Re-imagining the pulpit: Lectures or living Words?

I wonder how many sermons you have heard in your lifetime. I reckon I have heard at least 15,000. And just a few have left such an impression that years later I can tell you what was said, who preached them and where I was.

Each of those was characterised by an earnestness - an expression of the heart of the preacher. They fed my soul, impacted my will and exalted the Lord Jesus.

The sermons that impacted me were not from a preacher seeking to merely transfer the information he had in his brain to download into my brain. They were not lectures. Neither were they simply read from a script.

We certainly don’t want preachers ad-libbing or "winging it," nor messages which are a series of anecdotes, but serious well-prepared proclamation of God’s Word.

Each preacher was unique, they had different personalities, their intonations were not copies of their favourite preacher, and their passion was evident. Phillips Brooks had it right when he defined preaching as "truth through personality," as did Martyn Lloyd Jones with his "logic on fire."

The messages will have been carefully prepared and prayed over, proclaimed in a way that was designed to capture and keep my attention, maybe knock me down, pick me up, and send me on my way, with an attitude of greater praise to the Lord, and commitment to glorify Him.

"Ordinary men" - lay preachers, who often at great personal sacrifice, pray, study, prepare and proclaim, often to smaller congregations - can have ministries that are appreciated and blessed. Their sermons relate to their listeners, and although rarely on "big" platforms, are impacting many in their walk with the Lord.

Preaching and teaching with 'imagination'

Warren Wiersbe in his book Preaching and Teaching with Imagination, writes: “People’s minds are not debating chambers, but picture galleries, therefore preach so that you turn people’s ears into eyes, and they see the truth.”

Chatting to a minister recently, I happened to say that I enjoy reading sermons by Victorian preachers. He asked me why not the sermons of someone who lived 200+ years earlier. Thinking about the question I wish I had replied that it was because I love the Victorian preachers’ use of imagination. That is not to say their preaching was perfect, as I think many of us would have wanted more systematic expository preaching. But there was imagination, creativity and gripping communication while central was the preaching of the Word of God.

There are many ways to preach the word: Mr Spurgeon preached differently to Mr Moody; Dr Luther preached differently to Dr Lloyd Jones; Billy Graham preached differently to Charles Simeon - but they each preached the Word of God powerfully and faithfully whilst exalting our Saviour.

These preachers drew crowds of people because they knew they were listening to a message from God. As an evangelist, I feel this challenge deeply - for every preacher to proclaim a message from God aimed not only to inform but to stir the heart and will of those who have ears to hear.

Christ and cross-centred preaching

The Lord Jesus, His cross and resurrection, are the backdrop to all Scripture. I believe that every sermon, from whichever part of the Bible, should pave a way to Jesus. Paul wrote: "I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."

We can learn how to preach by reading/listening to the sermons of our Lord. Jesus’ sermons were not simply an intellectual exercise. He spoke of things with which His listeners were familiar, catching their interest by taking their ears and eyes from the ordinary to the eternal. All who heard Him were left with an immediate decision as to what they had to do about the things they had just heard. Not all understood, and many did not respond as they should. Those who did respond felt their hearts warmed within them, and their walk changing direction.

The apostle Paul wrote: "You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified" (Galatians 3v1). The Galatian believers were not present at Calvary when Jesus was crucified. So, what did Paul mean? He was referring to the message of the gospel that he had preached, which had come across so clearly that the hearers not only heard but "saw" the Saviour crucified.

We know that "Christ and Him crucified" was central to the preaching of Paul - for he explained his homiletic at the beginning of his letter to the Corinthians. The Galatians, having heard and seen, made a definite, memorable response, so that Paul could remind them exactly how they received the Spirit. Good sermons should lead to a definite response.

Watchman Nee asked questions that I believe every Bible college student and every preacher needs to ask regularly of themselves: "Are we aware of this living, powerful character of God’s [Word]? Does it deal with us like a sharp, two-edged sword? Or do we handle it as though it were one more book to be studied and analysed?"

The Lord has given the Word so that those who have ears will hear - let all ministers preach in such a way.