Check out how John Maxwell recovered or didn’t recover from his preaching

Sinclair Ferguson asks:

What Ten Commandments, what rule of preaching-life, do I wish someone had written for me to provide direction, shape, ground rules, that might have helped me keep going in the right direction and gaining momentum in ministry along the way?

Here is an outline of his answers:

1. Know your Bible better.
2. Be a man of prayer.
3. Do not lose sight of Christ.
4. Be deeply trinitarian.
5. Use your imagination.
6. Speak much of sin and grace.
7. Use the “plain style.”
8. Find your own voice.
9. Learn how to transition.
10. Love your people.

Got the article here

Forget the wives. How hot are the pastors?

From Christopher Ash, The Priority of Preaching:

We must not equate passion with style. But we must have hearts aflame with passion. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones famously defined preaching as, “Logic on fire! Eloquent reason! . . . Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire.”

The story is told that when W.E. Sangster was interviewing a candidate for the ministry, the nervous young man explained that he was quite shy and not the sort of person ever to set the River Thames on fire. “My dear young brother,” responded Sangster, “I’m not interested to know if you could set the Thames on fire. What I want to know is this: if I picked you up by the scruff of your neck and dropped you into the Thames, would it sizzle?”

Never mind his eloquence; was he himself on fire? (p.67)

And from John Updike’s Rabbit, Run:

When on Sunday morning, then, when you go out before their faces, we must walk up not worn out with misery but full of Christ, hot with Christ, on fire: burn them with the force of our belief.

As pastors, we must first preach the gospel to ourselves before we proclaim to the world the necessity of a Savior.  How damnable it would be to die of malnutrition while we busily prepare food for others.

—Scott Thomas

The best advice we ever give is that of a poor sinner to another poor sinner. As one who looks to herself, lest she also be tempted.  As one who knows he needs to be encouraged as well.  As one who doesn’t assume to know another’s heart and pain.

—Mark Altrogge

If one wanted to find the biggest problem in Christianity then listen to the preachers. Whatever most preachers are avoiding in their sermons. Whatever most preachers are not addressing. Those things are probably going to be the things that are most needed today.

—Sherman Haywood Cox II

Sermons are not made for paper; they are made for people. They are to be listened to. Just like Ford test-drives any prototype before they produce the vehicle, you should test drive your sermon by listening to it before you preach it.

—Mark Mohler

We all know that it is important to know what you are teaching, but it is becoming even more important to know how they are learning.

—Wayne Cordeiro

To help people change, you’ve got to help them see the lie they’re basing their behavior on. That’s why when you know the truth, it sets you free.

—Rick Warren

What the world is looking for is an authoritative Gospel spoken through a humble personality.

—P.T. Forsythe

People don’t transform because of a good message. They transform because of a great Jesus.

—Pete Wilson

Lectures are a fine way to impart raw information. But it’s not enough to make disciples who make other disciples. Information transfer isn’t enough, we need life transfer. Don’t tell me, show me.

—Jon Reid

When preachers hold a Bible in their hands, they hold nothing more than pages of ink…Preaching brings the ink of the text alive—makes it real. The goal of preaching is to hand on an experience of God.

—Tom Rogers

compiled by Toni Ridgaway

I’ll say it over and over: The purpose of preaching is obedience. Every preacher in the New Testament—including Jesus—emphasized conduct, behavioral change, and obedience. You only really believe the parts of the Bible that you obey. People say, “I believe in tithing.” But do they tithe? No? Then they don’t believe in it.

That is why you should always preach for response, aiming for people to act on what is said. John did this: “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:17 NIV) And in 1 John 2:3 (NIV), “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.”

After about 30 years of preaching, here are nine things I’ve learned about preaching for life change:

1. All behavior is based on a belief.

If you get divorced, it’s because you believe that disobeying God will cause you less pain than staying in your marriage. It’s a lie, but you believe it. When somebody comes to you and says, “I’m leaving my husband, and I’m going to marry this other man because I believe God wants me to be happy.” They just told you the belief behind their behavior. It’s wrong, but they believe it.

2. Behind every sin is a lie I believe.

At the moment you sin, you’re doing what you think is the best thing for you. You say, “I know God says to do that, but I’m going to do this.” What are you doing? You believe a lie. Behind every sin is a lie. Start looking for the lies behind why people in your church act the way they do. When you start dealing with those, you’ll start seeing change.

