Homiletics Defined with Scripture: the Science & Art of Preaching (2024)

Lord’s Library contributor Jared Helms offers this comprehensive treatise defining homiletics using the Scriptures. Check out Jared’s YouTube channel and two blogs: A Light in the Darkness and Blind Faith Examples. Lord’s Library’s Ministry Leaders Series is a collection of contributed articles written by ministry leaders on key Christian topics.

2 Timothy 4:1-2: “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

Every Sunday morning Christians all over the globe gather together and sit under the preaching of the Word of God. It has been so from the beginning of the Church. For most, the sermon is the central component of the service. Some may wonder why so much emphasis is placed on a simple speech or lecture. We may wonder why seminaries dedicate multiple semesters to the instruction in preaching, or homiletics.

These questions might seem irrelevant to us, the kinds of things only preachers would concern themselves with. Yet, preaching affects all Christians. We all listen to it, and react to it. It is a regular part of our lives. More importantly, God places a great emphasis on preaching. If it matters to God it should matter to us. If God has given it to us, and drawn our attention to it, there is something good for us in it if only we can grasp it.

The Goodness of Confessions and Creeds: An Introduction

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Homiletics Defined with Scripture

Therefore, even if we are never to stand behind a pulpit and declare the Word of the Lord (very few of us will) we can still benefit from the study of homiletics. It is an interesting study that crosses into many diverse fields from hermeneutics to rhetoric. It is a science, but also an art. It is easy to gain knowledge of, but very difficult to master. Though there is a great foundation of theory the real meat of this subject is practical.

This article is meant to provide a comprehensive introduction to the field of homiletics addressed to the people in the pews. Our aim is to expand our appreciation of preaching so as to receive more as we sit under it every week. There are some points at which the author has felt compelled to address preachers directly. The information here is intended to edify us all, to encourage us, and for us to encourage our preachers. It is not to make us critical, judgmental, or overly demanding. Let us recall that there has only ever been one perfect preacher, and His was the Message of Grace to all of us who fall short of the standard each day.

The one who writes this must confess that though he aspires to master homiletics he is far from doing so. He has studied the subject thoroughly andpracticed it in local churches for a decade and he writes according to his understanding trusting in God’s provision to complete the work. The reader will notice many quotations from great preachers of yesteryear that supplement his own understanding with wisdom from true giants in the field. May this offering glorify God and edify His people of the eternal Kingdom. Amen.

What is Preaching?

What makes peaching so wonderfully beneficial? Isn’t preaching just some guy talking? No, it is entirely different from mere public speaking or lecturing. Though these disciplines are somewhat related, preaching transcends them through the activity of the Holy Spirit.

Preaching has for its subject matter the Word of God. In preaching, the Word is proclaimed, explained, and applied. This we see in Paul’s admonition to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:1-5: “I chargethee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn awaytheir ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”

It has its exclusive focus on the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Now, whenever the Bible is opened faithfully, the Spirit of Truth is working. In preaching, His activity is called unction. It has been described as the elevation of the preacher beyond his own level to a higher place. The Spirit takes all that the preacher has, and makes it more. The Holy Spirit also operates on the hearers directing the Word to their hearts according to His divine purposes. See the below quotes:

Haddon Robinson: “Preaching means, “to cry out, herald, or exhort.” Preaching should so stir a man that he pours out the message with passion and fervor. Not all passionate pleading from a pulpit, however, possesses divine authority. When a preacher speaks as a herald, he must cry out “the Word.” Anything less cannot legitimately pass for Christian preaching.”
R. Albert Mohler: “There is only one authority that is the preacher’s authority, and there is only one authority that undergirds and justifies his teaching ministry, and that is the authority of the Word of God. This Word is inerrant, infallible, authoritative, and trustworthy. It is that Word, and that Word alone, that is our authority; and it is not only the foundation, but the substance, the content of our teaching and preaching.”
John Gerstner: “If preachers insist on competing with psychiatrists as counselors, with physicians as healers, with politicians as statesmen and with philosophers as speculators, then these specialists have every right to tell them how to preach. If a minister’s message is not based on “Thus saith the Lord,” then as a sermon it is good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of the specialists in the department with which it deals.”
D. Martyn Lloyd Jones: “What is preaching? Logic on fire! Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire. A true understanding and experience of the Truth must lead to this. I say again that a man who can speak about these things dispassionately has no right whatsoever to be in a pulpit; and should never be allowed to enter one.”

A speech or lecture is an act of man speaking primarily from books by men accomplished in the power of man alone. They may or may not aim at truth: indeed, anything less than preaching might never come across any truth at all. Preaching begins and ends with: “This is what God says…” And the wonderful thing is that God the Holy Spirit is there to enforce the declaration.

Preaching also differs from speaking or lecturing in that it engages the whole person. It is the whole person which God wants, and so the whole person which His Word through His preachers deals with. See Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 22:37:

Deuteronomy 6:5: “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
Matthew 22:37: “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”

Preaching is therefore more than a lecture to stimulate and inform for it goes beyond that. It is more than persuasive oration to move the affection for it also engages the intellect. See what Sinclair Ferguson said:

Sinclair Ferguson: “Preaching to the heart addresses the understanding first, in order to instruct it; but in doing so it also reaches through the mind to inform, rebuke, and cleanse the conscience. It then touches the will in order to reform and transform life and equip the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:12).”

Another unique quality of preaching is that it is truly worshipful: that is to say, preaching worships the one true God. In elevating the Word of God, delivering it as indeed His own Word, and receiving it as such altogether we commit an act of corporate worship. When rightly done, preaching moves the heart nearer to God. The heart is submitted more to His will, and so the worshipful act enhances all other worship. Luther said:

Martin Luther: “The highest form of worship is the preaching of God’s Word.”

Preaching is then set-apart from all other forms of communication as something greater and more important by virtue of what is it about, and who has ordained it, and its aim. It is monumental. It is necessary. It is primary. Indeed, the preaching of God’s Word is so central in the life of God’s people throughout both Scripture and church history faithful preaching is held as a sure mark of a true church. Luther, Calvin, and Lloyd Jones comment:

Martin Luther: “Now, wherever you hear or see this Word preached, believed, professed, and lived, do not doubt that the true ecclesia sancta catholica (Christian holy people) must be there…. And even if there were no other sign than this alone, it would still suffice to prove that a Christian, holy people must exist there, for God’s Word cannot be without God’s people and, conversely, God’s people cannot be without God’s Word.”
John Calvin: “Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults.”
D. Martyn Lloyd Jones: “Preaching the Word is the primary task of the Church, the primary task of the leaders of the Church, the people who are set in this position of authority; and we must not allow anything to deflect us from this, however good the cause, however great the need.”

The final distinctive of preaching then is that it belongs entirely to the Church. No one outside of Christ is capable of preaching in the true sense of the word. Many people claim to preach who are not preaching, and many people preach who never claim to have done so. It follows that not all preaching is equally good.

What Makes Good Preaching?

Now that we know what preaching is, we might ask what good preaching is. We have already touched on the answer, but it is worth further consideration. Good preaching is a great blessing to us in our walk of faith, and knowing how to recognize it can spare us many hardships in our walk with Christ.

First, good preaching is always faithful to the Word according to 2 Timothy 4:2: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

It doesn’t just quote a passage and then move on to other things, it stays in the Word throughout. A good sermon will be founded in the bible, and steeped in Biblical content. The Word of God will be ever-present and will be the mean source of content. Everything else will exist only to highlight, draw out, and enhance our appreciation of the Scriptures.

Please understand we are not saying a preacher cannot share an illustrative story from history, or their own experience. We are not saying there cannot be quotes, statistics, or analogies. We are simply saying that the Word of God should always be the main thing. Quoting faithful theologians, sharing bits of Church history, and giving practical images are all very helpful when they are there to serve the text. What must be avoided is having these things for their own sake.

As good preaching is faithful to the text it will be Christ-centered. It will be Christ-centered without allegorizing, or manipulating the text. The good preacher will find the Lord in the text organically. In finding Christ, we find the Gospel, and it is good for the Gospel to be in view every time we gather. None of this should be forced, and none of it should detract from the point of the text. Faithfulness is the first order out of which all else flows.

Now there is certainly morality taught in the Bible, but the purpose of good preaching is not to moralize. Though the Bible touches on many areas of intellectual inquiry the purpose of good preaching is never to theorize. The purpose of good preaching to edify the hearers by presenting the glory of God in Christ. The point needs to be emphasized because it is so easy to fall into the stale old formula, “here is something you don’t do, this is what you should do, and here is how you do it.” That kind of talk places the burden on the listener.

We want the burden taken away by the Grace of Christ. So, the better formula would be, “Here is what Christ has done for us, and this is the goodness of it, and this is what is made possible by it.” Even when one is preaching straight from the law of Moses, the Gospel is still there.

See Romans 15:4: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

Second, good preaching is motivated by love. The preachers first love is due to God, and it is expressed in his reverence for the Word, and the work itself. The preacher’s first love requires him to love his flock second, and to always seek their greatest good in his preaching. Seeking the greatest good for the congregants means that man will not try to please them, but to help them. It does not mean that every sermon will be a gentle, unoffensive, petting of the believed sheep. On the contrary, sometimes the man might have to cut open a sheep to get at the disease that is threating to infect and kill the flock. At another time he might have to raise his voice to ward off a wolf that would devour his flock.

What will always be true is that the man will care deeply about what he is saying, and who he is saying it to. Every man will express his passion a bit differently, some may weep and roar, other may maintain an even tone; some may pace and gesticulate, and others may stand perfectly still. Regardless the passion will be evident: we have more to say about these things later. Let us not forget that without love all we have is so much meaningless noise. See 1 Corinthians 13:1-2.

