Preaching in Christian ministry involves proclaiming the gospel with clarity, compassion, and spiritual power to convict, transform, and nourish the hearts of listeners (Romans 10:14). Illustrations often use images of broken hearts, simple nourishment, and the preacher’s spiritual vitality to highlight the need for humility, prayer, and heartfelt study in delivering life-changing messages (2 Timothy 4:2).
A certain minister's sermons were always just twenty minutes in length. One Sunday, however, he went on for an hour and twenty minutes.
When someone asked him why his sermon had run so long overtime, he explained: "I always put a Lifesaver in my mouth - and when it melts, I know the twenty minutes are up. But this Sunday, I reached in my pocket, and put a BUTTON in my mouth by mistake!"
When presidential
candidate Dukakis made one of his whistle stops during the 1988 campaign, a group of listeners stood in the back and help up
their plaques and chanted, "Bor-ing," Bor-ing," "Bor-ing," "Boring."
Sometimes a congregation might be thinking the same thing, especially when a
manuscript sermon is read.
Henry Ward Beecher asked Park Benjamin, the poet and humorist, why he never came to hear him preach. Benjamin replied, “Why, Beecher, the fact is, I have conscientious scruples against going to places of amusement on Sunday.”
#9554
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Claude Swanson, late governor of Virginia, made a particularly long
and rambling speech at a banquet one evening. An old lady came up to
him afterward to shake his hand. "How did you like the speech?" asked
Swanson. "I liked it fine," she replied, "but it seems to me you
missed several excellent opportunities." Swanson looked puzzled.
"Several opportunities for what?" he asked. "To quit." she snapped.
A clergyman in Boston had a plain country pastor visit him, and
invited him to address his people. The preacher was so familiar in his
speech and illustrations that the city pastor was disturbed lest his
cultivated city congregation should take offense. A few days later
there came a prominent member of that congregation to his pastor, in
earnest desire for Christ; and when asked as to the cause of his
interest, he referred to the homely words of that country preacher,
who had spoken right to his heart as he had not been spoken to from
that pulpit before. When the pastor told this story he said: "I'll
never again distrust God's Spirit in guiding His preachers. I had
written more than one sermon for the express purpose of reaching that
man; but he was reached by one sentence from a plain man whom God's
Spirit guided."
Bill Crumley's life was filled with heartbreak. Oh yes, in
college, he played on a national championship baseball team. Then
came a good job, marriage, and two adopted children. But later the
business failed. Then the marriage failed. Bill lost all. Another
company went bankrupt, and Bill lost that job, too. Sad years passed;
then he married a wonderful woman who also had known heartbreak.
At 55, Bill felt God's call to preach, but his church would not
ordain a divorced man. Totally surrendered to God, Bill gave up
everything that seemed to be for self, even melting down his gold,
college championship ring for seminary funds. He eventually finished
his seminary training through a correspondence course. Then he
preached in nursing homes, little churches, and went to the
Philippines with an evangelistic group.
The Crumleys minister to small, country churches. This preacher
with the heartbreak past is powerfully ministering to others with
heartaches. Bill says he preaches the gospel, not for his glory but
because he must. It is a task God has laid on him.
- {Open Windows}
A young boy, who did not care much for preaching, came to church one night to hear an evangelist. The boy sat down next to a deacon, who was delighted to see him. Halfway through the message the young man got up to go. The deacon whispered, "Where are you going. He's not done yet."
The young boy replied, "I need to get a haircut."
"Why didn't you get one before you came?" the deacon asked.
"Because I didn't need one before I came," answered the boy.
============
Another version from Wit and Wisdom 3/15/04:
A pastor, known for his lengthy sermons, noticed a man get up and leave during the middle of his message. The man returned just before the
conclusion of the service. Afterwards the pastor asked the man where he had
gone.
"I went to get a haircut," was the reply.
"But," said the pastor, "why didn't you do that before the service?"
"Because," the gentleman said, "I didn't need one then."