Titus 3:3 (NIV) declares, “At one time, we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.” When you live in sin, you’re living in deception and believing a lie.

When you look at your congregation, you don’t see the lies they believe, but you do see their behavior. You know they’re unfaithful; you know they’re uncommitted; you know all these things. The tough part is figuring out the lie behind the behavior. The wiser you get in ministry, the quicker you’ll start seeing the lies. You’ll grow and mature in ministry and become more discerning because you’ll start seeing patterns over and over.

3. Change always starts in the mind.

You’ve got to start with the belief—the lie—behind the behavior. Romans 12:2 (NIV) commands, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act. If you want to change the way you act, you must determine the way you think. You can’t start with the action. You’ve got to start with the thought.

4. To help people change, we must change their beliefs first.

Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and it will set you free.” (John 8:32 NIV) Why? Because to help people change, you’ve got to help them see the lie they’re basing their behavior on. That’s why when you know the truth, it sets you free.

5. Trying to change people’s behavior without changing their belief is a waste of time.

If you ask a person to change before his mind is renewed, it won’t work. He’s got to internalize God’s Word first.

For example: Your belief patterns are in your mind. Every time you think about a belief, it creates an electrical impulse across your brain. Every time you have that thought again, it creates a deeper rut.

If you want to see change in your church, you must help people get out of their ruts and change their autopilot. For instance: Let’s say I go out and buy a speedboat with an autopilot feature on it. I set the speedboat to go north on autopilot, so the boat goes north automatically. I don’t even have my hands on the wheel. If I want to turn the boat around, I could manually grab the steering wheel and by sheer willpower and force, turn it around. I can force it to go south, but the whole time I’m under tension because I’m going against the natural inclination of the boat. Pretty soon, I get tired and let go of the steering wheel, and it automatically turns around and goes back to the way it’s programmed.

This is true in life. When people have learned something over and over, being taught by the world’s way of thinking, they’re programmed to go that way. What if a man is programmed to pick up a cigarette every time he’s under tension? But one day he thinks, “This is killing me! I’m going to get cancer.” So he grabs the steering wheel and turns it around forcibly, throws the pack away and says, “I am going to quit!”

He makes it a week without a cigarette, a week and a half, two weeks…but the whole time, he’s under tension because he hasn’t changed the programming in his mind. Eventually, he’s going to let go and pick up a cigarette again.

If you want to change people radically and permanently, you have to do it the New Testament way. You have to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Just telling people, “You need to stop smoking…You need to stop doing this…You need to stop doing that…” isn’t going to work. You’ve got to help them change their belief pattern.

6. The biblical term for “changing your mind” is “repentance.”

What do most people think of when I say the word “repent”? They think of a guy on the street corner with a sandwich sign saying, “Turn or burn. You’re going to die and fry while we go to the sky.” They think of some kook.

But the word “repentance” is a wonderful word—metanoia—which means in Greek “to change your mind.” Repentance is just changing the way we think about something by accepting the way God thinks about it. That’s all repentance is. The new words for repentance are “paradigm shift.”

Pastors, we are in the paradigm-shifting business. We are in the repentance business. We are about changing peoples’ minds at the deepest level—the level of belief and values. But let me clarify this with the next point.

7. You don’t change people’s minds; the applied Word of God does.

First Corinthians 2:13 (NLT) helps us keep this in focus: “We speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.” In real preaching, God is at work in the speaker.

Second Samuel 23:2 (NIV) says, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me. His word was on my tongue.”

Zechariah 4:6 (NIV) says, “‘Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

So keep in mind: You don’t change people’s minds; the applied Word of God does.

8. Changing the way I act is the fruit of repentance.

Technically, repentance is not behavioral change. Behavior change is the result of repentance. Repentance does not mean forsaking your sin. Repentance simply means to change your mind. John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:8 (NIV), “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” In other words, “OK, you’ve changed your mind about God, about life, about sin, about yourself—now let’s see some fruit as a result of it.”

9. The deepest kind of preaching is preaching for repentance.

Because life change happens only after you change somebody’s thinking, then preaching for repentance is preaching for life change. It is the deepest kind of preaching you can preach.

Every week, I try to communicate God’s Word in such a way that it changes the way people think. The word “repentance” has taken on such a negative image that I rarely use the word. But I preach it every single week.

