For A Lifetime

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For A Lifetime
Preaching
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• Preaching, in order to be fresh and vital,
  takes hard work. The work can be quite agonizing
  at times. In fact, the longer you are in the
  ministry the more discipline and determination is
  needed to accomplish the work.
• Bruce Mawhinney in Preaching with Freshness

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• As time goes by a certain smoothness comes with
  the experience of the years. That smoothness has
  a more professional sound to it, but it may also
  bring with it a certain dullness.
• Bruce Mawhinney in Preaching with Freshness

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Challenges to Preaching Effectively over the
Long-Haul

• The New Consumerism
• Without altars, we talk less and less about
  eternity and more and more about the here and
  now.
• Calvin Miller, Marketplace Preaching

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Challenges to Preaching Effectively over the
Long-Haul

• Christianity as a subculture
• Church has become an addendum to American
  culture. Disassociation with the market-place
  centers preaching on insiders. Separation from
  the world is double-edged.

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Challenges to Preaching Effectively over the
Long-Haul

• Loss of appreciation for Divine Drama
• A sermon that loses its godly summons is at
  best a current event and at worst a morality
  monologue.
• Calvin Miller, Market Place Preaching

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A Church.Overly Influenced by the Secular andA
World.Hungering for the Transcendent

• Church life takes its cues from the
  self-centered spirit of entertainment.
• We trade the demands of Christ for a larger crowd.

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• Altars are the meeting places between God and
  humanity where the transcendence of God
  transforms and abundantly pardons and saves to
  the uttermost.

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Summary
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Interventions
The message and the messenger are inextricably
linked

• The why and who of preaching are prior to the how
  of preaching

• How do I become a living memory of God how do
  I accept and connect how do I lift up the
  individual story into divine history? Henri J.
  M.Nouwen

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• The strategy of the principalities and powers is
  to disconnect us, to cut us off from the memory
  of God. It is not hard to see how many of our
  busy actions and restless concerns seem to be
  disconnected, reminding us of nothing more than
  the disorder of our own orientation and
  commitment.

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When we no longer walk in the presence of the
Lord, we cannot be living reminders of his divine
presence in our lives. We then quickly become
strangers in an alien land who have forgotten
where we come from and where we are going.
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Then we are no longer the way to the experience
of God, but rather in the way of the experience
of God. Then, instead of walking in Gods
presence we start walking in a vicious circle,
and pulling others into it. Henri J.M.
Nouwen in The Living Reminder
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• Acknowledge that life is passing you by

• Life passages are doorways to greater insight

• Starters for preaching come from a variety of
  sources, but

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All starting points must be connecting to the
authoritative reference point
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Read widely
The six-fold path Novels Historical Biography Diar
y/journal Poetry Hot interest
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Gathering Background Information and Illustrations

• Regularly gather/file/review
• Newspapers, periodicals, web news
• Use the experts in your congregations

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Practice Self-Evaluation

• Observe audio and video tapes of yourself
• Critique voice--timing--personality
• Find a supportive critic

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Study the Sermons of Great Preachers

• Classics
• Alexander MacClaren
• Charles Spurgeon
• 20 Centuries of Great Preaching
• Contemporary Books
• Preaching to a Post Modern World by Graham
  Johnston, Baker Books
• The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative by
  Steve Mathewson, Baker Books

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Limit your usage of preaching web-sites

• Preaching.com
• PreachingToday.com
• Sermoncentral.com
• Crosswalk.com
• ChristianityToday.com

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The Challenge of An Audience

• Dear Speaker
• I hear a lot of people like you. I dont mean
  to be impertinent, but give me one good reason
  why I should listen
• Are you about to say something that I would find
  useful? Are you willing to promise me that if I
  do listen, I will hear something of consequence?
• Exactly what kind of promise would I like you to
  make? Promise me that after I have listened, I
  will upgrade my bogus values, jettison my impure
  motives, and commit myself to something glorious
  and dangerous and heady and wonderful.
• Promise me that all the time I sit listening and
  you stand taling that I will see things I was
  unwilling to face before you preached. Help me
  see my sin, or Gods glory, or Jesus power.
• Promise me that I, who am riddled with
  inferiority, will at last believe in myself.
• I have always been afraid of heights. Challenge
  me with Everest. Promise me that after your
  words, I will be able to scale those icy walls
  and with Gods help plant his mighty flag on the
  summit of all my doubts.
• Promise me that I at last will know who I am and
  what I was born to achieve.
• Promise all this and you shall have first my
  ear. . .and then my soul.
• -Your Audience

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Preaching Voices from the Past Present

• The Reformers
• The preaching of the Word of God is the Word of
  God. Martin Luther
• God deigns to consecrate to himself the mouths
  and tongues of men in order that His voice may
  resound in them. John Calvin