1 Corinthians 13:1-2: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I havethe gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”

Third, good preaching is honest. Sugarcoating does not belong on sermons. A good preacher will never promise things God has not promised. A good preacher will not attempt subversion, or shameful manipulation. Good preachers are not interested in personal gain. We haven’t got anything to sale, we have a truth to tell.

In being honest, a sermon must also be clear. God is not the author of confusion, and vague language, ambiguous terms, and uncertain verbiage do not serve His purposes. Preachers must say what the text means as plainly, and precisely as possible. Failing to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is as bad is lying.

Fourth, good preaching is local. There is a trend of pastors on a screen preaching to multiple locations at once. Some churches even play recorded videos of a sermon each week. There have also been disturbing revelations of pastors using sermons from other pastors, or purchased from sermon writing services: we have more to say on this in a later section. In all of these situations, the preacher is not directly addressing God’s Word to the people he is called to serve. He is not personally present with the flock or engaged in their immediate situation as part of their particular community. He is not tailoring the nourishment to the specific needs of these sheep.

This goes against the precedence of Church history, and we would argue the grain of Scripture. The testimony of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 indicates that each local congregation is to have its own designated preacher called of God, equipped to the work, and faithfully feeding that local flock. There is a place for iterant preaching (traveling from place to place) and for the broadcasting of sermons, but it is supplementary to the regular ministry of preaching and not in place of it.

A faithful exposition presented with genuine love, and honesty to a local congregation is a good sermon. There are other features we might look for, but if we have these four elements it is enough. We will find these four elements of good preaching present in all kinds of sermons.

Style is not the substance of good preaching. Delivery may vary without affecting the quality of a sermon. The only thing we would about the style of delivery is that it should never obscure the message itself. The delivery is a box, we want it to hold the contents, and present it well; but we are not here for the box, we want what is in the box. We must be careful not to conflate our preferences with Biblical mandates and make our standards the final word of judgment. It is very easy to latch onto this or that obvious form and make that the rule of good preaching.

The Priority of Preaching

Why is preaching the main event on Sunday morning? Why are prospective pastors given trial sermons? Just why does the Church place such a high priority on preaching? The simple answer is because God does. Prioritizing preaching is both theologically sound and missionally effective: these two cannot be separated.

The work of the Church is to make disciples, which is an ongoing process rooted in a growing relationship with Christ. This means growing in the knowledge of the faith. Every healthy believer is to be ready to learn. Indeed, Scripture speaks of disciples having a desire to learn. See 1 Peter 1:23, Romans 1:16, and 1 Peter 2:2:

1 Peter 1:23: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”
Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
1 Peter 2:2: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”

It makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? After all, we profess to love Jesus Christ more than anyone else. See Luke 14:26: “If anyman come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”

When we love someone we want to know as much about them as possible; we listen eagerly to stories of their childhood and revelations of their inner lives. How much more should we desire to hear about Jesus, and all things He had written down for us?

We can all read the Bible for ourselves, and we should read it regularly. However, there are some portions of Scripture that we may struggle to understand. There may be truths in Scripture we pass over without realizing. There may be times when we need help to accept the testimony of God’s Word. The younger we are in the faith the more help we will need, just as we need help with physical nourishment early in our lives. Even as adults we need help to feed ourselves from time to time, so even mature believers need assistance to grow in their understanding of the truth.

So, God has called and prepared a select few men to tend to the feeding of His flock. And He appointed one task as the primary means of distributing spiritual nourishment to His people. We call it preaching, and the Bible places an incredible emphasis on it.

See 2 Timothy 4:2: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

This is the last great charge of the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to Timothy in his work as pastor: and so, to all pastors. There are many things that we might expect to find here, but it is preaching that takes the primacy of place. Preaching was the regular means by which God communicated with His people throughout the Old Testament. See Hebrews 1:1: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,”

Christ began with preaching in Matthew 4:17: “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Preaching was the primary in His earthly ministry. See Luke 4:43: “And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.”

Christ also trained preachers and sent them out to preach. See Mark 16:15: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Preaching was the first Spirit-empowered act of the Church. See Acts 2:4,40:

Acts 2:4: “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
Acts 2:40: “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.”

Preaching was a pillar of the earliest church. See Acts 2:42: “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” The apostles dedicated themselves to preaching, and to prayer above other services according to Acts 6:4: “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”

Paul’s ministry was one of preaching, and this he commends to Timothy instructing that other preachers be raised up after him in 2 Timothy 2:2: “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”

This was evidently done, as the ministry of the proclamation and exposition of God’s word continued throughout the early church, was central in the Reformation, the Great Awakening, and held firmly wherever the church prevailed. This is all to be expected and upheld. See 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:21, Hebrews 4:12, and Psalm 119:89:

2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All scriptureisgiven by inspiration of God, andis profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
2 Peter 1:21: “For the prophecy came notin old timeby the will of man: but holy men of God spakeas they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of Godisquick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, andis a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Psalm 119:89: “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.”

Preaching is a practical expression of our belief in the Word of God, and the work of the Holy Spirit through it. It is for this reason that preaching is held as a primary means of grace within the church. God’s Word is proclaimed, and exposited, by a man of His own choosing. All throughout the Book of Acts, God worked through preaching, and the Bible expects He will continue to do so according to Romans 10:14: “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”

Church history demonstrates beyond all reasonable doubt that God indeed still works through this means of grace. We can see it in the history of true revivals from the Reformation, to the Great Awakening, to the most contemporary example.

J. C. Ryle: “There is no office so honorable as that of the preacher. There is no work so important to the souls of men. It is an office which the Son of God was not ashamed to take up. It is an office to which He appointed His twelve apostles. It is an office to which Paul in his old age specially directs Timothy’s attention. He charges him with almost his last breath to “preach the word.” It is the means which God has always been pleased to use above any other, for the conversion and edification of souls. The brightest days of the Church have been those when preaching has been honored. The darkest days of the Church have been those when it has been lightly esteemed. Let us honor the sacraments and public prayers of the Church, and reverently use them. But let us beware that we do not place them above preaching.”
Charles Spurgeon: “The preaching of Christ is the whip that flogs the devil. The preaching of Christ is the thunderbolt, the sound of which makes all hell shake.”
Montgomery Boice: “Preaching is that wise means of God by which the wisdom of the world is shown to be foolishness, and the folly of the gospel, as the world conceives it, is shown to be true wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:21).”

Preaching is an inherently authoritative act, and that does not always sit well with people who are accustomed to relativistic value systems. Some have argued that preaching is outdated and needs to be replaced with something more acceptable to modern society. “Preaching will not be heard anymore,” they will say; but Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit anticipated this objection in2 Timothy 4:3-4: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn awaytheir ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

Paul is actually saying to the young preacher, “preach because people will not listen.” Isaiah and Jeremiah were similarly commissioned. To move away from preaching is to weaken our understanding of the authority of Scripture, which is to call into question our knowledge of God. To raise dialogue into the place of preaching makes human reason the grand arbiter of truth, and subjects God’s revelation to human authority.

Put simply, removing preaching in favor of something less overtly authoritative sends the wrong message.

There is a place for dialogue in our churches. But the place of preaching must be preserved, and reserved for this particular ministry of the Word. We have seen how it is theologically necessary, but there is also a very practical benefit in the life of the church.

The primacy of preaching is practical in shepherding the local church. Consider in restoring and commissioning Peter Jesus thrice commands him to feed His sheep in John 21:15-17: “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon,son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon,son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon,son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”

The words vary to encompass the full scope of pastoral ministry, while retaining an emphasis on the careful provision of sustenance to the sheep. The Lord might have said first to lead, and then to feed, and then to care for the sheep. The Lord might have emphasized any aspect of ministry He wished, but He wished most to have His sheep well-fed. It is not difficult to see why the emphasis of the passage, and of all Scripture, falls firmly on preaching.

Firstly, without nourishment, there can be no strength to go on, and so leading is impossible, and care has already failed. The feeding must come first then, as it is the beginning of caring and a prerequisite to leading. We might add that a mal-nourished soul will be weak when attacked. Indeed, the starving soul will be most easily lured away by the offer of good food. One cannot protect what he has not cared for.

Second, sheep and people follow most willingly the one who can nourish them. In feeding the sheep on the milk and meat of the Word of God through preaching, a man demonstrates both caring and understanding. He demonstrates his ability to lead according to God’s direction. If the preacher handles the Word well in the pulpit we can trust him more easily in the counseling room, at the dinner table, and at the bedside.

Thirdly, feeding is, as has been said, the first step in caring for the sheep. To neglect preaching in favor of any other ministry activity is to undermine all other activities. Also, if the sheep are not properly fed, what confidence can anyone have that they would be well cared for in any other way?

So, even from a purely practical perspective preaching should be the priority in ministry. It is the most effective activity in the life of the church. It reaches the most people and in the most important ways.

Before we go any further, we must clarify the point we have sought to make in this section. Ministry does not end with preaching, but it must begin with preaching. Where preaching is neglected, no amount of activity will fill its place or make up its absences. Where preaching is strong many other deficits are overcome.

To this, a man who excels at preaching ought to be forgiven for many weaknesses. Nevertheless, even the best preacher cannot be forgiven for negligence in the responsibilities of leading and caring for the flock beyond preaching. That is, a pastor must follow preaching with diligence in prayer, and teaching, and must be ready to undertake counseling, discipleship, and visitation as needed.

Who can Preach?

So, we need to address a highly controversial and very important passage on who can preach. We must address it because it is part of God’s inspired, infallible, and inerrant word. We must address it because it is a part of God design for the ministry of the church. The aim is to be faithful to God’s will, and nothing more. What God ordains is right and good.

See 1 Timothy 2:12-14: “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”

The controversy is clear, women are fully possessed of every capacity needed to perform the tasks of preparing and delivering a public address. There is no obvious difference here between a man and a woman in our perspective. Paul is not making a qualitative argument and neither are we.

