I just read this blog post linked below and I thought that it and the comments there were very interesting. They contribute to the discussion I have started (long ago) on this blog.
http://theolderpaths.wordpress.com/2014/06/27/older-paths-preaching
Showing posts with label Expository. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Expository. Show all posts
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Basic Biography of a Born Again Believer (Expository Sermon Outline)
The following is an expository sermon outline for the text I John 2:29-3:3. The unifying theme throughout this text is the new birth. Everything about the believer's experience, from the daily sanctification through the ultimate glorification, hinges on being a child of God. That is what is brought out in this text.
The outline I titled "Basic Biography of a Born Again Believer" and I am preaching it from my pulpit on Sunday, March 4, 2012 (Lord willing).
BASIC BIOGRAPHY OF A BORN AGAIN BELIEVER
The outline I titled "Basic Biography of a Born Again Believer" and I am preaching it from my pulpit on Sunday, March 4, 2012 (Lord willing).
BASIC BIOGRAPHY OF A BORN AGAIN BELIEVER
I. HE IS PROVEN (I John 2:29).
A. A Habitual Righteousness. Quote Kenneth S. Wuest: "The habitual actions of a person are an index to his character." (In These Last Days, p. 140). Expand on.
B. A Particular Righteousness. "Everyone that doeth righteousness" = literally, "doeth the righteousness." A particular kind of righteousness, that is, like unto Christ's righteousness.
C. This is a Proof, not a Prescription. This verse does not explain how to become a child of God. It explains how to prove a child of God. The son takes after the Father. One proof of many that John offers throughout First John.
II. HE SAVORS GOD'S LOVE (I John 3:1a).
A. A Call to “Behold” God’s Love. "Behold" is in the plural imperative - a command to all believers to ponder on God's love. The difference between the religious lost and the born again: one thinks he deserves God's love, and therefore thinks very little of it. The other knows he does not deserve God's love, and therefore magnifies it; he savors the fact that though unworthy, he has it!
Quote Oliver B. Greene: "We need to stop and literally gaze at the cross, because Jesus on the cross was God's love on display for ungodly, hopeless, wretched sinners, who were His enemies.... God gave Heaven's best to die for earth's worst -- and He did it willingly." (The Epistles of John, p. 108).B. The Manner of God’s Love. "Manner" carries the idea of foreignness. God's love is outside of human experience. Which of us could love the unloveable in the way God has demonstrated His love?
C. The Result of God’s Love. That we should be called the children of God. Everything about the believer's experience hinges on this fact - from his daily sanctification through his ultimate glorification. God could have chosen to forgive us without the new birth, but our salvation is greater than simply being forgiven. It is a new identity that we have for all of eternity.
III. HE IS MISUNDERSTOOD (I John 3:1b).
The world = those people who are children of the Devil. Explain: being a child of God is a special privelege; all others are children of the Devil. Not the liberal, universal "fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man."
So the Illustration: People from different families often misunderstand one another; so the children of the Devil have no comprehension of the children of God.
The world knew not Christ, John 1:10. Therefore not us either, John 15:18-19.
Illustration: What can we expect from the world? See what Christ received from it for the answer!
Application: Therefore, why should we embrace the world, as John already said, I John 2:15?
IV. HE KNOWS HIS CURRENT STATUS (I John 3:2a).
V. HE AWAITS HIS FUTURE GLORY (I John 3:2b).
A. The Details Are a Mystery. As to the timing, the particulars. We could not even comprehend anyway.
B. The Known Facts Are a Comfort. Jesus is coming again. We shall be like Him. Philippians 3:21. We shall behold Him face to face. I Corinthians 13:12.
VI. HE HAS A PURIFYING HOPE (I John 3:3).
A. This "Hope" Is Sure. Define "hope" biblically. Apply to Christ's return, Titus 2:13.
B. This Hope Makes Pure. Titus 2:11-14.
VM
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Expository Sermon Outline from Luke's Introduction
The following is a skeletal outline (just the four main points) from an expository sermon titled "Things That Really Matter." The text is from Luke's introduction to his Gospel account.
Verse 1: Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
Point 1: IT MATTERS WHAT YOU BELIEVE (Verse 1)
Verse 2: Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
Point 2: IT MATTERS WHERE YOU BASE YOUR BELIEFS (Verse 2)
Verse 3: It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
Point 3: IT MATTERS WHETHER YOU SPREAD THE TRUTH (Verse 3)
Verse 4: That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
Point 4: IT MATTERS WHETHER YOU ARE CERTAIN OF THE TRUTH (Verse 4)
VM
Verse 1: Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
Point 1: IT MATTERS WHAT YOU BELIEVE (Verse 1)
Verse 2: Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
Point 2: IT MATTERS WHERE YOU BASE YOUR BELIEFS (Verse 2)
Verse 3: It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
Point 3: IT MATTERS WHETHER YOU SPREAD THE TRUTH (Verse 3)
Verse 4: That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
Point 4: IT MATTERS WHETHER YOU ARE CERTAIN OF THE TRUTH (Verse 4)
VM
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Call Unto Me: Points on Prayer
The following study is the kind of Bible teaching I like, where a text is picked apart phrase by phrase, its meaning explained, relevant Bible principles from other scriptures brought to bear on the subject, and it is all applied to the life of the believer. You could call this an "expository" study if you also examined the context, as I did when I delivered this lesson on a recent Sunday evening. The context (going back into prior chapters) is not on this outline, however. For more on expository preaching and other sermon types, read this post.
Call Unto Me: Points on Prayer
Jeremiah 33:3
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Prayer is Commanded – “Call unto Me!”
Reasons people don’t pray about some things:
- “I don’t want to bother God with little things.”
- Answer: “Give us this day our daily bread…”
- “I don’t have time to pray.”
- Answer: “You don’t have time NOT to pray!”
- "I have so much business, I can not get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.” — Martin Luther
- “God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it.” — John Wesley
- “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.” — Oswald Chambers
- “A day without prayer is a day without blessing, and a life without prayer is a life without power.” — Edwin Harvey
Prayer is Personal - “Call unto ME”
The saved have a personal relationship with the God of the Universe.
- Deuteronomy 4:7, 29
- Psalm 91:15
- Psalm 145:18
- Judges 18:22-26
- I Samuel 5:2-5
- I Kings 18:25-29
Prayer is Pleading - “Call” means “Cry out”.
It includes the idea of seeking and getting the attention of another.
- Isaiah 55:6
- Jeremiah 29:12-14
Reminders of God’s promises of hearing and answering prayer:
- Micah 7:7
- Psalm 50:15
- Psalm 34:15-17
- Proverbs 15:29
- Isaiah 65:24
- I John 5:14-15
You will know the answer to prayer!
“…and I will answer thee, and SHEW thee…”
- God is not going to answer your prayer and then leave you in the dark about it.
- Seeing the answer requires walking in the Spirit.
“…Great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
- “Mighty” / “Hidden”
- Compare: Ephesians 3:20; Psalm 23:5
- Examples: I Chronicles 17; I Kings 3:10-15
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Speaking For the Lord (Part 6)
This is the sixth in a series of articles I am writing to apply Isaiah 6:1-8 to the preacher. If you have not yet done so, please go back first and read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5. If you are blessed by this article, please feel free to comment and definitely watch for more articles in this series.
BRIEF REVIEW: In trying to explain preaching to someone recently, my mind settled on Isaiah 6:1-8 as a very relevant passage for every preacher to hold in mind about the nature of what we do when we speak for God.
II. Secondly, WHO IS THE PREACHER THAT GOD SENT?
A. He is a man of unclean lips, Isaiah 6:5 - dealt with in Part 5.
B. He dwells in the midst of a people of unclean lips - see Part 5.
C. Thirdly, this God-called preacher is a man that realizes his limitations and disabilities. Notice this in verse 5: "Woe is me! for I am undone...for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
1. Upon seeing Who exactly God is, the preacher realizes who himself is.
Preacher, have you been to the altar and realized the holiness and absolute glory of God? No, of course you haven't. "No man hath seen God at any time." You would be undone, as Isaiah was after just a brief glimpse - literally in verse 5 it means "done for" as in "I am done for. I am over with. I will cease to exist."
