I’m preaching twice on Sunday, but one sermon has been previously prepared.
You would think that sermon prep should take much less time with one, rather than two, sermons. But what I’ve found is that preparation for sermons expands to fill the time.
It’s a strange phenomenon. On weeks when I’m preparing less, I take almost as long to prepare.
Am I the only one?
Thabiti Anyabwile gives some helpful insight into his use of commentaries:
1. If I spend 16 hours on a sermon, I would guess that on average 12 of those hours are spent in the text itself and working on my first draft of the sermon.
2. When I turn to commentaries, I turn to exegetical commentaries first. I do use them as “Bible study partners” to check my handling and understanding of the text.
3. I really enjoy the Baker Exegetical Commentary Series and the Pillar New Testament Commentary Series. I’ve found helpful volumes in the New International Commentary on the Old Testament.
4. I don’t often consult one-volume commentaries. Henry is about the only one I’ll dip into occasionally, though I own a couple others.
5. After I’ve spent my time in the text and written a draft, I first consult exegetical commentaries. Then I’ll normally do any re-writing or re-thinking I need to do. I do also like to read one or two expositional commentaries. I enjoy seeing how others handle the same passages. Among my favorites to read the night before are Boice and Lloyd-Jones.
Really, really insightful preaching from Ian Parry yesterday:
Ian is the pastor of The Bay Church in Cardiff, Wales.
“Have you ever been accused of madness in your preaching? Jesus was (John 10:20), and so were the apostles (2 Corinthians 5:13). Its not unusual for a gospel preacher to be accused of madness…Paul was a gospel maniac [Acts 26:24]. He was captivated by God’s Word. He was a Psalm 1 man of the Book. He was ‘insane’ about Christ and the cross and the resurrection… Preaching today is so often passive, apathetic, impotent, soft, spineless and lame. It lacks fervour, heat and heart. It is passionless. What can turn preaching around? What can restore fire-breathing, white-hot power preaching in our day? The answer is quite simple. Preachers must become gospel maniacs. Preachers must become captivated and re-captivated by the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel. No intoxication for the gospel, no mania for the good news means no fire.”
(David Eby, Power Preaching for Church Growth, p48)
Recently, I heard a venerable lover of Christian books wax-lyrical about “a must read book for any preacher.” That book was by David Eby: “Power Preaching for Church Growth.” I bought it yesterday. What I have read so far is pulsating. In the next post or two, a few quotes to whet your appetite:
According to the New Testament, and particularly the book of Acts, we cannot have church growth without preaching. There we discover that preaching is no side issue. Rather, the ministry of the Word is the main weapon in the spiritual arsenal, the only seed for church planting, the primary tool for church building, and the principal strategy in God’s plan to disciple the nations. No preaching, no church. No proclamation, no church growth. Preaching is the heart, the blood, the whole circulatory system of the life of the church. (p 11)
Understanding Ephesians with Peter O’Brien
Saturday 6 March 2010
St. Elizabeth’s, Dundonald, Northern Ireland
Cost: £10 REGISTER NOW www.atthecastle.org.uk
Peter will give 3 talks on the book of Ephesians:
1. ‘All things under Christ’: Searching for the Theme of Ephesians
2. ‘The Richest Sentence in the Bible’: Unpacking Ephesians 1:3–14
3. ‘Onward Christian soldiers’?: Rethinking Ephesians 6:10–18 This is a day for all Christians to come and understand the book of Ephesians better.
Peter is a New Testament Lecturer from Moore Theological College, Sydney. He is the author of a number of books, but is best known for his commentaries on Philippians, Colossians & Philemon and Ephesians.
Donald Whitney has many good things to say in his two articles: Ten ways to improve your worship service and Ten more ways to improve your worship service. His main points are…
JI Packer once summarised the Puritan era with the words “A quest for godliness.” At the outset of my recent Titus series, I began with this challenge:
“Many of us have goals. There is nothing necessarily wrong with having goals. But is godliness one of them? Is godliness something we aspire to as a church congregation? Is godliness a passionate pursuit for this church? Does the truth that we believe lead to godliness? Could a biographer of this church, 300 years from now, write as our summary: “Ballymoney Baptist Church: A Quest for Godliness” ?
The letter of Titus is a letter about godliness. Its an epistle that, perhaps above all others, stresses the importance of godliness. It promotes – if we may put a finer point on it: a godliness that accords with the truth. It shows us that believing gospel truths, must go hand in hand with living godly lives.”
Here is the audio:
Truth and Godliness (1:1-4) – Listen; download
Eldership (1:5- 16) – Listen; download
Teach What is Good (2:1-10) – Listen; download
The Doctrine That Motivates Duty (2:11-14) – Listen; download. Phil Dunn preaching
Thanks to Tim Bailey for the following comment and link:
I was profoundly impressed with a special lecture I heard recently titled “The Extemporaneous Mode of Preaching” by Dr. Carrick of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
It’s a powerful address that compares this mode of preaching to other methods such as sermon reading and sermon reciting. Dr Carrick often calls to our attention such noble preachers as Dr Lloyd-Jones, Spurgeon, Broadus, Dabney, and more recent men such as Al Martin, to make his case.
The lecture is located on Sermon Audio, here:
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=124092165410Don’t miss the ending especially!
As one who doesn’t ‘preach on his feet’ (so to speak), I was intrigued to read Craig Brian Larson’s experiences of trying to depart from sermon-manuscripts after 33 years of preaching with them.
Larson talks up the positives: greater freedom for the speaker, more ‘oral’ (and less ‘written’) word choice, and being able to focus on God and the congregation instead of on written notes. On the downside, he mentions the dangers of rambling, and saying something you might later regret.
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