__________
Pulpit Supply, mailto:pulpit-supply-subscribe@strategicnetwork.org
Many people do not know what expository preaching is. Dr. Donald
Campbell, president of Dallas Theological Seminary, recalled some
early advice he received while a youth minister in a small Texas
town. His pastor said to his young apprentice, "Son, there are two
types of sermons: topical and suppository!"
Once my sweet little wife suggested that when I prepare my sermon
to remember the advertisement of a new washing machine: "After it
spins dry, it shuts itself off automatically."
- Tal D. Bonham & Jack Gulledge, {The Treasury of Clean Senior
Adult Jokes }(Nashville: Broadman Press, 1989) 32
During the great, Welsh revival, it is said a minister was
marvelously successful in his preaching. He had but one sermon, but
under it hundreds of men were saved. Far away from where he lived, in
a lonely valley, news of this wonderful success reached a brother
preacher. Forthwith, he became anxious to find out the secret of this
success. He started out and walked the long and weary road, and at
length reaching the humble cottage where the good minister lived he
said: "Brother where did you get that sermon?" He was taken into a
poorly furnished room and pointed to a spot where the carpet was worn
shabby and bare, near a window that looked out towards the solemn
mountains, and the minister said:
"Brother, that is where I got that sermon. My heart was heavy for
men. One evening I knelt there and cried for power to preach as I had
never preached before. The hours passed, until midnight struck, and
the stars looked down on a sleeping valley and the silent hills; but
the answer came not, so I prayed on until at length I saw a faint grey
shoot up in the east; presently, it became silver and I watched and
prayed until the silver became purple and gold, and on all the
mountain crests blazed the altar fires of the new day; and then the
sermon came, and the power came, and I lay down and slept, and arose
and preached, and scores fell down before the fire of God; that is
where I got that sermon." --G. Campbell Morgan
Beneath a glass atop a pulpit which Dr. Walter Wilson approached to
bring a message occurred these wise words of wisdom, "If after ten
minutes you don't strike oil, QUIT BORING!" --W. B. Knight
It is said of a famous preacher that he always preached "as a
dying man to dying men." It is such preaching that is always
effective. A minister visiting a penitentiary one Saturday, was
invited by the Christian warden to speak to the inmates the next
day. That evening the minister felt impressed to go to the
penitentiary and learn the details regarding the service. Noting
two chairs draped in black in the main assembly room he inquired
as to the reason. Said the warden, "These two chairs are draped
for death. Your sermon will be the last these men will ever
hear." There are chairs in most audiences draped for death. The
only difference being, that in most instances they are not seen.
Nonetheless, every preacher would do well to remember that he is
a dying man addressing men who are appointed to die.--The
Toronto Globe
Abraham Lincoln put it rather strongly but effectively
nevertheless, when he said: "I do not care for cut and dried
sermons. When I hear a man preach I like to see him act as if he
were fighting bumble bees! --Selected
A French preacher was appointed the king's chaplain. Shortly after
the chaplain's appointment, the king was taken by death. His son
succeeded him. After a chapel service, some men of the court came to
the chaplain. "Your preaching is offensive to the new king," they
said. "If you do not change, you may be replaced." He is my king when
I am in my home," the chaplain replied. "When I stand in the pulpit,
Jesus Christ, my King of kings, is the only one to whom I must be
obedient."
One thing I have against the clergy, both of the country and in the
town; I think they are not severe enough on their congregations. They
do not sufficiently lay upon the souls and consciences of their
hearers their moral obligations, and probe their hearts and bring up
their whole lives and actions to the bar of conscience. The class of
sermons which I think are most needed are of the class which offended
Lord Melbourne long ago. Lord Melbourne was seen one day coming from a
church in the country in a mighty fume. Finding a friend, he
exclaimed: "Its too bad! I have always been a supporter of the Church,
and I have always upheld the clergy. But it is really too bad to have
to listen to a sermon like that we have had this morning. Why, the
preacher actually insisted upon applying religion to a man's private
life!" But this is the kind of preaching which I like best, the kind
of preaching which men need most; but it is also the kind of which
they get the least. --W. E Gladstone
Every Sabbath morning and evening in a small New England church,
there was seen among the few worshipers a man whose great head and
cavernous eyes were in keeping with his great distinction. Someone who
knew him in Washington asked him how it was that, there in the
village, he was so regular in going to the small church and listening
to the ungilted minister, whereas in Washington he paid little
attention to great churches and distinguished preachers. The man with
the great head and the wonderful eyes answered: In Washington they
preach to Daniel Webster, the statesman and the orator. Here in this
village, this man preaches to Daniel Webster, the sinner." --McCartney
A preacher can make his sermon introduction too long, and thereby
lose his listener's attention before he even begins preaching the body
of his message.
