Category Archives: Stage 5 – Message Purpose
15 Ways to Improve Clarity
This week I’ve been writing about the doctrine of Biblical clarity – the fact that the Bible may be understood. This is a cause for great rejoicing. Imagine for a moment that the Bible was absolutely impregnable. Anyway, one of … Continue reading →
Filed under Audience Analysis, Christianity, Delivery, Homiletics, How to . . . ?, Preaching, Religion, Stage 1 - Passage Selection, Stage 2 - Passage Study, Stage 3 - Passage Purpose, Stage 4 - Passage Idea, Stage 5 - Message Purpose, Stage 6 - Message Idea, Stage 7 - Message Outline, Stage 8 - Message Detail
Clarity: More Than Thinking
Yesterday I offered three implications of the doctrine of Biblical clarity for us as preachers. Since the Bible is written by a master communicator who made sure it could be understood, therefore we need to work hard at understanding, we … Continue reading →
Filed under Specific text, Preaching, Homiletics, New Testament, Stage 2 - Passage Study, Stage 5 - Message Purpose, Stage 8 - Message Detail, Preacher's Personal Life, Christianity, Audience Analysis
Tagged as Expository Preaching, Affective Theology, Spiritual Formation, Biblical Clarity, Perspecuity
Bible Clarity and Preaching Clarity
The doctrine of the clarity of Scripture does not mean that the Bible is instantly clear, or equally clear to all, or fully clear to anyone. What it does mean is that the Bible can be understood. I’ve often made … Continue reading →
Authority and Clarity
Two sibling doctrines. One gets all the attention. The other goes unmentioned. Actually, one is the darling of preachers. The other might well think we are out to get it. Authority and clarity. These two doctrines matter. Authority speaks of … Continue reading →
Saturday Short Thought: Reinforcing Every Time
This week I have been pondering how to preach with a more developed set of motivational tools than just the pressure of guilt. I’m convinced this is an important issue, and not just a homiletical detail. It gets to the … Continue reading →
Don’t Burn Up Your Creativity Too Soon
Preaching is both art and science. It involves a certain amount of creative artistry. But most of us have a limited tank of energy when it comes to creative flair. Don’t waste it. Don’t waste your creative energies when you … Continue reading →
Beyond Guilt – Part 4
Some preachers rely exclusively on the pressure tactic of guilt in their preaching. Surely there must be a more biblically rounded approach? This week I’ve suggested we need to consider our stance, our tone and yesterday, our strategy. Let me … Continue reading →
Filed under Audience Analysis, Christianity, Homiletics, Preaching, Religion, Stage 5 - Message Purpose, Stage 8 - Message Detail
Tagged as Church, Religion, sinful humanity, Theology
Beyond Guilt – Part 3
So far we have looked at issues of stance and tone in this series. It is easy to have a minimalist default approach of piling on the pressure and using guilt to twist arms. The biblical preacher needs to get … Continue reading →
Beyond Guilt – Part 2
This week I am pondering how to preach with a more nuanced approach than mere guilt pressure. As I’ve written already, there is a place for genuine conviction of sin, and I am not hiding from that. But equally, I … Continue reading →
Beyond Guilt
A friend asked me how we can preach to encourage listeners apart from making them feel guilty. He and I would both recognize the need for genuine conviction of sin, a work of the Spirit and a feature of some … Continue reading →