That is the proper attitude for the preacher - No more of ME! I am DONE! Now, All of HIM! John the Baptist said, "He must increase and I must decrease." If we truly held in mind Who it is that we represent when we preach, we would realize what Paul means when he says, "I am crucified with Christ" and "I die daily." We would never let our ego get in the way of speaking for the Lord.
Preacher, please realize you have nothing to offer anybody personally. God did not call you because you are special or anything like that. Remember that He "hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" - II Timothy 1:9. He has His reasons, and it is not because of anything you bring into the picture.
Are you undone? Does your preaching show it? Does the rest of your ministry show it? How much of YOU is present in your preaching, ministry, philosophy, etc?
Get to the point of Isaiah, "Woe is me, for I am undone." Are you undone or is "ME" still holding on tightly when you stand up to speak for the Lord?
Here are some concrete applications of this principle:
a) Do your sermon illustrations tend to regularly cast you in the best light, make you the hero of the story, etc? Get rid of it. There's no room for it.
b) How much do your favorite doctrines, hobby horses, pet peeves, etc, drive your sermons or influence how you approach a topic? Be careful! Is that God's hobby horse, pet peeve or favorite doctrine? Probably not, but you claim to be speaking for Him.
c) In your prayer during study and preparation time and before preaching, ask God to give you this attitude, "Woe is me, for I am undone." Ask God to humble you before Him and before the people and remove you completely out of the way so that only Christ can be seen.
2. Upon being properly humbled, this preacher is then enabled to properly speak on the Lord's behalf, vv. 6-7. Watch for this in Part 7, coming soon.
VM
BRIEF REVIEW: In trying to explain preaching to someone recently, my mind settled on Isaiah 6:1-8 as a very relevant passage for every preacher to hold in mind about the nature of what we do when we speak for God.
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. - Isaiah 6:1-8.I. First of all, WHO IS THIS GOD THAT SENT THE PREACHER? Answered in Parts 1 through 4 and applied to the preaching.
II. Secondly, WHO IS THE PREACHER THAT GOD SENT?
A. He is a man of unclean lips, Isaiah 6:5 - dealt with in Part 5.
B. He dwells in the midst of a people of unclean lips - see Part 5.
C. Thirdly, this God-called preacher is a man that realizes his limitations and disabilities. Notice this in verse 5: "Woe is me! for I am undone...for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
1. Upon seeing Who exactly God is, the preacher realizes who himself is.
Preacher, have you been to the altar and realized the holiness and absolute glory of God? No, of course you haven't. "No man hath seen God at any time." You would be undone, as Isaiah was after just a brief glimpse - literally in verse 5 it means "done for" as in "I am done for. I am over with. I will cease to exist."
That is the proper attitude for the preacher - No more of ME! I am DONE! Now, All of HIM! John the Baptist said, "He must increase and I must decrease." If we truly held in mind Who it is that we represent when we preach, we would realize what Paul means when he says, "I am crucified with Christ" and "I die daily." We would never let our ego get in the way of speaking for the Lord.
Preacher, please realize you have nothing to offer anybody personally. God did not call you because you are special or anything like that. Remember that He "hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" - II Timothy 1:9. He has His reasons, and it is not because of anything you bring into the picture.
Are you undone? Does your preaching show it? Does the rest of your ministry show it? How much of YOU is present in your preaching, ministry, philosophy, etc?
Get to the point of Isaiah, "Woe is me, for I am undone." Are you undone or is "ME" still holding on tightly when you stand up to speak for the Lord?
Here are some concrete applications of this principle:
a) Do your sermon illustrations tend to regularly cast you in the best light, make you the hero of the story, etc? Get rid of it. There's no room for it.
b) How much do your favorite doctrines, hobby horses, pet peeves, etc, drive your sermons or influence how you approach a topic? Be careful! Is that God's hobby horse, pet peeve or favorite doctrine? Probably not, but you claim to be speaking for Him.
c) In your prayer during study and preparation time and before preaching, ask God to give you this attitude, "Woe is me, for I am undone." Ask God to humble you before Him and before the people and remove you completely out of the way so that only Christ can be seen.
2. Upon being properly humbled, this preacher is then enabled to properly speak on the Lord's behalf, vv. 6-7. Watch for this in Part 7, coming soon.
VM
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Speaking For the Lord (Part 5)
This is the fifth in a series of articles I am writing to apply Isaiah 6:1-8 to the preacher. If you have not yet done so, please go back first and read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4. If you are blessed by this article, please feel free to comment and definitely watch for more articles in this series.
BRIEF REVIEW: In trying to explain preaching to someone recently, my mind settled on Isaiah 6:1-8 as a very relevant passage for every preacher to hold in mind about the nature of what we do when we speak for God.
I. First of all, WHO IS THIS GOD THAT SENT THE PREACHER? Answered in Parts 1 through 4 and applied to the preaching.
II. Secondly, WHO IS THE PREACHER THAT GOD SENT?
A. He is a man of unclean lips, Isaiah 6:5.
1. Preacher, will you ever get it through your head that you are a man of unclean lips? I don't care how long it has been since you gave up cursing or taking God's name in vain - that is not the issue. You are still a man of unclean lips because your lips will end up speaking what is in your heart, and you know what the Bible says about your wicked, filthy heart, Jeremiah 17:9; and about what all comes out of your heart, Matthew 15:19.
Therefore, how dare you EVER take your unclean lips into the pulpit and declare your opinion, your conjecture, or what you think. That's not speaking for the Lord. How many times does God have to remind us preachers that we are to "PREACH THE WORD," II Timothy 4:2.
2. Most of all, understand this. What you have to say MATTERS NOT AT ALL. What God has to say is the only thing that matters when you stand up to preach. Be sure you say that and only that, you man of unclean lips.
B. Secondly, this man that God has called to preach dwells "in the midst of a people of unclean lips." Do you understand how that matters or applies? It means that the people to whom you preach are accustomed to hearing unclean lips. They are accustomed to hearing from other men of unclean lips. What does that have to do with the preacher? Here is one way it applies: How are those people going to know when you are speaking for yourself or when you are speaking for God? How will they tell the difference, since they are so used to the mortal talk of mortal men? The fact is, such a people cannot discern the opinions of men from the word of God. The preacher speaking to such a people has an amazing and very weighty influence over them that even he does not understand. He must keep this power in check.
Preacher, always remember the following:
1. Everything you say from the pulpit is taken by most as "Thus saith the Lord." Whether you intend it that way or not, that is the way most listeners take it. Whether that is a right attitude or not, that is simply a fact of life that you have to learn to live with and preach within those parameters. Therefore, if it is not a "Thus saith the Lord" statement, then don't say it when you claim to be speaking for the Lord.
2. Your opinions or preferences you give from the pulpit will be confused with the word of God by some. They will come to believe that the Bible teaches something because they heard you preach it. You may become guilty of "making the word of God of none effect through your tradition," Mark 7:13.
3. Those who do not confuse your opinions or preferences with the word of God instead may come to the conclusion that you yourself have made that confusion. They expected to hear "Thus saith the Lord." They heard instead your opinion. They then make a logical conclusion that you believe the opinion you gave is in fact the word of God. This can be and has been the cause of horrible divisions among brethren, when some believe another has placed his opinion on the level of God's word. It is a reasonable conclusion on their part, even if it is wrong. But you are the one at fault in this misunderstanding, because you spoke through your unclean lips instead of preaching the word.
C. Thirdly, this God-called preacher is a man that realizes his limitations and disabilities. Notice this: "Woe is me! for I am undone...for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
1. Upon seeing Who exactly God is, the man realizes who himself is. Watch for this to continue in Part 6.
VM
BRIEF REVIEW: In trying to explain preaching to someone recently, my mind settled on Isaiah 6:1-8 as a very relevant passage for every preacher to hold in mind about the nature of what we do when we speak for God.
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. - Isaiah 6:1-8.
I. First of all, WHO IS THIS GOD THAT SENT THE PREACHER? Answered in Parts 1 through 4 and applied to the preaching.
II. Secondly, WHO IS THE PREACHER THAT GOD SENT?
A. He is a man of unclean lips, Isaiah 6:5.
1. Preacher, will you ever get it through your head that you are a man of unclean lips? I don't care how long it has been since you gave up cursing or taking God's name in vain - that is not the issue. You are still a man of unclean lips because your lips will end up speaking what is in your heart, and you know what the Bible says about your wicked, filthy heart, Jeremiah 17:9; and about what all comes out of your heart, Matthew 15:19.
