How to . . . ?

Good Preaching Isn’t Just Bible Explanation

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

The importance of relevance and application in preaching can hardly be understated.  I recently came across this quote that I feel is worthy of our attention:

Good preaching begins in the Bible, but it doesn’t stay there. It visits the hospital and the college dorm, the factory and the farm, the kitchen and the office, the bedroom and the classroom.

Good preaching invades the world in which people live, the real world of tragedy and triumph, loveliness and loneliness, broken hearts, broken homes, and amber waves of strain. Good preaching invades the real world, and it talks to real people—the high-school senior who’s there because he’s dragged there; the housewife who wants a divorce; the grandfather who mourns the irreversibility of time and lives with a frantic sense that almost all the sand in the hourglass has dropped; the farmer who is about to lose his farm, the banker who must take it from him; the teacher who has kept her lesbianism a secret all these years; the businessman for whom money has become a god; the single girl who hates herself because she’s fat. Good preaching helps them do business with God; it helps them interpret their own human experience, telling them what in their heart of hearts they already know, and are yearning to hear confirmed.

Louis Lotz, “Good Preaching,” Reformed Review 40 (Autumn 1986) 38.

Is Application in the Preacher’s Job Description?

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Some people mistakenly suggest that the preacher has to “make the Bible relevant.”  While this suggestion may be well-intentioned, it is unhelpful.  The Bible is relevant.  The preacher has to “demonstrate the Bible’s relevance.”  Expository preaching, by its very nature, includes the task of application.

Some claim that the preacher’s task is merely to explain the Scripture, but the task of application can be left to the Holy Spirit.  I don’t know how many times I heard preachers say, “Now may the Spirit of God apply to our hearts the truth of His word” as a conclusion to a “sermon.”  Hershael York and others have pointed out the inconsistency of this position. 

There is a cultural and historical gap between the then and the now.  Sidney Greidanus refers to four elements of distance between the Bible and today’s listener: time, culture, geography and language.  Whose task is the translation of the Scriptures?  Whose task is the exegesis of the Scriptures?  The Holy Spirit and humans work together in the translation of the Bible into a contemporary language.  The Holy Spirit and the preacher must work together in the accurate exegesis of the passage.  In the same way, both the Holy Spirit and the preacher are involved in the application of the passage. 

The Holy Spirit does work through the Word in the lives of the listeners.  But if the preacher is not also involved in that task, then I suppose we should be more consistent.  Instead of preaching, perhaps we should just read the passage and sit down.  Oh, and we should probably read the passage out in Hebrew or Greek.  Application of the passage is very much in our job description!

Question: Should We Cover More in Our Sermons?

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Following on from yesterday’s post, I want to address the issue of “covering more.”  Here’s the question again:

In the Church today, we find that most preachers preach for 30-60 minutes on one topic or passage. Indeed, many will take a few verses and preach on them at length.

The examples we have in the bible of Jesus’ sermons show a very different way of preaching. He seemed to cover many topics in every sermon. For instance the ‘Sermon on the mount’ covers a range of things but preachers these days tend to just take one section of it and preach for an hour on that section.

Is there any validity, in your opinion, to the idea that we labour points too long and actually ought to cover more in our sermons?

Peter M responds:

Preaching on one passage – Expository preaching does not require a preacher to stay in one passage. It is possible to have an expository sermon that goes to several passages. Yet to deal with each passage as one should tends to make the process overwhelming. I always encourage preachers to deal with one passage more fully, rather than skipping around unnecessarily. There are reasons to refer to other passages, but for some preachers it seems this is a standard practice. I suggest it is usually better to stay put in one place.  This does not mean boring preaching though.  The preacher should be as engaging and interesting as possible.  It takes some skill to demonstrate the relevance and interest in a passage.  It is better to develop that skill than to hide the lack of it by jumping around the canon.

The example of NT sermons – We can learn a lot by analyzing the sermons recorded in the New Testament.  There are different sermon forms used, clear awareness of differing audiences, and so on.  Yet it is important to remember that while the written form represents the original accurately, it is not an exhaustive transcription.  I suspect Peter preached for longer than a couple of minutes at Pentecost, and Jesus’ “sermon on the mount” was probably not delivered as it stands in our Bibles.  So it might not be wise to try to recreate the Sermon on the Mount. At the same time recognize that it is not as random as many suspect.  What seems to be one subject after another, may actually be one illustration or application after another.  For example, notice the repetitive pattern in Matthew 5:21-48 – do we have five new subjects or five specific applications of the same principle?

