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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