When I was a boy, our pastor was Dr. Max Stanfield. That may not mean anything to you if you are not from Oklahoma, and now, if you are not really old. Dr. Max died in the dark ages when I was 13. But he was a marvellous preacher, and a wonderful pastor. He had been a college football player, and a collegiate champion debater. Above all else, I remember Max as a consummate storyteller. He used to tell the character stories in our two week Vacation Bible School. And he held hundreds of kids spellbound as he told the stories. In those days our church was growing rapidly. And Max was a very busy man. So it was not uncommon for Max to be called away when he was supposed to tell the story. And we were always terribly disappointed when someone else had to tell it. They just couldn't make a story come alive like Max.
As I said, Max died when I was 13. And yet the full length of my pastoral ministry, nearly 50 years, I told stories that I remember Max using in his sermons.” I am tempted to tell one or two of them to you now. But I believe Max would agree with me, that the most important stories you can tell in your preaching are directly from the Bible.
Telling Bible stories is a marvellous way of conveying truth. There is a biblical principle here. If I were to ask which parables of Jesus you remember, I would not be surprised if some of you could remember all of them. And I suspect, some of you could tell 20 or more Old Testament stories off the top of your head. Why is that? It is because good stories stick in your heart and mind.
I once heard Dr. Clyde Fant, Preaching Professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, tell about developing and cultivating storytelling skills for preaching, by telling stories to his children and grandchildren. Teaching children may be a mark of Christ-like ministry. And you can always find children who will listen to stories.
You may be aware that one of the greatest breakthroughs in missions in the past 30 years has been what is called Orality. Many of the yet unreached people groups in the world do not have a written language, or do not have the Bible translated for them to read. And many people do not read well, for one reason or another, even in America. Groups like Wycliffe Bible Translators are making great progress in translating scripture into new languages. But while they are learning the languages and cultures, they tell them Bible stories, and train new believers to tell the stories to others.
Frankly, I believe some of you would do well in your situation, to simply tell Bible stories for most or all of your sermons. This is actually a type of Expository Preaching. Have you ever heard R.G. Lee’s Payday Someday? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BZepT-czgU When I preached story sermons, I would do the background work I wrote about in a previous blog.
Tim Ahlen, (http://fmbcdallas.church/speaker/877/) Pastor of Forest Meadow Baptist Church in Dallas Texas, may be the ultimate practitioner of this method, although I know many people who know much more about it than I. I have heard Tim tell a Bible story twice for the same sermon, taking a few minutes in between to emphasize the main truths of the story. When I did this, and I did it quite a bit, I would explain to my people that I was telling the story twice to help fix it in their minds. And I would encourage them to tell the story to someone else that week.
Another friend of mine, J.O. Terry, (https://www.google.com/search?q=j.o.+terry&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS729US731&oq=J.O.+TErry&aqs=chrome.0.35i39.9404j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) has developed Orality Networks across the world, and taught orality at Southwestern Seminary. He has done orality training in many countries with The International Mission Board, and through connections with other missions agencies. He teaches people to use groups of stories that relate to certain themes. In a recent email he wrote, “We are not necessarily trying to teach a single story, the use of longer story clusters helps to fix a story, it helps to increase the intensity or feeling about a story, and it tells the consequences or rewards of a key story.” Storytellers use his methods in many countries overseas. And they apply to the human condition everywhere.
I know of no better source for Bible Story Training for missions, and for preaching, than books J.O. has written. They include,
BASIC BIBLE STORYING,
GRIEF STORIES, good news for those with stories of misfortune and grief,
WATER STORIES FROM THE BIBLE: Stories leading to the living water and the invitation in the Bible for all to come and drink,
THE EBENEZER STORIES: discipleship stories for women,
HOPE STORIES FROM THE BIBLE,
STORYTELLING FOR CHURCH PLANTERS,
BIBLE STORYING, drawing the net, and others.
