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Archive for May, 2007

In an article titled Considering Hearers, Haddon Robinson writes, “But if we focus too hard on not offending, or if we read too many letters from the offended, we can become paralyzed. We start qualifying every sentence. We end up with weasel sermons that are defensive, cautious, and spineless.”
I must admit, these words were much [...]

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Dr. Sid Buzzell of Colorado Christian University made a comment worthy of consideration.  He has one foot in pastoral preaching and the other in education.  He suggested that if preachers started to think of preaching schedules with the mindset of an educator there would be one obvious difference.  If preachers were truly concerned with the [...]

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Norman just added a comment to the post “Focus on the basics” – I read a good quote “A good sermon is like a good plane ride. It must have a smooth take-off and a smooth landing…”
Calvin Miller recently taught the analogy of preaching being like a plane ride at the International Congress on Preaching. [...]

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Great preaching always involves the “effective execution of elementary ideas.” (Attributed to Eugene Emerson Jennings)
It is tempting to give attention in preaching to the clever and intricate subtleties of the art and craft of preaching, but subtleties work best when built on a foundation of good solid basics. A clearly derived and cleanly defined [...]

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I recently wrote these words, “For an effective sermon, you need a clearly defined purpose – the specific response you prayerfully expect to occur in the life of the listeners.”
Does this mean the response has to be some kind of action? What if your purpose is to stir affection, bolster belief or [...]

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Tim asked the following question in reference to “Introductions: The Essential Ingredients” -
I’m interested in this ‘create or surface need’ idea. Is there not a danger that this tends towards sermons being man-centred and self-help focussed? Like ‘what felt need (not even necessarily true need) does this text provide the solution for?’ Does this encourage [...]

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Tim, you ask a very God-honoring question when it comes to homiletical introduction. Creating or surfacing need is certainly part of what an introduction must do. In fact, as Peter states in his 5/11/2007 entry, an introduction must do four things. It must get attention, create rapport, establish authority and create or surface need. Yet, [...]

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Tim wrote the following:
Preaching in the first person – do you think this could ever be used for epistolary texts? I realise people use it to good effect on narrative texts. But what about a section of epistle?
What I’m thinking is, say, first part of Galatians 5. If you were first-person Paul then it [...]

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Donald Sunukjian, professor of preaching at Talbot School of Theology, writes and teaches concerning “oral clarity.” One of the things he teaches relates to the reading of a text during a sermon. Many preachers will introduce a text with a question, perhaps asking people to find the answer as the text is read. [...]

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This is not a dictionary, although the similarities are clear. 144 terms are stated and defined succinctly. Then explanation with quotes from key figures in the area follow in anything from one paragraph to four page explanations of the definition, and then a brief bibliography.
For the author, these terms make up the “building blocks [...]

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In his book The Seven Laws of the Teacher, Howard Hendricks refers to an English bishop who said, “You know, wherever the apostle Paul went, they had a riot or a revival. Wherever I go, they serve tea.” (p165.)
While it would be wrong to try to stir response, either riot or revival, in our [...]

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Sub-title – How to Re-Create the Dynamics of Biblical Genres.

I hope this book gets the recognition it deserves. This is a power-packed paperback that seeks to stimulate Biblical preachers in developing variety in their preaching through awareness of how the various Biblical genres function. Arthurs offers not only understanding of how the genres [...]

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What should you do when your passage includes a long list? For example, I recently preached 2nd Timothy 3:1-9, which includes a list of almost twenty elements in verses 2-4. With a list this length, to preach through it one element at a time would probably border on torture for the listener; “And [...]

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Thomas Long provides a solid introduction to the literary forms of the Bible and how a preacher should interact with them. The book begins with a relatively brief consideration of reading different genre and the process of moving from text to sermon. Long emphasizes that the Word is to influence not only the [...]

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What should go into a good sermon introduction? So much is won or lost in that first minute or two. In fact, so much is won or lost before you even open your mouth – but that might require a different post. So what ingredients should be present in an effective introduction?
1. [...]

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The other day I preached a Psalm in a University Bible study. A young lady came up afterwards and said, “I always expect to get something from the Gospels or Epistles, but I don’t expect much from the Psalms, but you brought that to life!” Now obviously I didn’t “bring it to life” [...]

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Paul contrasts his approach to preaching the gospel (1Cor.1-4) with the Greek rhetorical approach which relied on “persuasive words of wisdom.” Duane Litfin has argued that the significance for us as preachers is that we must not take decision-making from our listeners by employing persuasive techniques that induce a listener to yield a specific [...]

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Fantastic jump into a pool of muddy water Peter! It seems as though many preaching practitioners prefer the easy way out when it comes to communicating the Old Testament through homily. Short-cuts of allegorizing, spiritualizing, exhortation to imitate characters, moralizing or, with OT texts, jumping to Jesus is common and simultaneously disastrous. Your tips are [...]

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Just a short post that might stimulate a different type of discussion. When I listen to preachers, or evaluate my own preaching, I find some things are often missing in the pulpit. For example, Robinson highlights the importance of the “Big Idea” and the “Sermon Purpose” in his book Biblical Preaching. This [...]

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Have been thinking about the issue of preaching narratives (stories) from the Old Testament. Actually, much of this would also apply to preaching from the gospels or Acts as well. It is tempting to take the short-cuts of allegorizing, spiritualizing, exhortation to imitate characters, moralizing or, with OT texts, jumping to Jesus. [...]

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Last Sunday I preached in a small church not far from us. I was assigned a passage that I would never choose for myself, at least not as a one-off message. The raising of the Shunammite’s son by Elisha (2Kings 4:8-37). There are always short-cuts when preaching an Old Testament narrative, but I’m not comfortable [...]

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In England this book is sold under the title of “Expository Preaching,” but if you get it online, I would go for the American title so you are sure to get the 2nd edition.
This is Robinson’s highly revered “how to” preaching textbook. He presents a ten-stage process of sermon preparation in his typically precise [...]

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Welcome to the blog

This is a simple concept – a blog for discussing anything related to preaching. We hope to generate discussion of how to preach specific Biblical passages, aspects of delivery, preaching theory and also book reviews. The goal is to stimulate better Biblical preaching. Let’s see where this goes . . .

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