Therefore, how dare you EVER take your unclean lips into the pulpit and declare your opinion, your conjecture, or what you think. That's not speaking for the Lord. How many times does God have to remind us preachers that we are to "PREACH THE WORD," II Timothy 4:2.
Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. Jonah 3:2.Let these examples be enough. God commisions a preacher to preach exactly what God says, nothing more and nothing less. God's house must not become the place people go to hear the thoughts of a man of unclean lips.
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! Romans 10:15.
Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Colossians 1:25.
And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak. I Kings 22:14.
And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak. Numbers 22:38.
If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak? Numbers 24:13.
For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. II Corinthians 2:17.
2. Most of all, understand this. What you have to say MATTERS NOT AT ALL. What God has to say is the only thing that matters when you stand up to preach. Be sure you say that and only that, you man of unclean lips.
B. Secondly, this man that God has called to preach dwells "in the midst of a people of unclean lips." Do you understand how that matters or applies? It means that the people to whom you preach are accustomed to hearing unclean lips. They are accustomed to hearing from other men of unclean lips. What does that have to do with the preacher? Here is one way it applies: How are those people going to know when you are speaking for yourself or when you are speaking for God? How will they tell the difference, since they are so used to the mortal talk of mortal men? The fact is, such a people cannot discern the opinions of men from the word of God. The preacher speaking to such a people has an amazing and very weighty influence over them that even he does not understand. He must keep this power in check.
Preacher, always remember the following:
1. Everything you say from the pulpit is taken by most as "Thus saith the Lord." Whether you intend it that way or not, that is the way most listeners take it. Whether that is a right attitude or not, that is simply a fact of life that you have to learn to live with and preach within those parameters. Therefore, if it is not a "Thus saith the Lord" statement, then don't say it when you claim to be speaking for the Lord.
2. Your opinions or preferences you give from the pulpit will be confused with the word of God by some. They will come to believe that the Bible teaches something because they heard you preach it. You may become guilty of "making the word of God of none effect through your tradition," Mark 7:13.
3. Those who do not confuse your opinions or preferences with the word of God instead may come to the conclusion that you yourself have made that confusion. They expected to hear "Thus saith the Lord." They heard instead your opinion. They then make a logical conclusion that you believe the opinion you gave is in fact the word of God. This can be and has been the cause of horrible divisions among brethren, when some believe another has placed his opinion on the level of God's word. It is a reasonable conclusion on their part, even if it is wrong. But you are the one at fault in this misunderstanding, because you spoke through your unclean lips instead of preaching the word.
C. Thirdly, this God-called preacher is a man that realizes his limitations and disabilities. Notice this: "Woe is me! for I am undone...for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
1. Upon seeing Who exactly God is, the man realizes who himself is. Watch for this to continue in Part 6.
VM
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Speaking For the Lord (Part 4)
This is the fourth in a series of articles I am writing to apply Isaiah 6:1-8 to the preacher. If you have not yet done so, please go back first and read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. If you are blessed by this article, please feel free to comment and definitely watch for more articles in this series.
BRIEF REVIEW: In trying to explain preaching to someone recently, my mind settled on Isaiah 6:1-8 as a very relevant passage for every preacher to hold in mind about the nature of what we do when we speak for God.
A. HIS TITLES: We looked at these in Part 1 and Part 2.
B. HIS ATTRIBUTES: In Part 3, we began to look at these, including: 1. HE IS MAJESTIC, 2. HE IS AWE-INSPIRING, 3. HE IS THRICE-HOLY. Now let us move on a bit further.
4. HE IS GLORIOUS: Verse 3 says "...the whole earth is full of his glory."
Much of this point would be covered under the previous point, HE IS MAJESTIC. However, now let's not consider simply the fact of God's glory and majesty, but rather the scope of it. The verse says, "the whole earth is full of his glory." His glory is worldwide. Applied to the preacher called by this same God, we may note the following:
a) There is no place on earth where God would not be glorified by the proper preaching of His word. His message is to go worldwide for His glory. Often times missionaries to particular locations are snubbed, or snubbed because they are not called to a certain region such as "the 10/40 window", or overlooked because they are planting churches in the home country, such as America. This is wrong-headed on many levels, but most importantly because it denies where God can work and be glorified. God is glorified just as much in the faithful preaching of His word in New York City or rural Alabama as He is in Papua New Guinea or the English countryside or the mountains of Tibet. The whole earth is full of His glory.
b) There is no place on earth, no culture, no people, no tribe, no generation, no social class, no age group who could not see the glory of God if His word were preached and believed among them. God's message and methods do not have to be modified for a different culture or different audience. The glory of God is already in every place and "the word of God is not bound" - II Timothy 2:9. It is not bound by time, distance or relevance. The word of God stands eternal and applies to every creature.
c) There is no special place to which preaching must be restricted and no special glory to any particular location. There is no more glory coming from a wooden pulpit inside the four walls of a church building than there is from the street corner where a faithful man is spreading the Gospel one-on-one. There is no more of the glory of God in a large, beautiful, packed auditorium than there is in an apartment living room where a man preaches to a handful of believers hoping to plant a church some day. The whole earth is full of God's glory.
d) To see God get all the glory must be the total desire of the preacher. This was covered under "HE IS MAJESTIC" in Part 3.
The God-called preacher can rest assured that regardless of when and where he preaches, the faithful preaching of God's word will by honored by the presence of God's glory and will redound to the glory of God. We don't have to look for moments like they have in the southern camp meetings, when they say "the glory fell" and then things really get interesting in the tent. That is not happening because the glory of God suddenly showed up. The glory is already here, wherever here is, and the God-called preacher can fully expect God to manifest His glory however He sees fit.
BRIEF REVIEW: In trying to explain preaching to someone recently, my mind settled on Isaiah 6:1-8 as a very relevant passage for every preacher to hold in mind about the nature of what we do when we speak for God.
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. - Isaiah 6:1-8.I. First of all, WHO IS THIS GOD THAT SENT THE PREACHER?
A. HIS TITLES: We looked at these in Part 1 and Part 2.
B. HIS ATTRIBUTES: In Part 3, we began to look at these, including: 1. HE IS MAJESTIC, 2. HE IS AWE-INSPIRING, 3. HE IS THRICE-HOLY. Now let us move on a bit further.
4. HE IS GLORIOUS: Verse 3 says "...the whole earth is full of his glory."
Much of this point would be covered under the previous point, HE IS MAJESTIC. However, now let's not consider simply the fact of God's glory and majesty, but rather the scope of it. The verse says, "the whole earth is full of his glory." His glory is worldwide. Applied to the preacher called by this same God, we may note the following:
a) There is no place on earth where God would not be glorified by the proper preaching of His word. His message is to go worldwide for His glory. Often times missionaries to particular locations are snubbed, or snubbed because they are not called to a certain region such as "the 10/40 window", or overlooked because they are planting churches in the home country, such as America. This is wrong-headed on many levels, but most importantly because it denies where God can work and be glorified. God is glorified just as much in the faithful preaching of His word in New York City or rural Alabama as He is in Papua New Guinea or the English countryside or the mountains of Tibet. The whole earth is full of His glory.
b) There is no place on earth, no culture, no people, no tribe, no generation, no social class, no age group who could not see the glory of God if His word were preached and believed among them. God's message and methods do not have to be modified for a different culture or different audience. The glory of God is already in every place and "the word of God is not bound" - II Timothy 2:9. It is not bound by time, distance or relevance. The word of God stands eternal and applies to every creature.
c) There is no special place to which preaching must be restricted and no special glory to any particular location. There is no more glory coming from a wooden pulpit inside the four walls of a church building than there is from the street corner where a faithful man is spreading the Gospel one-on-one. There is no more of the glory of God in a large, beautiful, packed auditorium than there is in an apartment living room where a man preaches to a handful of believers hoping to plant a church some day. The whole earth is full of God's glory.
d) To see God get all the glory must be the total desire of the preacher. This was covered under "HE IS MAJESTIC" in Part 3.
