OK, we're back on-line. i'm ready to get back to typing. My book is The Art & Craft of Biblical Preaching by Robinson & Larson. This post includes last weeks & this weeks chapters. Ch 141 Illustrating with Integrity & Sensitivity
Ch 142 Footnotes in the Pulpit
Ch 143 Avoiding Self-Centered Sermons
Ch 144 Illustrating with Slices of Life
Ch 145 Power of Everyday-Disciple Illustrations
PART 8 PREPARATION Ch 146 Why I pat my Bible on the Nightstand
Ch 147 Bursting out of Sermon Block
Ch 148 Centered
Ch 149 A Long, Rich Coversation with God
Ch 150 A Mysterious Impulse to Pray
Ch 151 Preparing the Messenger
Ch 152 Lifted by the Accomanying
Ch 153 The Hard Work of Illumination
Ch 154 Heart to Heart Preaching
Ch 155 Imagination: The Preacher's Neglected Ally
Ch 156 Preaching that Magnifies God
Ch 157 When is a Sermon Good Enough
Ch 158 Making the Most of your Computer
Ch 159 How to Build a 1st Rate Library
Ch 160 What Makes a Sermon Deep?
Ch 161 Before You Preach
Ch 162 Inspiration Points
Ch 163 Simplify
Ch 164 Using Someone Elses Sermon
Ch 165 Planning For a Richer Deeper Sermon Series
PART 9 Delivery
Ch 166 The Source of Passion
Ch 167 Pathos Needed
Ch 168 Preaching with Intensity
Ch 169 No Notes, Lots of Notes
Ch 170 On the Eye of the Hearer
Ch 171 No Voice, No Preach
Ch 172 Eliminating My Um, Um, Annoying Pulpit Mannerisms
I know you probably haven't read it yet, but I will be interested to know what you learn in the chapter that talks about Preaching Hell in a Tolerant Age.
A few of the chapters dealt with prayer and preparing. I always feel inadequate in prayer. I know its probobly the most important past of my life with God, let alone my ministry. One of them stresses the point of having a time to "get away" from everything. If you've been saved for very long, you hear and understand it, but it seems when the time comes, I say "man, I should have done this more". I've noticed a lot of times, I get this time on Saturday mornings.
I liked on Ch 157, the author reminds us of who we are preaching to. He tells a story about a time when a high official from his organization calls and says he's coming to a morning service and the pastor had not been able to prepare like he normally would that week because one of his kids was sick. He gives the message but it reminded him to ask why he was preaching. It wasnt to impress his peers or bosses, but to God and his people. I think its easy to worry about what you peers think about your message. To me, it can show your relationship with God. You are exposing yourself and raising your accountability. So I'm finding it important to find the middle ground. But I think ultimately if you strive to do Gods will, and keep pressing on, be yourself, you will find it.
Speaking of prayer, I have a prayer request for you guys. If you would please pray for my brother, Scott. He has epileptsy and is getting married this weekend. We are praying that he doesn't have any seizures during his wedding. Please join us in these prayers. Thank, guys.
Simplify is a quick chapter on keeping things simple. Most of this goes without saying. I've spoke enough to know that sometimes tring to stay exactly to what I've outlined, I've ended up not necessasarily losing the audience, but losing their interest. That might be because my outline is lacking, but keeping it simple and short is sometimes whats needed.
Ch 169 deals with notes. I havent preached that long but I do see the importance of them. This chapter discusses no notes, lots of notes, and brief notes. I can say that I've actually done it all 3 ways. So far, brief notes is the best for me. The author kind of agrees by saying it blends the other 2. But I do think personally that when I speak without notes and having to constantly go to them, I keep the listeners attention. I have started writing my thoughts out on paper, I do this for 2 reasons. 1 is so that I'll have it to go back to, or to have record of it. 2 is that by writing out my thoughts, I've found that I remember it better and it makes me think out my thoughts more clearly. By doing this I can speak longer without having to go back to my notes.
The chapter on using someone elses sermon deals with what plagiarism is. It says if you use someones thought word for word and its transcribed, you shoud put in a footnote. If you're speaking it, you should give that person credit for saying it. I think the bottom line of what they are wanting to get across is dont use someone elses idea and try to take the credit for yourself. Like your the one who thought it up.
Ch 170 talks about using visual effects in sermons. Meaning pictues, or a movie, " The screen!" I believe that its a powerful tool in getting a point across, and probobly more so today that in the past because we are more and more of a visual generation as time goes by. But like anything else, too much a anything is bad. Kevin has used it, and he's conscious of using it too much. I like it.