These are all available on Amazon.com.
Whether you use the stories as your entire sermon, or simply tell several good stories in every sermon, a good preacher will learn to be a great storyteller.
http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/
http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/
http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/
http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/
Website
http://daveswatch.com/
YouTube
https://goo.gl/PyzU
Friday, April 26, 2019
Monday, April 15, 2019
3.WALKING YOUR SERMON
Every week when I was a pastor, I did what I called walking my sermons. Although this depends on the Biblical foundations I wrote about last week, I believe it is the most valuable advice I can give preachers.
The sermon is an oral event. It is what Marshall McLuhan called a hot medium of communication. I would argue that you should not write out a sermon, and then try to memorize it, trying to translate from writing, a cool medium, to the heat.
After I had read my text aloud many times, some before a mirror, and worded my points, I was ready to compose my sermon. I would literally go outside and walk, rain, snow, or shine. As I walked I would preach over everything that came to mind about each point. Several times over the years I had deacons or leadership kid me about this practice. But they admitted they liked the results. As far as I know, others in the church didn't know about it. In fact, I think people thought my sermons just came to me out of the blue, and they were made uncomfortable, when I talked about the process.
Although I was doing this long before I had heard about Prayer-Walking, what I did was similar. One big difference came when I saw people. In Prayer-Walking I would walk toward people praying for them as I drew near. In walking my sermons I usually prayed briefly for people I saw. But I would walk the other direction. God has called some of you to large enough cities that avoiding people is impossible. But there, they will ignore you, if you are not too loud or acrobatic.
As I walked, I would preach everything that came into my mind on each point. I would sometimes preach up to an hour on a point, although it usually didn't take so long to preach a single point. You might think that would make my sermons too long. But it had the opposite effect. I would automatically know what fit the sermon, and what did not. I held the conviction that if I could say the same thing in less time, I had said it better. Brevity is force.
Preaching everything that came to mind also seemed to add a depth to what I preached. It settled a broader understanding in my mind.
After I had preached the entire sermon over, I would usually know how to frame my introduction in a way that would grip the attention of my people, and lead into the rest of the sermon. My introduction usually came from something I knew connected with the entire sermon. And at least for my Sunday morning sermon, I would preach the shortened version over at least one more time.
But what about notes? First, notes are a cooling factor in your sermon. Worse, if you stumble, it is often over your notes. I would mark scriptures in my Bible that I would rather read than quote. And on rare occasions I would take quotations into the pulpit. With this method you only need to go into the pulpit with your introduction and points in mind. Your illustrations and applications will simply come as ways of making each point.
Some of you, possibly very few of you these days, may know that I regularly published sermon material in PROCLAIM and other magazines over the years. But I did not write out sermons, or even illustrations, until I had preached them to my people. In this way I hoped to keep the fire of the sermon as I translated into print.
So, will this method work for you? I am convinced that it will. But you will not know if you can do this until you have tried. If you have difficulty, you can contact me, daveswatch@gmail.com. I will check this account at least once a week. If you wish to talk to me, I will give you contact information.
http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/
http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/
http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/
http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/
Website
http://daveswatch.com/
YouTube
https://goo.gl/PyzU
The sermon is an oral event. It is what Marshall McLuhan called a hot medium of communication. I would argue that you should not write out a sermon, and then try to memorize it, trying to translate from writing, a cool medium, to the heat.
After I had read my text aloud many times, some before a mirror, and worded my points, I was ready to compose my sermon. I would literally go outside and walk, rain, snow, or shine. As I walked I would preach over everything that came to mind about each point. Several times over the years I had deacons or leadership kid me about this practice. But they admitted they liked the results. As far as I know, others in the church didn't know about it. In fact, I think people thought my sermons just came to me out of the blue, and they were made uncomfortable, when I talked about the process.
