PART I: INTRODUCTION TO THE
IMPORTANCE OF PREACHING
ONE: THE ROLE OFPREACHING IN THE CHURCH MINISTRY
1.1Preaching is the generating source of Christian faith. Paul says about their interrelation, “Faith comes by hearing” (Rom 10.17). Preaching is an event in which God acts and the preacher, inspired by the Holy Spirit, conveys the message of truth and grace, to teach and to edify, so that the hearers of the divine words may reach a fuller spiritual life useful in communal service and individual salvation.
Homiletics, or the art of preaching, is a critical discipline, which understands and uses homily (talk, conversation, or effective preaching) as a type of meaningful discourse. We may use the “archer-target” metaphor to describe the function of preaching. A successful preaching can be compared to a purposeful archer who sends an arrow to the target. The archer’s (The preacher’s) arrows (sermon) carry God’s Word to the target (listener) with the effect of changing the listener’s beliefs or behavior for conversion or edification.
1.2Abundant testimonies in the scripture bear witness to the efficacy of the spoken word. The sacred writings consist largely, if not wholly, of reports of traditions long transmitted orally before having been committed to writing, or of materials written primarily to read aloud to a congregation:
Example 1: The Book of Deuteronomy is essentially intended for every man, woman and child in Israel: “And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise...” (Deut 6.5-9).
With comparatively long sentences, a stock vocabulary, frequent use of synonym and a passionate hortatory tone, the Book of Deuteronomy stands out as a homily intended for religious instruction and education. A prominent use of an “1-Thou” mode of address, including its central law code, is cast in the form of a three-part discourse (1.1-4.43; 4.44-29.1; 29.2-30.10) given in the plains of Moab by Moses to Israel on the eve of the people’s historical entry into Canaan.
Example 2: King Solomon’s Speech at the Dedication of the Temple (I Kgs 8.14-66): King Solomon is described as standing before the Ark of Covenant and the whole congregation. As a fulfillment of the promise given in 2 Samuel 7 11- 17 the building of the Temple shows God’s will for the Davidic dynasty, and the holy attributes of God in dealing with His people.
In this dedicatory speech, Solomon emphasizes the nature of “conditional blessing” and the transcendence of God. The dedication of the Temple for the glory of God is related to divine initiative and human responsibility. God keeps covenant and shows steadfast love. He is ready to forgive the sins of those who are genuinely repentant, while instructing the people of Israel and the nations about the right and good way in which they should walk. He will grant rain and good harvest, and finally, while delivering them out of pestilence and natural disasters, He will guarantee His people victory over the enemy.
The key point is that the people of Israel must fear God all the days that they live in the land given by God.
Example 3: The Lord Jesus own ministry was primarily one of preaching, working side by side with divine power (Matt 4.17, Mark 1.38; Isa 61.1; Luke 4.18; Matt 9.35-3 7).
In His ministry, Jesus Christ demonstrates a compelling personality, the voice of prophecy, and the power of the Holy Spirit. The form and techniques of his teaching combine simplicity and artistry. Simple, because He speaks about the plain truth about God, His messianic mission, and the ethical and moral norms for the Kingdom and Righteousness of God. Sophisticated, because Jesus’ teaching can be studied at a great length from perspectives of rhetorical art.
Jesus Christ uses such forms as simile, metaphor, irony, paradox, and parable to capture the attention of his followers and to reveal the profound spiritual realities. Let us take the parables, which comprise more than one-third of Jesus’ recorded teaching, as an example. He uses parabolic figures and stories to present an envisioned life of moral action and spiritual growth in the face of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
In the parable of the sower, that “a man went out to sow” thus charts four kinds of “heart soil”--hardness, superficiality, puzzlement, and commitment. How much the “seeds”, i.e., the divine words (Luke 8.11; I Pet 1.23), can become productive and fruitful depends upon the hearers’ faith and obedience. Jesus commends an honest and good heart that brings forth fruit with patience (Luke 8.1 5).