Washington Irving told the humorous tale of a Dutchman who, having
to leap over a ditch, went back three miles that he might have a good
run at it. He found himself so completely winded when he arrived at
the edge of the ditch again, that he was obliged to sit down on the
wrong side to recover his breath! --adapted from Horace Smith
I heard one say the other day that a certain preacher had no
more gifts for the ministry than an oyster, and in my own
judgment this was a slander on the oyster, for that worthy
bivalve shows great discretion in his openings, and knows when
to close. If some men were sentenced to hear their own sermons
It would be a just judgment upon them, and they would soon cry
out with Cain "My punishment is greater than I can
bear." --Spurgeon
An exchange has the following story: A minister preached on 1
Corinthians 13:1. The reporter for the daily paper, strangely
enough, got it right, but the linotype operator, in setting the
word "charity," made the mistake of using an "L" instead of an
"H," and the proofreader overlooked it. So the minister was
reported in the morning paper as having preached from the
following text: "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of
angels, and have not clarity, I am become as sounding brass, or
a tinkling cymbal." Commenting on the story the editor says: "As
it appears in print it was not New Testament truth, but it was
truth, nevertheless. The people want the preacher to be luminous
rather than voluminous, and the preacher who is without clarity
will soon be without a congregation." --Moody Monthly
Charlie Shedd tells a parable about a duck hunter who hunted all
day and bagged nothing despite the fact that ducks were everywhere.
His companions, seeking to discover the cause of his problem, followed
him to the blinds the next day. Their analysis of the difficulty was
succinctly stated: "His trouble was that he was shooting ducks in
general and not in particular."
Shotgun sermons can have a similar lack of effectiveness. He who
makes no point in preaching, also makes no sense. Aimless, pointless
preaching often confuses more than it convicts. In order to bear the
truth home effectively, a sermon should have a clear focus on one or
more precise points of truth. --Duane V. Maxey
A sailor had just returned from a whaling voyage, and he was taken
by a friend to hear an eloquent preacher. After the sermon he said:
"Jack wasn't that a fine sermon? "Yes, it was shipshape," said Jack,
"the masts just high enough, the sails and rigging all right, but I
did not see any harpoons. When a vessel goes on a whaling voyage, the
great thing is to get whales, but they do not come because you have a
fine ship; you must go after them and harpoon them. The preacher must
be the whaler. --W. H. Griffith
A dirty, bedraggled cocker spaniel showed up frequently at the
services of our West Virginia camp meeting. Washed and brushed it
would have been handsome. The friendly mutt especially liked the
prayer meetings, and it would sit quietly near the altar as people
prayed. It seemed to enjoy Morris Wilson's preaching, too. I was a bit
put out when it trotted in one morning, saw that I was the preacher
for that service, and immediately departed. It reminded me of an old
story.
A new pastor booted a hound out of the church. While preaching, the
pastor noted a man wearing an angry scowl and thought, Oh, oh, that's
the dog's master, and I've made an enemy. As the sermon progressed,
the man's face brightened, so the pastor mustered courage to approach
him with an apology after the benediction. "That's OK" the man said.
"I was angry at first, but I decided I didn't want my dog to hear that
kind of preaching anyhow."