Ch 171 No Voice, No Preach is a chapter on keeping voice in shape. It caught me by suprise, I didnt expect it to be about that. I know from hearing Kevin speak even with a cold that it can become distracting. It gives points like drinking warm tea or water instead of cough drops, and breathing exercises. It is a vital part of preaching
Ch 175 talks about losing your nerve while speaking. It comes from relying too much on yourself and not God. I believe God will inspire you to speak on something, and you can slack off on studying it out, and then come up short.
Ch 179 talks about preaching Hell in a tolerant age. It says that post-modernists believe that their god couldnt be so loving to send a soul to hell. I agree that they look at the Hell doctrine as an angry God punishing them for sin. I've come to the conclusion that 1st, for God to be just, sin has to have a cost. Te author explains that God hates the sin, not the sinner. He uses an example of a father that has a son that is an alcoholic. He loves the son, but hates the alcoholism. Because of the intamcy of the father/son relationship, the disgust of the sin is bigger. He also says he depicts sin as slavery. We are able to let it control us enough to not even be aware of it. We are freely chosing it. I personally believe that we chose it, and God simply gives us what we want. If we dont want a relationship with Him, he grants it. He also says that a god that didnt require an action of love (i.e. the cross) would be a distant god, less intimate. It wouldnt be amazing at all.
You will notice some posts below that relate to various topics of discussion by our online community of preachers.
One of the purposes of Preachers' Meeting is to provide a place for young ministers or those recently called to preach to interact around the principles in a course of study recommended by our local group of preachers in the Southern Illinois area.
We invite you to look in on our conversations. If you would like to add comments as a guest, you are welcome to do so. If this looks interesting to you, you may join us as we start a new session. You can look in the side bar (or sometimes it is moved to right below this post) to see the weekly requirements. We start new courses every 8 or 9 weeks. As already mentioned, you are welcome to comment as a guest before that time.
Below these posts, you will see the word, "comments." Just click on it, and you will see a box on the right side of the screen where you may add your comments.
Look around. Enjoy yourself, and come back often!
Weekly Requirements
Here is a review of the general requirements for each week.
You have three assignments each week
(1) Make at least two initial posts in your posting area. The first one will be the name of the course, and the names (or numbers of the DVD's) of the chapters or lectures you will be covering during the week. The second one will be a comment on one of those chapters. You will receive one point for getting the first post in on Tuesday or Wednesday. You will also get a point for getting at least one more initial post in.
(2) Go to your fellow student's posting areas, and ask them a question or make comments about their intial posts. You will recieve one point for completing this assignment before 12:00 a.m. on Friday morning (that would be before midnight on Thursday).
(3) Answer the questions asked.
(4) On Fridays, I will also give directions for making remaining posts during the week. Be sure and read those, and take them into account when making at least one of your remaining posts.
In all, we want to make at least nine posts during the week. You will receive points for that as follows:
9 or more posts - 12 points
6-8 posts - 10 points
3-5 posts - 6 points
1-2 posts - 3 points
You will have the extra points you had accumulated by getting things in on time. Those are bonus points that will be used only to move your grade closer to 100 if you need them. They will be awarded each week if needed to move your grade up to 12 for the week. If you do not need them for that week, they will be carried over to the next week(s). Remember the posts that count for points will be at least three sentences long.
Thoughts on Application
Roger gave some good thoughts on application:
"Chapter 75, titled: 'Apply Within' is a lesson in application. The writer explains why it is sometimes difficult applying a sermon to real life situations. I will list some of the reasons application is not applied to our lives.
"First it is "hard work", it is hard to find application to every situation in the congregation,
"second, is wrong assumptions, assuming the audience is able to apply any and all biblical truths is totally a wrong assumption,
"third, is fear, fear of being to deep or to simplistic in the text and failing at application, and then there is training or lack thereof,
"many preachers know the text, and the history and the order of things but are totally untrained in application. One gentleman said it this way," how can you be a good football player when you can pass the ball, or when you can kick the ball, or when you can run with the ball but you don't know the rules of the game."
If you live in the souther Illinois area, we would like to invite you to a Couples' Marriage Enrichment Seminar on Saturday, February 27. It starts at 6:00 p.m and will run to 9:00 p.m.
After the welcome, there will be a dinner. Then there will be an opening session, followed by two breakout sessions, then a short closing.
The Keynote Speaker is Dr. Randy Carney (That's me :)!) and Roger and Janet Dutton will be speaking during the breakout sessions (That's Roger, who is commenting on this blog during this term!). Randy and Rhonda (my wife!) Carney will also have a breakout session discussing "Keys to Marital Bliss."
The Keynote Address will be on the topic of "The Way to a Successful Marriage: The Shocking and Surprising Truth."
Roger and Janet will be talking about "Hope for Restoring your marriage."
The cost is $15.00 per couple and that includes a dinner and all seminar materials. A nursery and childcare will be available. (Please indicate that you need these services when you register.) A book table with resources from Handfuls on Purpose Christian Bookstore will be available.