The God-called preacher can rest assured that regardless of when and where he preaches, the faithful preaching of God's word will by honored by the presence of God's glory and will redound to the glory of God. We don't have to look for moments like they have in the southern camp meetings, when they say "the glory fell" and then things really get interesting in the tent. That is not happening because the glory of God suddenly showed up. The glory is already here, wherever here is, and the God-called preacher can fully expect God to manifest His glory however He sees fit.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Speaking For the Lord (Part 3)
This is the third in a series of articles I am writing to apply Isaiah 6:1-8 to the preacher. If you have not yet done so, please go back first and read Part 1 and Part 2. If you are blessed by this article, please feel free to comment and definitely watch for more articles in this series.
BRIEF REVIEW: In trying to explain preaching to someone recently, my mind settled on Isaiah 6:1-8 as a very relevant passage for every preacher to hold in mind about the nature of what we do when we speak for God.
A. HIS TITLES
B. HIS ATTRIBUTES: We move now from the titles of the God Who called the preacher in Isaiah 6 to the attributes of that God as revealed in the passage.
1. HE IS MAJESTIC: Verse 1: "I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple."
a) WE MUST PRESENT GOD IN HIS MAJESTY: In our preaching, we must present God in all His majesty.
i) WE EXERCISE CARE IN WHAT WE SAY ABOUT GOD. To present God in His majesty, we always hold Him, His name and His word in reverence. He is not, "the Man upstairs" or "the Big Guy."
ii) WE EXERCISE CARE IN PRESENTING ANY MAN. To present God in His majesty, no man, including our own self, can receive any glory. Do not become an idol to the people. Do not allow the people to believe anything because "Preacher said so." Do not do anything that points the people to yourself rather than to Jesus Christ. Look at this statue memorial of a church's deceased pastor and tell me if this is giving God the glory:
b) WE MUST REFLECT THE MAJESTY OF GOD: Our worship services are to be majestic. Few fundamental preachers would argue with that when it comes to our music. It also applies to our preaching. Preacher, the pulpit is not the place for a lot of what takes place in fundamental pulpits. Theatrics belong at the circus. Jumping up and down, turning red-faced, spitting and snorting, handstands, you name it. What makes you think God needs any of that to get His message across? The power is in His word, not in your presentation of it.
2. HE IS AWE-INSPIRING: Not only is God majestic, but the God Who called the preacher is awe-inspiring. Verse 2: "Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face..." I have a note in my Bible margin at this verse - "Even a holy angel must cover his face in the presence of a thrice holy God."
Remember that God meets with us when the church meets. Many preachers act as if they have forgotten this by the way they behave, the things they say, the way they abuse the word of God. We ought to "cover our face" in the presence of God. We come into His special presence each time we preach.
If you have lost your absolute AWE for God, please get out of the pulpit.
3. HE IS THRICE-HOLY: Verse 3: "And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts...." What connection do those off-color jokes some preachers tell in the pulpit have with the thrice-holy God they claim to represent? What preaching illustrations do not properly illustrate the word of a thrice-holy God? What was the preacher doing all week long and on Saturday night before he stood up to speak for the One Who is "Holy, holy, holy?" You better watch yourself, Preacher.
4. HE IS GLORIOUS: Verse 3: "...the whole earth is full of his glory." Watch for this point in Part 4.
BRIEF REVIEW: In trying to explain preaching to someone recently, my mind settled on Isaiah 6:1-8 as a very relevant passage for every preacher to hold in mind about the nature of what we do when we speak for God.
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. - Isaiah 6:1-8.I. First of all, WHO IS THIS GOD THAT SENT THE PREACHER?
A. HIS TITLES
B. HIS ATTRIBUTES: We move now from the titles of the God Who called the preacher in Isaiah 6 to the attributes of that God as revealed in the passage.
1. HE IS MAJESTIC: Verse 1: "I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple."
a) WE MUST PRESENT GOD IN HIS MAJESTY: In our preaching, we must present God in all His majesty.
i) WE EXERCISE CARE IN WHAT WE SAY ABOUT GOD. To present God in His majesty, we always hold Him, His name and His word in reverence. He is not, "the Man upstairs" or "the Big Guy."
ii) WE EXERCISE CARE IN PRESENTING ANY MAN. To present God in His majesty, no man, including our own self, can receive any glory. Do not become an idol to the people. Do not allow the people to believe anything because "Preacher said so." Do not do anything that points the people to yourself rather than to Jesus Christ. Look at this statue memorial of a church's deceased pastor and tell me if this is giving God the glory:
b) WE MUST REFLECT THE MAJESTY OF GOD: Our worship services are to be majestic. Few fundamental preachers would argue with that when it comes to our music. It also applies to our preaching. Preacher, the pulpit is not the place for a lot of what takes place in fundamental pulpits. Theatrics belong at the circus. Jumping up and down, turning red-faced, spitting and snorting, handstands, you name it. What makes you think God needs any of that to get His message across? The power is in His word, not in your presentation of it.
2. HE IS AWE-INSPIRING: Not only is God majestic, but the God Who called the preacher is awe-inspiring. Verse 2: "Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face..." I have a note in my Bible margin at this verse - "Even a holy angel must cover his face in the presence of a thrice holy God."
Remember that God meets with us when the church meets. Many preachers act as if they have forgotten this by the way they behave, the things they say, the way they abuse the word of God. We ought to "cover our face" in the presence of God. We come into His special presence each time we preach.
If you have lost your absolute AWE for God, please get out of the pulpit.
3. HE IS THRICE-HOLY: Verse 3: "And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts...." What connection do those off-color jokes some preachers tell in the pulpit have with the thrice-holy God they claim to represent? What preaching illustrations do not properly illustrate the word of a thrice-holy God? What was the preacher doing all week long and on Saturday night before he stood up to speak for the One Who is "Holy, holy, holy?" You better watch yourself, Preacher.
4. HE IS GLORIOUS: Verse 3: "...the whole earth is full of his glory." Watch for this point in Part 4.
Speaking For the Lord (Part 2)
This is the second in a series of articles I am writing to apply Isaiah 6:1-8 to the preacher. If you have not yet done so, please go back first and read Part 1. If you are blessed by this article, please feel free to comment and definitely watch for more articles in this series.
BRIEF REVIEW: In trying to explain preaching to someone recently, my mind settled on Isaiah 6:1-8 as a very relevant passage for every preacher to hold in mind about the nature of what we do when we speak for God.
A. HIS TITLES:
1. ADONAI
2. THE LORD OF HOSTS: This title is used twice for God in this passage. Of course when we see LORD in all capital letters in the Old Testament, we know that is a translation of the Hebrew unpronounced name for God. It is often pronounced in English as Jehovah or Yahweh. Let's examine this title for the God Who called the preacher.
a) THE SELF-EXISTENT ONE: The most basic translation for Jehovah would be "I AM." He has always existed and will always exist. No other thing or other person brought Him into existence or can take Him out of existence. And He is the ONLY one that is self-existent this way. In Creation, He is the "First Cause" to which all other things owe their existence. In the Universe today, He is the Great Sustainer holding all things together, for "He is before all things and by Him all things consist" - Colossians 1:17. He needs nobody else and nothing else. He can do whatever He wishes whenever He wishes. He is the "blessed and only Potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords" - I Timothy 6:15.
Let us apply this to the preacher. Preacher, I say unto you as I must say to myself, God does NOT need you! God can do whatever He wants to do without you. If God so chooses, God can strike you eternally silent today and still save whomever He wishes to save and strengthen whomever He wishes to strengthen and build up whatever church He wishes to build up. He can even choose to do more good without you than with you. Therefore, notice:
i) YOU PREACH SOLELY BY THE GRACE OF GOD: Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ - Ephesians 3:8. GRACE. Unmerited favor. You have not earned the right to preach. You do not deserve the privilege to preach. You are not entitled to preach because of your ability, your study, your intellect. You are allowed by God to preach simply because Self-Existent God said so.
This should be an amazing thing to you and me. This should put us in mind to never take this grace for granted. We should have the attitude of David: "Who am I, O LORD God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?" - I Chronicles 17:16.
A preacher with this attitude will never abuse his pulpit for his own purposes. He will be extremely careful what he says and does not say. He will be on his guard as to how he conducts himself. He will realize that God can take him out of preaching more easily and quickly than He put him in.
