I wonder how Jesus views our preparation to preach and modern-day preaching? We all know what we are supposed to preach (the Word). We all know that we are supposed to study. We all know that we are to "rightly divide the Word" and that doing that involves questions, expository preaching, analysis, etc, along with illustration and, in modern times, alliteration.
But I wonder how God views the changes in preaching over the centuries? How far does a preacher go in "crafting a masterpiece" (alliterated, 28-34 minutes, 1-2 illustrations) before God sees the effort as human pride to please people with our "sermonizing?"
I am not against modern study aids nor am I opposed to all modern preaching techniques (alliteration, for example). I do not believe a preacher should be lazy in study or disorganized in thought. But honestly, has modern day clergy grown too dependent on the internet and the borrowed thoughts of others?
P.S. You may leave a skeletal outline after each comment (or not) :)
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ReplyDeleteTHERE IS A DIFFERENCE
ReplyDeleteINTRODUCTION:
A. Some in today's time wonder about modern study aids.
B. Some in today's time wonder about preaching techniques.
C. Often, these may get confused about the differences between relying on one's self and proper preparation.
I. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PROPHETS AND PREACHERS
A. God directly revealed His message to His people through a prophet.
B. God does not directly reveal His message to His preachers since that which is finished has come.
C. God gave Paul of the apostolic age direct knowledge, but expected Timothy of the pastoral age to study to show himself approved.
II. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STUDY AND STEALING
A. One must study the Word first and foremost.
B. One may find illustrations to support the Word.
C. One must never steal an outline without study.
III. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PERTINENCE AND PRECEDENCE
A. The focus of the sermon should be on what the text teaches.
B. The focus of the sermon must not be on the illustration, object lesson, or alliteration.
C. The facts in the illustration should be pertinent to the text, to draw the listener's mind to the Bible, not away from it.
CONCLUSION:
A. When we realize the differences mentioned above, we will see something amazing.
B. A person can prepare for days, and still rely on God and His Word.
C. A wise preacher will do as much to dress-up the sermon as he can, but not to make it look fancy, but to better bring God's message to the listeners.
That is a masterpiece! I can't decide whether to Amen or to Clap!!
ReplyDeleteBoth of you are going to get me into trouble if I say anything about either post (but they are funny!).
ReplyDeleteAlso, I was going to post a comment about Bro. Adrian's question, but I'm currently too busy surfing the net for Joel Osteen sermons.
I've been studying some of Joyce Meyer's sermons! LOL
ReplyDeleteHello My Brothers
ReplyDelete"...has modern day clergy grown too dependent on the internet and the borrowed thoughts of others?"
I dont know if this is applicable but here is my testimony
Earlier in my ministry i had a problem using thoughts or ideas from other preachers. Everything i preached i thought had to be original--later i found out that nothing is original
I would hear good messages and want to use the points but wouldnt because it wasnt MY idea
No sermon outline books for me, only the Bible.
Now to the point: I went to an instructor and confided in him, I told him that it upset me because i listened to other preachers talk about getting outlines while someone else preahed and then preaching them.
I told him i thought that preachers depended too much on what others have said, i told him that they needed to study for themselves and get their own outlines and ideas--get their own thouhgts and illustrations.
He then asked me what i used when i prepared a sermon. I told him the Bible
He said that i shouldnt use the Bible because it had already been preached.
He was right-What ever we preach has been preached-we get the idea from God's Word--which is full of sermon ideas, illustrations and thoughts of others.
Is our alliteration and illustrations human pride?
Pride can be present in any sermon-even those who dont alliterate or illustrate.
If we look at the parables Jesus did some pretty fancy illustrating.
And what James said (i copied it and i am going to develope it and teach it--its good)
WHOOPS I JUST CLAPPED!!!!!!
[i really must get caught up0
Love You Brothers
LLL
I am often annoyed by alliteration. But if you are going to use it, use words that are generally recognizable. Test: if you find a word that starts with the right letter or rhymes or whatever, but have to spend five minutes explaining it with other words that you could have used in the first place...you might have a problem.
ReplyDeleteSome preachers who are older me will probably disagree, but in 30 years I think I've learned that preachers could spend more time studying the Bible for learning and edification as opposed to studying it for the purpose of finding/preaching a sermon. If you learn the word and are edified, you will probably have something to preach.
That's my challenge Bro. Robert....studying more for my own benefit spiritually, than just in preparation to preach. I guess the latter comes with the territory though, and can benefit one personally.
ReplyDeleteI don't alliterate very much, unless it might make the points easy to remember for myself and others. I personally think alliteration is overdone today and certainly not necessary to a message.
Well.. study first for yourself, and second for the sermon. Nothing wrong with two kinds of study (for example, studying for sunday school lessons, camp lessons, etc.)
ReplyDeleteTo clarify, I want to note that I was referencing the quantity of time spent on one type of study versus the quantity of time spent on the other rather than suggesting that we shouldn't study to teach. There are, though, some preachers whose study revolves around preparing sermons while not really studying for their own spiritual growth. No doubt they will receive some benefit from this kind of study (at least the sincere ones who are not just preparing sermons for their own glory), but putting something in for the purpose of regurgitating it to others ultimately will not be as spiritually beneficial as studying with a "what wilt thou have me to do" attitude.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree there is nothing wrong with two kinds of study, I think a greater goal might be to merge these two kinds of study into one. Let me try to explain a little if I can. For example, I have often planned to preach through a certain book of the Bible and studied it for that purpose. On the other hand, I recently began to study the gospel of John for the purpose of studying the book of John and seeing what it had to say to me. And yet a whole bunch of "unplanned" sermons from the book of John emerged from this study. I'm not sure this something that can be explained as well as it can be experienced.
Brother Neal, alliteration is definitely overdone today!