There was a worldly parson in Philadelphia--a great fox hunter
whom a Spruce Street Quaker took in hand. "Friend, said the
Quaker, I understand thee's clever at fox-catching. "I have few
equals and no superiors at that sport," the parson complacently
replied. "Nevertheless, friend," said the Quaker, "if I were a
fox I would hide where thee would never find me. "Where would
you hide?" asked the parson, with a frown. "Friend," said the
Quaker, "I would hide in thy study." --Moody Monthly
Spurgeon went one day into Albert Hall, where he was to preach on
the coming Sabbath. In order to test the acoustics of the hall with
his voice, he mounted the platform and repeated the text, "The blood
of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." (\reference{1 John
1:7}{1 John 1:7}) Not long afterward, he received word that the
repetition of that text had borne rich fruit. A painter at work in
some part of the great hall was startled when he heard the voice of
Spurgeon repeating, in the empty hall, that great sentence of John's.
The words so impressed him that he was converted and brought to
Christ. --McCartney
Stephen Grellet, the noted Friend [i.e, Quaker], once felt a burden on his heart and the leading of the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel to men in an American lumber camp. But when he arrived at the camp he found it deserted, for the men had gone farther into the forest. Feeling, nevertheless that he had been sent there by the Holy Spirit, he stood up in the empty mess hall and delivered his sermon, heard, as he thought, only by the board walls of the building and the lofty trees of the forest.
Years afterward, crossing London Bridge in the evening gloom, he was somewhat rudely stopped by a man who accosted him and said, “You are the man I have been looking for all these years. I have found you at last!”
“There must be some mistake,” said Grellet, “I have never seen thee.”
“No,” said the man, “but did you not preach at a lumber camp in the American forest?”
“Yes, but there was no one there.”
“I was there,” responded the man, “and I heard the sermon.”
Then he went on to relate how he had come back from where the men were working to get a saw that had been left behind, when he was startled and alarmed at hearing the sound of a man’s voice. Approaching the building, he looked through a chink of the logs and saw Grellet standing by himself preaching the sermon. He listened to the preacher, was convicted of sin, got hold of a copy of the Scriptures, learned the way of life, was saved, and brought others with him into the Kingdom of Heaven.
________
McCartney
Mr. Madan, who had been educated for the bar and being a great mimic, was desired one evening by some wicked companions to go and hear John Wesley. After hearing Wesley, Madan was to return and mimic Wesley’s mannerisms and message for their entertainment.
Accordingly, he went to the meeting with this intention; when, just as he entered the place, Wesley named as his text: “Prepare to meet thy God;” with a solemnity of accent that struck Madan very forcibly, inspiring a seriousness which continued to increase as Wesley proceeded in exhorting his hearers to repentance. On returning from the meeting, Madan was accosted by his acquaintances, “Have you taken off the old Methodist?” (Were you able to pick up his mannerisms so as to mimic them?) “No, gentlemen,” he replied, “but he has taken me off!”
It is related of John Wesley that on one occasion he was riding
along a high road when he saw a man kneeling by the roadside breaking
stones. "Ah," said the preacher, I wish I could break the hearts of
some who hear me preach as easily as you are breaking those stones."
The man looked up and replied, "Did you ever try to break them on your
knees?"
When a local preacher died, his relatives found he had neatly
tied up the messages he had delivered and placed a card on top
of them with this inscription: "Where has the influence gone of
all these sermons I have preached?" Underneath he had scribbled
in large letters, "OVER." On the other side this answer was
found: "Where are last year's sunrays? They have gone into
fruits and grain and vegetables to feed mankind. Where are last
year's raindrops? Forgotten by most people, of course, but they
did their refreshing work, and their influence still abides. So,
too, my sermons have gone into lives and made them nobler, more
Christlike, and better fitted for Heaven." His comments apply
to the efforts of all who faithfully give out the Word.
Very wisely does an American writer say: "There is a mighty
difference between preaching the everlasting Gospel and
preaching the Gospel everlastingly." There is no end to the
truth, but there should be an end to the sermon, or else it
will answer no end but that of wearying the hearer. A friend who
occasionally visits the Continent always prefers the passage
from Dover to Calais, for a reason which we commend to the
notice of certain prosy speakers--it is short. If you speak
well, you will not be long; if you speak ill, you ought not to
be so. We commend to the verbose brother the counsel of a
costermomger to an open-air preacher--it was rather rude, but
peculiarly sensible--"I say, old fellow, cut it short." --Spurgeon
The Rev. James Harris, 77, of Oreana, Illinois, collapsed and
died at the end of his sermon in a county home for the aged. With his
last breath, he said, "I have just one more point to make and then
I'll close!" We believe he made that "last point" in the presence of
his wondrous Lord! --W. B. Knight
Don't preach too long. I should say, if you are earnest and
interesting that whatever you are preaching about, you should preach
about forty minutes. Some sermons remind me of the sailor who was told
to pull a rope on board; he pulled and pulled until he was tired and
then declared that he believed the "end of this 'ere rope is cut off."
