It’s ages since I’ve posted anything new on the site. I have been manically busy in recent days with a week long stint preaching at a Bible Week in Northern Ireland and then straight home, with a 10 minute turn around, before heading to Ayrshire where I had the privilege of speaking at a Church Anniversary weekend. Not to mention normal lecture preparation etc! It’s been exhausting but an enormous privilege and joy and I can’t think of anything I would rather be doing.

Now - I would love some input from my blog readers. In about 3 weeks I am doing a talk to some Christian workers and have been asked to speak on ‘The Top Ten Things for Preachers to Avoid’. If you were drawing up such a list, what would you include and why?

All contributions very welcome, either via the comments or by email to john(at)thebrands.org.uk

I have been asking Dr Steven Lawson, our current Featured Preacher some more questions about his approach to an expository ministry. His answers will appear over the next days.

The latest question I asked him was

What advice would you give to a young man who is wondering whether God is calling him into a preaching ministry, firstly in terms of recognising the genuineness of a call and secondly in acting on it?

His reply:

Recognizing the call to preach requires great discernment from the Lord. There are several keys that I think any young man must carefully weigh.

First, there must be a deep conviction in the truth of God’s Word. If one is called to be a herald of the truth, then he must feel deeply committed to the gospel and the core doctrines that are taught in the Scripture. He must sense that a sacred stewardship has been entrusted to him in the gospel. Within his heart, he becomes one with the biblical message. He feels that the burden of the Lord has been laid upon him. He firmly believes the message in his innermost being and as a result, must speak it. The apostle Paul wrote, “I believed, therefore I spoke” (2 Corinthians 4:13). The one called to preach possesses a “full conviction” toward the truth that comes from the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 1:5).

Second, there must be a holy compulsion in his heart to preach the Word. He senses that he is under obligation to teach the Word (Romans 1:14). What is in the heart must come out of the mouth. That is to say, he must feel a fire in his bones that must find expression in the form of preaching. This is something that God places in the soul of every man whom He calls to minister His Word. Preaching becomes something more than “that which” he would like to do. Rather, preaching is that which he must do. The apostle Paul writes, “I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16). So it is in the heart of the one who is called to preach—he must do so.

Third, there must be a supernatural capacity that is given by God to preach the Word. In other words, the one who is called to preach will be spiritually gifted to do so. There must be a God-given ability evidenced in such a person’s life. There will be a sharp mind for the truth. There will be a supernatural desire to read and study the Word. There will be an ability—undeveloped as it will be at the beginning—to stand up before a group and communicate the essential truths of a text of Scripture.

Fourth, there must be a collective confirmation from others, who observe that person’s life and ministry. It is one thing to think that you have the gift of preaching, but something else entirely for others to bear witness to this. The spiritual leaders of one’s church, as well as those who have exposure to this person’s life and ministry, should validate such a call.

In responding to what one would sense to be the call of God to preach, I urge young men to present themselves to their pastor and church leaders in order to seek their counsel, prayers, and support. Those who shepherd the flock will have great insight into the life of one who is being called by God to minister His Word.

Further, such a young man should step forward to preach and teach wherever there are opportunities. It may be in a small group Bible study, or in a nursing home, or on a college campus, or wherever God opens doors. A young man, under the supervision of his spiritual leaders, should begin to test the water in a safe and secure environment. He needs to know: does this bring great joy and excitement to my heart? Are others benefited and blessed when I minister the Word? Can I see myself doing this the rest of my life? Do I sense God’s pleasure as I minister His Word?

My latest definition on biblical preaching comes from Joel Beeke. Dr Beeke is Professor of Systematic Theology and Homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, pastor of the Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan USA, and editor of the Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth. The quote comes from B A Borgman’s ’My Heart for thy Cause’ on the ministry of Dr Al Martin

“It is preaching that stresses the need to know the truth of God by experience. It is discriminating preaching; defining the differences between the Christian and non-Christian, pressing home the promises of forgiveness and eternal life to those who believe and promises of wrath and judgement on those who are unconverted. It sets forth Christ as the One who saves sinners, and who must be experienced personally. It is applicatory preaching, which seeks to apply the truth of God’s word to every aspect of life. The goal of experimental preaching is to promote a religion which is power and not mere form (2 Tim.2v5). Experimental preaching is earnest about salvation and damnation. It extols the glory of God and paints the horrors of separation. It teaches the marks and fruits of grace and exposes false professors.”