Although I was doing this long before I had heard about Prayer-Walking, what I did was similar. One big difference came when I saw people. In Prayer-Walking I would walk toward people praying for them as I drew near. In walking my sermons I usually prayed briefly for people I saw. But I would walk the other direction. God has called some of you to large enough cities that avoiding people is impossible. But there, they will ignore you, if you are not too loud or acrobatic.
As I walked, I would preach everything that came into my mind on each point. I would sometimes preach up to an hour on a point, although it usually didn't take so long to preach a single point. You might think that would make my sermons too long. But it had the opposite effect. I would automatically know what fit the sermon, and what did not. I held the conviction that if I could say the same thing in less time, I had said it better. Brevity is force.
Preaching everything that came to mind also seemed to add a depth to what I preached. It settled a broader understanding in my mind.
After I had preached the entire sermon over, I would usually know how to frame my introduction in a way that would grip the attention of my people, and lead into the rest of the sermon. My introduction usually came from something I knew connected with the entire sermon. And at least for my Sunday morning sermon, I would preach the shortened version over at least one more time.
But what about notes? First, notes are a cooling factor in your sermon. Worse, if you stumble, it is often over your notes. I would mark scriptures in my Bible that I would rather read than quote. And on rare occasions I would take quotations into the pulpit. With this method you only need to go into the pulpit with your introduction and points in mind. Your illustrations and applications will simply come as ways of making each point.
Some of you, possibly very few of you these days, may know that I regularly published sermon material in PROCLAIM and other magazines over the years. But I did not write out sermons, or even illustrations, until I had preached them to my people. In this way I hoped to keep the fire of the sermon as I translated into print.
So, will this method work for you? I am convinced that it will. But you will not know if you can do this until you have tried. If you have difficulty, you can contact me, daveswatch@gmail.com. I will check this account at least once a week. If you wish to talk to me, I will give you contact information.
However you do it, Preach The Word!
http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/
http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/
http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/
http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/
Website
http://daveswatch.com/
YouTube
https://goo.gl/PyzU
Monday, April 8, 2019
2 THE FOUNDATIONS OF BIBLICAL PREACHING
What I am teaching in these blog posts is expository or direct Biblical preaching. I believe there is a place for topical preaching and apologetic, or subject teaching. But I believe you will find great power in sharing what God has to say to people in His word.
In preaching God must strike the hearts of people with the lightning of His presence. The first important factor in connecting to that is your own relationship with God, ultimately, consistently and immediately.
The sermon must be anchored on the bedrock of God’s word.
I actually think these 5 things are essential to sermon preparation.
What I have below is a good general order for laying a solid foundation for your sermon. I call it Serback for sermon background thinking.
TEXT:
Determine the specific Bible text you are going to preach. It can be long or short.
C.I.T.:
(Central idea of the text) A simple sentence that states the heart of the passage. This generally needs to be in the past tense. It states what the passage said to the people who first heard it.
FOCUS:
You can focus on a specifics in a passage. For instance a sermon on John 3:16 may focus on the love of God, the gift of God, the Son of God, believing in God, not perishing, or eternal life.
PEOPLE:
You need a clear picture of the people you are addressing. The first distinction is Believers or Unbelievers. And you may know other things about the people who will hear you.
Felt Need:
I have noted 11 basic human needs. You need to think about this yourself. I suspect many of you will come up with more needs.
PHYSICAL NEEDS
Sustenance
Security
EMOTIONAL NEEDS
Comfort
Wonder
Truth
Righteousness
Forgiveness
Divine Connection
Significance
Purpose
Ultimate security
PURPOSE OF THIS SERMON:
There are at least 6 major biblical purposes for a sermon. These are followed by a specific purpose which is stated as a simple sentence beginning with, “I want my hearers to . . .” You need to determine the major and specific purpose of each sermon.