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18th Century Preachers

• I live by preaching. John Wesley
• If I had come to you in my own name, you might
  rest your elbows upon your knees and your heads
  on your hands and go to sleep! But I have come
  to you in the name of the Lord of hosts I must
  and I will be heard. George Whitfield
• The great design intention of a Christian
  preacher are to restore the throne and dominion
  of God in the souls of men and to attract the
  souls of men into a state of everlasting
  friendship with him. Cotton Mather

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Current Voices

• The churchs proclamation of him who is the
  Word of God is very real human speech and yet no
  less very divine speech, because it articulates
  one who is in the language of the Nicene Creed
  very God and very man.
• James Daane
• Preaching with Confidence

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• We can no longer assume our preaching takes
  place within a more or less Christian culture.
  The great narratives of Judeo-Christian belief,
  the pivotal stories of the Bibles characters,
  the events of the life and ministry of Jesus
  Christ either are not known or do not carry the
  meaning-making significance they did for previous
  generations Biblical knowledge, Christian
  doctrine and theological reflection must be
  presented and re-presented from Americas
  pulpit-yes even American Christians.
• Craig Loscalzo
• Apologetic Preaching

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• Pentecostal preaching is preaching the Word of
  God. It is not preaching about the Word. It
  should be simple preaching. By that I mean
  preaching that can be understood.
• Guy Duffield
• Pentecostal Preaching

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Preaching for ResponseHistorical Considerations

• Theological assumptions historical realities
  impact sermon construction/delivery and expected
  response.
• The Reformation was a reaction to human effort at
  religiosity. The expected response to preaching
  became a conceptual response altering a belief
  system.
• Luther, Zwingli, Calvin would not be the best
  preachers to model in giving altar calls.

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• Charles Finney exemplified a reaction to the
  old school. Left brained religion wasnt
  enough for Finney. Finneys preaching for
  response exemplified
• His own encounter with God
• His belief that the affections must be addressed
  specifically
• A verdict for Christ was necessary.
• Invitations to an anxious bench were standard.
• Moody, Sunday and Graham perfect Finneys new
  school efforts.

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Preaching for Response

• Shaped by theological assumptions
• Influenced by historical realities
• Response must not be taken for granted
• Biblical precedent exists
• (Mt. 1128 Luke 131-3 Acts 240 II Cor.
  520)

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Preaching for Response in the 21th Century

• Religious teaching or values minimally impact
  peoples moral choices
• Only 22 of Americans believe moral absolutes
  exist
• Compared to teens throughout the past 20 years,
  todays teenagers have the lowest likelihood of
  attending church when living independent of their
  parents.
• www.barna.org

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Communication Realities that mitigate against
preaching for response

• The central section of a sermon is least likely
  to be remembered
• Listeners usually round off a sermon to a
  general idea
• People tend to interpret messages on the basis of
  past experiences
• Listeners tend to select material based on how
  interesting it is to them
• Most listeners find it difficult to separate
  essential from non-essential in a message
• A speakers delivery and person can be more
  influential than the content of the message.

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Preaching for response the bottom line

• Start before you begin
• Begin with the end in mind
• End with clarity

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Start before you begin

• Specificity increases clarity in one sentence
  what is this sermon about? What do hearers need
  to know to act on this message?
• There is a reward for the hard work of
  forgiveness
• What do I want them to do?
• What about your dad, who left you and your mom
  when you were 8?
• Are you ready to forgive him?
• What do I want them to become?
• If Rick, the plumber, were to take this message
  to heart, what would the changes look like?

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• How does this sermon fit in the larger vision?
• Preaching to reinforce a direction of a
  mission-minded church
• Answer skeptics question
• So what? Text must be linked to context
• Oh really? Save yourself from trite preaching

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Ask yourself

• Do I believe this message will make a difference?
• Has this biblical truth made a difference in my
  life this week?
• If the preacher is not first preaching to
  himself, better that he falls on the steps of the
  pulpit and breaks his neck than preaches that
  sermon John Calvin
• Will I use the material of others appropriately?
• Ed Rowell preaching today.com

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Begin with the end in mind

• Consider your audience.
• Narrative is powerful
• Entertainment is expected
• Technology is omnipresent
• Connection rather than education is valued

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Consider your support system

• What about notes?
• Comfort yields confidence
• Confidence yields clarity
• Clarity yields effective communication

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Consider your physical presentation

• Dress
• Technology
• Vocal usage
• Modulate toward your personal style of
  communication

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Consider your attitude

• Dont make your pulpit a bully pulpit
• Make sure people know you care
• Humility trumps personal satisfaction
• Do you expect God to show up?
• Kenton Anderson www.preaching.org

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End with clarity

• Response times depend on clear content, clear
  language, clear directions
• Lack of clarity at this point in the service
  creates confusion
• Clear content assumes a simple pattern
• Billy Grahams four points are
• Admit youre a sinner.
• Christs provision on Calvary can cover your sin.
• You must repent of your sin
• Will you receive Christs forgiveness?