Amount of content in a sermon – I am not an advocate for “dumbing down” sermons or “salad preaching” (no meat).  A message should have an appropriate amount of content at the right level of weightiness for the listeners present.  Yet the goal is to communicate the main idea of the passage in order to achieve the purpose of the message.  The goal is not to impress people with content (sadly, for some preachers, this is their goal).  This wrong goal is often encouraged as some listeners tend to affirm dense preaching despite their own inability to take it in!

Some preachers should cover more, others would do well to cover less.  There is no standard rule, but the passage and the audience are both significant factors in determining how much content, both breadth and depth, should be covered in one message.

Question: Do We Labor Points Too Long?

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Question submitted to the site last week by Peter P:

In the Church today, we find that most preachers preach for 30-60 minutes on one topic or passage. Indeed, many will take a few verses and preach on them at length.

The examples we have in the bible of Jesus’ sermons show a very different way of preaching. He seemed to cover many topics in every sermon. For instance the ‘Sermon on the mount’ covers a range of things but preachers these days tend to just take one section of it and preach for an hour on that section.

Is there any validity, in your opinion, to the idea that we labour points too long and actually ought to cover more in our sermons?

Peter M responds:

Interesting question, thanks for asking it. Someone once said to preachers, “If after ten minutes you haven’t struck oil, stop boring!” Here are a few thoughts on the subject of sermon length, then tomorrow I’ll consider the issue of “covering more” in our sermons.

The solution to poor expository preaching – I usually suggest that preachers are better off focusing more on one passage and one main idea. However, it is fair to say that many preachers do make sermons and sermon points drag on too long! I think uninteresting preaching is a travesty. However, the solution to poor expository preaching is not non-expository preaching, but better expository preaching.

Sermon length – I don’t want to say too much, but a couple of comments may be helpful. I don’t think there is a “correct” sermon length. The local situation is a major factor in this, but another factor is the preacher’s ability. Some people say that people today cannot take a sermon longer than 30 minutes. I think this is a generalization. In reality people can and will do so happily, but only if the preacher is thoroughly engaging and effective. So the length of a sermon will depend on local cultural expectations (try preaching “short” in some non-western cultures!), and on preacher ability. I rarely hear a preacher than can go for an hour effectively, but there are some.

How long should a point be laboured? – My answer would be not at all, but how long should a point be preached? The nature of oral delivery requires a certain amount of time and explanation, as well as restatement, to allow a thought to form in the minds of the listeners. I was taught at least 3-5 minutes. Yet this does not mean five minutes of “labouring.” There are many tools available for communicating a point – statement, restatement, repetition, explanation, support, illustration, application and so on. So there’s no need to labour a point, but effective oral communicators know that it takes lots of planning ahead of time and some time in delivery for a point to truly do its work of forming a clear idea in the listeners’ minds.

Tomorrow I’ll give some thoughts on the example of NT sermons and the amount of content in a sermon.

Purpose and Preaching

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Defining the purpose of a message is not an easy task. It is important, but generally neglected. Let me share three steps that may be helpful, followed by a quote from someone in the know.

1 – Study the text. Seems obvious, but it cannot be omitted.

2 – Determine original author’s purpose. What did he intend to be the effect in the lives of the original recipients? We often study content, but not intent. We study the meaning of the author, but not his motivation. It is important to determine both as well as possible. There will be clues in the text, in the historical context, and in the tone of writing (contrast Galatians with Ephesians, for example).

3 – Determine your sermon’s purpose. This may be the same, or similar to that of the original author. For me this is the default position that I move away from by choice rather than by accident. The choice to move is influenced by prayerful consideration of my listeners. Perhaps they don’t need the same effect in their lives. I would not want to automatically rebuke every church to whom I preach Galatians. The developmental questions can help in this. The author may have focused on explanation, proof or application, but my people may need a different balance of these three approaches to the main idea. Application, if specific to our listeners, will certainly feel different to that in the original context.

Haddon Robinson said the “ultimate test of purpose is why are you preaching this sermon? How would you know if people in the congregation embraced the truth of this? What would you expect to see in their lives? What would this mean if they took this seriously? Most expository preachers don’t ask that question . . . without a purpose the sermon just lies there. Progress is lost without purpose.”