Jim Bakker, a former false teacher of the "prosperity doctrines" finally read the Bible all the way through for the first time while in prison. He sat down in his cell and for the first time carefully studied the verses that he'd previously abused to teach prosperity. He came to the conclusion that he was disastrously wrong and even titled his book, "I Was Wrong." In his book, he says that he is amazed that God did not strike him dead as a false prophet. If he had been concerned about that previously, he would have avoided a lot of problems. If we preachers will concern ourselves with that possibility, it will make serious Bible students of us before we stand up and preach.
ii) THE SELF-EXISTENT ONE HAS GIFTED YOU: Our first real introduction in the Bible to what the name Jehovah, "I AM" truly entails is when Moses talked to God in the burning bush.
iii) THE SELF-EXISTENT ONE CAN GET THE JOB DONE: We don't need to come up with novelties. We don't need to stick to formulas for preaching. We don't need to stick to time limits. We don't need our ideas of "cute" or "funny" or "ironic" or "interesting." Outline alliteration is not necessary. In short, preachers need to abandon their man-centered or self-centered approach to sermons and simply communicate what God has said.
b) ...OF HOSTS? A common title for God in the Old Testament is "The LORD of Hosts." Hosts of course refers to armies, such as armies of angels. Preacher, do you realize that you are not only preaching to people, you are also preaching to angels? Angels are apparently gathered with us when the local church meets, I Corinthians 11:10. They are students of the word of God and anxious to understand it, I Peter 1:12. God forbid that you should preach your opinion in front of an angel that has come to hear the word of God.
3. THE KING: The third title for God in this passage is "the King." You, preacher, are an ambassador for the King of kings. You are an emissary.
There is no room for your opinion, for conjecture, for speculation, for anything more than what God is beseeching the people, what Christ is urging the people.
You speak for the King.
B. HIS ATTRIBUTES. We move now from the titles of the God Who called the preacher in Isaiah 6 to the attributes of that God as revealed in the passage. Watch for this on Part 3.
BRIEF REVIEW: In trying to explain preaching to someone recently, my mind settled on Isaiah 6:1-8 as a very relevant passage for every preacher to hold in mind about the nature of what we do when we speak for God.
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. - Isaiah 6:1-8.I. First of all, WHO IS THIS GOD THAT SENT THE PREACHER?
A. HIS TITLES:
1. ADONAI
2. THE LORD OF HOSTS: This title is used twice for God in this passage. Of course when we see LORD in all capital letters in the Old Testament, we know that is a translation of the Hebrew unpronounced name for God. It is often pronounced in English as Jehovah or Yahweh. Let's examine this title for the God Who called the preacher.
a) THE SELF-EXISTENT ONE: The most basic translation for Jehovah would be "I AM." He has always existed and will always exist. No other thing or other person brought Him into existence or can take Him out of existence. And He is the ONLY one that is self-existent this way. In Creation, He is the "First Cause" to which all other things owe their existence. In the Universe today, He is the Great Sustainer holding all things together, for "He is before all things and by Him all things consist" - Colossians 1:17. He needs nobody else and nothing else. He can do whatever He wishes whenever He wishes. He is the "blessed and only Potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords" - I Timothy 6:15.
Let us apply this to the preacher. Preacher, I say unto you as I must say to myself, God does NOT need you! God can do whatever He wants to do without you. If God so chooses, God can strike you eternally silent today and still save whomever He wishes to save and strengthen whomever He wishes to strengthen and build up whatever church He wishes to build up. He can even choose to do more good without you than with you. Therefore, notice:
i) YOU PREACH SOLELY BY THE GRACE OF GOD: Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ - Ephesians 3:8. GRACE. Unmerited favor. You have not earned the right to preach. You do not deserve the privilege to preach. You are not entitled to preach because of your ability, your study, your intellect. You are allowed by God to preach simply because Self-Existent God said so.
This should be an amazing thing to you and me. This should put us in mind to never take this grace for granted. We should have the attitude of David: "Who am I, O LORD God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?" - I Chronicles 17:16.
A preacher with this attitude will never abuse his pulpit for his own purposes. He will be extremely careful what he says and does not say. He will be on his guard as to how he conducts himself. He will realize that God can take him out of preaching more easily and quickly than He put him in.
Jim Bakker, a former false teacher of the "prosperity doctrines" finally read the Bible all the way through for the first time while in prison. He sat down in his cell and for the first time carefully studied the verses that he'd previously abused to teach prosperity. He came to the conclusion that he was disastrously wrong and even titled his book, "I Was Wrong." In his book, he says that he is amazed that God did not strike him dead as a false prophet. If he had been concerned about that previously, he would have avoided a lot of problems. If we preachers will concern ourselves with that possibility, it will make serious Bible students of us before we stand up and preach.
ii) THE SELF-EXISTENT ONE HAS GIFTED YOU: Our first real introduction in the Bible to what the name Jehovah, "I AM" truly entails is when Moses talked to God in the burning bush.
And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. Exodus 3:13-14.Notice next what this I AM did for Moses when he balked at preaching. After giving Moses the signs to prove that "I AM" had appeared unto him, we see the following:
And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. Exodus 4:10-12.Not only does the Self-Existent One NOT need us, but He can use whomever He chooses. The key is that whomever He chooses, He will gift for His mission and they must speak the words that He gives. We should not reject this grace of preaching, as Moses tried to, nor should we take upon ourselves more than God has given us.
iii) THE SELF-EXISTENT ONE CAN GET THE JOB DONE: We don't need to come up with novelties. We don't need to stick to formulas for preaching. We don't need to stick to time limits. We don't need our ideas of "cute" or "funny" or "ironic" or "interesting." Outline alliteration is not necessary. In short, preachers need to abandon their man-centered or self-centered approach to sermons and simply communicate what God has said.
b) ...OF HOSTS? A common title for God in the Old Testament is "The LORD of Hosts." Hosts of course refers to armies, such as armies of angels. Preacher, do you realize that you are not only preaching to people, you are also preaching to angels? Angels are apparently gathered with us when the local church meets, I Corinthians 11:10. They are students of the word of God and anxious to understand it, I Peter 1:12. God forbid that you should preach your opinion in front of an angel that has come to hear the word of God.
3. THE KING: The third title for God in this passage is "the King." You, preacher, are an ambassador for the King of kings. You are an emissary.
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. II Corinthians 5:20.Did you catch that, Preacher? "As though God did beseech you by us." Everything you say in your preaching is to come through as though God were speaking directly through you. And, "We pray you in Christ's stead." Everything you urge anyone to believe or to do is to be as though Jesus Christ Himself were urging them to believe or to do the same.
There is no room for your opinion, for conjecture, for speculation, for anything more than what God is beseeching the people, what Christ is urging the people.
You speak for the King.
B. HIS ATTRIBUTES. We move now from the titles of the God Who called the preacher in Isaiah 6 to the attributes of that God as revealed in the passage. Watch for this on Part 3.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Speaking For the Lord (Part 1)
This is the first in a series of articles I plan on writing to apply Isaiah 6:1-8 to the preacher. If you are blessed by this article, please feel free to comment and definitely watch for more articles in this series.
In trying to explain preaching to someone recently, my mind settled on Isaiah 6:1-8 as a very relevant passage for every preacher to hold in mind about the nature of what we do when we speak for God. I will quote the passage below and I ask you to read it now and not skip over it in this post, even if you have read it before many times. Please approach this text with a fresh mind today, for the moment setting aside any prior lessons or applications you have heard from this text. Let's simply approach this passage learning what we can from it about the nature of "Speaking For the Lord."
I. First of all, WHO IS THIS GOD THAT SENT THE PREACHER?
A. HIS TITLES: The God who sent the preacher is described by three titles in this passage. They are, "the Lord" (twice), "the LORD of hosts" (twice, notice all capital letters), and "the King" (once).