The seminar is for couples of all ages, ranging from newlyweds to marriage veterans!
To register, call 618-627-2228 to let the church know how may will be attending. Payment can be made at the event. (Make checks to TFBC.) For more information, call the church at 618-627-2228.
The Greatest Love
Since Valentine's Day falls on Sunday this year, I imagine there will be a ton of sermons going out on the topic of love.
Paul talked about love and respect in marriage (Ephesians 5), but he was really saying that that was an illustration of the relationship between Christ and the church.
Christ
Left Heaven to come to this earth.
He
Overcame adversity while here. He even conquered death!
He
Valued mankind so much that He gave Himself on the cross.
He desires fellowship with us. He reconciled the world to Himself, so that people could have an
Intimate realtionship with Him.
He meets all of our
Needs.
He is the supreme example of
Giving.
Do you see the word, LOVING, there? That is what He is--our LOVING Savior! Because of that, we should love one another.
Course 11 Week 4
Scroll down to the week 4 area to begin commenting.
Dealing with the Closed American Mind
One of the chapters Roger is reading is entitled, (something like) "Dealing with the Closed American Mind." I don't know if it is mentioned in the chapter, but I suspect that if you tak about something where a person has a felt need, you can gain their hearing somewhat.
What are your thoughts?
You may scroll down and comment in the week 3 comments area. Visitors are welcome to comment also.
Connecting with Postmoderns
This is something most preachers do every Sunday. If you have young unchurched visitors in your church, you will be trying to reach postmoderns. Even some of your church youth are more influenced by postmodernism than by their previous Sunday school teaching.
Here is my reply to one of Roger's posts:
"Roger, what tips stand out to you for commecting with postmoderns? I think the term modern referred to an age in history that related to new thoughts in science, etc. (If I am off base, refresh my memory.) Post modern refers to the time following that era. Connecting with postmoderns is something you have to do, whether you realize it or not, almost every time you preach."
I will post some of his answers here if he sees the question in time.
Preaching--Proclamation of God's Word
Preaching, by one definition, is the proclamation of God's Word. As such, a person, can take the Scriptural passage and find some of its main points and emphasize those points.
While I believe we should learn all we can about the grammatical construction of the words of Scripture, and that we should learn all we can about the historical setting for when those words were originally spoken; the nice thing about proclaiming the Word is that you can just take what the text says and emphasize it. Then the Word will not return void.
People with all different types of backgrounds have been called to preach throughout the centuries. Some very "unlearned" (as the world would put it) men have had great results by simply taking the main ideas of Scripture and simply emphasizing them. As long as we do not twist the meaning, this simply shows the amazing power of the Word of God.
New Format
I am going to try putting my comments for each day in this left sidebar. The comments areas for the remaining weeks are displayed to the right. That is where you will place your comments for each week.
15 comments:
OK, we're back on-line. i'm ready to get back to typing. My book is The Art & Craft of Biblical Preaching by Robinson & Larson. This post includes last weeks & this weeks chapters.
Ch 141 Illustrating with Integrity & Sensitivity
Ch 142 Footnotes in the Pulpit
Ch 143 Avoiding Self-Centered Sermons
Ch 144 Illustrating with Slices of Life
Ch 145 Power of Everyday-Disciple Illustrations
PART 8 PREPARATION
Ch 146 Why I pat my Bible on the Nightstand
Ch 147 Bursting out of Sermon Block
Ch 148 Centered
Ch 149 A Long, Rich Coversation with God
Ch 150 A Mysterious Impulse to Pray
Ch 151 Preparing the Messenger
Ch 152 Lifted by the Accomanying
Ch 153 The Hard Work of Illumination
Ch 154 Heart to Heart Preaching
Ch 155 Imagination: The Preacher's Neglected Ally
Ch 156 Preaching that Magnifies God
Ch 157 When is a Sermon Good Enough
Ch 158 Making the Most of your Computer
Ch 159 How to Build a 1st Rate Library
Ch 160 What Makes a Sermon Deep?
Ch 161 Before You Preach
Ch 162 Inspiration Points
Ch 163 Simplify
Ch 164 Using Someone Elses Sermon
Ch 165 Planning For a Richer Deeper Sermon Series
PART 9 Delivery
Ch 166 The Source of Passion
Ch 167 Pathos Needed
Ch 168 Preaching with Intensity
Ch 169 No Notes, Lots of Notes
Ch 170 On the Eye of the Hearer
Ch 171 No Voice, No Preach
Ch 172 Eliminating My Um, Um, Annoying Pulpit Mannerisms
Ch 173 Reading Scripture in Public
Ch 174 Te Importance of Being Urgent
Ch 175 The Day I Lost My Nerve
PART 10 SPECIAL TOPICS
Ch 176 When You Dont Look Forward to Special Days
Ch 177 Preaching the Terrors
Ch 178 Preparing People to Suffer
Ch 179 Preaching Hell in a Tolerant Age
Ch 180 Preaching for Total Commitment
Thanks, Sean, Welcome back.