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Clear language

• Avoid jargon
• Use words carefully to explain what you are
  asking people to respond to

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Clear directions

• People need to know what you want them to do.
• People need to know why they are being asked to
  respond.
• People need to know when to respond and what to
  expect.
• Greg Laurie (Leadership, Spring 1995)

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Preachers who preach for response faithfully can
have faith in the God who calls people to
repentance and obedience.

• Preaching for response is biblically rooted can
  be hindered by lack of preparation but never be
  thwarted because it relies on the Spirits
  empowerment.
• Preaching for response is a Pentecostal
  preachers responsibility because Pentecostal
  preaching bears witness to the resurrecting power
  of God which breaks into every aspect of Gods
  created order.
• (James Forbes) The Holy Spirit and the Preacher

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What Wells Will We Drink At?
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• A study of hermeneutics helps Do not be afraid
  of it because of its unfamiliar name. This is
  the science of interpretation. Because of
  ignorance here, some have made foolish
  interpretations.
• Ernest S. Williams--1941

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Exegesis and Hermeneutics

• Exegesis focuses on what was said in the original
  biblical text and what it would have meant at
  that time.
• Hermeneutics moves from the original meaning to
  the reader and/or the preacher in a contemporary
  setting.

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Arenas of Hermeneutical Activity

• Linguistic
• Translators movement from biblical language to
  local language
• Historical setting
• Cultural-geographical-historical awareness
• Teaching of the passage
• Intent of the writer
• Historicity of passage
• Assumptions about nature of historical
  eventsmiracles are crucial

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Arenas of Hermeneutical Activity

• Literary Setting of Passage
• Meaning based on relationship of words
• Canonical Context
• How the particular text being studied relates to
  Scripture as a whole
• History of Interpretation
• We arent the first to study this biblical text.
• Present Significance of the Text
• So what?

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Interpretive Assumptions for Biblical Hermeneutics

• Faithful interpretive efforts require a person to
  be inhabited by the Spirit of God.
• I Corinthians 211
• Essence of Gods revelations points to the
  necessity of repentance to and obedience to the
  Gospel.
• I John 226-27

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Interpretive Assumptions

• One part of Scripture need not undermine another
  part of Scripture so as to undermine the Gospel.
• II Peter 120-21
• The Bible reads us and is heard by those with a
  desire to listen and obey.
• Psalm 119105

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• Skill sets are similar regardless of our faith
  tradition.
• Hermeneutics really is about the assumptions you
  come with as you do thorough preparation for the
  preaching event.
• Therefore, our Pentecostal faith does contribute
  to how we will prepare for preaching.

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Hermeneutical Doorways that Serve a Pentecostal
Preacher

• The wells of influence that we drink from shape
  our lives as preachers
• It is absolutely necessary that we acknowledge
  the deep and continued work of the Holy Spirit
  who uniquely shapes Pentecostal preachers. (p.
  91)

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Doorway of Spirit Baptism

• The doorway of the Baptism of the Spirit produces
  an eye on eternity.
• Spiritual transformation is necessary.
• Spirit empowerment is non-negotiable.
• Healing is a testimony to Gods concern for the
  lures of humanity.
• The future is not in doubt and gives us
  perspective in the murkiness of the present.

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The Doorway of Seeing God at Work

• Paying attention to the testimony of Gods
  activity in human experience
• Seeing God at work always pushes us back to the
  Bible for an explanation.

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The Doorway of Continued Missionary Vision

• The Baptism of the Spirit produces a regions
  beyond perspective.
• We are empowered to bear witness to those unlike
  ourselves who have never heard the Gospel.

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• In view of the modern tendency to degrade the
  dignity of the Christian pulpit, making it a
  lecturers platform, or the place for buffoonery
  and dramas, or submitting to the experiments of
  the unprepared or untried, it is important that
  dignity be emphasized and a fresh attempt be made
  to maintain it. The pulpit is where Gods called
  ones stand in Christs stead, the visible and
  audible expression His Father.
• Ralph Riggs--1931

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• Every sermon is stretched like a bow-string
  between the text of the Bible on one hand and
  the problems of contemporary human life on the
  other.
• Ian Pitt-Watson

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• Every sermon must be a defining moment in
  the life of a congregation. There is no time for
  frivolity or slickness these are moments of
  destinywhich the gates of hell cannot contain or
  diminish. (p. 107)

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Wisdom of Pioneers

• No room for foolish interpretation.
• E.S. Williams
• Pentecostal preachers talk in Christ's stead.
• Ralph Riggs
• A Pentecostal this is that hermeneutic that
• Presents to God thorough preparation (II Timothy
  215)
• Lives in the continual fullness of Pentecost that
  connects what God has done with what He is doing
  (Acts 214-40)