Paul is making an argument about God’s design. God intended men to preach and not women. Paul does not elaborate beyond this, opening the mind of God to show us why He reserved the responsibility of spiritual authority for the man. It is enough to know that God did in fact order it so. We cannot expect God to give us reasons why at every turn, we cannot expect that if He did, we would comprehend them. See Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughtsarenot your thoughts, neitherare your ways my ways, saith the LORD. Foras the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Some would argue that Paul has inserted his own personal (sexist) views here. After all, he says “I” do not permit; but he is writing under inspiration and backing up the prohibition with a reference to Genesis 1 and 2. Furthermore, if this is an uninspired insertion, how can we tell what is actually in the Bible and what is not? We have to make a judgment ourselves based on some perception we have of the text. We become the arbiters of truth, standing in the place of God and passing sentences on His revelation. We end up breaking the integrity of Scripture so that it becomes just another human book like the Jefferson bible.

The implications are critical so we must draw them out clearly.

Another objection is that the prohibition against women preachers is founded in the perverted order of the fall as witnessed near the end of Genesis 3. However, Paul’s reference is clearly to Genesis 1 and 2 and a pre-fall order which God pronounced to not just good, but very good. See Genesis 1:31: “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold,it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” This argument is simply poor exegesis, and sloppy scholarship in service of a political agenda.

Methods of Preaching

Today there are distinct approaches to preaching; one of which is widely called exposition, and the other topical. The term exposition is typically used for verse-by-verse progressions, whereas topical is used for preaching that uses the text as a jumping-off point to discuss a particular topic. The typical line would be to advance verse-by-verse as the superior method of preaching. However, we would argue that these definitions and the debate surrounding them are entirely misguided.

First, we would argue that any form of address that only touches on the text to legitimize some topical discussion or agenda is not worthy of being called preaching. We should not dignify such abuses of the Scripture by allowing them into the category of sermons. These are speeches or lectures which use the Bible as though it were any other book.

Second, the true definition of exposition is simply the exposing of the text. This can be done verse-by-verse, but it can also be done systematically, or thematically. The key ingredient is that the text is faithfully presented, explained, and applied.

Verse-by-verse exposition has much to recommend about it. It keeps passages in context, and it prevents passing over difficult portions of text. It provides a robust foundation that covers a variety of issues. For all of these reasons, verse-by-verse exposition ought to be the main method of exposition in the life of the local church.

However, there are times when addressing a specific theme or topic from the Scriptures is necessary and helpful. Topical preaching can give us a fuller understanding of doctrine or discipline. It can more fully address common issues such as marital relationships, parenting, or church life. So long as the texts are faithfully exposited there is nothing wrong with the occasional topical series.

The best results come when verse-by-verse preaching is used in conjunction with topical preaching. We could have the latter occupying Sunday mornings and the former evening or mid-week services. We must also allow for occasional deviations on Sunday mornings as some events in the world and in the life of the local church require a response. The terrorist attacks of nine eleven two-thousand-and-one, and the recent events of twenty-twenty are two widely recognized examples.

The evangelistic is another form that ought to be considered. The first sermon preached in the Church age was evangelistic; see Acts 2. And evangelistic sermons continued to be a cornerstone of the earliest church missions. Today the poor theology of Charles Finney and other revivalists of his era have cast much doubt on evangelistic preaching. However, the testimony of Acts alone is enough to assure us that God does use this mode of preaching.

Where matters get confused is when we have evangelistic sermons aimed at non-believers regularly in weekly services clearly designated by God for those who already believe. We all need to hear the Gospel every week: every day in fact. We do not need a presentation to non-believers every week. In fact, there is little reason to have a purely evangelistic sermon in a regular church service, as in any church service the gospel should be presented plainly enough through the faithful exposition of whatever text we are in, and on some Sundays, the text will naturally demand a more prominent Gospel presentation. Therefore, purely evangelistic preaching is best saved for evangelistic efforts outside of the regular church meetings.

The method of preaching exists to serve a purpose. The choices a preacher makes should always be in light of the goal of all preaching. Knowing that goal is essential to our understanding and appreciation of homiletics so let us turn our attention there.

The Goal of Preaching

See Colossians 3:17 and Colossians 1:28-29:

Colossians 3:17: “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed,do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
Colossians 1:28-29: “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.”

The goal of preaching is to accomplish God’s purpose. God’s purpose may be to save, instruct, correct, rebuke, affirm, comfort, confront, reveal, or even condemn. God may be doing many or even all of these things at the same time. It is really not for us to know the exact purpose of God. The goal of the preacher is to faithfully deliver the text, make its meaning clear, and apply it accurately. The goal of the hearers is to faithfully receive the text, understand its meaning, and apply it consistently.

The goal of preaching has nothing to do with pleasing people. Tickling ears is not the work of preachers. Ear tickling pays better, and is generally easier, but it is not anything to do with Christianity. The sermon is not made to order, we cannot have it our way because it is rooted in God’s unchanging and inerrant Word.

Jerome: “Teach in Thy church, not to get the applause of the people, but to set in motion the groan; the tears of the hearers are Thy praises.”
D. Martyn Lloyd Jones: “That is what preaching [the Bible] is meant to do. It addresses us in such a manner as to bring us under judgment; and it deals with us in such a way that we feel our whole life is involved, and we go out saying, “I can never go back and live just as I did before. This has done something to me; it has made a difference to me. I am a different person as the result of listening to this.”
D. Martyn Lloyd Jones: “What is the chief end of preaching? I like to think it is this: It is to give men and women a sense of God and His presence.”
Sinclair Ferguson: “In the last analysis, this is what preaching to the heart is intended to produce: inner prostration of the hearts of our listeners through a consciousness of the presence and the glory of God. This distinguishes authentic biblical, expository preaching from any cheap substitute for it; it marks the difference between preaching about the Word of God and preaching the Word of God.”

Preaching is not meant to win anyone’s favor. Preaching is not meant to bring any man acclaim. Preaching is not meant to make money. Preaching is not meant to accomplish any purpose of man. Any goal outside of faithfulness will destroy the sermon.

So, good preaching might lead to new people joining the church, or even repenting and professing faith in Christ. Good preaching might just as easily lead to people leaving the church. We cannot judge preaching by how well we like what happens after a sermon, we do not know the mind of God and are not fit to judge His actions.

From a strictly human perspective, then we must say that the goal of preaching is to accurately exposit the text. If that has been done whatever follows is between God and individuals. We must walk by faith trusting that faithful preaching accomplishes what God wills. We must not assume that God wills what we will, or that what seems good to us is truly the greatest good. Remember it isn’t about us and what we want, it is about God and what He wants for us.

Preparation to Preach

D. Martyn Lloyd Jones: “We all tend to go to extremes; some rely only on their own preparation and look for nothing more; others, as I say, tend to despise preparation and trust to the unction, the anointing and the inspiration of the Spirit alone. But there must be no “either/or” here; it is always “both/and.” These two things must go together.”

In preaching, the need for preparation is very real. Foregoing diligent work ahead of the sermon and trusting in the unction of the Holy Spirit is a sure way to fail. Failure to prepare demonstrates not a total trust in the Holy Spirit, but a total disregard. Why should the Spirit bless that which is not worthy of our investment, or honor what we have not committed to? The necessity of preparation will become clearer as we examine what it entails.

The first step in preparing a sermon is to purify the heart. We must have communion with God in order to understand the text, the audience, and ourselves. The planks of personal agendas, frustrations, fears, and sin must be removed from the preacher’s eyes so that he can clearly see the truth. The preacher must live Matthew 6:33 as well: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Preparing the heart is a work that never ends. We might imagine this all happens in some quiet place where the preacher can be alone with God. Some of the work is done in that secret place, but it also happens in noisy restaurants, and around conference tables, and at the family dinner table. Keeping the heart is a community project even, and especially, for preachers.

An isolated preacher is a liability that should not be allowed. Accountability with people who can be trusted to seek the best interest of the preacher’s soul is invaluable to good preaching. Above all, a preacher must have means of remaining humble, and for that there is nothing better than family and friends who see him outside the curated confines of ministry. We wish that more ministers could have the liberty to be themselves, to be weak, to be occasionally silly, and to be disappointingly normal.

It is when the weakness of the man is known that the power of God’s abiding grace is made perfectly evident in the ministry. To know that man in the pulpit could never be up there in his own power is a wonderful blessing. Of course, it is always true, and the more people who know the harder it is for the preacher to forget it.

D. Martyn Lloyd Jones: “The greatest of all the temptations that assail a preacher is pride. Pride, because he is set up there almost on a pedestal. He is standing in a pulpit, he is above the people, all of whom are looking to him. He has this leading place in the Church, in the community; and so, his greatest temptation is that of pride. Pride is probably the deadliest and the most subtle of all sins, and it can assume many forms; but as long as one realizes this all is well.”

The great need in preparing to preach, and in the act of preaching, is a sure conviction of the glory of God, the truth of His Gospel of Grace, and the surpassing need of all people (including the man himself), and the power of the inspired Word through the working of the Holy Spirit. A preacher must be sure that His Lord will be there watching Him, and that someday he will answer for every word he speaks.

See James 3:1: “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.”

The pulpit is to be approached in reverential fear of God. Mingled with that fear should be a profound hope that the Holy Spirit will be working. Every week a preacher must know that God’s Word will never return to Him void. See Isaiah 55:11: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosperin the thing whereto I sent it.”

Even if he serves the same five people each week for a decade without seeing any sign of improvement he should preach with conviction that there is divine power at work. Not because he relishes in that idea, or longs for miraculous results, or because it is expected of him. No, preachers preach because they are compelled to by a conviction that burns as fire in their bones that the Word of God is sorely needed.