I know you probably haven't read it yet, but I will be interested to know what you learn in the chapter that talks about Preaching Hell in a Tolerant Age.
So, how do the authors say to use other people's sermons?
Let us know when you get that chapter read.
A few of the chapters dealt with prayer and preparing. I always feel inadequate in prayer. I know its probobly the most important past of my life with God, let alone my ministry. One of them stresses the point of having a time to "get away" from everything. If you've been saved for very long, you hear and understand it, but it seems when the time comes, I say "man, I should have done this more". I've noticed a lot of times, I get this time on Saturday mornings.
I liked on Ch 157, the author reminds us of who we are preaching to. He tells a story about a time when a high official from his organization calls and says he's coming to a morning service and the pastor had not been able to prepare like he normally would that week because one of his kids was sick. He gives the message but it reminded him to ask why he was preaching. It wasnt to impress his peers or bosses, but to God and his people.
I think its easy to worry about what you peers think about your message. To me, it can show your relationship with God. You are exposing yourself and raising your accountability. So I'm finding it important to find the middle ground. But I think ultimately if you strive to do Gods will, and keep pressing on, be yourself, you will find it.
Speaking of prayer, I have a prayer request for you guys. If you would please pray for my brother, Scott. He has epileptsy and is getting married this weekend. We are praying that he doesn't have any seizures during his wedding. Please join us in these prayers. Thank, guys.
Simplify is a quick chapter on keeping things simple. Most of this goes without saying. I've spoke enough to know that sometimes tring to stay exactly to what I've outlined, I've ended up not necessasarily losing the audience, but losing their interest. That might be because my outline is lacking, but keeping it simple and short is sometimes whats needed.
Ch 169 deals with notes. I havent preached that long but I do see the importance of them. This chapter discusses no notes, lots of notes, and brief notes. I can say that I've actually done it all 3 ways. So far, brief notes is the best for me. The author kind of agrees by saying it blends the other 2. But I do think personally that when I speak without notes and having to constantly go to them, I keep the listeners attention. I have started writing my thoughts out on paper, I do this for 2 reasons. 1 is so that I'll have it to go back to, or to have record of it. 2 is that by writing out my thoughts, I've found that I remember it better and it makes me think out my thoughts more clearly. By doing this I can speak longer without having to go back to my notes.
The chapter on using someone elses sermon deals with what plagiarism is. It says if you use someones thought word for word and its transcribed, you shoud put in a footnote. If you're speaking it, you should give that person credit for saying it. I think the bottom line of what they are wanting to get across is dont use someone elses idea and try to take the credit for yourself. Like your the one who thought it up.
Ch 170 talks about using visual effects in sermons. Meaning pictues, or a movie, " The screen!"
I believe that its a powerful tool in getting a point across, and probobly more so today that in the past because we are more and more of a visual generation as time goes by. But like anything else, too much a anything is bad. Kevin has used it, and he's conscious of using it too much. I like it.
Ch 171 No Voice, No Preach is a chapter on keeping voice in shape. It caught me by suprise, I didnt expect it to be about that. I know from hearing Kevin speak even with a cold that it can become distracting. It gives points like drinking warm tea or water instead of cough drops, and breathing exercises. It is a vital part of preaching
Ch 175 talks about losing your nerve while speaking. It comes from relying too much on yourself and not God. I believe God will inspire you to speak on something, and you can slack off on studying it out, and then come up short.
Ch 179 talks about preaching Hell in a tolerant age. It says that post-modernists believe that their god couldnt be so loving to send a soul to hell. I agree that they look at the Hell doctrine as an angry God punishing them for sin. I've come to the conclusion that 1st, for God to be just, sin has to have a cost. Te author explains that God hates the sin, not the sinner. He uses an example of a father that has a son that is an alcoholic. He loves the son, but hates the alcoholism. Because of the intamcy of the father/son relationship, the disgust of the sin is bigger.
He also says he depicts sin as slavery. We are able to let it control us enough to not even be aware of it. We are freely chosing it. I personally believe that we chose it, and God simply gives us what we want. If we dont want a relationship with Him, he grants it.
He also says that a god that didnt require an action of love (i.e. the cross) would be a distant god, less intimate. It wouldnt be amazing at all.
Thanks for the inputs about preaching Hell in a tolerant age!
I don;t know if you will see this today. But if you do: What were some ideas for "bursting out of sermon 'block'?"
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