Presentation 01
Introduction
I suspect that my principal qualification for
teaching on this subject is that I have preached
my share of very forgettable sermons. I find
that I am constantly struggling to be a better
communicator of God’s Word.
I rate the task of preaching the gospel among
the highest that God can confer upon us. To be
His spokesman! That is a thought that should
take our breath away. And for this reason the
requirement to work at being effective
communicators is not something that can be
overemphasised.
Presentation 01
Introduction
Preaching has a goal in view.
The Westminster Catechism asks, “How is the
Word of God made effectual to salvation?”
And the answer it gives is,
“The Spirit of God makes the reading, but
especially the preaching, of the Word, an
effectual means of convincing and converting
sinners, and of building them up in holiness and
comfort, through faith, unto salvation”.
These words can help keep us on target as we
prepare ourselves for ministering God’s Word.
Presentation 01
Contents:
Study 1: Introduction: Approach To Scripture
Approach To Culture
Approach To The Hearer
Study 2: Selecting The Passage
Understanding The Passage
Study 3: Determining The Thrust Of The Passage
Formulating The Preaching Idea
Study 4: Determining The Sermon’s Purpose
How To Accomplish That Purpose
Study 5: Outlining And Fleshing Out The Sermon
Study 6: Application, Conclusion And Introduction
Presentation 01
Introduction
Following the decisive blow to Napoleon in 1815, a Morse-like
message (delivered with powerful light beams), was flashed
across the English Channel. It read, "Wellington defeated"!
Panic swept through the British nation and its Board of Trade
collapsed. The cause of the terror? Much of the intended
message - "Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo" –
had been obliterated by fog.
Failure to communicate clearly can leave our hearers in a
spiritual fog. What is intended to be glorious good news can
create unnecessary anxiety and fail to lead people into the
glorious liberty of the children of God. With good reason Paul
exhorted Timothy to “Do your best to present yourself to God
as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed
and who correctly handles the word of truth” 2 Tim.2v15
Presentation 01
Introduction
The correct handling of scripture is the first task of the preacher.
And all that is meant by a biblical ministry springs from this. Sadly,
some either bypass scripture - their sermons sound like newspaper
editorials or, the text of scripture becomes a launch-pad for the
preacher’s personal hobby horse. But the preacher is not entitled
to preach his own opinions or convictions. He is called upon to
declare the mind of God as it is revealed in Scripture.
The text ought not to be a pretext for the preacher’s own ideas.
There are a number of styles of biblical preaching, all of which are
equally valid. e.g. Spurgeon’s preaching was textual, while that of
Martin Lloyd Jones followed a consecutive expository pattern.
Whatever method you plan to adopt, and the one I favour is a
consecutive expository one, much of what I plan to say is equally
valid.
Presentation 01
Introduction
“The preacher creates the sermon, he does not
create the message. Rather he proclaims and
explains the message he has received. His
message is not original; it is given to him [2Cor.
5v19]. Consequently, whether he preaches a
topical, doctrinal, textual sermon; whether he
deals with a passage, or preaches systematically
through a book, the exegetical principle will
always be present: he is explaining and
expounding the message that has already been
given. Therein lies his authority and his
confidence in the promise of God's help and
blessing. The sermon is not the preacher's word;
it is God's Word”. Sinclair Ferguson
Presentation 01
Introduction
The word ‘exegesis’ comes from the Greek
ἐξηγεῖσθαι ‘to lead out’. The task of the preacher is
to lead or, draw out the truth from the text. The
preacher is primarily concerned with the explanation
of scripture and this forms, not only a dominant feature,
it becomes the organising principle of his message.
The preacher/teacher’s fundamental task is;
a. the explanation of the text in its wider context,
b. the identification of the biblical principles
that it contains,
c. and only then the application of those principles
to modern man, in a modern setting.
Presentation 01
Introduction
In his preparation the preacher is constantly moving between contexts,
between two different worlds and asking first, “How was the passage
received by its original hearers?”
Only then does he ask, “How can this truth be applied to my hearers
today?” The task of the preacher is to build a bridge between the then
and there of scripture and the here and now of his hearers.