1. ADONAI: The first mention of God in this passage is "the Lord" or "Adonai" in the Hebrew. This is a name for God that simply means "the Lord", as in "the Master." THE Master, not simply A master. The only one. The Hebrew Adonai is analagous to "Kurios" in the Greek, which is the New Testament word for "Lord" or "Master." The name Adonai emphasizes God's sovereignty and absolute rulership over all things.
a) SOVEREIGN OVER THE PREACHER: In applying this, the preacher must realize that the One Who sent him is his sovereign Master. It is easy to call God your Lord or Master without realizing the implications of that. "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Luke 6:46. The implications are that the preacher is to do and to say what his Master bids him do and say. He has no permission to do or to say anything less or anything more than what his Master has given him to do and to say. He has no license or liberty in the matter. The preacher is not simply getting up to say what he wants to say, what he feels like saying, what sounds good to say or what "makes for good preaching." He is getting up to say ONLY what his Master and Owner has told him to say. He is also not at liberty to adopt methods he hasn't been explicitly told to adopt. He is not to speak his opinion in the pulpit. He is to stick strictly to the program his sovereign Master has laid out for him.
b) SOVEREIGN OVER THE OUTCOME: Secondly here, the one sent to preach by Adonai also realizes that the Master is sovereign over the listener, over the results of preaching and over the results of His chosen methods. The preacher cannot be results oriented or pragmatic, tailoring his message or method to achieve the desired outcome. Might it make for more interesting preaching to spend some time in speculation over what is not clear in the Bible? That draws a crowd every time. Prophecy teachers make a regular habit of it and they are some of the most widely popular preachers. But ask yourself why does it draw such crowds? Because that crowd craves speculation, not because they crave the word of God. (Just look at the movement where these kinds of prophecy teachers are most popular: the Charismatic movement that has departed from the word of God in favor of "new revelation" week after week). Might it reach more people with the Gospel to adopt certain methodologies or ways of getting them to listen? Perhaps. But if those methodologies are not given by the word of God then they are not authorized by Him. The point here is that Adonai is sovereign over the outcome of our efforts for Him. We cannot use a particular message or method because of the results WE wish to achieve. We have to simply do what God says and then TRUST HIM for the result that HE wishes to achieve.
I want to illustrate God's sovereignty in the results of our preaching. Early in my preaching "career" I was occasionally tempted to give an example here and there that I thought would target a problem a particular person was having. I mean that in a particular week, as I prepared a sermon from a text and tried to find ways to apply its teaching, a specific individual might come to mind and a specific issue of theirs. I would think, "Wow, that is the person who needs to hear the sermon this coming Sunday." And then what I said from the pulpit would include an application that I intended for that one person to be able to use for their growth. Don't misunderstand, I've never stood up and preached a whole message on one person's sins. What I'm talking about would be a minor portion of the sermon, like one sentence or example given out of a whole 45 minute message. And it would not be something specific and well-known enough or worded in such a way that other people listening would key into it and say, "Now he's preaching to that person." It often wasn't even on a sin exactly, but just something I thought would be beneficial to a certain individual I might have in mind. It wasn't every week, either, it was maybe a half dozen times over the course of my first year preaching.
Now let me get to the "God is sovereign" part of this illustration. I was targeting that tiny portion of the message to a particular outcome that I wanted to see in a particular individual. I was crafting what I said based on what I wanted to see happen in their life. I was doing exactly what I just said above that a preacher who belongs to Adonai, the Sovereign One, must NOT do: results-oriented preaching or methodology.
God showed me He was sovereign over the results because every single time I ever planned to do that, something ALWAYS went wrong with my plan. I was explaining the problem I had to a more experienced preacher in Indiana, and he took the words right out of my mouth when he said, "Every time I ever used to do that, the person ended up not making it to church that day to hear the message." Before I could even explain to him what happened, Pastor S.W.D. in Indiana knew what I was going to ask him about, because he'd had the same problem early on in his preaching. My "target individual" for one of the things I was going to preach had gotten sick, or was unexpectedly out of town, or their car broke down, or the weather was too bad for them to come to church or some other reason kept them away. Here I went and thought up what they needed to hear and they did not show up to hear it! I am serious; that happened every single time I ever thought of a particular person while preparing a message. I apologize to anyone who's ever had a flat tire right before church. It may have been because my flesh wanted to preach to your flesh and God was not going to honor that.
God really taught me through this that He is the only one in control of specifically applying His word to the individual, Hebrews 4:12. He doesn't need me for that and He would prefer I don't get in the way. I always knew that in theory, but now I know it in practice. I can help people one-on-one apply the Bible to their individual life, yes. But when I stand before a crowd to preach the word, I cannot hold the needs of any one individual over the needs of the entire congregation to hear the word of God. Yes, I will still give example applications when I preach, but I will never again think up my examples while holding a particular individual in mind. After I talked to Pastor S.W.D. about it, I resolved not to ever do it again. My examples come very easily now while I am on my knees. I have since seen God bless by taking the example applications I give now and using them to touch the lives of people I never dreamed it would apply to. God chose the target and applied His word, not me. That is the Adonai, the Sovereign Master Who sent me to preach.
So the first point is that we preach for the Sovereign Master. We speak for the One who is to be in charge - and the only one in charge - of what we say. And we speak for the One who is the only one in charge of the results.
2. THE LORD OF HOSTS: The second title for God in this passage is "the LORD of hosts." Watch for this point to be continued in a later post.
In trying to explain preaching to someone recently, my mind settled on Isaiah 6:1-8 as a very relevant passage for every preacher to hold in mind about the nature of what we do when we speak for God. I will quote the passage below and I ask you to read it now and not skip over it in this post, even if you have read it before many times. Please approach this text with a fresh mind today, for the moment setting aside any prior lessons or applications you have heard from this text. Let's simply approach this passage learning what we can from it about the nature of "Speaking For the Lord."
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. - Isaiah 6:1-8.Here we find the prophet Isaiah commissioned by God (again, 1:1, 2:1) to go and preach. Verse 9, which I did not quote above, begins "And he said, Go, and tell...." So Isaiah was sent by God to go and proclaim God's message. This is what every preacher who believes he is called of God would say about himself, so this passage is relevant to that preacher. Let's see what we can learn here.
I. First of all, WHO IS THIS GOD THAT SENT THE PREACHER?
A. HIS TITLES: The God who sent the preacher is described by three titles in this passage. They are, "the Lord" (twice), "the LORD of hosts" (twice, notice all capital letters), and "the King" (once).
1. ADONAI: The first mention of God in this passage is "the Lord" or "Adonai" in the Hebrew. This is a name for God that simply means "the Lord", as in "the Master." THE Master, not simply A master. The only one. The Hebrew Adonai is analagous to "Kurios" in the Greek, which is the New Testament word for "Lord" or "Master." The name Adonai emphasizes God's sovereignty and absolute rulership over all things.
a) SOVEREIGN OVER THE PREACHER: In applying this, the preacher must realize that the One Who sent him is his sovereign Master. It is easy to call God your Lord or Master without realizing the implications of that. "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Luke 6:46. The implications are that the preacher is to do and to say what his Master bids him do and say. He has no permission to do or to say anything less or anything more than what his Master has given him to do and to say. He has no license or liberty in the matter. The preacher is not simply getting up to say what he wants to say, what he feels like saying, what sounds good to say or what "makes for good preaching." He is getting up to say ONLY what his Master and Owner has told him to say. He is also not at liberty to adopt methods he hasn't been explicitly told to adopt. He is not to speak his opinion in the pulpit. He is to stick strictly to the program his sovereign Master has laid out for him.
b) SOVEREIGN OVER THE OUTCOME: Secondly here, the one sent to preach by Adonai also realizes that the Master is sovereign over the listener, over the results of preaching and over the results of His chosen methods. The preacher cannot be results oriented or pragmatic, tailoring his message or method to achieve the desired outcome. Might it make for more interesting preaching to spend some time in speculation over what is not clear in the Bible? That draws a crowd every time. Prophecy teachers make a regular habit of it and they are some of the most widely popular preachers. But ask yourself why does it draw such crowds? Because that crowd craves speculation, not because they crave the word of God. (Just look at the movement where these kinds of prophecy teachers are most popular: the Charismatic movement that has departed from the word of God in favor of "new revelation" week after week). Might it reach more people with the Gospel to adopt certain methodologies or ways of getting them to listen? Perhaps. But if those methodologies are not given by the word of God then they are not authorized by Him. The point here is that Adonai is sovereign over the outcome of our efforts for Him. We cannot use a particular message or method because of the results WE wish to achieve. We have to simply do what God says and then TRUST HIM for the result that HE wishes to achieve.
