Our Scripture verse on preaching is 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 which reads: "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."
Our quote on preaching today is from Søren Kierkegaard. He said, "People have an 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 (the preacher) is merely the prompter standing in the wings, reminding them of their lost lines."
In this podcast, we are using as our texts, the following three books: "Lectures to My Students" by Charles H. Spurgeon; "The Preacher and his Preaching" by Alfred P. Gibbs; and "Biblical Preaching" by Haddon W. Robinson. And, I want to remind you to take advantage of our special offer. If you enjoy this podcast, please feel free to purchase any one of these books for your personal library from the resources page on our website -- ProclaimPodcast.com.
Our first topic is titled "The Minister's Self-Watch, Part 7" from "Lectures to My Students" by Charles H. Spurgeon. He writes:
A formal preacher is mischievous while he preserves his outward equilibrium, but as he is without the preserving balance of godliness, sooner or later he is almost, sure to make a trip in his moral character, and what a position is he in then! How is God blasphemed, and the gospel abused!
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Our second topic is titled "The Qualifications of the Preacher, Part 7" from "The Preacher and his Preaching" by Alfred P. Gibbs.
This section is titled: THE PREACHER MUST LOVE SOULS (PART 3)
3. The need for a right estimate of the soul’s value.
We must ever see men as souls having bodies, rather than bodies having souls. Christ’s words must grip our hearts. "What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" This should impress us, as nothing else, with the tremendous value of a soul. Someone has said, "There is nothing great in this world but man; and there is nothing great about man but his soul." We must estimate the value of the soul by the price Christ paid to secure its redemption, even His most precious blood. We must therefore view man and estimate his worth, not by the size of his bank account, his position in the world, his family connections, his education, his clothes, his color, race, or tongue; but we must view and value him as one for whom Christ died.
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Our third topic is titled "The Definition of Expository Preaching, Part 5" from "Biblical Preaching" by Haddon W. Robinson. He writes:
The Concept Is Applied to the Expositor
Our definition of expository preaching goes on to say that the truth must be applied to the personality and experience of the preacher. This places God’s dealing with the preacher at the center of the process. As much as we might wish it otherwise, we cannot be separated from the message. Who has not heard some devout brother or sister pray in anticipation of a sermon, "Hide our pastor behind the cross so that we may see not him but Jesus only"? We commend the spirit of such a prayer. Men and women must get past the preacher to the Savior. (Or perhaps the Savior must get past the preacher to the people!)
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Our Scripture verse on preaching is 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 which reads: "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."
Our quote on preaching today is from C.S. Lewis. He said, "A man who first tried to guess 'what the public wants,' and then preached that as Christianity because the public wants it, would be a pretty mixture of fool and knave."
In this podcast, we are using as our texts, the following three books: "Lectures to My Students" by Charles H. Spurgeon; "The Preacher and his Preaching" by Alfred P. Gibbs; and "Biblical Preaching" by Haddon W. Robinson.
Our first topic is titled "The Minister's Self-Watch, Part 6" from "Lectures to My Students" by Charles H. Spurgeon. He writes:
In many instances of young men put to a trade which they cannot endure, they have run away to sea sooner than follow an irksome business; but where shall that man flee who is apprenticed for life to this holy calling, and yet is a total stranger to the power of godliness? How can he daily bid men come to Christ, while he himself is a stranger to his dying love? O sirs, surely this must be perpetual slavery. Such a man must hate the sight of a pulpit as much as a galley-slave hates the oar.
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Our second topic is titled "The Qualifications of the Preacher, Part 6" from "The Preacher and his Preaching" by Alfred P. Gibbs.
This section is titled: THE PREACHER MUST LOVE SOULS (PART 2)
2. Consider Christ's passion for souls. The earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ, as "Jehovah's Servant," is again the preacher's example of what it means to love souls. His gracious, solicitous, tender, and loving compassion is everywhere evident in the four Gospels, which contain the brief record of His ministry. It is instructive to mark the many times when it is stated that, "He had compassion." His heart went out in love to the lost and guilty sinners He had come to "seek and to save."
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Our third topic is titled "The Definition of Expository Preaching, Part 4" from "Biblical Preaching" by Haddon W. Robinson. He writes:
The Concept Comes from the Text
This emphasis on ideas as the substance of expository preaching does not in any way deny the importance of vocabulary or grammar. The definition goes on to explain that in the expository sermon the idea is derived from and transmitted through a historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage in its context. This deals first with how expositors come to their message and, second, with how they communicate it. Both involve the examination of grammar, history, and literary forms. In their study expositors search for the objective meaning of a passage through their understanding of the language, backgrounds, and setting of the text. Then in the pulpit they present enough of their study to the congregation so that their listeners may check the interpretation for themselves.
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Our Scripture verse on preaching is 1 Corinthians 2:13 which reads: "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."
Our quote on preaching today is from Herman Melville. He said, "The pulpit is ever this earth’s foremost part; all the rest comes in its rear. The pulpit leads the world… The world’s a ship on its passage out, and not a voyage complete; and the pulpit is its prow."
In this podcast, we are using as our texts, the following three books: "Lectures to My Students" by Charles H. Spurgeon; "The Preacher and his Preaching" by Alfred P. Gibbs; and "Biblical Preaching" by Haddon W. Robinson. And, I want to remind you to take advantage of our special offer. If you enjoy this podcast, please feel free to purchase any one of these books for your personal library from the resources page on our website -- ProclaimPodcast.com.
Our first topic is titled "The Minister's Self-Watch, Part 5" from "Lectures to My Students" by Charles H. Spurgeon. He writes:
Let each man here whisper to his own inmost soul, "What a dreadful thing it will be for me if I should be ignorant of the power of the truth which I am preparing to proclaim!" Unconverted ministry involves the most unnatural relationships. A graceless pastor is a blind man elected to a professorship of optics, philosophizing upon light and vision, discoursing upon and distinguishing to others the nice shades and delicate blendings of the prismatic colors, while he himself is absolutely in the dark! He is a dumb man elevated to the chair of music; a deaf man fluent upon symphonies and harmonies! He is a mole professing to educate eaglets; a limpet elected to preside over angels.
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Our second topic is titled "The Qualifications of the Preacher, Part 5" from "The Preacher and his Preaching" by Alfred P. Gibbs.
This section is titled: THE PREACHER MUST LOVE SOULS (PART 1)
1. It is possible to love to preach, without loving those to whom we preach. A lawyer may develop great ability in his profession without necessarily loving his clients. A physician may enjoy great success without loving his patients. A businessman can rise to great heights of prosperity without loving his customers. But a preacher can never be a real worker for Christ without a deep passion for the lost souls to whom he preaches the Gospel of God’s grace.
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Our third topic is titled "The Definition of Expository Preaching, Part 3" from "Biblical Preaching" by Haddon W. Robinson. He writes:
The Expositor Communicates a Concept: The definition of expository preaching also emphasizes that an expositor communicates a concept. Some conservative preachers have been led astray by their doctrine of inspiration and by a poor understanding of how language works. Orthodox theologians insist that the Holy Spirit protects the individual words of the original text. Words are the stuff from which ideas are made, they argue, and unless the words are inspired, the ideas cannot be guarded from error.
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