Presentation 01
Attitude To Scripture
Clearly, our attitude to scripture is of fundamental importance in constructing
this bridge and shaping our sermon .
1. Some approach the Bible as the means God uses to speak to us now without
any reference to its first audience. This approach effectively bypasses both its
historical context and original meaning. No bridge is constructed!
Presentation 01
Attitude To Scripture
This non-contextual, non-historical approach has encouraged
people to think of scripture as a C20th document into which C20th
meanings can be read. This has disastrous consequences.
Among these is the development of an unhealthy literalism so
that the text, “Saul said to his armour-bearer, “Draw your sword
and run me through”” 1Sam 31v4 has been foolishly used by
some to promote euthanasia.
Presentation 01
Attitude To Scripture
To discover the text's meaning is of purely academic
interest unless we go on to discern its message for
today, or (as some theologians prefer to say) its
'significance'. But to search for its contemporary
message without first wrestling with its original
meaning is to attempt a forbidden short cut.
It dishonours God (disregarding his chosen way of
revealing himself in particular historical and cultural
contexts), it misuses his Word (treating it like an
almanac or book of magic spells) and it misleads his
people (confusing them about how to interpret
Scripture).
JOHN STOTT
Presentation 01
Attitude To Scripture
2. On the other hand there are those who treat scripture exclusively as a
historical document. And so the text, “Abraham rose early and saddled
his ass…” Gen.22v3 has been used to emphasise; the value of early rising
in the ancient world, and the importance of saddles in a bygone age!
To view the text as a mere historical document reduces the sermon to
little more than a lecture in the life and times of the biblical characters in
the ancient world. Again no bridge is constructed.
Presentation 01
Attitude To Scripture
3. A third danger involves spiritualising the text.
This invariably involves treating the text as
allegory. This approach assumes that the authors
of scripture intended something other than what
is literally expressed. There is a hidden meaning
behind their words that needs to be unlocked.
This practice can be traced back to Philo of
Alexandria and was later developed by Origen.
So that for example, the two coins given by the
Good Samaritan to the innkeeper are said to
convey the hidden meanings of Baptism and the
Lord’s Supper. This bridge will quickly collapse.
Presentation 01
Attitude To Scripture
There are many other equally unhelpful approaches all of
which we must lay to one side in favour of pursuing a
historical/grammatical interpretation of scripture from which
the preacher builds a bridge between the then and there of
scripture and the here and now of his hearers.
While the particular methodology used in achieving this goal
may vary from preacher to preacher it is important to see
one’s task in sermon preparation in the context
of bridge-building.
E.M. Bounds was right to teach that it is not methods
but men that God blesses, nevertheless, it is helpful to have
a checklist against which to test our sermon preparation.
Presentation 01
Attitude To Culture And Society
Not only is our attitude to scripture of fundamental importance but in order for
the preacher to make the text relevant to his hearer he must be aware of his
hearer’s ‘world view’ and what has shaped it. This is particularly the case if our
preaching is to contain a meaningful apologetic. World views are not static but
are constantly changing. The bridge built 50
years ago will have limited
contemporary significance.
“To preach is to relate God's never
changing word to man's ever
changing world”.
JOHN STOTT
Presentation 01
Attitude To Culture And Society
Biblical preaching demands sensitivity to the modern
world. Although God spoke to the ancient world in its
own languages and cultures, he intends his Word to be
for everybody. This means that the expositor is more
than an exegete. The exegete explains the original
meaning of the text; the expositor goes further and
applies it to the contemporary world. We have then to
struggle to understand the rapidly changing world in
which God has called us to live; to grasp the main
movements of thought which have shaped it; to listen
to its many discordant voices, its questions, its protests
and its cries of pain; and to feel a measure of its
disorientation and despair. For all this is part of our
Christian sensitivity.
JOHN STOTT
Presentation 01
Attitude To Culture And Society
We must become aware of what shapes the hopes and
aspirations of those around us, just as Paul sought to be
informed of the alien culture of Athens by walking around
the city Acts 17v23. Think of it this way Paul was looking
for the spot to start his bridge-building! So too we must
ask what shapes the thinking of men and women today?