I want to illustrate God's sovereignty in the results of our preaching. Early in my preaching "career" I was occasionally tempted to give an example here and there that I thought would target a problem a particular person was having. I mean that in a particular week, as I prepared a sermon from a text and tried to find ways to apply its teaching, a specific individual might come to mind and a specific issue of theirs. I would think, "Wow, that is the person who needs to hear the sermon this coming Sunday." And then what I said from the pulpit would include an application that I intended for that one person to be able to use for their growth. Don't misunderstand, I've never stood up and preached a whole message on one person's sins. What I'm talking about would be a minor portion of the sermon, like one sentence or example given out of a whole 45 minute message. And it would not be something specific and well-known enough or worded in such a way that other people listening would key into it and say, "Now he's preaching to that person." It often wasn't even on a sin exactly, but just something I thought would be beneficial to a certain individual I might have in mind. It wasn't every week, either, it was maybe a half dozen times over the course of my first year preaching.
Now let me get to the "God is sovereign" part of this illustration. I was targeting that tiny portion of the message to a particular outcome that I wanted to see in a particular individual. I was crafting what I said based on what I wanted to see happen in their life. I was doing exactly what I just said above that a preacher who belongs to Adonai, the Sovereign One, must NOT do: results-oriented preaching or methodology.
God showed me He was sovereign over the results because every single time I ever planned to do that, something ALWAYS went wrong with my plan. I was explaining the problem I had to a more experienced preacher in Indiana, and he took the words right out of my mouth when he said, "Every time I ever used to do that, the person ended up not making it to church that day to hear the message." Before I could even explain to him what happened, Pastor S.W.D. in Indiana knew what I was going to ask him about, because he'd had the same problem early on in his preaching. My "target individual" for one of the things I was going to preach had gotten sick, or was unexpectedly out of town, or their car broke down, or the weather was too bad for them to come to church or some other reason kept them away. Here I went and thought up what they needed to hear and they did not show up to hear it! I am serious; that happened every single time I ever thought of a particular person while preparing a message. I apologize to anyone who's ever had a flat tire right before church. It may have been because my flesh wanted to preach to your flesh and God was not going to honor that.
God really taught me through this that He is the only one in control of specifically applying His word to the individual, Hebrews 4:12. He doesn't need me for that and He would prefer I don't get in the way. I always knew that in theory, but now I know it in practice. I can help people one-on-one apply the Bible to their individual life, yes. But when I stand before a crowd to preach the word, I cannot hold the needs of any one individual over the needs of the entire congregation to hear the word of God. Yes, I will still give example applications when I preach, but I will never again think up my examples while holding a particular individual in mind. After I talked to Pastor S.W.D. about it, I resolved not to ever do it again. My examples come very easily now while I am on my knees. I have since seen God bless by taking the example applications I give now and using them to touch the lives of people I never dreamed it would apply to. God chose the target and applied His word, not me. That is the Adonai, the Sovereign Master Who sent me to preach.
So the first point is that we preach for the Sovereign Master. We speak for the One who is to be in charge - and the only one in charge - of what we say. And we speak for the One who is the only one in charge of the results.
2. THE LORD OF HOSTS: The second title for God in this passage is "the LORD of hosts." Watch for this point to be continued in a later post.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Sermon Types
There are many different types of sermons. By "types" of sermons, I mean different ways of approaching and explaining the text(s) and making application to the listener. A good book on preaching will explain all the different types, but I want to focus on three that I believe every preacher should master and every church member should recognize when they encounter.
Three types of sermons that every preacher should master (in my opinion as a novice preacher of 3 years and an expert sermon critic of 35+ years) are the Expository, Topical and Textual sermons. I will now attempt to define, explain and discuss each of these.
THE EXPOSITORY SERMON
The Expository sermon is just what it says - it "exposits" a particular Scripture text. The sermon brings out the meaning of the text, exposing it, exegeting it, explaining it in great detail and applying it to the lives of the listeners. In a nutshell, the expository preacher tells the listener three things about a passage of Scripture: "This is what the text says. This is what it means - to the original audience and to us today. This is how we ought to be applying it to our lives."
The expository sermon is actually defined in the Bible, as Ezra, Nehemiah and the Levites delivered exposition to the returned exiles. "So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading." - Nehemiah 8:8. (1) They read it distinctly. They didn't jump around in the Bible to point out their proof-text for a certain doctrine. They didn't read one verse and then tell stories and illustrations for 45 minutes like many Baptist preachers. They didn't go off on a tangent or chase rabbit trails. They read it distinctly. They read it in its own context. They pointed the people toward the word of God, not to their own word. (2) They gave the sense. They explained what the text actually means and, if necessary, what it does not mean. (3) They caused them to understand the reading. They applied it to the lives of the people. That is the Expository sermon.
The Expository sermon should be the bread and butter, meat and potatoes of every preacher's ministry. It should be his natural breath. It should be what every church member expects from his pastor on a regular basis. It should be the way the entire church body moves together from Point A to Point B in the Bible over the course of months and years. It should be the way that, given enough time, entire books of the Bible are preached through, chapter and verse at a time. It is the best way from the pulpit to build solid, founded, doctrinally sound and behaviorally mature Christians.
It should be all that, but it is not for many preachers. There are Bible Colleges actually telling their students not to ever preach Expository sermons (such as Hyles-Anderson College and many in their mold). There are people who will try to convince you that Expository sermons will always be boring. And there are preachers who simply don't like to preach this way. The Christians under such a ministry may appear to conform on the exterior but they are not truly maturing as they should. They are generally being fed milk and not meat. I'll not expand on that at this time. I do want to say that every Christian should find a church that moves through the Bible in verse-by-verse exposition week after week. There will be necessary pauses in the series for other issues as the Lord leads, but you ought to be able to ask the pastor, "What are you preaching through on Sunday mornings?" and hear back that they are so far into a particular book of the Bible. Not a theme or a topic or a subject, but a particular book of the Bible, chapter by chapter and verse by verse. That ought to be one of the criteria for finding a church home, and at the top of the criteria list.
The Expository sermon should be the main feature of every preacher's pulpit ministry, but is also the most difficult to prepare. The Expository sermon takes more and harder study, more time to prepare, more time in prayer and more serious prayer, and quite a bit more maturity. It takes a long-term vision to move through a book of the Bible this way. It also takes a better understanding of the Scriptures as a whole, which may be one reason why the more shallow preachers avoid it.
With other forms of sermons, you might get by in the flesh. I hope you'll never try to, but you could. You could develop a decent Topical sermon without any prayer or relying on the Lord. You could do so when backslidden. You could do so while high on drugs. You could do so at midnight Saturday night and preach it the next morning. Again, I hope you'll never do so but I am certain it has happened and people have said, "Great sermon, preacher." Try that with an Expository sermon and you will be revealed for the fraud that you are.
The Expository sermon requires serious word studies. It requires you to come to an expert understanding of the text. It requires meditation over the passage and being open to how the Lord would apply it. Your time in prayer is spent not only talking to the Lord, but also being silent on your knees and listening to His still, small voice give you the answers you seek. It requires you to boil down your hours and hours of study into 30 to 60 minutes of speaking time. It requires you to be able to make the listener almost as much of an expert on the meaning of the text as yourself. It cannot be done adequately by a part-time preacher. It cannot be done consistently by someone not in a close walk with the Lord. It cannot be done in the flesh with any results. It requires great effort and great reliance on God to speak through you.
The chief satisfaction of preaching the Expository sermon or series is that you know for certain you have simply preached God's word and not your own. There is not much room for you to slip in your hobby-horse doctrine or preach against your pet peeves. There is little chance of later regretting what you have said, because you have simply explained the word of God. This ought to be the case with every sermon, regardless of type, but it is easier to get off into error or into the flesh with a non-Expository sermon. There is satisfaction in knowing that God used you to bring the people just a little bit farther in their understanding and application of the word of God. There is satisfaction in seeing the entire church unified in their growth through a particular book of the Bible. There is satisfaction in knowing that when you've spoken, you've brought nothing into the sermon out of your own heart but simply laid out a particular portion of the word of God for the people to accept or reject.
The Expository sermon is what Paul had in mind when he told Timothy, "Preach the word." Just stand up and tell people what the Bible says. Preach the word; don't preach your ideas. Preach the word; don't read a text and then bring your made-up list of seven different points that somehow kind of relate to one little phrase in the text. Preach the word; draw all your water up out of the well of Scripture and give it to the thirsting souls. The word; the word; the word; you are a preacher not a philospher. Preach the word.