Emotion:
Your picture will always draw certain emotions. It will help you to think about what emotion you wish to strike. Some legitimate emotions are joy, humility, sorrow, fear, anger, conviction, and submission. To some extent the emotion you strike in your visualization will apply to the entire sermon, although each element, possibly each sentence may strike a separate emotion. (One of my favorite preachers did not think this was helpful to him. He thought deciding ahead of time what emotion to strike would be contrived.)
Reason:
Any emotion can be misused. I think it is valuable to note the reason you want to elicit a certain emotion.
URGENCY:
Determine why this sermon is urgent for people to hear. You will find that settling this will be crucial to stirring the hearts of people. There are several reasons for urgency that sermons may touch.
Truth
Danger
Value
Necessity
Imminence
CONNECTION TO THE GOSPEL:
Every sermon needs to connect the the gospel of Jesus Christ. You will often need to think about a Scripture passage for some time, before you see how its truth links to the gospel.
CHARISMATA:
I think it is worth noting which spiritual gifts you are asking God to give you in the sermon. Of course, you want to be open to whatever He decides to give. Several of the listed gifts are obviously part of preaching.
1. Prophesy
The word prophecy does not primarily speak of prediction in Scripture, although it can. It is a word for speaking from and for God.
2. Evangelism
3. Teaching
4. Encouragement
5. Leadership
6. Spiritual Discernment
7. Mercy
8. Tongue
In Acts 2 each person heard in their own dialect. Everyone has their own heart language. Especially when I have preached through an interpreter, I prayed for that miracle. I believe it is more often needed than we think even when everyone speaks your language.
POINTS:
Charles Swindoll calls these principles emphasizing the importance of what you are saying.
It is good to think your points out so that they can all be drawn out of a single sentence.
Here are some examples.
Linking points in a single sentence can be more effective than using parallelism like rhymes or alliteration in giving people something to remember.
When you have finished these foundations, you can compose your sermon.
http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/
http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/
http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/
http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/
http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/
Website
http://daveswatch.com/
YouTube
https://goo.gl/PyzU
THE SPIRITUAL CONNECTION
AND
BIBLICAL BEDROCK
OF THE SERMON
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works."
John 14:10In preaching God must strike the hearts of people with the lightning of His presence. The first important factor in connecting to that is your own relationship with God, ultimately, consistently and immediately.
"Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord."
Jeremiah 23:28The sermon must be anchored on the bedrock of God’s word.
"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."
2 Timothy 4:1,2I actually think these 5 things are essential to sermon preparation.
Get yourself right.
Read yourself full.
Think yourself clear.
Pray yourself hot.
Preach yourself out.
This is not necessarily a sequence. God can give seeds of sermon ideas in any order.What I have below is a good general order for laying a solid foundation for your sermon. I call it Serback for sermon background thinking.
SERBACK
TEXT:
Determine the specific Bible text you are going to preach. It can be long or short.
C.I.T.:
(Central idea of the text) A simple sentence that states the heart of the passage. This generally needs to be in the past tense. It states what the passage said to the people who first heard it.
FOCUS:
You can focus on a specifics in a passage. For instance a sermon on John 3:16 may focus on the love of God, the gift of God, the Son of God, believing in God, not perishing, or eternal life.
PEOPLE:
You need a clear picture of the people you are addressing. The first distinction is Believers or Unbelievers. And you may know other things about the people who will hear you.
Felt Need:
I have noted 11 basic human needs. You need to think about this yourself. I suspect many of you will come up with more needs.
PHYSICAL NEEDS
Sustenance
Security
EMOTIONAL NEEDS
Comfort
Wonder
Truth
Righteousness
Forgiveness
Divine Connection
Significance
Purpose
Ultimate security
PURPOSE OF THIS SERMON:
There are at least 6 major biblical purposes for a sermon. These are followed by a specific purpose which is stated as a simple sentence beginning with, “I want my hearers to . . .” You need to determine the major and specific purpose of each sermon.
Doctrinal; “I want my hearers to know…” or “understand…”
Devotional; “Praise God for. . .”
