Our Scripture verse on preaching is 2 Timothy 2:15 which reads: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
Our quote on preaching today is from John Hines. He said, "Preaching is effective as long as the preacher expects something to happen-not because of the sermon, not even because of the preacher, but because of God."
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 Call to the Ministry, Part 5" from "Lectures to My Students" by Charles H. Spurgeon. He writes:
Mark well, that the desire I have spoken of must be thoroughly disinterested. If a man can detect, after the most earnest self-examination, any other motive than the glory of God and the good of souls in his seeking the bishopric, he had better turn aside from it at once; for the Lord will abhor the bringing of buyers and sellers into his temple: the introduction of anything mercenary, even in the smallest degree, will be like the fly in the pot of ointment, and will spoil it all.
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Our second topic is titled "The Qualifications of the Preacher, Part 18" from "The Preacher and his Preaching" by Alfred P. Gibbs.
This section is titled: HE MUST BE FIT FOR THE WORK (PART 3)
This gift must be developed by exercise. The gift improves with use and becomes brighter by constant polishing. Just as proficiency in music, or in art, or in any other profession can only be achieved through constant practice, so the gift of preaching and teaching must be developed by constant exercise. We are all inclined to envy the expert pianist, or the gifted preacher, and perhaps little appreciate how much concentrated effort lies behind the finished product. It has been well said that "nine-tenths of inspiration consists of perspiration!"
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Our third topic is titled "Tools of the Trade, Part 2" from "Biblical Preaching" by Haddon W. Robinson. He writes:
What, then, are the stages in the preparation of the expository sermon?
Stage 1: Choose the passage to be preached.
An old recipe for a rabbit stew starts out, “First catch the rabbit.” That puts first things first. Without the rabbit there is no dish. The obvious first questions confronting us are: What shall I talk about? From what passage of Scripture should I draw my sermon?
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