In later posts, I will give example outlines for Expository sermons and point out the chief features. I hope to also blog about my process for developing the Expository sermon. There has to be a better way and I'd like someone to teach me, but at this point I only know my way. If it can be of help to someone else who struggles as much as I do, then I pray it will benefit.
THE TOPICAL SERMON
The Topical sermon is how the people are taught to apply a specific doctrine or topic to their lives. Whereas an Expository sermon chiefly sticks to one portion of Scripture text (with other relevant texts brought in as necessary), the Topical sermon typically jumps around from text to text, all dealing with a particular topic. For example, a sermon on the Rapture might have seven points. It would typically then take you to seven different texts which develop and apply each of those points - one point per text, give or take.
The Topical sermon is more or less defined in the Bible this way:
Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little. Isaiah 28:9-10.
This gives us the formula for a Topical sermon. You develop and build the doctrine as precept upon precept, like laying bricks. Each separate Scripture text for the sermon presents a precept - a specific doctrinal point and its obvious application. You gather a little from over here and a little from over there (i.e., different precepts from different portions of Scripture) and you cement them all together with a common theme to build them into the whole.
I know others do it differently, but in my mind the ideal Topical sermon ought to be a bunch of mini-Expository sermons. A three point Topical message could be three miniature Expository messages from three different texts all forming a unified sermon together. In other words, in this method of Topical preaching, you don't just turn to each text, read it and talk about it for a while. You carefully exposit and apply each text with as much precision as you would in regular Expository preaching.
This practice would make Topical sermons just as time-consuming to prepare as Expository sermons, or even more so. I confess I have not done much preaching like this. I have done Topical preaching that fell short of this ideal method, instead using familiar texts that need little exposition to the average Christian. That is actually how most Topical sermons are carried out and it is not very time consuming or difficult to prepare with practice. It is not ideal as I said, but it is common and sometimes necessary.
For example, you could preach on child rearing and use various familiar passages in Proverbs as simple springboards for illustrations and applications. Many familiar verses need little in the way of actual explanation, just "expansion." You would not need to do very many (if any) word studies or sentence diagramming or even consult any commentaries. (I'm not saying you should not, I am saying many do not). You can easily form your outline based on the verses you wish (or better said, feel led) to use and come up with something to talk about for each verse. Don't stray into unfamiliar territory or discuss anything that needs great elaboration. Basically just remind people of what most church members already know about child rearing and urge them to put it into practice or keep it up. So you see how the Topical message can be the lazy preacher's main tool, as it could be easily prepared. It can be preached by a doctrinal light-weight preacher. It can be preached by an immature preacher. It can be preached by a shallow preacher. It can be preached by a pastor who is working two other full-time jobs. It can be preached by a backslider. It can be preached off the cuff by a solid deacon when the pastor gets sick. Anyone with a fair grasp of the Bible and the ability to speak effectively in public can preach this kind of Topical sermon. But this kind of Topical preaching is not ideal. It should be used very sparingly and with great care, prayer and certainty that this is exactly what the Lord wants for the sermon. Don't ever slip into it as an excuse not to study. In my opinion it should be extremely rare from the Sunday morning pulpit. It is more suited for Sunday nights, special meetings and other times. On the other hand, my "ideal" Topical sermon that is several miniature Expository sermons is well suited to any time the saints gather.
I will try to put together some sample Topical sermon outlines for later posts.
THE TEXTUAL SERMON
The Textual sermon is where God will use your poetic and artistic side. Every preacher has to be creative. The Textual sermon brings that out like no other. For that reason, it should be used sparingly so that we are certain to let the Holy Spirit and not our creative side do the leading. For some reason, I have found that Textual sermons tend to be employed a lot by itinerant (travelling) preachers. More on that in a later post.
What exactly is the Textual sermon? I do not have a Bible definition or explanation, but I do have biblical examples. The parables of the Lord Jesus Christ and others were good patterns for Textual sermons. They were stories of people used to illustrate spiritual principles.
That is what you do with a Textual sermon, only you don't make up a story. You have plenty of true stories in the Bible to use. You take your Scripture text from the narrative sections of the Bible (the "stories" of the Bible, not the epistles or the prophetic or poetic books). You take an event or a situation that happened to someone in the Bible and you turn the true story into a sort of parable for our learning. Take the story and let God speak through it in a symbolic fashion. You are not explaining the story per se, you are looking at it strictly through the lens of application.
An example might make that more clear. My first foray into Textual preaching was from Exodus 2:1-10 on Mother's Day several years ago. The main points were about godly and wise motherhood and we drew the applications from the mother of Moses. (I.) She Sees (v. 2), "and when she saw him that he was a goodly child...." A mother often sees things that nobody else sees in a child: problems, potential, etc. She should be observant of her children, not caught up in her own pursuits or career, etc. (II.) She Shelters (v. 2), "she hid him three months." A mother has to protect her children for a time. Certain things should not come into the house or into their lives, etc. (III.) She Surrenders (v. 3), "And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes...." There comes a time when the sheltering has to stop. There comes a time when the child is grown and mother can't always be there for the kids and solve their problems for them. They grow stronger by her refusing to shelter them any more or be the mother hen. (III.a.) She makes every effort to prepare the child (she made an ark, for example). But (III.b.) She ultimately leaves the child in God’s hands. (IV.) She Stands By (vv. 4, 7-9), "And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him...." Even when the sheltering stops, the mother does not forsake her children. Somtimes they will still need some help. (IV.a.) Sometimes all she can do is watch from afar (v. 4). (IV.b.) But she is always ready to offer help (v. 7).
Hopefully you see from the example what a Textual sermon is. The lessons are not directly explicit in the text, they are drawn from it as if the text were a parable. The text did not say, "A godly and wise mother sees, shelters, surrenders and stands by." The text was not even about motherhood, it was about the Providence of God in baby Moses' life. The application about motherhood is easy to see if you're looking for it; not at all a stretch of the imagination. For example, "She surrenders" - application: she doesn't have to pay the kid's electric bill or bail him out of jail; maybe it would teach him a bigger lesson to have the electricity shut off or to spend the night in lock-up. That's not anywhere in the text; it is an application you can arrive at once you treat the story as a springboard for practical lessons. So you see how a Textual sermon takes the Bible's literal account of something and uses it in much the same way a parable is used to teach a spiritual lesson.
Textual sermons are enjoyable to listen to because no two preachers will ever apply a particular text the same way. The potential problem is that you are not explaining what the text actually says (the story is usually self-explanatory), you are simply applying some lessons from it. You have to be sure the lessons you apply are biblical and that is where many go wrong. The Textual sermon is where the preacher's pet peeves and hobby doctrines tend to come up. You have to be careful about that.
Textual sermons will come a bit more easily to anybody with a large creative streak than they will to others. Any preacher that has written much fiction or poetry will find himself drawn to occasional Textual preaching. I find myself using it more on special occasions, such as Mother's Day as I mentioned in my example. Christmas, Resurrection Day, Palm Sunday, Independence Day, etc, these all lend themselves to Textual sermons.
The key with Textual sermons is not to "force" the lessons from the text. They should come naturally and if they don't, abandon that text and go elsewhere (first to your knees). God has to speak to you to give you the lessons. A keyword or phrase from the text is always a good springboard. In the example above, the first point was "She Sees," taken from the verse "when she SAW...." Ordinarily I stumble onto Textual sermons as I'm simply doing my daily Bible reading. Something will jump out at me from a text - a particular lesson, maybe the first point of the sermon - and as I continue reading with that in mind I start seeing the other lessons that will make up the sermon. Everyone's brain works differently but that's how I find Textual sermons.
Again, use them sparingly and carefully to be sure you are not simply interjecting your opinion. All the lessons and applications in a Textual sermon, though they don't arise explicitly from the text, should be taught explicitly in the Bible elsewhere or you are not speaking for God.
I will post more Textual sermon outlines as time goes on.
CONCLUSION
The most important thing is simply to preach the sermon God leads you through. God has gifted every preacher differently for the purposes known to Himself. It is a biblical principle that Christians need a steady diet of Expository preaching, but the Textual, Topical and other sermon types are a good change of pace and God uses them too. You may be right in the middle of an Expository series and God shows you a Textual or impresses upon you a Topical message. It is important to be sensitive to God's leading on when to preach it. Don't let the calendar dictate your preaching. Stay in prayer and in the word daily and you will never lack for a sermon to deliver.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)