Evangelistic; “I want my hearers to give their lives to Christ.”
Consecrative/Actional; “I want my hearers to commit to…” or “I want my hearers to (do)…”
Supportive; “I want my hearers to be comforted.”
Promotional; (This is a type of consecrative sermon promoting a specific cause or program.)
If you do not know how you want your hearers to respond they will not know when you are finished.
THRUST:
This will be a simple sentence corresponding to your specific purpose statement, such as “Accept Christ as Savior and Lord.” This is not unlike the thesis of an essay.
PICTURE:
You need to find a visualization of what you are saying. Jesus did this with the parables. “Behold, a sower went out to sow.”
Evangelistic; “I want my hearers to give their lives to Christ.”
Consecrative/Actional; “I want my hearers to commit to…” or “I want my hearers to (do)…”
Supportive; “I want my hearers to be comforted.”
Promotional; (This is a type of consecrative sermon promoting a specific cause or program.)
If you do not know how you want your hearers to respond they will not know when you are finished.
THRUST:
This will be a simple sentence corresponding to your specific purpose statement, such as “Accept Christ as Savior and Lord.” This is not unlike the thesis of an essay.
PICTURE:
You need to find a visualization of what you are saying. Jesus did this with the parables. “Behold, a sower went out to sow.”
Emotion:
Your picture will always draw certain emotions. It will help you to think about what emotion you wish to strike. Some legitimate emotions are joy, humility, sorrow, fear, anger, conviction, and submission. To some extent the emotion you strike in your visualization will apply to the entire sermon, although each element, possibly each sentence may strike a separate emotion. (One of my favorite preachers did not think this was helpful to him. He thought deciding ahead of time what emotion to strike would be contrived.)
Reason:
Any emotion can be misused. I think it is valuable to note the reason you want to elicit a certain emotion.
URGENCY:
Determine why this sermon is urgent for people to hear. You will find that settling this will be crucial to stirring the hearts of people. There are several reasons for urgency that sermons may touch.
Truth
Danger
Value
Necessity
Imminence
CONNECTION TO THE GOSPEL:
Every sermon needs to connect the the gospel of Jesus Christ. You will often need to think about a Scripture passage for some time, before you see how its truth links to the gospel.
CHARISMATA:
I think it is worth noting which spiritual gifts you are asking God to give you in the sermon. Of course, you want to be open to whatever He decides to give. Several of the listed gifts are obviously part of preaching.
1. Prophesy
The word prophecy does not primarily speak of prediction in Scripture, although it can. It is a word for speaking from and for God.
2. Evangelism
3. Teaching
4. Encouragement
5. Leadership
6. Spiritual Discernment
7. Mercy
8. Tongue
In Acts 2 each person heard in their own dialect. Everyone has their own heart language. Especially when I have preached through an interpreter, I prayed for that miracle. I believe it is more often needed than we think even when everyone speaks your language.
POINTS:
Charles Swindoll calls these principles emphasizing the importance of what you are saying.
It is good to think your points out so that they can all be drawn out of a single sentence.
Here are some examples.
YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN A TRUST.
Matthew 25:14-30
“A Trust Includes The Responsibility of Faithfulness.”
“A Trust Includes The Risk of Faithfulness.”
“A Trust Includes The Reward of Faithfulness.”
DO YOU BELIEVE THIS
John 11:17-27
“Do You Believe This Ultimately?”
“Do You Believe This Immediately?”
“Do You Believe This Intimately?”
Linking points in a single sentence can be more effective than using parallelism like rhymes or alliteration in giving people something to remember.
When you have finished these foundations, you can compose your sermon.
Next week I will suggest a most unusual means of preparing a sermon that I believe will unleash the power of God in your preaching.
http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/
http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/
http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/
http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/
http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/
Website
http://daveswatch.com/
YouTube
https://goo.gl/PyzU
Thursday, April 4, 2019
BIBLICAL PREACHING
INTRODUCTION
Paul's admonition to Timothy is still appropriate.