See Acts 4:20: “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

O, it is the keeping of that flame of conviction that is the most necessary. Do not let lusts pollute it, or worldly desires dilute it, or vein concerns snuff it out. Brothers, keep that flame alive by continually looking to God whose greatness, and steadfast loving kindness are our only inspiration. Do not lose heart and let the fire grow dim, but stoke it by remembering the power of the Gospel in your own life, in the history of the Church, and most especially in Scripture.

See Ezekiel 37:1-14 and Acts 2.

R. C. Sproul: “The greatest awakening in the history of the church took place when…(preachers) were bold enough to proclaim the Word of God and saw their task to be presenting the unembellished, undiluted, unvarnished Word of God. That is why they pored over the texts of Scripture, being careful of their exegesis before they entered the pulpit. Because that was the center of their task, they were fearless. Their fearlessness, their boldness, their courage came from the conviction that what they were preaching and teaching was the Word of God.”

Dear brothers, it is not on you to preach a great sermon. There is nothing about you to make a sermon great. The greatness of every sermon is in the Good News which is proclaimed. There is no other message like it in the world, for there is no other message that saves sinners from eternal domination and leads them to eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Steven Lawson: “The greatness of the Gospel is not found in the messenger, but the message.”

It is this truth which compels us to do all in our power to be ready to preach. Though the needed element is already present, we work to remove any distractions from the vital message, to present it as clearly and plainly as we might: with a heart convicted and intent on seeking God.

The next step in preparation is to know (understand to such an extent that it fundamentally alters our being) the text. The idea of preaching is not simply to master the text, but to be mastered by it. The text must dictate the direction and contours of our sermon.

Many imagine that the bulk of sermon preparation is given over to reading commentaries, searching dictionaries and lexicons, and referencing theologies, but the truth is that time is best spent meditating on the Scripture itself. Praying over it, thinking it through, reading and rereading in different translations. Commentaries and other references have their place, but a good sermon comes first and foremost directly from the text operating upon a minister’s heart.

Paul David Tripp: “Preaching is more than the regurgitation of your favorite exegetical commentary, or a rather transparent recast of the sermons of your favorite preachers, or a reshaping of notes from one of your favorite seminary classes. It is bringing the transforming truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ from a passage that has been properly understood, cogently and practically applied, and delivered with the engaging tenderness and passion of a person who has been broken and restored by the very truths he stands up to communicate. You simply cannot do that without proper preparation, meditation, confession, and worship.”

The third and final step of sermon preparation is to compile the message. Some pastors do this by writing out full manuscripts, others have notes, and some prefer to enter the pulpit armed only with the passage itself. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages, but whether we are writing out the entire sermon or foregoing any writing at all, we need to rehearse the sermon before we deliver it.

We might go into the empty sanctuary and stand in the spot we will take on Sunday morning and deliver it, or we might sit in our office and preach it to ourselves in silence. I know one pastor preached his sermons to a herd of cattle, and it is said another preached to some trees. The important thing is that we hear the sermon ourselves.

John Owen: “A man preacheth that sermon only well unto others which preacheth itself in his own soul… If the word do not dwell with power in us, it will not pass with power from us.”

As we rehearse what we will preach we should be thinking of the hearts that will hear it. We should be thinking of their struggles, of their victories, of their needs, and of their wants. We should think of how the sermon might live beyond its first delivery. Will people recall our main point, and is that point as transcendent as the Gospel? Are we bringing our people before an awesome God? Or are we simply telling them what they haven’t done, and need to do? If we shall break them with the law, are we equally ready to make them whole with grace? Does our tone match the text? Will our tone communicate the character of God?

There is so much to contemplate with great care. Souls for whom Christ died shall be under the power of our preaching, and we are responsible. We cannot think that we will be carried away as an excuse for carelessness.

See 1 Corinthians 14:32: “And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.”

There should be order in sermons as God is a God of order. An extemporaneous preacher (one who preaches without notes), needs to be extra careful. This point draws us back to our first, keep a close watch on your heart, preacher.

It is a good practice to record a rehearsal of the sermon if time permits. This allows one to hear the flow of the outline, and the tone of the delivery. Reading the sermon manuscript can help with both of these, but hearing is better in this writer’s opinion. Listening to oneself can be uncomfortable, but the discomfort will be worth it.

We might wonder how much time ought to be devoted to preparing sermons. Some would like to have thirty hours; some get by with as little as one. So, how many hours exactly? Dear reader, all of them. Before anyone objects that there are other needful activities in ministry let me explain this answer.

Everything a pastor does throughout his week is involved in the preparation of his heart to preach. Some of what he does will help him to understand the needs of his congregation, and some of what he experiences will add to his understanding of the text he will preach on. Time not directly spent in sermon prep may yet be preparing a man for the sermon.

However, the main reason for our argument is that Paul’s inspired admonition to the preacher is not, “Be prepared to preach on Sunday morning,” but, “Be ready to preach in season and out of season.” All preachers should be capable of extemporaneous preaching if needed. The only way to do this is to be always prepared. The preacher must be like the wise man of Psalm, planted near the stream of living waters. He must be the branch of John 15, always abiding in the life of the True Vine. He must head Paul’s earlier inspired admonition to preachers:

See 2 Timothy 2:15: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

All of our personal and family devotion, all of our discipleship conversations, all of our reading and listening, and all of our praying is valuable to the pulpit ministry. The more of the Word we have in us, the more is there to inform our sermons. All of our counseling, teaching, visitation, meetings, and administration hone skills that we can use in the pulpit. As we live the Word we are preparing to preach it from experience.

The thing to remember is that a preacher must still know his text, and know it well enough that he can carry it with him wherever he goes. He must have it ready in heart and mind for meditation at any moment of opportunity. He must be applying it throughout his days as Sunday approaches.

Paul Washer: “Study the Word to live the Word to preach the Word.”
Richard Baxter: “Content not yourselves with being in a state of grace, but be also careful that your graces are kept in vigorous and lively exercise, and that you preach to yourselves the sermons which you study, before you preach them to others.”
George Muller: “If the preacher strives to speak according to the rules of this world, he may please many, particularly those who have a literary taste. But he is less likely to become an instrument in the hands of God for the conversion of sinners or for the building up of the saints. Neither eloquence nor depth of thought makes a truly great preacher. Only a life of prayer and meditation will render him a vessel ready for the Master’s use and fit to be employed in the conversion of sinners and in the edification of the saints.”

There are a few more things to say about sermon prep. It is better to spend time editing out what is unnecessary than seeking out more to add. There are so many things we might say on any given Sunday, faithful, textually grounded things even; but who could bear them all?

Martin Luther: “It is not necessary for a preacher to express all his thoughts in one sermon. A preacher should have three principles: first, to make a good beginning, and not spend time with many words before coming to the point; secondly, to say that which belongs to the subject in chief, and avoid strange and foreign thoughts; thirdly, to stop at the proper time.”

It is not the task of a preacher to display his own intellectual prowess or showcase his scholarship. Parsing Greek is not going to impress or help the majority of your congregants. Neither will many be impressed with the breadth of your reading. It is mere vanity to show off knowledge like this. This is not to say that knowledge in itself is a bad thing.

Joel Beeke: “Head knowledge is not evil in and of itself. Most of our Reformed and Puritan forefathers were highly educated. The Reformers never tired of stressing the value of Christian education. But this education must be empowered by the Holy Spirit and applied to the heart. Head knowledge is insufficient without the Spirit’s application to the inward man.”

When we cite a source, introduce something of Greek or Hebrew, or recount an event from Church history, our aim must be to help the listeners understand the text and its application while directing them to other helpful and trustworthy sources of instruction. We are preaching for the people’s good and for God’s Glory.

Just as we might get caught up in our scholarship, we may also be enamored with the sermon itself. Ah, how clever it is, how well structured and thought-out. We admire the rhetorical devices and the illustrations and we think it is really something. We begin to think about what this sermon could accomplish, and how the people who hear it will respond, and…we have lost ourselves in idol worship.

D. Martyn Lloyd Jones: “There is a very real danger of our putting our faith in our sermon rather than in the Spirit. Our faith should not be in the sermon, it should be in the Holy Spirit Himself.”

We should do our best work each week and we should submit it to God as the best of our efforts as a genuine offering to His Glory. We should then trust in what God can do with what we have given Him. We should worship God with our sermon in every phase from initial thoughts to final delivery. No sermon can save us.

Preaching

See 1 Corinthians 2:1-5: “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preachingwas not withenticingwords of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

Ask any preacher about their first sermon and you are likely to hear of profound nervousness and even fear. You will likely hear of the overwhelming burden of the task manifesting itself physically upon the preacher-to-be. Even veteran presenters and speakers find their knees weak, and their stomachs churning as they near the pulpit.

C. H. Spurgeon: “My deacons know well enough how, when I first preached in Exeter Hall, there was scarcely ever an occasion in which they left me alone for ten minutes before the service, but they would find me in a most fearful state of sickness, produced by that tremendous thought of my solemn responsibility. I am compelled to put my responsibilities where I put my sins, on the back of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
John Knox: “I have never once feared the devil, but I tremble every time I enter the pulpit.”

Preaching is unlike anything else. It is greater and more terrible than any public speaking engagement. Indeed, it seems impossible to describe the sensation of delivering a sermon.

D. Martyn Lloyd Jones: “There is nothing like it. It is the greatest work in the world, the most thrilling, the most exciting, the most rewarding, the most wonderful. I know of nothing comparable to the feeling one has as one walks up the steps of one’s pulpit with a fresh sermon on a Sunday morning or a Sunday evening, especially when you feel that you have a message from God and are longing to give it to the people. This is something that one cannot describe.”

The preacher must give his whole person to the work of preaching, his mind, his body, his personality must all be given to the work. He must give his all to the work of his Lord. He cannot pretend to be someone else while he preaches, Jesus wants him to preach. He cannot hold some energy back for his own use, it all belongs to Christ.