--Spurgeon
Many churches wisely have a large clock behind the congregation where it is quite obvious to the preacher. Some don't. The one where Rev. Sam has been invited to speak did not. As time when on, Brother Sam finally commented that he had forgotten his watch and asked, "Does anyone have the time?" "There's a calendar right behind you," piped a voice.
An Englishman crossed the Channel to France and was exceedingly disturbed by the fact that he could not understand a word of the French language. He was met at the depot by a Frenchman, and the driver of the cab talked to him in French. When he got to the hotel, he found nothing but the French language there and a man, with French language, took him to his couch at night. He was almost exhausted because of his incapacity to understand anything that was being said to him, and in sad mind he went to sleep. In the morning, he woke up and he heard a rooster crow and he said, “There's some English, at last.”
And what a relief it is, after hearing some men talk in learned technicalities, foreign to our capacity, to suddenly hear something the plainest people can understand! I know only of one use for words, and that is to let men know what you mean.
-- Spurgeon
The story is told about an old American Indian who attended a
church service one Sunday morning. The preacher's message
lacked real spiritual food, so he did a lot of shouting and
pulpit pounding to cover up his lack of preparation. In fact,
as it is sometimes said, he "preached up quite a storm." After
the service, someone asked the Indian, who was a Christian, what
he thought of the minister's message. Thinking for a moment, he
summed up his opinion in six words: "High wind. Big thunder. No
rain." Yes, when the Scriptures are neglected, there is "no
rain." Only when preaching is based on God's Word are His
people blessed and refreshed.
An English pastor was most unhappy to learn, after preaching a powerful sermon against betting, that one of his own elders was a heavy gambler. Immediately, the pastor hurried over to explain that he had not meant for the sermon to come across as a personal attack on the elder. The elder said, "Don't worry about it. It's a pretty poor sermon that doesn't hit me somewhere."
[See another rendering, #13396]
A distinguished Methodist minister of the city of Adelaide, Australia, preached on sin, and one of his church officers afterwards came into his study to see him. He said to my friend, the minister, “Mr. Howard, we don’t want you to talk as plainly as you do about sin, because if our boys and girls hear you talking so much about sin they will more easily become sinners. Call it a mistake if you will, but do not speak so plainly about sin.”
Then my friend took down a small bottle and showed it to the visitor. It was a bottle of strychnine and was marked: “Poison.” Said he, “I see what you want me to do. You want me to change the label. Suppose I take off this label of “Poison” and put on some mild label, such as “Essence of Peppermint,” don’t you see what happens? The milder you make your label the more dangerous you make your poison!
________
J. Wilbur Chapman
A tutor of one of the Oxford colleges, who limped in his walk, was some years ago accosted by a well-known politician, who asked him if he was not the chaplain of the college at such a time, naming the year. The Doctor replied that he was. The interrogator observed, “I knew you by your limp.”
“Well,” said the Doctor, “It seemed my limping made a deeper impression than my preaching.”
“Ah, Doctor,” was the reply, with ready wit, “it is the highest compliment we can pay a minister to say that he is known by his walk, rather than by his conversation.”
-- Dictionary Of Illustrations
My Source: NORTH MARSHALL MESSENGER
Volume 5, #18, 5 March 2000
Author: David Lemmons
=========================================
OH WHAT PREACHING!
by David Lemmons
There is a song that sometimes we sing which contains the line: "Oh What Singing." As we direct our attention to Acts 24:24-25, those who love the souls of men will sing out: "Oh What Preaching!" Consider these words…
And after certain days, when Felix came with
his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent
for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith
in Christ. 25 And as he reasoned of righteousness,
temperance, and judgment to come, Felix
trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this
time; when I have a convenient season, I will
call for thee.