In my next few blogs I want to share with you with you some foundations, preparations, and suggestions for improving biblical preaching.
I am including them here in my Thinking In The Spirit blog because I don't want to start a new Blog for something that will be short term. I believe I have some things to share with you. And I pray that God will bless your ministry through them.
FOUNDATION
The first thing you need to settle is why you are preaching. You need to ask yourself several questions here. It may benefit you greatly to ask yourself these questions even if you have your sermon together for this Sunday.
Have you been born again? In John 3:3 Jesus said you cannot even see the kingdom of God if you have not been born again. A call to preach must be linked in your mind to the calling to be a child of God.
Do you have a vital relationship with Jesus Christ? If you are not in tune with Him, you will not touch lives. In Matthew 23:8-10 Jesus said.
We have one teacher. If He does not speak through you, you are wasting your t
Is God telling you to preach? I remember God calling me to preach my freshman year in college. His call was as clear to me as Isaiah's call in Isaiah 6. Proclaiming God's word is my life calling. And it may be yours. But I believe God tells others of us to preach in different ways. Some of you may have been asked by your church or your pastor to preach, not necessarily as a life calling. Others may have been led to start a home church. And you have to fill the needs of those who have gathered with you. But you need to settle this issue.
Do you care about the people you preach to? My pastor when I was in high school once told me, “David, you cannot preach to people that you don't love.” Many years ago I was in a preaching slump. I talked to an experienced preacher about it. He suggested something that proved to be powerful for me. He said, “In the early part of the worship service, look into the eyes of individuals in the congregation.” It is amazing what you will see, when you really look at people. I found myself understanding and connecting with them. This will not keep you from worshipping. In fact, you can pray for each of them while you praise God.
http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/
http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/
http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/
http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/
Website
http://daveswatch.com/
YouTube
https://goo.gl/PyzU
Paul's admonition to Timothy is still appropriate.
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”
In my next few blogs I want to share with you with you some foundations, preparations, and suggestions for improving biblical preaching.
I am including them here in my Thinking In The Spirit blog because I don't want to start a new Blog for something that will be short term. I believe I have some things to share with you. And I pray that God will bless your ministry through them.
FOUNDATION
The first thing you need to settle is why you are preaching. You need to ask yourself several questions here. It may benefit you greatly to ask yourself these questions even if you have your sermon together for this Sunday.
Have you been born again? In John 3:3 Jesus said you cannot even see the kingdom of God if you have not been born again. A call to preach must be linked in your mind to the calling to be a child of God.
Do you have a vital relationship with Jesus Christ? If you are not in tune with Him, you will not touch lives. In Matthew 23:8-10 Jesus said.
“But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.”
We have one teacher. If He does not speak through you, you are wasting your t
Is God telling you to preach? I remember God calling me to preach my freshman year in college. His call was as clear to me as Isaiah's call in Isaiah 6. Proclaiming God's word is my life calling. And it may be yours. But I believe God tells others of us to preach in different ways. Some of you may have been asked by your church or your pastor to preach, not necessarily as a life calling. Others may have been led to start a home church. And you have to fill the needs of those who have gathered with you. But you need to settle this issue.
Do you care about the people you preach to? My pastor when I was in high school once told me, “David, you cannot preach to people that you don't love.” Many years ago I was in a preaching slump. I talked to an experienced preacher about it. He suggested something that proved to be powerful for me. He said, “In the early part of the worship service, look into the eyes of individuals in the congregation.” It is amazing what you will see, when you really look at people. I found myself understanding and connecting with them. This will not keep you from worshipping. In fact, you can pray for each of them while you praise God.
http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/
http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/
http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/
http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/
Website
http://daveswatch.com/
YouTube
https://goo.gl/PyzU
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)