…

Sermon applications should be attitudinal as well as behavioural

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Bryan Chapell puts it well:-

Application may be attitudinal as well as behavioral. In fact, the frequent mark of immaturity among preachers is too much (or too early) an emphasis on behavior. Mature preachers do not ignore behavior, but they carefully build an attitudinal foundation for whatever actions they say God requires. This is more than a rhetorical tactic. Its source is the biblical insight that out of the heart come the issues of life (Prov.…