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 PrintableVersion Setting Hearts on Fire - a guide to giving evangelistic talksSERMON TITLE : BUY THIS BOOKTEXT: SETTING HEARTS ON FIRE (A guide to giving an evangelistic talk.) By John Chapman INTRODUCTIONOK. After reading this book I have to make sure to have a good introduction. This is really very important. The purpose of this part of the talk is to arouse interest and motivate. I can do this by asking a question, using a shocking statement, appealing to a known need or telling a story. I think I will opt for the shocking statement to get attention: SELL YOUR DR MARTYN LLOYD-JONES SERMONS AND BUY THIS BOOK! MAIN BODY OF TALKWhat I have to do here is to help the hearers understand why they need to buy the book. 'The dynamic of giving talks from the Bible is not so much that I, the speaker, tell you, the listener, what the Bible is saying. It is rather that I, the speaker, invite you, the listener, to look at the Bible with me and together we discover its meaning.' Now, the trouble here is that I am typing this talk, and as John says: 'It is worth bearing in mind that we speak differently from how we write. Written communication allows us to have the maximum amount of ideas with the minimum number of words. People can read them at their leisure. They can stop and think. They can re-read them and, if they are eager beavers, they can look up the meaning of the words in a dictionary! This is not the case with the spoken word. Once it is gone, it is gone. There is no time to stop and think about an idea ... Shorter sentences are more easily grasped than long complicated ones. As you are writing the manuscript of your talk, ask yourself the question: is this the way you speak?' The book is a great example of clearly laid-out easy-to-read sentences. Each chapter begins with a short point saying what the chapter is about. And ends with a summary to remind you what the chapter was about. Servant of the Word'Brothers, as I exegete this book our minds will be taken up with six points.' That doesn't sound right. What about . . . 'There are six great chapters here.' Mind you, John tells us that we must not use all the stuff we have found in the study. We must learn to cut out most of it so we don't overload people. So I will just pick out two points. * WHAT IS PREACHING?To quote from the book: 'Preaching is not sharing my thoughts with you but thinking God's thoughts aloud.' 'It should be noted that the way the Spirit brings us to new birth is inseparably tied up with the preaching of the Word of God.' But be warned, preacher; as John says: 'Just because I use the Bible, there is no guarantee that what I am saying is what the Bible is saying. We need to take the greatest care when handling the Word of God.' * WHAT IS THE GOSPEL WE PREACH?This is a beautifully simple summary of the whole Bible message from Genesis to Revelation. * PLUS OTHER GREAT CHAPTERS THAT WE CAN'T LOOK INTO IN THIS TALK. Servant of the peopleEight more wonderful chapters full of the wisdom of an old preacher who is prepared to confess he has made mistakes, and, at the end of his ministry, is still working hard at learning to communicate. There's great advice here, ranging from how to prepare the introduction, main body and the conclusion, to the use of illustrations and the voice. Model talksFour full-length sermons to illustrate the whole book. And six outlines. There is even an assessment form to help you assess your preaching. Do you dare use it? CONCLUSIONSo I am calling on you, young and old, to buy the book and read it. It is an easy and refreshing read. PRAYERDear Father, help me to repent of sloppy preaching. Thank you for the challenge of this book. Help me and other preachers to be better at our job and clearer communicators of your word. I pray for those who have been preaching for years and think that they don't need to read this book. Help them to read it and adapt wherever necessary. Amen. Peter Woodcock,
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