Jonathan Edwards: “I go out to preach with two propositions in mind. First, everyone ought to give his life to Christ. Second, whether or not anyone gives Him his life, I will give Him mine.”

We might wonder at this talk of personality, but the Lord does in fact use it. Just the Holy Spirit worked through the different personalities of the men who wrote Scripture, so it is with the preachers. Each individual voice is uniquely situated according to a divine plan. The man’s natural, unaffected voice is the right one to use in the pulpit.

D. Martyn Lloyd Jones: “What is the rule then? It is: be natural; forget yourself; be so absorbed in what you are doing and in the realization of the presence of God, and in the glory and the greatness of the Truth that you are preaching, and the occasion that brings you together, that you are so taken up by all this that you forget yourself completely. That is the right condition; that is the only place of safety; that is the only way in which you can honor God. Self is the greatest enemy of the preacher, more so than in the case of any other man in society. And the only way to deal with self is to be so taken up with, and so enraptured by, the glory of what you are doing, that you forget yourself altogether.”
D. Martyn Lloyd Jones: “A sermon is meant to be a proclamation of the truth of God as mediated through the preacher. People do not want to listen to a string of quotations of what other people have thought and said. They have come to listen to you; you are the man of God, you have been called to the ministry, you have been ordained; and they want to hear this great truth as it comes through you, through the whole of your being. They expect it to have passed through your thought, to be a part of your experience; they want this authentic personal note.”

Now, we must agree with D. Martyn Lloyd Jones that there should be enthusiasm in the preaching. This is the Word of God, the words that give life, the truth that sets free; how can we fail to be passionate about them? That passion does not need to be dramatic, and it certainly must be constrained less if it overwhelms the message and detracts from it. Still, it should be noticeably present. Lloyd Jones says it best below:

D. Martyn Lloyd Jones:“There is something radically wrong with dull and boring preachers. How can a man be dull when he is handling such themes? I would say that a ‘dull preacher’ is a contradiction in terms; if he is dull he is not a preacher. He may stand at the pulpit and talk, but he is certainly not a preacher. With the grand theme and message of the Bible dullness is impossible. This is the most interesting, the most thrilling, the most absorbing subject in the universe; and the idea that this can be presented in a dull manner makes me seriously doubt whether the men who are guilty of this dullness have ever really understood the doctrine they claim to believe, and which they advocate. We often betray ourselves by our manner.”

We find models of passionate preaching throughout the Bible, consider Jonah 3:4 and Acts 2:14, 9:20:

Jonah 3:4: “And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”
Acts 2:14: “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and allye that dwell atJerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:”
Acts 9:20: “And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.”

The expression of passion will vary from man to man, but the passion must be there.

Richard Baxter: “A sermon full of mere words, how neatly so ever it is composed, while it wants the light of evidence, and the life of zeal, is but an image or a well-dressed carcass.”
Campbell Morgan: “The three essentials for great preaching are: truth, clarity, and passion.”

Such passion is inspired by the text through righteous zeal. And this point must be well noted; for, if the anger does not produce the righteousness of God, what shall all the other passions of man produce? See James 1:20: “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” The passion of the preacher must be formed, and informed by the Word. The preacher should never affect emotion, it must always be genuine.

C. H. Spurgeon: “The best sermon is that in which the theme absorbs the preacher and hearers, and leaves no one either time or desire to think about the speaker.”
John Broadus: “Delivery does not consist merely, or even chiefly, in vocalization and gesticulation, but it implies that one is possessed with the subject, that he is completely in sympathy with it and fully alive to its importance; that he is not repeating remembered words, but setting free the thoughts shut up in his mind.”
C. H. Spurgeon: “The man who cannot weep cannot preach. At least, if he never feels tears within, even if they do not show themselves without, he can scarcely be the man to handle such themes as those which God has committed to his people’s charge.”
Walter Kaiser: “From the beginning of the sermon to its end, the all-engrossing force of the text and the God who speaks through that text must dominate our whole being. With the burning power of that truth on our heart and lips, every thought, emotion, and act of the will must be so captured by that truth that it springs forth with excitement, joy, sincerity, and reality as an evident token that God’s Spirit is in that word. Away with all the mediocre, lifeless, boring, and lackluster orations offered as pitiful substitutes for the powerful Word of the living Lord. If that Word from God does not thrill the proclaimer and fill [him]…with an intense desire to glorify God and do His will, how shall we ever expect it to have any greater effect on our hearers.”
Thomas Cartwright: “When the fire is stirred up and discovered it giveth more heat than when it is not, so the Word of God by preaching and interpreting maketh a greater flame in the hearts of the hearers than when it is read.”

All must be given in preaching; nothing must be held back. Every power of communication should be employed from tone, and volume, to gestures and movements to communicate the import of the text. There is nothing in the Bible that gives exact details on proper expression, but a general guideline may easily be derived.

The expression must be appropriate to Christians, and here we do well to remember that God expresses a full range of emotions, and it must serve the text at hand. The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, so there is no excuse for human disorder to disrupt the working of the Holy Spirit. See 1 Corinthians 14:32: “And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.”

There is in all of this an exact balance, a precision of method that is easily lost. God’s help is most necessary in finding the voice and maintaining the balance of passion and order. Ultimately, trust must be with the Lord, but the preacher ought to keep a watch on himself.

Finally, it must be noted that all preparation, all God-given ability, and all else besides is wasted unless as the song says, “…the Spirit of the Holy One comes down.” For this reason, the church is told to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:8, see also John 14-16:

Acts 1:8: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
John 14:16: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;”

Apart from Christ, the great preacher can do nothing according to John 15:5: “I am the vine, yeare the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”The preacher, in his prayer and preparation, and most especially in taking the pulpit, seeks a special anointing of the Spirit which is called Unction.

C. H. Spurgeon: “I shall not attempt to teach a tiger the virtues of vegetarianism; but I shall as hopefully attempt that task as I would try to convince an unregenerate man of the truths revealed by God concerning sin, and righteousness and judgment to come. These spiritual truths are repugnant to carnal men, and the carnal mind cannot receive the things of God. Gospel truth is diametrically opposed to fallen nature; and if I have not a power much stronger than that which lies in moral suasion (persuasion), or in my own explanations and arguments, I have undertaken a task in which I am sure of defeat… Except the Lord endow us with power from on high, our labour must be in vain, and our hopes must end in disappointment.”
E. M. Bounds: “Unction is the sweetest exhalation of the Holy Spirit. It carries the Word like dynamite, like salt, like sugar; makes the Word a soother, an accuser, a revealer, a searcher; makes the hearer a culprit or a saint, makes him weep like a child and live like a giant; opens his heart and his purse as gently, yet as strongly as the spring opens the leaves. This unction is not the gift of genius. It is not found in the hall of learning. No eloquence can woo it. No industry can win it. It is the gift of God – the signet set to His own messengers. It is heaven’s knighthood given to the chosen true and brave ones who have sought this anointed honor through many an hour of tearful, wrestling prayer. Earnestness is good and impressive; genius is gifted and great. Thought kindles and inspires, but it takes a diviner endowment, a more powerful energy than earnestness or genius or thought to break the chains of sin, to win estranged and depraved hearts to God, to repair the breaches and restore the church to her old ways of purity and power. Nothing but holy unction can do this.”
D. Martyn Lloyd Jones: “You can have knowledge, and you can be meticulous in your preparation; but without the unction of the Holy Spirit, you will have no power, and your preaching will not be effective.”

Some description of the results of unction might here be helpful in understanding why it ought to be so highly prized and so diligently sought in prayer.

Jonathan Edwards: “Our public assemblies were then beautiful; the congregation was alive in God’s service, everyone earnestly intent on the public worship, every hearer eager to drink in the words of the minister as they came from his mouth; the assembly in general were, from time to time, in tears while the Word was preached; some weeping with sorrow and distress, others with joy and love, others with pity and concern for the souls of their neighbors.”
D. Martyn Lloyd Jones: “What about the people [when the Spirit is moving a preacher]? They sense it at once; they can tell the difference immediately. They are gripped, they become serious, they are convicted, they are moved, they are humbled. Some are convicted of sin, others are lifted up to the heavens, anything may happen to any one of them. They know at once that something quite unusual and exceptional is happening. As a result, they begin to delight in the things of God and they want more and more teaching.”

When the Holy Spirit takes a strong hand in a sermon’s delivery, it is as if the man is being lifted up. He reaches a level he could not attain by himself. There is not always a noticeable physical, or psychological sensation though there might be. In this writer’s limited experience, the most common sense has simply been that what he is saying is not of him.

The Voice in Preaching

The voice is the universal tool of homiletics. For many centuries, a powerful voice was almost necessary to preach successfully. Today the widespread availability of electronic amplification means that even the weakest voice can be made to reach a large audience. However, amplification cannot overcome every vocal obstacle. Fortunately, practice and exercise can.

The Gospel message is vitally important, it must be communicated in a way that everyone can easily understand. That means the preacher’s pronunciation and diction should be clear. Likewise, his cadence should be measured so that his words flow out in order, not getting jumbled together in a messy torrent that is hard to follow. Even with amplification, he should project a bit. The tone should be authentic.

One’s perching voice should be recognizable as their own. Some may feel their own unfit for the task, but that thought is incongruent with the Biblical teaching of God’s workmanship in each individual. See Psalm 139:14: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfullyandwonderfully made: marvellousarethy works; andthat my soul knowethrightwell.”

The goal is to make the most of what God has given us.

The most important quality of the preacher’s voice is its tone, which conveys a host of information along with the words it proclaims. Nearly every tone has a place, the trick is to make sure that one’s tone of voice lines up with the message. We do not want to sound flippant when discussing sins, pain, or the Holiness of God. We do not want to sound angry when we speak of grace or of God’s love. Sadness is not the tone for talking of Heaven, but is appropriate when dealing with death.