Paul's interaction with Felix needs to serve as a model for our interaction with lost souls today. OH WHAT PREACHING!
Notice here that Felix sent for Paul. For what reason did Felix call Paul? I believe our answer is to be found in the next verse, verse 26. Felix was wanting to get out of the sticky situation in which he found himself. Here was a Roman citizen being held without any real reason. Verse 26 shows that Felix was hoping that he might at least find some profit out of this unfortunate situation. Since He had allowed easy access to Paul by his friends, Felix hoped that Paul might have been able to gather money together to purchase his freedom by paying him a bribe. So the reason Felix called Paul was that he lusted for money and wanted to put an end to the sticky situation of having a Roman citizen imprisoned without any real charges.
However, that which motivated Paul and that which motivated Felix were entirely different. Paul's motivation was the heavy debt on his shoulders which could only be released by powerful preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:14-16). Romans 1:24 shows that Paul would not compromise his integrity by paying Felix a bribe. Romans 1:24 shows that when called by Felix, Paul refused to provide that which fulfilled the desires of Felix, but instead, Felix "heard him concerning the faith in Christ." Even though Felix wanted something else, what he was given was powerful preaching of the gospel.
Verse 25 says, "…and as he reasoned…" This is the same word used for what Paul did in Troas as Eutychus slept and fell from the third story. Paul was PREACHING to Felix.
Well, what made up the message that Paul preached to Felix? Quite simple: RIGHTEOUSNESS, TEMPERANCE, and JUDGMENT TO COME. This word, righteousness means: "what God requires; what is right; uprightness." Temperance is self-control, one of the graces that are to be added to our faith (2 Pt 1:6). And yes, Paul even preached to Governor Felix about the condition of his soul.
The lives of men like Felix would hardly have allowed for any interest in exercising self-control (powerful, profligate, perverted). How could Paul be so "out of tune" with the perceived needs of Felix? One would think Paul would have done better to slip up on the blind side of Felix to assure greater success. Eventually, at some point in the future, perhaps Paul might have gotten to the matter of temperance, but not right away. At least, this would be the thinking of many of my brethren.
This past week a lady phoned the church office with the simple question: "Are you the ones with the gym?" Her question made me sad to realize that, at least in the mind of one soul in our area, the precious church of Christ had become: "The Church with the Gym."
What if we put aside the gimmicks of the denominations and just go back to the Bible to see again the message preached to a powerful Governor? What if we deliver the message in the same simple and powerful way that Paul did? What if truth is our only "hook" and we begin to see what people really need is that truth?
The results may be that some who need to be confronted with the truth of God's word will be. Here, in this historical account, we see that it was uncomfortable for Governor Felix. He was not given that for which he was looking. He was given that which he NEEDED. The Bible tells us that the result was that Felix TREMBLED.
I believe I heard it first from Wendell Winkler, but perhaps it's been around for many years--PREACHING DEFINED: To comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Governor Felix was quite comfortable. It was said of Felix by Tacitus: "with all cruelty and lust he exercised the power of a king with the spirit of a slave." OH WHAT PREACHING!!! Paul's powerful preaching afflicted this comfortable soul? He nearly converted him, except for the procrastinating tendency of this sinful ruler. He searched for that convenient season--the same one that many of our friends search for today.
Brethren, there was a boldness in the preaching of Paul. This boldness was manifested in a loving proclamation of good news that needed to be heard by this ungodly sinner. He taught that we must lovingly proclaim this message--Ephesians 4:15 (KJS) But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ. God will bless our efforts to reach our lost neighbors if we will come to appreciate the need to depend upon the same message of His messenger, the Apostle Paul.
OH WHAT PREACHING!!!
Postmodernism is a pervasive philosophy that has significantly skewed the thinking of many -- especially today's generation of students. Across our land, skepticism prevails as relativism runs rampant across university campuses, causing students to wander aimlessly throughout the pluralistic halls of doubt, chaos and uncertainty. The postmodern generation is characterized as one who distrusts authority, questions and tolerates anything, and dismisses absolute truth.