Example 4: The Apostle Paul’s famous speech to the Athenians at Areopagus (Acts 1 7.22-31). Paul’s speech is a model of Christian preaching to people who have no contact with the Gospel of salvation. In Acts 17, Paul reacts immediately on seeing the ubiquitous idols of the Greek mythological deities. Aware of the Athenians’ ignorance, Paul commends religious consciousness and human piety toward something greater and more overwhelming. But he introduces the true God as Creator and Redeemer as a contrast to the “unknown gods” worshipped by the Greeks. With a natural grace and in prose rhythm, Paul’s speech on the Areopagus teaches people about the falsehood of pantheism and idolatry and about the need to worship the true God.
Paul uses natural theology (i.e., nature manifesting the mighty deeds of God in His dealing with the world and human destiny), cosmology (i.e., origin of the universe as deriving from the creation of God), and Christology (Jesus Christ as the son of God and the Messiah for the salvation of humanity) to prove to the highly intellectual but blindly pious Greeks that Jesus Christ is the key to salvation.
1.3For the sustained life of the church and her mission to the world, Jesus Christ commanded His disciples to preach the gospel of the Kingdom (Matt 24.14, 26.13, 28.18-20; Luke 24.44-49; Acts 1.8; Eph 2.13-17). After the Lord Jesus’ Ascension, preaching was an important element in the apostolic ministry (Mark 3.14, Matt 10.5-7; Mark 16.15,20; Acts 5.42; 8.25, 40). Paul’s letters point out the supreme value of preaching. To the apostle, preaching is to please God (1Cor 1.21; Gal 1.15-16) and to remind the believers of the divine law and moral obligation (1Cor 9.16; Rom 10.13-15; 1Tim 2.7; 2 Tim 4.2).
Since the Lord Jesus Christ is the pioneer and finisher of our salvation (Heb 12.2), the workers of God and members of the true community of faith should carry out the kerygmatic proclamation of God’s salvation in the end-time. Through the proper use of preaching, one establishes relationships between God and man, the church and the world. Goals for the church ministry and humanitarian concerns are identified, developed, and expressed. For this reason, a sermon may be viewed as a dynamic, ongoing, complex communication process.
1.4From time to time, people have confronted bad sermons. What follows are just a few examples of faulty or faltering sermons followed by indications of underlying causes of failure and possible remedies.
1.4.1The preacher uses too many scriptures without organic connections, jumping from one point to another incoherently. While quoting scriptures, the preacher may fail to give persuasive argumentation relevant to the main theme of the message.
Reason: This may be caused by a lack of training in expository preaching and a misconception of “explaining scripture with scripture” without paying enough attention to methods of development and logical connections among the scriptures.
1 .4.2Sermons are too analytic and contain too many complex ideas that the congregation can neither understand nor absorb. They are too mechanical, propositional, and impersonal. They lack illustrations from daily life and fail to give guidance to commitment and action.
Reason: There are two problems in this regard. One, preachers unduly assume that lay members have a greater knowledge of biblical and theological lore and language than they actually do. As a result, preachers fail to explain, illustrate, clarify, or elaborate various vita/points.
The second problem lies in the failure of the preachers to relate their sermons to the faith condition of the congregation. They do speak nothing about what the congregation knows or what sort of spiritual, moral, and scriptural problems have confronted the congregation.
1.4.3Sermons may have merits in offering “spiritual teaching”, but show limited learning or research in linguistic, textual, historical, theological aspects of the Bible. Sophisticated audiences with special educational background may sometimes find that the preachers talk about topics about which they do not quite feel at home.
Reason:The preachers do not press on becoming more knowledgeable in the exegetical method, history, and theology of the Bible. People may be sluggards or extremists so as to be hostile to secular learning;it is advisable that preachers strive to become well-versed in humanities, social sciences, and other learned disciplines.
1.4.4The preachers deliver the message with a strange and improper pronunciation and weak enunciation. Their grammar and syntax are incorrect, and choice of words is imprecise and misguiding.
Reason: The preachers do not take into consideration fundamental linguistic aspects of a sermon with regards to idiomatic, syntactical, and grammatical points which contribute Sa readable or presentable discourse.
1.4.5Sermons do not agree with the personality and character of the preachers. The listener may think, “I am not fully convinced, although it is the word of God. I know how the speaker behaves in his private life.”
Reason: Words and deeds do not match. This sort of discrepancy is detrimental to the faith of the congregation on the one hand, and the glorious name of the Lord on the other.
