Best of Blogs: On Preaching
Just a few days ago, I read an outstanding blog article on preaching by Michael Kruger, president of the Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC. In Moving Beyond One-Dimensional Sermon Applications, Kruger outlines three categories of application for the sermon, the call to action, the appeal to the mind, and the application to the heart. I think his insight is valuable, if you are a preacher, you ought to pay attention to it. If you are one who listens to preaching, I think you will profit by it. In short, “Hey, everyone! Go read this!” He concludes:
People are multi-dimensional beings, with heart, mind, and body. Thus, we need to continue to look for varied types of applications that hit the whole person.
We should also remember that application itself does not elicit the desired response. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. But, he does use preaching (and our applications) to accomplish his purposes.
But seriously, read the whole thing.
Kruger’s post got me thinking about preaching. I wondered how many blog articles I could find dealing with the subject. Just in my own feed reader (RSS Owl), I found 391 hits while searching on the term “preaching.” Some are posts I’ve read years ago; others are more recent. I’d like to share a few links in this post for your edification.
Two posts from a friend whose blog is no longer active1 are short, pithy, and helpful. The first, Three P’s of Preaching, from 2011 offers a succinct definition of preaching from John Murray. Another one, Some Thoughts on Preaching – from Ben Franklin?? warns of the folly of preaching that isn’t derived from the text at hand.
About a year ago, Jay Adams wrote about using Hebrew and Greek in preaching. It’s not what you think. Using the Original Languages in Preaching talks about using those helps that the language purist tends to disdain. I’m for using all the helps I can get to understand the Word better, especially since regularly am explaining it to others. We want to be as accurate as possible, so use helps.
Caleb Phelps calls us to excellence in What Happened to Excellent Preaching? He says:
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably heard far too many preachers who were more standup comics than heralds of the Truth; who mocked theology with lines like, “Our young folks are dying in those seminaries by degrees”; who started with a Bible passage, only to hastily and permanently depart from it. Many of these “bad preachers” take pot-shots at famous preachers of our day while they, themselves, look more like moralist speakers than Bible preachers. It angers me and saddens me to hear “preaching” that is every bit as irreverent as an unplanned worship service. God is not pleased when he sees preachers preach platitudes and not principles found in the inspired Word. We shouldn’t be pleased with it either. Our tolerance of this kind of preaching does not make any sense. Do we no longer think preaching of God’s Word is all that important?
Another good one from another friend who isn’t blogging a lot lately: Preaching wisdom to the Greeks. Michael Riley makes the point that we can’t preach what people want, but what they need.
There is much to say here, but let me offer you one reflection: Paul’s example of ministry indicates that we should avoid allowing the values of those who don’t believe Jesus to determine the shape of our preaching. We should be uneasy about an approach to ministry that asks what people want to hear, and then preaches Jesus as the answer to their desires. To do so, according to this passage, is to make worldly wisdom and the gospel compatible with each other—and they never are.
One more for today, from Aaron Berry, at Pursuing the Pursuer, It’s Time to Listen to Your Own Preaching. Aaron warns us against hypocrisy in the pulpit, with some candid remarks on his own experience as well as the famous illustration of Elias Keach and his conversion experience.
Maybe it’s time for you to take a break from the whole “Spiritual Christian” act and return to the feet of Jesus. Go back to his Word and soak it in. Allow it to break your heart as it reveals your sin, comfort you as it reminds you of God’s faithfulness and patience, and fill you as it imparts to you the words of Christ. Don’t even think about telling others to follow you until you are truly following Christ. Be humble before the One who died to deliver you from your own self-righteousness. The longer you spend in fellowship with Christ, the more your outward actions will spring from inward devotion and love.
Well, that one stings a bit, doesn’t it? I suppose most preachers will find times in their lives when they are out of sorts with God and have to preach on Sunday anyway. How we need revival, starting with me!
I hope some of these links are a blessing. With 391 hits in my feed reader, there are more to come in a future post, no doubt. May the Lord teach us as we write and read and speak to others.
Don Johnson is the pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
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Good post, Don.
Aaron’s post about listening to your own preaching is true indeed. One of the most difficult, excruciating, and humbling things to do as a pastor is to listen to my own preaching. Thanks for highlighting this post.