![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/praying-over-Bible.jpg\")
I know that I\u2019m not a great orator, but I don\u2019t hang my head low feeling sorry for myself. I have a job to do: Present the word of God. When I stand to teach or preach I am often hit with an overwhelming sense of responsibility. I wonder, \u201cHow can I possibly communicate a relevant message to all of these people?\u201d In the audience, I see kids who are old enough to listen. There are adults of differing generations; people with different backgrounds, interests, circumstances, needs. \u201cIs my sermon relevant?\u201d Paul said, \u201cI have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some<\/em>\u201d (I Corinthians 9:22). Yet, how can that be done this Sunday? To this audience with all their differences?<\/p>\nI don\u2019t joke around when I preach. In my experience, the things that you find funny may puzzle or offend others. (Some folks love a dose of sarcasm; others disapprove strongly, others miss the humor entirely.)<\/p>\n
What about a good story? All too often, whether humorous or enlightening or emotionally charged, stories overshadow the biblical truth they are meant to illustrate. So, what good is a story remembered when the truth is not?<\/p>\n
There is a place and there is a time to share the riches of the original languages of the Bible — the Greek and Hebrew. Yet, if I am simply blinding you with my brilliance, \u201cI\u201d block out God\u2019s glory!<\/p>\n
I was taught that a preacher should start a sermon with a joke or humorous story. I don\u2019t believe that. (Check out Paul\u2019s sermon in Athens in Acts 17.)<\/p>\n
I was taught that every sermon should have three points and, at the end of the sermon, a poem. I don\u2019t believe that either. (Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7?)<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been told that the preaching style of the orators of the 1800s was real preaching. Then again, others say the fire-and-brimstone preaching of the 1940s and \u201950s was real preaching. Then again, the preaching style of the preacher that you loved when you were growing up was real preaching. Real preaching?<\/p>\n
Again, we are so different from one another that rarely does a single lesson pierce the heart of every person. Yet, I know that:<\/p>\n
“The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart<\/em>” (Hebrews 4:12).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The power is in the word of God…not me.<\/p>\n
God wanted His prophet Ezekiel to sound an alarm:<\/p>\n
“Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me<\/em>” (Ezekiel 3:17).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
A preacher\u2019s job is to relay God\u2019s message. He has no control over the way people respond.<\/p>\n
When the preacher Philip approached the man from Ethiopia asking if he understood the Scriptures, the man said, \u201cHow can I unless someone guides me?<\/em>\u201d (Acts 8:31). That is also my role: to guide through teaching.<\/p>\n
I answered my question in the title years ago for myself. Based on the God-given task of a preacher, what is your role when God\u2019s word is spoken?<\/p>\n
Are you listening?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Mark Stinnett After having preached full-time for only a few years, a good friend exclaimed excitedly at the end of a worship service, \u201cNow, that is what I call preaching!\u201d A visiting preacher spoke that day. My friend was not intentionally unkind, and I did not take it personally, but it did sting. I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[536],"class_list":["post-14509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-preaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60538,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/two-preachers-amos-and-amaziah\/","url_meta":{"origin":14509,"position":0},"title":"Two Preachers: Amos and Amaziah","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Mark White The Old Testament prophet Amos was a shepherd turned preacher. The crowd to whom he preached was the upper class of Israel, including the King himself. He was not their choice of a preacher, however. They did not choose him -- God chose Amos for them. His\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20246,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/hard-preaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":14509,"position":1},"title":"Hard Preaching","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Guy F. Hester Recently someone told me that I am a hard preacher. This could be either good or bad, depending on what is meant by hard preaching. In the context of the conversation, I took it as a compliment to my firm stance for my convictions. Many people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/hammer-and-rock-300x300.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12258,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/someone-said-i-wasnt-doing-my-duty-as-a-preacher-because-im-not-always-out-on-the-street-preaching-what-do-you-think\/","url_meta":{"origin":14509,"position":2},"title":"Someone said I wasn’t doing my duty as a preacher because I’m not always out on the street preaching. What do you think?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 9, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A\u00a0young man, who is about 30 years old, married, and has a couple of children, took\u00a0a preacher training class.\u00a0I was informed by the preacher teaching that class that this man had\u00a0moved to this area several months ago.\u00a0The preacher asked me to contact him, so\u00a0I did so\u00a0last evening and learned\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61552,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-preaching-and-evangelism\/","url_meta":{"origin":14509,"position":3},"title":"Notes on Preaching and Evangelism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 25, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Preaching is a work within the church Men were called evangelists: Acts 21:8; II Timothy 4:5 Christ appointed some men as evangelists - Ephesians 4:11 The word translated evangelism comes from a Greek word used to describe bringing the joyous news of victory from the battlefront. It is often translated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20232,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-can-be-done-about-a-preacher-who-puts-more-effort-into-delivery-than-into-content\/","url_meta":{"origin":14509,"position":4},"title":"What can be done about a preacher who puts more effort into delivery than into content?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I\u00a0worship at a\u00a0church of Christ\u00a0and have a concern about the preaching there. The sermons are really for show rather than substance. The preacher seems very pleased with his oratory style raising and lowering his voice and parading up and down in front of the congregation. I have mentioned this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67775,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-work-of-preaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":14509,"position":5},"title":"The Work of Preaching","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Over time, a typical preacher will have preached hundreds of times (thousands once you figure in decades). He will have taught even more classes, again into the thousands. Don't judge a preacher or teacher by one or two sermons or lessons. There is no way to cover\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14509\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}