Here’s my usual weekly round up of preaching related gems on the www

Resolve has a link to a thoughtful piece by Sam Storm called ‘An Appeal to All Pastors: Why and How Should We Preach.’

Peter Mead’s Biblical Preaching site is always full of good material. Recently he challenged preachers, saying ‘Let us preach to the glory of God, but not hide behind that motivation as an excuse for irrelevant or application free sermons.’

Paul Lamey at Expository Thoughts has been wrestling with the issue of expository preaching and discussion: While discussion is excellent even essential at the right time, we should still remember that preaching is a “live” event in which the Word of God is to be heralded (2 Tim. 4:2) not discussed.

Also at Expository Thoughts, Caleb Kolstad draws comparisons between some preaching and pancake syrup.

Unashamed Workman points us to a useful article in Evangelicals Now by Tom Seidler, entitled, ‘Where are all the Elders?’

Don’t miss Michael Mckinley’s Defence of long, boring sermons

Between Two Worlds links to some advice on choosing commentaries for your library and Denver Seminary’s NT exegesis bibliography.

Just this morning I received in the post a free gift. With the generous permission of Dr. Arturo Azurdia III, Monergism is giving away for free an 81-part lecture series on the Book of Revelation in MP3 format on 2 CDs. You only cover the cost of shipping. Go on! You know you want to!

Following the posts on sermon introductions  and outlines, here are my brief thoughts on conclusions, summarised with a great quote from Ramesh Richard

“The conclusion is the final movement of the sermon, so it crescendos to a climax. The preacher repeats or restates the central proposition (the main theme) to refocus the thoughts of the audience on what God expects of them. The conclusion will evidence two features, cohesion and resolution. Cohesion: The audience now hears in concise statements all the important points of the sermon. Resolution: The audience now has the feeling that the destination set out in the purpose during the introduction has been reached.”

Yesterday I posted a brief introduction to sermon introductions, taken from a short series I have been teaching at College (here).

Today it’s ‘Pointers about Points’, some basic guidelines to follow in constructing the outline of the sermon.

I have just had the joy of doing a short introductory course on homiletics at College. It was a very brief course for the first year students, aimed at giving them the basic tools and skills they need to prepare a short expository message. In the last class I covered, very briefly, sermon outlines, introductions and conclusions and thought I would post those three features here over the next three days, starting with introductions - which I encouraged them to prepare last of all!

You can download the pdf here but, by way of an appetiser, here’s a quote from Stuart Olyott on sermon introduction:

“Somehow or other, we have got to get every person ready to listen to what we have got to say. We have got to overcome inertia, to arouse attention, to excite interest and to prepare the way. We have got to get people from where they are to the point where they will give us a ready hearing.”[1]

Here’s my regular round up of preaching related features on the www

Cal Habig commends Greg Heisler’s ‘Spirit Led Preaching’

PJ Tibayan has pulled together a comprehensive of recordings by Don Carson and I’m already benefiting from it while Heidelblog has a link to audio resources from Edmund Clowney

Biblical Preaching quotes Joe Stowell’s four power dynamics for preaching.

Tim Challies has a thought provoking piece on Jeremiah and false prophets

Expository Thoughts has the second part of Walter Kaiser on Expository Preaching

On my travels this week I have really been enjoying a variety of ministry by Steven Lawson, my current featured preacher and thought this would be a good time to link to online sources of his ministry as well as recommend what I have been listening to this past week. Next week, I hope to be able to post some more answers to questions I have put to Dr Lawson and also some links to books and articles by him.

The undoubted highlights this week have been two very powerful messages on Isaiah 6 which you can find here and here. I also greatly enjoyed two messages on ‘Christ, the Reformers and Sola Scriptura’. One of Lawson’s great strengths is his grasp of the historical, especially concerning the reformation, and in these two messages, drawing lessons from Luther and Calvin, he speaks to the doctrine of Scripture. here and here

Steven Lawson Ministry Libraries

A wide selection of ministry by Steven Lawson can be found at the following sites:

New Reformation Ministries

Christ Fellowship Baptist Church

Reforming My Mind

This week’s definition of expository preaching comes from Don Carson, thanks to a post by Irish Calvinist who reviews a book to which Carson has contributed

“Preaching is more than the oral communication of information, no matter how biblical and divine that information may be. Rather, we should think in terms of what might be called ‘re-revelation.’ …Preachers must bear this in mind. Their aim is more than to explain the Bible, however important that aim is. They want the proclamation of God’s Word to be a revelatory event, a moment when God discloses himself afresh, a time when the people of God know that they have met with the living God.”