In reference to being specific, he asks, “Suppose someone took you seriously. What would they be able to do . . . ?”

Purpose-Driven Preaching

/ Peter Mead / 4 Comments

Sometimes a term is used so much that it loses its sparkle. We live in a day when everything seems to be “purpose- driven.” However, many sermons are still preached without a clearly defined purpose. Jay Adams begins his book Preaching With Purpose with these words:

“The amazing lack of concern for purpose among homileticians and preachers has spawned a brood of preachers who are dull, lifeless, abstract and impersonal; it has obscured truth, hindered joyous Christian living, destroyed dedication and initiative, and stifled service for Christ.”

Perhaps it is better to avoid the term “Purpose-Driven,” but as preachers we can’t avoid the consequences if we neglect this critical element of biblical preaching. As you prepare your next sermon, write down a clear and specific statement of your sermon’s purpose.

Quoted: Jay Adams, Preaching With Purpose, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan), 1.

Peter has commented on this post.

When Your Preparation Hits a Brick Wall

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I’m sure I am not the only preacher who sometimes, perhaps regularly, hits a brick wall during preparation.  What can you do when the words are no longer coming, and your brain is starting to give you cause for concern?

1. Do something else.  Profoundly obvious, but it is easy to feel obliged to stay put and strive fruitlessly.  Perhaps this is your allotted time for this stage of sermon preparation, so you feel obligated to endure.  But when the brain is stuck, it can be unstuck by something else.  Perhaps switching to a different part of the sermon preparation will help, maybe thinking through possible illustrations, or writing a rough draft of the conclusion.  Perhaps you should switch to other work and come back to the sermon (be careful not to just procrastinate though, switch to stimulate your thinking again).  Perhaps you should take an energizing trip to the gym, or pick up your guitar for a few minutes.  Get the brain unstuck.

2. Discuss the sermon.  Sometimes hours and hours of study can be helped beyond belief by a brief discussion of the sermon.  Perhaps another preacher might help.  I find a brief chat with Mike helps no end.  Try to find someone you know will help either through their input or their ability to listen and probe carefully.  Perhaps your spouse.  Perhaps a pre-arranged group from the congregation.

3. Deliver the sermon.  Somehow the link between brain and pen is different than the link between brain and tongue.  Sometimes it helps to stand up with an open Bible and just preach the message.  Verbalizing the message may release the jam and allow the study to flow.  Having done this, it is important to get back to the outline, manuscript, or whatever, and not just rely on a good “practice run.”

4. Doze or get a full night.  The mind can get overwhelmed and slow down just like my computer.  But the wonder of God’s creation is that the brain can defragment as we sleep.  I rarely take power naps, but some people swear by them.  If it’s late, take a full night’s sleep and come back to the message in the morning.  Sometimes when it is not time to sleep yet, I’ll leave the message, but review my sticking point right before retiring to bed (but don’t do that if you suffer from insomnia).

5. Divine help, obviously.  Of course, firstly, lastly, throughoutly, be in prayer about the passage, the personal application of it, the sermon and so on.  Preaching is a profoundly spiritual endeavor and it would be totally wrong to omit this point.  However, it would be naïve to only include this point.  Sometimes God helps us through prayer, plus a trip to the gym, or a good sleep!

Preaching Epistolary Texts as Story

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The question that led to the previous post implied the problem of repetition of style when preaching epistolary texts. It is easy to get into a rut of one deductive sermon after another. One option to consider that may help bring some variety into a preaching series, is to preach an epistolary text as story.

A story has characters, a situation, tension, and some form of response to that tension. Most stories resolve, although a story without full resolution can be very powerful. In reality, an epistle is an episode in a story. There are characters (the writer and recipients, at least), a situation, some type of tension that the writer is responding to through writing the epistle. Furthermore, in most cases, we do not know how the story actually resolves.

So when preaching a text from an epistle, consider telling the story of the situation. Perhaps offer some incomplete responses that might only make the situation worse. Then introduce the actual response of the apostle. Describe how that response might resolve the situation. Describe what successful application of the passage would look like back then, and today. Make clear the claims of the passage on the listeners both then and now. Conclude without resolution, recognizing that the story is incomplete until the listeners have become doers of the Word also.