Books like Michael Medved’s, “Hollywood vs. America:
Popular Culture and the War on Traditional Values” can
offer valuable insights into how the media are
subliminally influencing western thought and morality.
Become aware of the way in which philosophical trends
begin to shape popular culture and modern theological
thought albeit with a fixed time delay.
Presentation 01
Attitude To Culture And Society
Culture may be likened to a tapestry, intricate and often
beautiful, which is woven by a given society to express its
corporate identity. The colours and patterns of the tapestry
are the community's common beliefs and common customs,
inherited from the past, enriched by contemporary art and
binding the community together. Each of us, without
exception, has been born and bred in a particular culture.
Being part of our upbringing and environment, it is also part
of ourselves, and we find it very difficult to stand outside it
and evaluate it Christianly. Yet this we must learn to do. For if
Jesus Christ is to be Lord of all, our cultural heritage cannot
be excluded from his lordship. And this applies to churches as
well as individuals. JOHN STOTT
Presentation 01
Attitude To Culture And Society
We must be mindful of the impact that the media can have
upon our hearers who are increasingly in danger of losing
touch with ‘the significant’. The media throws out soundbytes or visual images at such a rate that we are robbed of
the faculty of meaningful reflection. Indeed, ours is a
generation that refuses to give their minds the opportunity to
reflect. Our ears are constantly in touch with earphones and
we go to sleep at night with the TV on, albeit set to snooze
control and we waken in the morning with a music alarm!
“We are swamped by the inconsequential, bombarded by
images and sounds that rob us of the opportunity of refection
and contemplation that are necessary to reacquaint ourselves
with what is significant.” David Gordon.
Presentation 01
Attitude To The Hearer
Our attitude to our hearers is important. Will they know that
you are for them? Can you communicate your desire to see
God richly bless them - so that even if your preaching wounds it
is in order to heal? Are you a soul surgeon? In the Anglican
church, the term ‘curate’ is an illuminating job description ‘one responsible for the care or cure of souls’.
Some preachers are like officious headmasters intent upon
scolding and punishing their hearers! They fail to
demonstrate a concern to introduce their hearers to a
gracious and a pardoning God. Ask, will your sermon at
one and the same time reveal the hopelessness of the
human condition apart from Christ, and also
demonstrate the supreme competence of
Christ to minister to that need?
Presentation 01
Attitude To The Hearer
Fundamental to effective preaching is a knowledge
both of our own hearts and of the hearts of our
hearers. S. L. Brengle wrote with this in mind.
“Oh for more teachers amongst us, leaders who know
how to read hearts and apply truth to the needs of the
people as a good physician reads his patients and
applies remedies to their ills. There are soul sickness'
open and obscure, acute and chronic, superficial and
deep seated which the truth as it is in Jesus will heal.
But it is not the same truth for each need, any more
than the same medicine for any disease. That is why
we should more diligently study the Bible and pray for
the constant and powerful illumination of the Holy
Spirit”.
Presentation 01
Attitude To The Hearer
On one occasion Richard Cecil made the following observation:
“To love to preach is one thing-to love those to whom we
preach, quite another”.
As a student I had the opportunity to attend a missionary
conference where the grand-daughter of Hudson Taylor,
herself a seasoned China missionary, was a guest.
I determined to seek her out and pick her brains on how
best to prepare myself for missionary service. Words like
‘contextualization’ were buzzing around in my head. I
wondered what great advice she might give. In response to
my request she spoke only 3 words, “Love the people”.
A lot of preaching misses the mark because it proceeds from
the love of preaching, not love of people. VANCE HAVNER
Presentation 01
Conclusion
It seemed appropriate to finish this first session by
reflecting upon what above all else we should be
pursuing in our quest to be better preachers, and
teachers. John Stott sums it up in this way;
“It seems to me that one might well single out
freshness of spiritual experience as the first
indispensable quality of the effective preacher. No
amount of homiletical technique can compensate for
the absence of a close personal walk with God.
Unless he puts a new song in our mouth, even the
most polished sermons will lack the sparkle of
authenticity.”
Presentation 01