1.4.6Sermons show a high-flown language and pompous style.” Is the speaker speaking from the heart, or acting like a tele-evangelist? Why is he so dogmatic and full of sound and fury at various places? Is he creating a heroic image of himself?”
Reason: The pulpit is mistaken for a political platform, or a performance stage. In the course of preaching, a preacher ought to be concerned with the spiritual matters and things pertaining to the kingdom of God. There is no room for self-interest and vulgar trivialities.
TWO: AN ‘INTERDICT’ FOR THE PREACHERS
As a spokesman of God, a minister must be alerted against profanity, falsehood, greed, self-conceitedness, sexual immorality, and other vices. He must be aware of things listed below:
2.1One shall never preach false teachings or heresies (1 Tim 1.3, 6.3; 2 Pet 2.1; Gal 1.6-9). Let no human precepts be treated, as the divine will. Worldly things and contradictory instructions should be removed from the sermons (Acts 20.20, 26-27; Ezek 3.17-21; 2 Tim 4.2; Tit 1.13; Mic 3.5-8).
One must be seasoned with wisdom (Matt 10.16) and refute ungodly chatter (Col 2.8; 1 Tim 6.20-21; 2 Pet 2.16-18), myths (1 Tim 1.4; Tit 1.14), or arbitrary rules or regulations (Col 2.16-1 8; Matt 15.9). For the glory of the Name of the Lord, one must preach the spiritual truth and the mystery of the gospel (Col 4.3-4; Eph 6.19; 1 Cor 1.17, 2.1-6). One shall never go beyond the teaching of Jesus Christ (2Jn 9).
2.2One shall never abuse nor tamper with God’s words (2Cor 4.2; 2Thess 2.3), nor misguide the listeners (Matt 15.14; 23.15-16, 24). None shall alter, modify, change the pure and true words of God (Deut 4.2, 12.32; Prov 30.5-6, 22.18-19), nor become a peddler of God’s words for personal pomp or profit (2Cor 2.17; 1 Tim 6.5).
2.3With the righteousness of God, a preacher shall never please people (Gal 1.10; 1Thess 2.4-5), nor shall he show partiality (Deut 16.18-20; Ps 82.1-4; Job 32.18-22). He shall never be intimidated by men (Jer 1.7; Gal 2.11-14, 5.7-12), but learn from the undaunted prophets and men of faith in the Bible. He must always demonstrate compassion, humility and justice (Mic 6.8).
2.4A preacher shall never use the pulpit as a podium for criticism, curses or counterclaims (Rom 12.14-21; 1Cor 4.12-13; Luke 9.51 56), except for the demonstration of the Holy Spirit under unusual circumstances (Acts 5.1-11; 13.6-11). The pulpit is the place where God’s love, mercy, and holiness shine through the heart of every listener.
THREE: WHO IS COMMANDED TO PREACH?
3.1God calls His church in general and His ministers in particular to preach His Word. Those who are sent by the Holy Spirit must fulfill this great commission (Jn 17.18; Matt 28.19-20) by preaching the gospel of the Kingdom accompanied by miracles and signs. Through the authority and power of the Spirit and the Gospel truth, they are to retain or release sins and administer sacraments (Jn 20.21-23; He 2.3,4; Rom 15.18; Luke 24.47-49).
3.2Every true Christian has a mission. He or she must join the rank and file of the ministers of the Word of God in teaching, healing, helping and guiding people to the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ by the divine power (2 Tim 4.2). Be a good comrade-in-faith with other fellow workers of God.
FOUR: PREACHING AS COMMUNICA TION
The preacher occupies a central position in the communication process. Preaching is more than a branch of oratorical rhetoric. It is rather a spiritual event in which the minister proclaims the will and the word of God.
4.1A minister closes the gap between what the Bible offers and what the people spiritually need. He is to heal, to exhort, to edify (2 Tim 3.16; Rom 15.4).
4.1.1He proclaims the love and mighty acts of God for man’s salvation (Col 1.18-24; Mark 5.19).
4.1.2He makes possible the listener’s personal encounter with Christ in truth and spirit (Jn 4.5-26; Acts 8.26-39; Col 1.23, 2:6-7).
