Category Archives: Preaching

The ‘perfect preacher’?

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Tim Keller, in his recent book, Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Scepticism, p50, notes:

Theodore Beza was a younger colleague and successor of John Calvin, the founder of the Reformed branch of Protestantism during the Reformation. In his biography of Calvin, Beza recalled the three great preachers in Geneva during those years— Calvin himself, Guillaume Farel, and Pierre Viret. Farel, said Beza, was the most fiery, passionate, and forceful in his sermonic delivery.
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Preaching the Minor Prophets

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Alison Lo notes that the Minor Prophets resonate strongly with our contemporary church and society, with their themes of ‘social justice, religious corruption, financial impropriety and social and political unrest’.

They offer rich material for the preacher, then, and the following principles will help.  I summarise:-

  1. Consider the historical and cultural context.  Each prophet spoke into a specific situation: sometimes this is indicated by the heading of the book (Hos 1:1; Amos 1:1; Mic 1:1, etc.).
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What difference does it make?

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I am sure that many of us lament the fact that the thoughts, attitudes and behaviours of many professing Christians seem to be indistinguishable from those of many who make no profession of faith in Christ.

The danger for the preacher here is that he encourages moralism: “You think you’re a Christian, then you really ought to … more.”

In order to avoid moralism, Randall Pelton finds it helpful to put the matter like this:-

‘When you trust Christ it changes the way you think about…’

(Fill in the blank, according to however the passage you are preaching from may be applied to the Christian life.…

Preaching. Discuss.

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Some discussion starters for preachers.

  1. Do we agree on what preaching is (and is not?)
  2. What are the qualities of a ‘good’ sermon?
  3. If the aims of preaching may be defined as ‘having something to say’, and ‘knowing how to say it’, are we in danger of neglecting the skills involved in the latter of these?
  4. How important and helpful is it to have systematic appraisal of our preaching?
  5. Are we missing opportunities for consecutive teaching?
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Preach love, as well as truth

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Whatever captures the heart’s trust and love also controls the feelings and behavior.  What the heart most wants, the mind finds reasonable, the emotions find valuable, and the will finds doable.  It is all-important, then, that preaching move the heart to stop trusting and loving other things more than God.  What makes people into what they are is the order of their loves – what they love most, more, less, and least.  That is more fundamental to who you are than even the beliefs to which you mentally subscribe. 
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Preach reality, as well as truth

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To engage the heart is also to engage the imagination, and the imagination is more affected by images than by propositions.  Here, we are talking about what are usually termed “sermon illustrations.”  Over the past generation, preachers have recaptured the importance of story.  Common sense tells us that stories capture interest and stick in the mind, and so preachers are often advised to lace their sermons liberally with narratives.  However, we should think a bit more deeply about why they are so effective. 
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Heroes and villains

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In his book Jesus on Every Page (54-59), David Murray discusses the pitfalls involved in preaching from Old Testament characters.  Among other things, writes Murray, this approach is

  1. Man-centred – It puts God in the background, when he should be in the foreground.  We should be preaching, not human character traits, but God’s nature, character and will.
  2. Moralistic – It turns the Old Testament into a manual of do’s and don’ts, rather than a revelation of God’s actions.
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Communicating conviction

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Kevin Miller asks:-

Why is it that sometimes we as preachers feel a message so deeply, yet our listeners don’t feel that? Why is something that’s so intensely meaningful to us not always communicated in a way that grips the congregation as intensely?

Four factors are at work here:-

The personality factor.  Some preachers’ sermons are intense because the preachers themselves are intense.  They are high-energy, in-your-face people.  Others of us are quieter, more reflective.  We love the Lord, his word, his gospel and his people.  …

On and on

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As far as I can remember, I have only ever been criticised once for preaching too short a sermon.  And that was the occasion, many years ago, when I actually forgot one third of my message (I had foolishly tried to memorise the whole lot, and I’ve never repeated that particular form of idiocy).

It’s generally a silent tussle between the preacher and his congregation.  He wants them to have more, whereas they would quite happy with a little less.…

Be a better tour guide

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Moving into a large city can be a confusing experience.  Having a reliable guide can make all the difference.

Peter Mead suggests some ways in which the preacher could be an effective Bible tour guide.  Here’s a summary:-

  1. Guide in such a way that the people learn to find their own way around during the week.
  2. Show the overall lie of the land, as well as the key landmarks.
  3. Put in fascinating details that bring out the sense and the colour of the big picture.
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