In his timely little book, God Hath Spoken, J. I. Packer has an introductory chapter called “The Lost Word.” He likens our day to the period of which Amos prophesied: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD” (8:11). He goes on to say that these words “show us the present state of much of Christendom.… Preaching is hazy; heads are muddled; hearts fret; doubts drain our strength; uncertainty paralyzes action.… Why is this?” Dr. Packer answers his own question by asserting that “for two generations our churches have suffered from a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.”
Only a little while ago one of the greatest preachers of our day bared his heart to a group of ministers when he said: “I am appalled by the lack of true expository preaching today.”
To my mind, expository preaching is the most inclusive and rewarding means of communicating divine truth. Experience has taught me that to go through the Bible in this fashion covers more ground in doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness than is covered in any other method of preaching.
Three things should determine the spirit and content of all preaching. In order of importance, there is first the minister’s ordination. The call to the ministry and “the ordination of the pierced hands” should serve as a constant and humbling reminder of one’s responsibility before God. In his Epistles to Timothy, the Apostle Paul solemnly reveals the true nature of God’s ordination to the ministry of the Gospel, and he concludes by saying: “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word.… do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:1, 2, 5). How I wish that fellow ministers all over our land who are leaving the pulpit today and giving attention to matters of secondary importance would seriously consider such words as these, lest they fail to fulfill their vows of ordination.
Next in importance to the ordination is the minister’s preparation. There is, of course, such a thing as physical preparation. To be at one’s best, both in the study and in the pulpit, one must carefully watch such matters as diet, sleep, and exercise. A workout at a local gymnasium or regular participation in some active sport will do much to keep the minister fit. Reading John Wesley’s Journal and observing the habits of his life have been of enormous value to me in this matter.
Beyond the physical, however, is the spiritual preparation. To fail here is to fail in every other area of the ministry. The preacher should see to it that his devotional life is safeguarded at all costs. God is far more interested in what he is than in what he does. During the daily “quiet time,” the soul is bared before the presence of the Holy One, and the minister seeks—through prayer, the reading of the Scriptures, and the filling of the Holy Spirit—to enter into a deeper fellowship with his Lord. To me, this daily appointment with God is the barometer of my spiritual life.
Then there is the practical preparation. I see this as a twofold requirement. First, there must be general preparation. A minister should read widely, for reading feeds the soul, stimulates the mind, and begets all sorts of ideas for sermon material. The second requirement is specific preparation. This has to do with the choice of the subject, the construction of the skeleton, the collation of the substance, and the composition of the sermon. To accomplish these aims, he must spend many hours in prayer, reading, and meditation. During this period God’s message unfolds and the sermon begins to take shape.
I try to make sure that the introduction is designed to arrest attention, clear prejudice, and place my subject in the right perspective. Then follows exposition, application, and peroration. Truth, when understood, demands a verdict; so to interpret rightly is to apply divine truth. My sermonic construction normally has three main headings with two or three subheadings. All these are carefully designed to represent the natural divisions of the text and to relate to the main theme or subject, so as to carry perfect sequence. When I feel I have my material sufficiently mastered, I dictate the entire sermon at one sitting. By this means I not only impress the message upon my own soul but also test the sermon for what I call “preachable material.” It is one thing to write an essay but quite another to proclaim a message!
All this preparation takes place early in the week. By Tuesday I usually have my subjects, outline, and appropriate readings ready for publication in our weekly bulletin. Wednesday is given over to preparation of my midweek Bible lecture. During the rest of the week I add the final touches to the sermons. Late Saturday and early Sunday I set aside to pray through each sermon until the Word truly becomes flesh; only then do I feel that I am ready for the pulpit. I always prefer to preach without notes; when preparation has been thorough and anointed by the Spirit, it is a liberating experience to stand up and deliver God’s message.
As in my reading, so in my preaching I seek to observe a balance in the content of truth. For instance, some time ago I delivered a series of sermons on the Ten Commandments. I followed this with expositions of God’s love. When I have been in the Old Testament for some time, I balance this with a season in the New Testament. In my present church, Sunday morning is regarded as worship hour with an emphasis on the devotional. In the evening, the accent is on witness and the evangelistic approach. Wednesday evening is given to a teaching ministry. While I prefer to maintain an announced series on each of these occasions, I do interrupt the sequence to preach appropriate sermons at Christmas, Easter, Whitsun, and other significant days of the year.
My concluding word is on the minister’s declaration. Ordination and preparation mean very little if there is failure to communicate. For this reason great attention should be given to such matters as voice production and projection, good diction, and pleasing gestures.
Along with this must be the preacher’s set purpose in declaring the truth of God. He must see to it that each sermon is designed to satisfy the mind, stir the heart, and strengthen the will to respond to the claims of God in Jesus Christ. All preaching should be the declaration of the grace of God to human need on the authority of Holy Scripture with a view to claiming a verdict.
Finally, let it be said that the power to declare truth is entirely dependent upon the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Only he can bring about the combination of truth, clarity, and passion that makes a sermon live. In a day when the lamp of witness bums low, it is my prayer that God will raise up his Samuels to appreciate and communicate the only cure for personal, social, and national ills by preaching the Word of God.—The Rev. Dr. STEPHEN F. OLFORD, pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, New York City.