Such a picture causes many in the church to become pessimistic about reaching postmoderns with the Gospel. Why would they ever hear us? Why would they even give us and our Gospel the time of day? Certainly we and our 2,000-year-old Gospel are not modern enough for such postmoderns.
Christians should always think critically and creatively of how we can best communicate God's message. While the issues of the day should always cause us to think about how we do what we do, some suggest that we consider postmodernism to the extent that we change what we are doing. With a desire to speak their language and meet them on their turf, some go so far as to say that when it comes to preaching to postmoderns, we should stop.
However, it is not the elimination of preaching that would help us better reach the postmoderns. It is the use of correct and biblical preaching that would help us in our efforts to reach them with the gospel.
P.T. Forsythe said, “... with preaching Christianity rises or falls.” Certainly this was in the mind of God when He sent the disciples preaching (Mark 3:14) and when He had Paul command Timothy to “preach and teach these principles” (1 Timothy 6:2b) and to “preach the Word” (2 Timothy 4:2). Without a doubt we realize the essential nature of preaching when we read that faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). And we would be amiss if we did not state that “for since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21). The necessity and gravity of preaching help us empathize with Paul when he cries out, “... for woe to me if I do not preach the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:16).
As we go about the business of preaching correctly, four characteristics should be pervasive in our preaching to postmoderns:
-- THE POWER OF THE WORD. Our communication to postmoderns should be driven and empowered by Holy Scripture. Therein lies the power of God. God's Word has always been central to His activity and it should be central to our preaching. Our knowledge of God and our communication of Him cannot be derived elsewhere. We speak because God has spoken, and it is His Word, not our words, that has power. While we should know our audience, we must be better students of our message and the great God for Whom we speak. Who are we today to tamper with the Word when God Himself has told us that it is “true” (Psalm 119:160) and “right” (Psalm 119:175) and that it is “living, active and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12)? Should we stop our preaching even when we know that the Word is like a “fire and a hammer” (Jeremiah 23:29) and that it is “inspired and profitable that the man of God may be adequate....”? (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Our confidence must flow from the power of the Word and not simply an understanding of the traits and trends of a certain society.
-- AN APPRECIATION FOR OUR AUDIENCE. Although changing, we must understand as John Stott states that preachers stand “between two worlds” -- the world in which God delivered and crafted the message of truth and the world in which we live today. Certainly as Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jesus, Paul, the Apostles and others understood and connected with the audiences they addressed, so must we. A correct understanding of the makeup of our audience should not cause us to lower our voices and convictions, thereby diluting our proclamation to mere dialogue. Rather, it should cause us to rely more heavily on the power of God's Word in such a way that we preach more prayerfully, more carefully and more biblically. We are not to turn a deaf ear to the voices of postmodernism. We should seek to know the framework of this thought system -- not so we may stop our preaching, but so that we may improve our preaching.
-- THE SUPREMACY OF GOD. Regardless of creed or culture, people are longing to experience greatness. John Piper states that, “People are starving for the greatness of God.” While they may not admit it, students and postmoderns long for greatness. In my work with college students at Union University and across the country, I continuously am encouraged by students' interest in the supremacy and sovereignty of God. In a world where nothing seems to be in control, a God who is supreme and sovereign over creation is waiting to be savored among postmoderns. I am convinced that while some may say postmoderns do not believe in absolute truth, they do. They want absolute truth all right -- maybe they just haven't heard anyone speak of God as if He were either absolute or truth! Perhaps postmoderns would believe in absolute truth if the preaching they heard came from men who preached like they too believed in absolute truth! A preacher whose life and words are ablaze with the supremacy of God cannot help but be heard!