Tone can add so much to our words when it matches the tone of the of text. However, there are other forces operating on the heart of the preacher as he approaches the pulpit, and these can affect his tone. This is another reason he must guard his heart. It is a great blessing if he is aware of how he is coming across. For most, that awareness takes time to develop. Hearers can help in this process by clarifying with the preacher what tone he was intending when it seemed off to us. We should do this in a spirit of honest curiosity and loving helpfulness.

Preachers should never discard feedback about their tone. When there is a question let us turn to trusted brothers and sisters who can help us discern where the issue lies.

A final point on the use of the voice in preaching: never underestimate the power of silence. Too many of us feel the need to fill every empty space with some noise, “Um, Uh, Hmm…” We unthinkingly emit this filler anytime we are trying to think of the next line. It can be trained out of us, and it should be. It is much better to let the last words linger than to make a noise. At some points, it is very helpful for the audience to have a moment of silence in which to contemplate the last point received.

Preaching and Aesthetics

What should a preacher wear? Here is a debate that has gone around and around with seminary students and pastors, and from time to time the rest of us. Some say that a nice suit or even ceremonial robes are appropriate to show reverence for God. Others suggest that more casual attire keeps the focus on God Himself while creating a more welcoming and relaxed atmosphere.

Both sides can bring some verses to bear with their argument, but neither side has a definitive verse to point to. We are not told what Jesus wore during the Sermon on the Mount, or even that He gave any particular thought to it: the opening verses of Matthew 5 seem to indicate that He did not. We do not know the apostle’s wardrobe for Pentecost, and Paul never gets around to prescribing garb for Timothy or Titus. The answer is not plainly given.

The Bible is also silent on the merit of sturdy oaken lecterns, wire music stands, or the prows of warships when it comes to what a preacher should stand behind. And there is nothing commanding that the preacher remains behind anything. These are window-dressings that have meaning only as we connect them to things that truly matter like the reverence due to God, or the authority of His Word, or humility, or anything else.

When it comes to gestures, pacing, and such other movements as a preacher might make during his sermon, the only rule is that it should never overshadow the message. Some pastors move, while others prefer to stay planted behind their lectern. Sometimes it simply has to do with the way the stage is set up.

Where we run into problems is when pastors are bouncing on trampolines, punting Bibles, swinging from the ceiling, etc. This is a spectacle that distracts and subtracts from the preaching of the Word. By introducing these elements, we are inherently stating that the preaching of the Word alone is not sufficient to hold an audience’s interest.

We might respond that for a lost audience the Word of God is not interesting enough. To that line of reasoning, we say simply, that it should be. We act as if it is, because whether the audience acknowledges it or not it remains true that God’s Word is the single most interesting, important, and attention-worthy thing on the planet or off of it.

In Scripture, God has revealed Himself God is by definition the greatest of all possible beings. What could be more interesting? Perhaps He loves us, sent His only Son to die for us, raised him from the dead, and offers to adopt us into His family for all eternity!

Preaching and the Audience

We would like to say that when it comes to preaching the size of the audience does not matter. Theologically this is most certainly true. However, in practical experience, there is a noticeable difference in approaching the pulpit before five, fifty, five-hundred, and five-thousand. We would be remiss in our duty if we did not consider the experiential nuances here.

The smaller the audience the more intimate. You know all the people in a group of fifty or less. That can make it easier to speak in front of them. Things do not have to be so formal. At the same time, you know if these people have been picking up what has been laid down so far. You have watched them leave no different than they came week after week, maybe, which can be profoundly discouraging.

In an audience of a few hundred or more, there is always a possibility that someone will respond, that somewhere out there is a soul primed for reception. And there is some natural energy to larger gatherings, that is not felt in smaller groups. However, the communication has to be more formal and still make everyone feel a connection.

On the whole, preaching to a smaller congregation is likely the harder task. It requires patience, and persistence in belief that God is accomplishing his purposes against a lack of visible evidence. Preaching to a larger congregation requires an ability to connect with a lot of people at once.

Then there are the churches in between which enjoy the advantages and face the challenges of small and large crowds to some extent. As churches grow or shrink the transition presents fresh challenges. A shrinking congregation is an especially difficult situation to speak into as it requires a courageous face in a discouraging situation.

The age of an audience also affects the delivery. Languages evolve over time, and vocabularies shift. Likewise, level of education, background, etc. play a part in how we communicate. As we said, the preacher needs to be aware of all this and contextualize his delivery to meet the audience where they are. Contextualization is the process of making the unchanging Gospel accessible to a given culture. We tend to speak of it in foreign mission fields, but it is equally relevant here. Each church has a somewhat unique culture of its own that the preacher must acquaint himself with as best he can.

Having said this, we must again say that the Word of God in and of itself is sufficient to accomplish God’s will. What we bring to the work is useful, and it is used by God; but if we have nothing save the Bible, we still have reason for confidence. This point applies to those of us who sit and listen as well. We too have our part to play, and it is just as important as that of the preacher.

Receiving Preaching

Luke 11:28: “But he said, Yea rather, blessedare they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”

It is a common misconception that only one man works at preaching. In truth, preaching is the work of the whole congregation; there is a great labor in delivering the Word, but there is also a work of receiving. This is a work of preparing the heart to hear, removing distractions, and focusing in on God’s Word and His Will. It is an attitude that must be built up consisting of humility, meekness, hunger, and thirst.

When it exists in the heart, the Word will be well planted. See Matthew 13:3-30 and the quotes below:

Soren Kierkegaard: “People have the idea that the preacher is an actor on a stage and they are the critics, blaming or praising him. What they don’t know is that they are the actors on the stage; he is merely the prompter standing in the wings, reminding them of their lost lines (and God is the audience)!”
C. H. Spurgeon: “We are told men ought not to preach without preparation. Granted. But, we add, men ought not to hear without preparation. Which, do you think, needs the most preparation, the sower or the ground? I would have the sower come with clean hands, but I would have the ground well-plowed and harrowed, well-turned over, and the clods broken before the seed comes in. It seems to me that there is more preparation needed by the ground than by the sower, more by the hearer than by the preacher.”
J. I. Packer: “Make it your work with diligence to apply the word as you are hearing it… Cast not all upon the minister, as those that will go no further than they are carried as by force… You have work to do as well as the preacher, and should all the time be as busy as he… You must open your mouths, and digest it, for another cannot digest it for you… Therefore be all the while at work, and abhor an idle heart in hearing, as well as an idle minister.”

We should be listening more for the Word than for anything else. Even the most unpolished preacher who faithfully reads and explains the text has given us something worthy of our full and undivided attention.

D. Martyn Lloyd Jones: “There is something essentially wrong with a man who calls himself a Christian and who can listen to a truly evangelistic sermon without coming under conviction again, without feeling something of his own unworthiness, and rejoicing when he hears the Gospel remedy being presented.”

If one comes to the sermon with an unrepentant heart, calloused and disinterested, it does not matter how good a job the preacher does we will be hard-pressed to get anything out of it. The preacher can lay out the bread of life before us, but he cannot make us eat. The Holy Spirit of course can, but the idea is that we would come with an appetite ready to devour the meal prepared for us. See 1 Peter 2:2 and the quotes below it: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”

George Muller: “Fear of offending those who pay his salary has kept many ministers from preaching the uncompromising Word of God.”
J. Gresham Machen: “Again, men tell us that our preaching should be positive and not negative, that we can preach the truth without attacking error. But if we follow that advice we shall have to close our Bible and desert its teachings. The New Testament is a polemic book almost from beginning to end… It is when men have felt compelled to take a stand against error that they have risen to the really great heights in the celebration of the truth.”
John Newton: “There are hearers who make themselves, and not the Scripture, the standard of their judgment. They attend not so much to be instructed, as to pass their sentence. To them, the pulpit is the bar at which the minister stands to take his trial before them; a bar at which few escape censure, from judges at once so severe and inconsistent.”

God must be the single master of the preacher. We can’t have our preferences asserting themselves and disrupting the Lord’s work. There will be times that the messages are difficult for us to appreciate, or even to understand. We must have faith in God, and trust what He is doing.

Our job as listeners does not end when we are dismissed. No, we must be doers of the Word not simply hearers. See James 1:22: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” We are responsible for what we receive. It is no fault of the preacher if we fell to digest the bread of life which was served. We need to think about the message, meditate on the Scripture, to pray about what we heard, and heed what God has said.

Responding to Preaching

The consumer culture of modern America has come to church, with a scorecard for the sermon. With sermons regularly uploaded to the internet we have our choice of preaching to listen to on-demand. We might not know much about homiletics, but when it comes to preaching, we know what we want, and we know we can get it. We are all in danger of becoming sermon snobs: some of us are already there. Editor’s note: Guilty as charged!

Like fans yelling at coaches and athletes from the comfort of their recliners, we sat in our pews and derided the preacher for his decisions and faults. Perhaps we even publicize our criticisms around the table at lunch, or over the phone. We might feel justified in critiquing the pastor, after all, we pay him to do this don’t we?

What we are forgetting is that our pastor and anyone else who might take our pulpit on Sunday is more than a hired hand. They are brothers in Christ. They are the objective of all the “one another” commandments we read in the New Testament including in Matthew 7:12: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”

If the man is in the pulpit, we should not have to be navigating a minefield watching each and every step taken. If we find ourselves looking for landmines in a field of flowers it may be a sign of unresolved trauma, or simply an overly critical spirit. In either case, we are being unfair, and uncharitable to a brother who is endeavoring to do us some good.

This is not to say we must be completely uncritical, there are times when our brother in the pulpit needs our gentle correction as Apollos did in Acts 18. Notice in that narrative that Apollos is taken aside and addressed in private. If we are going to raise a concern to the preacher let us do it with the same sort of respect we would want him to show us. In the same, we should give the benefit of the doubt until a serious case is built up. We expect the preacher to do the same for those who are obstinately critical of his preaching.