4.1.3He teaches the congregation the spiritual truth and the process of divine education in holiness and righteousness required of the chosen people (2 Tim 2.15; Deut 4.10; Eph 5.26-27; Rev 21.1-3)
4.1.4He sustains the faith, hope and love of the congregation, and helps them lead a life worthy of the Lord (Cot 1.9-12; Eph 4.21-24 2 Pet 1.3-11).
4.2Communication Levels in the Preaching Ministry: Preaching is an interpersonal communication between the divine and the human world, and the divine words and believers’ life on the one hand, and between the minister and the whole congregation on the other. It implies a process of internal and external message.
4.2.1.The interpersonal communication involves the minister’s pattern of perception -- how he observes, evaluates, and attaches meaning to ideas, events, and experiences in the divine commission. A preacher must be a holy vessel of God, a serious Bible student, and a compassionate lover of humanity. Otherwise, he will be blindly leading the congregation.
Preaching always reminds the minister of the channel of communication between God and himself (Jer 1.4-10, Isa 6.1-8). A close divine-human relation is exemplified by Daniel and his three friends. Keen and devout in religious sensibility, they constantly prayed for revelation and proclamation of His will (Dan 2.17-30; 1.8,17).
4.2.2.Preaching in its second level involves interaction between persons. The interpersonal communication is either a shared experience in the common Christian context, or informal introduction of the saving grace to heathens or ignorant Christians.
Interpersonal communication occurs even in adverse circumstances. See how Jesus informally addressed to the Samaritan woman about the living water (Jn 4.7-26) or how he enlightens the two disciples on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24.13-34). Philip the evangelist delivered the message in a similar way to the Ethiopian eunuch about the salvation of the Lord Jesus as a fulfillment of lsaianic prophecy concerning the Suffering Servant (Acts 8.26-40; Isa 53 .4-10).
4.2.3.Organizational communication is the third level of communication. It is either 1) small-group communication in the Bible studies group, family service, campus fellowship, or 2) a highly structured congregational worship. Through structured activity the organizational communication accomplishes the intended purposes of fellowship and communal benefits. Preaching is a vital part of worship services, sacraments, evangelical services, or theological sessions.
4.2.4.Mass communication is the fourth level of communication, involving the use of radio, television, newspapers, periodicals, Internet, and other media. The public at large receives the message in a different environment like an auditorium, living room, hospital, or in a car. In this way, formal mass communication can become informal and interpersonal. Despite the tendency for people to abuse the media for profit or on personal grounds, persuasion delivered by the mass communication has potential to reach more broadly than a structured congregation setting.
4.2.5.In all wisdom the preacher exhorts and teaches people so that they may be presented fully and maturely to Christ (Col 1.28). Hearing of the word of God must be followed by a continued attention to the listeners until they are firmly rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ.
4.2.5.1The minister and the church board must know the names of the visitors and truth seekers who have participated in worship and church activities, their addresses, and their material and spiritual needs. The church should update the records of their addresses, telephone numbers, and other related information.
4.2.5.2One should make special prayers and supplications, make telephone contacts, and schedule visitations.
4.2.
4.2.5.3The church should provide up-to-date gospel tracts, journals, and other forms of evangelism and
spiritual food to those who have participated in the preaching communication sessions.
4.2.5.4Occasional correspondence and continued invitation to church services should occur, and, if
possible, Bible study should be extended to the homes of the friends and visitors who show keen
interest in search for the words of truth.
F1VE: THE INDISPENSABLE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIR1T
5.1Preaching must by all means derive from the power of the Holy Spirit. “It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, in the things which have now been announced to you by those who preached the good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven” (1 Pet 1.12; 4.11). For this reason, preachers must be filled with the Holy Spirit (Jn 3.34) and speak the word of God with “the wisdom and Holy Spirit” (Acts 6.10; 4.8’ Eph 1.17, 18—).
5.2The Lord Jesus had commanded the disciples to wait for the promise of the Father before they went out to preach. They received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1.5-8; 2.1-13, 33). With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the early Christians extended the ministry of the Kingdom of God from Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, Syria, Asia Minor to the Mediterranean world. Like the apostolic times, our church has for the past decades received the same ecclesial and spiritual experience in the ministry of the Kingdom of God. We must persist in the Gospel truth and receiving mighty works of the Holy Spirit.