Our Scripture verse on preaching is 1 Corinthians 1:17 which reads: "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect."
Our quote on preaching today is from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He said, "So many people come to church with a genuine desire to hear what we have to say, yet they are always going back home with the uncomfortable feeling that we are making it too difficult for them to come to Jesus."
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 Piety Must be Vigorous, Part 2" from "Lectures to My Students" by Charles H. Spurgeon. He writes:
For some work we choose none but the strong; and when God calls us to ministerial labor we should endeavor to get grace that we may be strengthened into fitness for our position, and not be mere novices carried away by the temptations of Satan, to the injury of the church and our own ruin. We are to stand equipped with the whole armor of God, ready for feats of valor not expected of others: to us self-denial, self-forgetfulness, patience, perseverance, long-suffering, must be every-day virtues, and who is sufficient for these things? We had need live very near to God, if we would approve ourselves in our vocation.
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Our second topic is titled "The Qualifications of the Preacher, Part 10" from "The Preacher and his Preaching" by Alfred P. Gibbs.
This section is titled: THE PREACHER MUST BE A STUDENT OF THE BIBLE (PART 3)
3. He must study it by diligent application.
There is no royal or easy road to knowledge. It comes through persistent and painstaking study. Someone has said “study consists of the application of the seat of the trousers to the seat of the chair, until such time as the subject has been mastered!” It is the maintenance of this point of contact that calls for earnest and self-denying determination. It is one thing to read, or to hear, or to talk about study; it is an entirely different thing to do it and, more difficult still, to keep on doing it. This is, however, the only way a subject can be mastered.
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Our third topic is titled "The Definition of Expository Preaching, Part 8" from "Biblical Preaching" by Haddon W. Robinson. He writes:
Today, we will review what we have learned regarding expository preaching so far and offer some resources for further exploration.
DEFINITIONS
Expository preaching is the communication of a biblical concept, derived from and transmitted through a historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage in its context, which the Holy Spirit first applies to the personality and experience of the preacher, then through the preacher, applies to the hearers.
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