Debtor, Steward, Ambassador

“The Christian preacher is a debtor because through Christ he has himself been delivered from future judgment. He is a steward, because the message of reconciliation has been committed to him. He is to employ the resources provided by his Lord, not to diminish, add to, or transform them. He is also an ambassador, whose task is always to represent his Master and faithfully to deliver his message.” (Sinclair Ferguson, What Then Shall We Preach On Hell?, 9 Marks Journal)

“Wives” For Everyone?

So I’m preaching on ‘wives’ this Sunday (Ephesians 5:22-24).

Now….  How do I preach on the wife’s role in such a way that the sermon is not only helpful to wives but the whole congregation?

This question could arise with other topics as well. When our text addresses a narrow sub-group, how do we preach in such a way that everyone else doesn’t feel excluded?  In this case: how do we edify the men, single people, children or widows, without abandoning the primary meaning of the text?

Answers in the comments-box.

Classic Sermons

Classic sermons worth reading.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

Bruce Ware in Scotland – Lecture for Pastors

Something for Scottish pastors just to put in their diaries:

Bruce Ware, Professor of Christian Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, USA, will be speaking in Edinburgh Scotland on Saturday January 15th 2011, addressing some of the current challenges facing preachers and pastors.

It will be held at Faith Mission and co-hosted by 2 Timothy 4 and Faith Mission Bible College.

More details/publicity to follow.

Preaching from the Parables Seminar

PREACHING FROM THE PARABLES

Led by: Peter Grainger, Director of 2 Timothy 4* and former Senior Pastor of

Charlotte Chapel, Edinburgh from 1992 – 2009.

When: Saturday 6 November, 9.00 – 1.00, Charlotte Chapel, Edinburgh

Cost: £10 payable at the event. Book your place by emailing peter@2tim4.org 

*2 Timothy 4 (www.2tim4.org) – “strengthening Scottish preaching”

 

“Preaching a parable is a novice preacher’s dream

but often an experienced preacher’s nightmare.”

(Thomas O. Long Preaching the Literary forms of the

Bible Philadelphia: Fortress, 1989)

A Preachers’ Workshop focusing on the parables from the Gospels,

with practical examples and exercises.

For novice and experienced preachers!

 

Bible Conference – Edinburgh

Duncan Street Baptist Church Bible Conference

Our inaugural Bible conference will take place at DSBC on the 25th of September 2010 from 10 till 3; (and in future years will also take place on the last Saturday in September).

We’re very excited about this conference and hope and pray that you will be able to come and join with us.  At DSBC we’ve benefited greatly from local and national Bible conferences and our prayer is that the Lord would use this conference to encourage and build up His people.

The aim of this year’s conference is simple – we want to enthuse those who will come to increasingly be a people who get into the Word, who gather around the Word and who live out the Word.

There will be 3 sessions on the day led by Mark Schenk, Scott Hamilton and Jim Turrent – see speakers page.

In addition to our speakers, we have also invited a number of organisations along who will provide further resources to help you in your own Bible ministry and that of your church.  I can confirm that the Faith Mission Bible College, Christianity Explored and the Faith Mission bookshop will provide resource stands; and we hope to be able to confirm other resource partners prior to the conference.

Please let us thank you in advance for your prayerful support & partnership in the Gospel

What is Preaching?

The Courage to Correct

I really appreciated the following admission by Paul Rees, the Senior Pastor of Charlotte Chapel.  It begs a question for the rest of us: when we make errors in our preaching, do we have the courage to correct it?

“It is always dangerous to go beyond your preaching notes. And last Sunday I added, off the cuff, the ‘fact’ that the High Priest used to enter the Holy of Holies with a rope around his ankle so that if he died there he could be dragged back out.   I pulled this fact out of the back of my brain as somewhere along the line I had heard someone say this…”