Of course, there is another reality we are neglecting that we are not in the pulpit. If we were in the pulpit, we might feel differently about criticizing the sermon. Another command we are given is this in Hebrews 10:24: “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:”

To this good end, it is helpful to consider the struggles our preachers face each time they take the pulpit. We want our preachers to understand what we go through, and so we should try and understand what they go through.

The Struggle of Preaching

Preaching can be overwhelming, for the man stands before God’s people and God Himself to proclaim the word of the Lord. See 2 Corinthians 5:20: “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseechyouby us: we prayyou in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” This understanding must have the same effect on the preacher as was wrought upon Isaiah at his calling in Isaiah 6:5: “Then said I, Woeisme! for I amundone; because Iam a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”

Even Paul speaks of trembling at the prospect in 1 Corinthians 2:3: “And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.”

D. Martyn Lloyd Jones: “Any true definition of preaching must say that that man is there to deliver the message of God, a message from God to those people. If you prefer the language of Paul, he is ‘an ambassador for Christ.’ That is what he is. He has been sent, he is a commissioned person, and he is standing there as the mouthpiece of God and of Christ to address these people.”

What we must remember is that the preacher is only a man. Like any man he has insecurities, weaknesses, and struggles, and in the pulpit he is very exposed. He preaches about things that he himself struggles with. He preaches in areas where he has failed before. He preaches things he scarcely grasps himself. Some doubt their ability to speak well. Others wrestle with their introversion. There is not one of them who has ground to feel himself adequate to the task.

There are many opportunities for doubt during a sermon. Is the audience tracking with the message? Have we sufficiently defined our terms? Would one more illustration or repetition make a difference? Is our tone too harsh, or too soft? These are the distractions that really detract from preaching; not crying babies or loud coughs.

Many, if not most, preachers find the delivery of sermons to be utterly exhausting. It is deep spiritual exhaustion which tends to overcome the mind and the body as soon is there is time enough to relax.

C. H. Spurgeon: “If any man will preach as he should preach, his work will take more out of him than any other labor under heaven.”
John Stott: “And seldom if ever do I leave the pulpit without a sense of partial failure, a mood of penitence, a cry to God for forgiveness, and a resolve to look to Him for grace to do better in the future.”
John Flavel: “It is not with us, as with other labourers: they find their work as they leave it, so do not we. Sin and Satan unravel almost all we do, the impressions we make on our people’s souls in one sermon, vanish before the next.”

To preach for an extended period is no small feat. To preach when the body, or soul is already weakened is no small feat. Preachers do not always feel like preaching, sometimes the toll just seems too much to bear. At other times their hearts just not in it, and the vital energies needed simply do not exist in the man.

Ah beloved, this writer attests that there are times when a weary soul forced him into a pulpit feeling totally alone there. The battle must be fought and won, but there is no strength left in Moses’ arms. See Exodus 17:12-13: “But Moses’ handswereheavy; and they took a stone, and putit under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.”

Where is Aaron to hold up the prophet’s arms? Brothers and sisters, we may never be called to stand there in the pulpit, but surely, we are called to stand with our brother in this work of the Lord done on our behalf. We cannot think this is a superman who needs no help from us, who is always to give and never to receive. He is a member of the body as we are. He needs what we provide as much as we need what he provides.

Even if preaching was the only thing a pastor did, he would need a break from it. Of course, there is a lot more to ministry than delivering sermons, and though a lot of it may go unnoticed by us throughout the week, we should forget that this man works at least five days like the majority of us, and unlike the majority of us, he is on-call the other two. We must give the man time to rest. Sometimes we may have to force a stubborn and over-zealous man to take some rest. A lack of support and rest is a recipe for failure in ministry.

No pastor or preacher should be expected to preach fifty-two Sundays a year. It is not sustainable, and it is not healthy for the man or the congregation. Forty-eight is the most we should ask. That number allows at least one Sunday each quarter for another man to fill the pulpit while the primary preacher rests, and sits with his family to be fed and cared for under the preaching of the Word.

It gives an opportunity to less-seasoned men and to all of us. Sometimes a pastor may need an extended break from preaching, and we should be ready to allow it after a period of faithful service. A man who has no chance to catch his breath and restore his heart will eventually go down out of sheer exhaustion.

Failures in the Pulpit

There is so much trust vested in the pulpit; sacred trust for a sacred duty. It is a place of authority, and though it be only a derived authority, still it can be abused. The temptations that assault preachers are many and varied. Sadly, many fall prey to them, and disgrace the office of preacher and the task of preaching.

The bully pulpit is exactly what it sounds like, a preacher weaponizing his preaching to force his congregation into serving his personal designs. The bully in the pulpit usurps God’s authority and His Holy Word to say what he wants to say. It is a blasphemous act which totally misrepresents God to His own people and to outsiders.

A bully preacher can humility, shame, and guilt souls into submission. He can tarnish and even destroy reputations. He can undermine relationships and cut off souls from their communities of support. From the pulpit, an evil man, or even a man who is simply angry can traumatize the people in the pews. The bully pulpit is spiritual abuse and should never be tolerated.

When only one man is expected to stand in the pulpit the potential for weaponizing the platform is very real. There is no chance for anyone to stand in that place of authority and clarify God’s Word against the self-serving claims of a man gripped with some unchecked sin. Having other men who regularly fill the pulpit keeps anyone from thinking that the bully is somehow greater than others. Sharing the pulpit is a safeguard against bullying that must not be neglected. Where the pulpit is forced upon one man continually without rest, bullying of some kind ought to be expected for that man has been bullied himself and bullying tends to beget bullying.

See James 1:19-21: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”

The preacher must be very wary of anger, and even the appearance of anger in the pulpit. He can easily bring his own frustrations into the pulpit and mask them with a thin veil of righteousness. If the preaching sounds angry it must be demonstrated that this is indeed the proper tone for the passage, and it must always be recognized beyond any doubt that God’s wraith is satisfied in Christ for those who believe. If the wraith of God is rightly brought into the sermon, it can only be to drive into the open the embrace of God’s surpassing grace.

This writer confesses it is a difficult thing to grasp. An angry man, whatever he is angry about, however justifiable, his anger it might seem should never be in the pulpit unsupervised. It is too much temptation to let loose and lash out, and this is abuse that misrepresents God and mistreats His people. The man who is regularly angry will not be able to distinguish between his anger and God’s righteous anger.

Therefore, we say from our own difficult experience it is better to keep away from the pulpit till anger has been uprooted. Preach occasionally, and under the watchful eye of an experienced shepherd, and others who can keep you accountable till God has fitted you for more extensive ministry by removing the anger from your heart.

The pulpit is a very exposed position to be in. You are an easy target up there in front of everyone speaking with an authority not your own. The fear of man can utterly undo a preacher, causing him to cater to the whims of bullies in the pews rather than faithfully proclaiming the full counsel of Scripture.

Pastors have fears like anyone else and perceive threats like anyone else does. And sometimes their fears are founded. Threats of lost income, social isolation, harm to family, and even physical threats are leveled against those who boldly, yet gently preach the whole truth. It is very hard for pastors to stand up to such abuses, especially when they persist over an extended period of time. Indeed, one of the threats a pastor must face is being called a bully for standing firm against true bullies.

It does not matter how severely a pastor is abused, he must never let anger creep in. The only truly innocent man ever suffered worse and did not cry-out. Let the Lord’s perfect example motivate us never to repay evil for evil. We must understand that even though there is a Biblical defense for righteous anger, our selfish reasons for anger can corrupt it and turn it into evil. If the situation ahs gotten so bad that we cannot keep our hearts focused on God and doing His will, we need to leave.

The writer testifies from experience that no possible gain is worth losing one’s heart.

The love of money is the root of all kinds of terrible practices in the pulpit. From straight-up fleecing the flock, to subtle pandering when the pastor is out to make more money, nothing good is going to happen. And it is difficult to keep that desire out of the heart of a man who is trying to support a family on a salary that is seldom sufficient.

Breaching confidentiality is another real and present danger in the pulpit with the poor exposed souls most often being a member of the preacher’s own family. Whatever benefit the congregation might receive from a story, it is never worth the embarrassment it causes a soul. Sometimes in the heat of the moment, we forget the needs of the one or the few as we are caught up with the needs of the many. It is something we must take care to avoid.

There are a lot of ways a preacher tries too hard: chasing tangential points, lingering on and on in his conclusion, and belaboring some poor dead-horse of a point into dust. When we understand that eternal souls hang somewhere in the balance it can be hard to know when to let go. The preacher wants to do all he can, but sometimes the best thing he can do is move on. Repetition to a point is helpful, but when it is overdone, the point is lost and only the annoyance is recalled.

The answer to all of these pitfalls of preaching is to trust God. Things aren’t going the way you think they should? Do not become a bully, trust God to get everyone where they need to go. Afraid? Trust God to protect. Under attack? Trust God to deliver you. Not sure how you will provide? Trust in God’s provision. Feeling the need to add something questionable to the sermon? Trust that God can get the point across without potentially harming anyone. To trust God, we have to know Him, and to know Him we have to be with Him each day. One of the great failures in the pulpit is neglecting personal devotion.

The very worst thing that can happen to a preacher is that he comes to believe he is good at preaching. If anyone gets good at it, they will inevitably try to do it in their own power. It doesn’t matter how much power they have, or what kind it is; it will never be enough to accomplish the goal. Preachers have to be totally reliant on God. They should walk towards the pulpit praying that God will go before them, and be with them, and stand behind them to catch them when they fall. They should always know their own great need for divine help.