Does Passage Determine Sermon Shape?

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Tim asked the following question:

Do you think it is ok to preach inductively when the passage is clearly worked out in a deductive way? For example, (sweeping statement coming up!!!) a lot of Paul’s epistles seem to be fairly deductive in the way he makes points and then goes on to prove or explain them. Does this tie you into preaching deductively every week as you go through Paul’s epistles?

Another way of saying this question is ‘do you have to stick to the order that the Biblical writer sticks to?’ If Paul makes his big point in verse one, and then proves or explains it subsequently, do you also have to move in this same order?

Peter responds:

1. The passage outline is the place to start – I think the Biblical order is a great place to start, and often it makes sense to preach a passage according to its order.  If it is a deductive passage, probably preach it deductively.  If it is a narrative passage, usually preach it narratively.  And so on.  The stages of sermon preparation require the study of the passage before the preparation of the sermon, so the shape of the text should be clear before designing the sermon.  Often there is no reason to do something different than preach the text in its order.

2. There are good reasons to shape your sermon on the text – If you were to use no notes and just be looking at the text, it is easier to preach the text as it stands.  Even if you have notes, the text is all the listener has.  Generally it is better to give people the impression that they can also follow through a text as it was written and learn its lesson.

3. There may be good reason to change the shape – As a preacher you have a foot in both worlds: the Bible and the listeners’ world.  So the purpose you have for the sermon may differ from the purpose of the writer, which then implies an alternative strategy or outline may be worth considering.  For example, Peter preached to an antagonistic crowd in Acts 2 and so preached a very inductive sermon.  Likewise, you may be preaching a passage in the epistles that is up front with its main idea, but you know your listeners are more antagonistic than the original readers were, so perhaps it would be worth changing the sermon shape accordingly.  Our goal is to present and explain the passage and communicate the main idea in order to achieve the intended purpose in our situation.  Strategize accordingly.

4. A sentence and a sermon are different – Don Sunukjian teaches a helpful point.  He argues that a sentence has an immediacy to it that allows a certain order, but in preaching that order may need to be changed to reflect the order of thought.  For example, he uses a sentence like, “I am going to town, to buy some food, because my dog is hungry.”  Now, if that sentence were to be preached, it would be better to reverse the three elements.  “Going to town” and “buy some food” are dependent on the final element “my dog is hungry” for their meaning.  In preaching we may take an element of a thought and expand it.  What expanded exposition of “Going to town” might result without the underlying issue of the hungry dog?  Consequently, in order to help people know where they are in the thought of a sermon, the order of thought is an important issue to bear in mind.

Getting to Grips with a Genealogy

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What do you do when you are preaching through a book and there is a genealogy? I have faced this a few times, although I don’t claim to have a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to the challenge. Here are a few tips:

1. Study the function of the genealogy. The author included it for a reason. How does it fit with the flow of thought in the book? It is easy to get caught up in the details of the list, but miss the function of it.

2. Select the preaching passage carefully. If you are able to divide the preaching passages, do not assume lots of verses in a genealogy mean lots of preaching material. It may be that the genealogy can be summarized briefly, leaving plenty of time for an adjoining text.

3. Survey the framing of the genealogy. What does the author write as a lead in, and what are the first comments leading out of the genealogy? Consider, for example, Luke 3:21-23 and 4:1-3.

4. See if any pattern is broken. Sometimes there is a pattern in the way the text is written, which can become quite rhythmic to the ear. Be sure to check for any breaks in that pattern that might suggest a place of emphasis. For example, consider the change in pattern for Enoch in Genesis 5:24.

5. Scrutinize the places of emphasis. Be sure to consider carefully the first and last names in the list. Often a genealogy is a bridge through time linking one place in history with another. For example, see Ruth 4:18-22.

6. Scan for misfits. In light of the apparent function of the genealogy, are there individuals whose inclusion might be considered surprising? For example, the presence of, and similarities between the women, in Matthew 1:1-17. Be careful not to allow an interesting observation to overwhelm the rest of the genealogy. This example in Matthew has more than one interesting feature!

7. Search for every clue to the author’s intent. Your goal is not to preach random details from a list, nor to exhaust listeners with exhaustive historical details, but to search diligently for the author’s intent when he wrote and/or included the genealogy. This is a repeat of the first point, but this is worthy of restatement in this final position of emphasis!