-- A PASSION FOR TRUTH. God's Word is truth, and His Word was ultimately revealed in Jesus who said, “I am the way, and the truth and the life....” (John 14:6). Later Jesus would pray, “Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). He did not say that God's Word is true or that it contains truth, but that it is truth. As we preach the truth, we realize that we are not heralding one proposition among many -- a simply good or better way of life. Rather we are preaching The Way and The Truth. In the midst of a generation who is finding little about which to be passionate, we have the opportunity to stand and passionately deliver a message -- the message of truth. While we must always be conversant with our culture, let us understand the essential nature and necessary place of preaching.
As Calvin said in his Institutes, “Let us not take it into our heads either to seek out God anywhere else than in his Sacred Word, or to speak anything that is not taken from that Word.”
With that in mind, let us preach, and preach well!
*
[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #16529]
During World War II Wayne Oates was driving from Louisville,
Kentucky to North Carolina. He and his wife, Pauline were eager to go
home from Southern Seminary, where he was a student, to see her
parents. They saved their gasoline stamps - which were necessary to
buy gasoline during the war - and finally got enough to make the trip.
Just before they got to the mountains, a car pulled alongside them,
and the driver waved them over. Wayne pulled over and stopped behind
the man. They noticed there were two little boys in the back seat of
his car.
When Wayne approached, the man said: "As you can se, I'm drunk.
I'm too drunk to drive this car over this dangerous two-lane mountain
road. I see there are two of you, would one of you please drive me
and my boys over the mountains?" Wayne and Pauline agreed and Wayne
did so.
They hadn't been driving long when the man said: "What's your
work?"
"I'm a student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in
Louisville," Wayne said.
"I want to tell you something," the man said. "Please don't take
this personally - because I know you aren't a phony. You wouldn't be
driving my car if you were. I mean, there's nothing at all in this
for you. But, I want to tell you something important: Preaching is a
racket! If you get on through seminary and spend your life in
ministry, you just remember that ole Dave told you: 'Preaching is a
racket.'"
- {Fellowship News, }May/June 1994
One of the things I want to call for is a new emphasis on the
spiritual vitality of the preacher. Preaching is more than a craft or
an art or a profession. It is more than the shaping of some words
designed to dazzle the ears of hearers. Preaching grows out of the
minister's own experience with the living God. As preachers, we stand
inside the faith. We are not objective. We bear witness to what has
changed our lives.
- Charles B. Bugg, Professor of Preaching at The Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary
A fine preacher was once complimented by a little boy who said,
"You're not a great preacher because I could understand every word you
said."
A man wrote home that he had been to the big city to hear two great
preachers, one in the morning and one at night. He said that in the
morning he heard Dr. B., and at night Dr. S. "I was impressed by
both. Dr. B. is a great preacher, but Dr. S. has a wonderful
Savior."
An older minister said to a new preacher who asked for advice,
"Tell them what you know. Don't tell them what you don't know for
that will take too long."
Two Welsh preachers were on their way to a meeting. One noticed
that the other had a written outline of his sermon. He remonstrated,
"You can't carry fire on paper."
"True," replied his companion, "but you can use paper to start a
fire."
A preacher is not so much a builder of sermons as he is a builder
of people; to build people into what God wants them to be, he must
love them. It is not enough to love to preach; we must love those to
whom we preach. Without love, preaching is just noise.
- Roger Campbell
See \reference{1 Cor. 13:1}{1 Corinthians 13:1}
Helena Modjeska (1844-1909) was one of the most popular actresses
of her time because of her emotional style and superbability. Once,
to demonstrate the raw power of her ability, she gave a dramatic
reading in her native tongue, Polish. No one at the sedate dinner
party understood Polish, but all were in tears by the end of her
performance. Such was the power of her presentation. Only later was
it revealed that the piece that had moved the sophisticated audience
to tears was the Polish alphabet.
Upon accepting his first church, a young pastor asked an elderly
board member if he had any wise advice. The elderly man responded,
"Son, a sermon is like a good meal; you should end it just before we
have had enough."
Preaching has been described this way: "A mild-mannered man
standing up before mild-mannered people and exhorting them to be more
mild-mannered."
The true function of preaching is to disturb the comfortable and to
comfort the disturbed.
A father gave a report on his son's performance in a school play.
He said, "He did not have many lines, but he spoke them at the right
time, and he spoke them well."
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