The second worst thing that can happen to a preacher is that he starts taking criticism of the sermon personally. Preaching will be criticized. Most of that criticism will be insipid. Some of it will be very wise. Some of it will hurt you. Some of it will be calculated to hurt you. If a preacher isn’t careful, one stinging word of critique will echo for years in his mind and heart, causing him endless troubles.

Listen to your critiques, consider what they said, get feedback from trustworthy brothers and sisters, and pray over all of it. If after all that you find there is something true in the critique, then correct it and move on. If you find there is nothing that needs correcting, leave it behind you. Whatever the case, remember you are not your sermon, your preaching is only a part of what you do, and the critique is only of that part and not the whole.

Remember also you have only one judge to please and He is very gracious, merciful, kind, and He loves you more than words can say. If He reproves you it is only a sign of that great love He has for you. See Hebrews 12:6: “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”

There is a great temptation to despair when preaching falls again and again on def ears. As a preacher, one is only responsible for delivering the sermon. He dreams of an awakening for his people, of true revival, and of mass conversions. He prays and waits, and does his very best, but it never happens. Perhaps some nights he weeps before God pleading for the miracle that delivers the chosen people into the land of promise. Then he watches as they are scared off again by the giants in the land. He circles in a wilderness waiting, and then he dies. His flock places the body in a pine box and buries it in a simple grave.

You wonder why so many preachers write resignation letters on Monday morning?

Ah, but this is not a reason to despair dear friend. For you see the long-suffering preacher went into the presence of his Lord. The Good Shepherd who had called Him into service had watched all his work, heard all of his prayers, and knew all of his heart,

See Matthew 25:21: “His lord said unto him, Well done,thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

Beloved, we dream so much of great and wonderful things, and if we desire them for the glory of God and the good of our neighbors it is right that we have such dreams. Nevertheless, we are not called to accomplishment of great deeds, but to faithful service. It is for God to decide when revival comes, and when it tarries. We think of the great sermons being those that had great responses, but there is so much we do not see or understand.

Truly, the greatest preacher among us might well labor in total obscurity, but God knows. The congregation that enjoys such superb exposition may not appreciate it at all, but God appreciates it. The man may never receive a single cent for all his hard work each week, but God will not fail to pay His servants. Oh, is that not all any of us could want?

Let us all in whatever we do keep our eyes firmly fixed on God alone, and seek only His approval in all we do. If He should answer our prayers for mass revival, if He should anoint the preaching with supernatural power, such has not been seen here since Whitefield and Edwards, all glory be to God alone. If He shut up the windows of Heaven and withheld the anointing, all glory be to God alone. Whatever comes we serve for His good pleasure.

Let us not neglect the words of Milton in all of this: “He also serves who only stands and waits.” Some of our beloved and esteemed brothers are waiting to take the pulpit, studying and practicing for the day God calls them to the front. Some of our beloved and esteemed brothers are recovering from the wounds of battle, restoring their strength so they can return to the good fight. Some of our believed and esteemed brothers are seeking for direction, awaiting new orders from their Commander.

To all of these, we say you have not left the service, you are not wasting your time, and you have not been forgotten.

There are many other struggles we speak of. There are many struggles that are deeply personal and known only to the man who faces them. It is not good for the preacher to be alone. We have said it already, but it warrants repeating: our pastors need our support as much as we need theirs.

The Temptation to Plagiarism

In recent times, a number of cases of plagiarism in the pulpit have come to light. So, we offer a word against plagiarism. Considering all that is required to form a sermon, which to some is most tedious and tiresome. Considering that there are other tasks and many demands on a minister. Considering that eloquence and illustration are greatly esteemed. And considering that ease is ever addicting. It is not surprising that some would preach another man’s sermon rather than preparing their own.

D. A. Carson: “Taking over another sermon and preaching it as if it were yours is always and unequivocally wrong, and if you do it you should resign or be fired immediately. The wickedness is along at least three axes:(1) You are stealing.(2) You are deceiving the people to whom you are preaching.(3) Perhaps worst, you are not devoting yourself to the study of the Bible to the end that God’s truth captures you, molds you, makes you a man of God and equips you to speak for him.”

There ought to be something of the preacher himself in the sermon, for Timothy is to preach the Word. He is not to preach Paul, but the Word. He is to do it himself, and not Paul for him. Something is lost when this Biblical model is discarded. Now if the sermon is properly attributed, it may suffice in a time of desperation; just as a frozen meal will do when nothing fresh can be got.

Likewise, a preacher may quote another whose words he finds better serve on a point than any he has in himself. Only let these quotes be rightly attributed. And let all things serve the communication of the truth of the text to the glory of God.

The churches should not tolerate men who either cannot or will not do the work required of them to preach faithfully. There is no excuse for plagiarism in the pulpit. There is no reason to play at preaching. Faithful, fully equipped, and totally dedicated men are needed, and for this need, we ought to pray to God to supply. See Matthew 9:38 and the below quote: “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”

A. W. Pink: “It’s true that [many] are praying for a worldwide revival. But it would be more timely, and more scriptural, for prayer to be made to the Lord of the harvest, that He would raise up and thrust forth laborers who would fearlessly and faithfully preach those truths which are calculated to bring about a revival.”

Learning to Preach

So, how does one become a faithful preacher? The first step is clear: become a diligent and capable student of the Scriptures. Reading, understanding, and applying the Bible is the heart and soul of preaching. Along with Biblical studies, one would do well to study systematic, Biblical, historical, and especially practical theology: Church history, philosophy, ethics, and Biblical counseling. Worldview and apologetics are another topic worthy of study, particularly in areas that are unchurched.

Studying rhetoric, and communication is of some help in crafting sermons and delivering them. Practicing public speaking is also helpful. However, it must be understood that speaking is not preaching. There are some lessons one only learns in the pulpit.

We can study all of these topics on our own, but pursuing a formal degree such as the Master of Divinity (the standard degree for pastors) has its advantages. A formal course of study places us under supervision and exposes us to ideas and sources we may not have considered on our own. Having a degree shows that a pastor has undergone full training.

As we start to preach it is very good to be under the supervision of a more seasoned preacher who can guide us and help us to grow in this ministry. Some churches offer internships, but most pastors will be more than happy to mentor a younger man looking to start a faithful ministry.

This writer would like to see local societies for preaching formed where preachers of all levels of experience could practice their craft. At every meeting, some members would give sermons, and the others would review them. It would require humility, but humility is a most necessary virtue for this work anyway. The benefits of peer review are entirely worth being vulnerable if everyone has the betterment of their fellows at heart.

We should never stop growing as preachers. If you think you have gotten good at preaching it is likely time to take a step back from the pulpit and be refreshed spiritually by rest and reflection. The purpose of any study in ministry is not to reach a level of true mastery, but rather to be continually reminded that true mastery is beyond us; making us reliant upon our true Master. If we reached some level of competency worth noting, let others note it after we have gone on.

Books for Further Study

Preaching and Preachers by D. Martyn Lloyd Jones

If you are only going to read one book about preaching, this is the one. We have quoted extensively from the work in this article, and we trust that those quotes have given the reader some taste of what Lloyd Jones has to offer. As with many of Jones’ writing, the work is essentially a series of sermon manuscripts making it more accessible to a general audience than most of the works on this list.

Preaching and Preachers
Amazon
$ 16.99-37%

Biblical Preaching the Development and Delivery of Expositional Messages by Haddon Robinson

The other standard textbook for seminary preaching classes. This volume is more of a textbook than Jones’ volume, and might not be as suited to a general audience.

Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages
Amazon
$ 16.59-36%

On the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons by John Broadus

This is a textbook written by one of the founders of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for his students in the eighteen-hundreds and it is not for the faint of heart. This book is technically demanding as well, delving into the formalities of rhetoric among other things. You will not find a modern text that can match the thoroughness of instruction contained here.

On the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons: Fourth Edition
Amazon
$ 17.99-31%

Christ-Centered Preaching by Bryan Chapell

This book is all about keeping the main thing, the main thing. For that reason, it is a must-read for anyone called to take the pulpit. Keeping Christ at the center of every sermon is not as easy as it might sound, and the author does an excellent job of addressing the multitude of obstacle a preacher will encounter.

Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon
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$ 25.23-37%

We could add to this list offerings by John MacArthur, Steve Lawson, Brian Croft, and many others. We could also recommend volumes of masterfully crafted sermons by Spurgeon, Luther, Calvin, and others, However, these will not be difficult for the reader to find for themselves, and what we have pointed to will be an excellent foundation to build from.

Conclusion

1 Timothy 5:17: “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.”

What we want our readers to know and to begin to understand is that preaching is so much more than one man talking. It requires serious work to prepare a sermon, and serious effort to deliver it. It is not the work of one man but of a whole congregation together. As the one prepares and delivers, all prepare, receive, and respond. It is all for God’s glory and all for our good. For this reason, the ones who preach are worthy of respect.

We should esteem the work of preaching because He has elected to use it as a primary means of grace within and without the Church. By preaching souls are edified and evangelized. By preaching, the flock of Christ is fed, led, cared for, and protected. It is something very unique to the Church; a distinguishing mark of identity.

Preaching is effective. No matter how depraved the world around us becomes, preaching will remain effective. It is God’s revealed will in 2 Timothy 4 that preaching will go on till Christ’s return. What remains then is for those called to work to carry on, and for all of us to pray for these workers in the fields. We should pray that God would strengthen and encourage them, and provide for all their needs. We should pray that new preachers would be raised up and equipped and sent out for. We leave you with a verse from Luke 10.

See Luke 10:2: “Therefore said he unto them, The harvest trulyisgreat, but the labourersare few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.”

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Jared Helms

Jared received his Bachelor of Arts from Bryan College in 2012, and his Masters of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2017. He has pastored churches in Kentucky and Tennessee. Most importantly, Jared has walked with Christ most of his life. His interests extend from theology to church history, but he is particularly passionate about ecclesiology and homiletics.