Category Archives: Preaching

Preach like Jesus

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According to Luke 4:43, preaching was Jesus’ highest priority.  But what does it mean for preachers today to preach like Jesus?  Alistair Begg outlines four ways:

1. Present a crossroads.  Jesus commanded a response.  No-one could remain neutral or indifferent.  When we preach we, too, should present a crossroads to our hearers.  ‘Here are the two directions you might take: which will it be?’  Like Paul, we should be willing to implore our hearers regarding the choice that lies before them (2 Cor 5:20).…

1 Thess 5:22 – ‘Stay way from every form of evil’

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1 Thess 5:22 in the NET version reads: ‘Stay away from every form of evil.’

The AV reads: ‘Abstain from all appearance of evil’.

I have heard members of a previous generation of evangelical Christians, brought up on the AV, take it to mean: ‘Don’t do things that are really evil, or even things that appear to be evil.’  They thought thereby that they could prevent the gospel from being brought into disrepute.

This superficial reading is reflected by Jon Courson, in his Application Commentary:

‘If you want to be used by the Lord, you must deal with the issue of appearances.

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John 19:41 – ‘Turning your place of crucifixion into a garden’

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Jn 19:41 – ‘At the place where Jesus was crucified there was a garden.’

In ‘Preaching and Preachers’ D.M. Lloyd-Jones mentions ‘a certain famous preacher’ who used v41 as the text for a sermon on ‘Turning the place of your crucifixion into a garden’.  The message was about how people suffering from illnesses could and should react to their trial.

‘He told us that good people who took it in a beautiful spirit, and never grumbled and never complained, turned their place of crucifixion into a garden.’

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Ecclesiastes 7:29 – In praise of simplicity?

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NASB – ‘God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.’
NIV – ‘God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.’
RSV – ‘God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices.’
ESV – ‘God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.’
AV – ‘God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.’

This verse in its GNB version…

‘This is all that I have learnt: God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated’

…has been recruited by at least one preacher as the text for a sermon on simplicity. …

Luke 5:4 “Put out into the deep water”

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Luke 5:4 “Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”

Let the preacher beware of allegorising and over-spiritualising such details.  Example:

‘The invitation to put out into the deep for a catch provides a sharp contrast to our human penchant for the predictable and the routine. It is an invitation to venture into new ground or new depths, but it also points to new challenges in mission and ministry for the church in every generation…In the case of Simon, as for the Christian faced with such a command, there is the realization that the most profound and significant experiences of God and life are not to be found in the safe ways and places.’

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Isaiah 9:6 – ‘Wonderful counsellor’

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In the NIV, Isaiah 9:6f reads:

6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.…

Luke 1:46-47 – ‘My soul…my spirit’

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Preachers should always pay close attention to the biblical text.  That is a given.  But there is a danger of paying such close attention to the text of Scripture that we see more in it than is actually there.  I came across an example of this in a little book of Christmas Sermons preached by D.M. Lloyd-Jones.  Lloyd-Jones is speaking about the opening words of Mary’s ‘Magnificat’ (Luke 1:46-47)

The preacher said,

‘First, let us notice the depth of feeling with which she spoke, which is conveyed in these words. 

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Psalm 46:10 – ‘Be still and know that I am God’

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NET: “Stop your striving and recognize that I am God!”

NIV: ‘Be still and know that I am God’.

The text misunderstood

In popular piety and Christian song, this injunction is often (mis)understood to be a call to quiet meditation.

The following well-known worship song (whose author and composer are unknown) is based on Psa 46:10, and is described here as a ‘meditative, chant-style hymn’:

Be still and know that I am God,
Be still and know that I am God,
Be still and know that I am God.…

The dynamics of preacher-listener connection

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Some preachers connect with their hearers.  Others don’t.

What’s the difference?

Peter Mead has highlighted five aspects of preacher-hearer connection:

  1. The personal life of the preacher.  Does the preacher have authenticity and integrity?
  2. The pastoral ministry of the preacher.  Does the preacher know, care for, and pray for his hearers?
  3. The content of the message.  Does it aim to engage the listener at the heart level?  Does it have a contemporary focus and a sense of purpose?
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Preachers and their preaching – Henry Ward Beecher

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Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) was one of the most popular and influential preachers of his day.

He was son of Lyman Beecher, popularizer of the ‘New School’ theology which sought to soften the Calvinism of New England.  Henry went still further in this rebellion, emphasising an emotional and ethical faith.

Duduit notes:

‘Where the father stressed God’s power and justice, the son came to emphasize God’s love and mercy.’

Beecher:

‘advocated women’s rights, opposed slavery, championed social reform, defended evotion, supported higher biblical criticism, and popularized romantic Christianity.’

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