Repentance is the central message of the New Testament. What did the New Testament preachers preach on?

• John the Baptist: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matt. 3:2 NIV)
• Jesus: “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” (Mark 1:15 NIV)
• What did Jesus tell his disciples to preach? “So they went off and preached repentance.” (Mark 6:12 NAB)
• What did Peter preach at Pentecost? “Repent and be baptized every one of you.” (Acts 2:38 NAB)
• What did John preach in Revelation? Repent.

I believe that one of the great weaknesses of preaching today is that there are a lot of folks who are afraid to stand on the Word of God and humbly but forcefully challenge the will of people. It takes courage to do that because they may reject you. They may reject your message; they may get mad at you and talk about you behind your back.

And because so many pastors have been unwilling to challenge people and cause a change in belief resulting in behavior change, our nation is falling apart. Proverbs 29:18 (NCV) warns, “Where there is no word from God, people are uncontrolled.”

P.T. Forsythe says, “What the world is looking for is an authoritative Gospel spoken through a humble personality.” An authoritative Gospel spoken not as a hammer but with humility.

So now, I have a personal challenge for you—life application. Are you going to use the Bible the way it was intended or not? Will you repent of preaching in ways that were not focused on application that could change people’s character and conduct?  

This post originally appeared on SermonCentral.com.

Got this from Stephen Um

Here are some things that you can do as you seek to see Christ in and preach Christ from all of the Bible:

1. Read the Scriptures.

In order to see how inter-canonical themes and the narrative of redemptive history run through the entire Bible, and how Christ is the fulfillment of it all, you must regularly read it, both devotionally and in devoted study. Familiarity with the ins and outs of the Bible’s stories, letters, songs, etc., is absolutely necessary to begin making meaningful gospel connections. The preacher who is not immersed in the scriptures, and meeting Christ there regularly, will not preach him well from them.

2. Recognize that it takes time.

Going hand in hand with regular immersion in the Bible is the need for extended time therein. The Bible is a book that repays years of careful reading. While one need not necessarily have those years of study under his belt to preach well, the benefits of a life long commitment to the scriptures are countless, and a sustainable preaching ministry demands that we be in it for the long haul.
3. Rehearse it in conversation.

Part of making gospel connections and seeing Christ properly throughout the scriptures is learning to articulate what you learn to others. Find like-minded individuals who are interested in Christ-centered preaching and learn to talk through, challenge, and mutually enjoy the connections that you are making in your devotional life.

4. Really listen to other preachers.

We listen to many sermons, but often we don’t hear the sermons that we listen to. In other words, we are often captivated by rhetorical and stylistic matters, important in their own right, yet fail to hear the actual content, logical flow, and biblical fabric that is at the heart of the best sermons. To really hear is to break down (not cynically but searchingly) what we hear in a sermon, to plug it into the one story plot line of the bible, and to press it into our own hearts.

Lumaki tayo na we need to do something for God to be forgiven. This series will focus on the good news where it is God who did something for us.

Matthew 26:20-28
20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”
23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.

The height of betrayal and disloyalty is sharing a meal with a friend before turning on him. In the same way we are like Judas – we worship Jesus and say how much we love Him but after church, we live as if there is no God.

Verse 24 shows us the real problem of SIN:

24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

Rom. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The loving God of the Bible says that the payment of sin is death.

Lev. 26:27-30 “And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.    You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you.

Because of sin God has the right to pour His wrath out to us. Not a very popular teaching especially today.

25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said so.”

Pastor, surely you don’t mean me? I’m not like Judas or the murderer, or the rapist or the really wicked people. I’m just your average sinner.

Romans 3:23 FOR ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

This is the bad news. God is holy. Man is sinful. All have sinned. And the wages of sin is death which is the wrath of God in action.

The good news is this:
26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

SIN DEMANDS A PAYMENT OR THE WRATH OF GOD COMES. Big problem!!! We can’t pay our sin because we are the one who sinned against God. So every day na lang kailangan natin magpatay ng kambing, tama ba? No. Why? Somebody paid the ultimate price for our sin to appease the wrath of God.

John 1:29 ¶ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Jesus introduced a new covenant:

Heb. 9:22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

1Pet. 1:18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,

1Pet. 1:19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

Throughout the Bible blood is inextricably connected with sin. Shed blood reminds us that sin results in death. God is sickened by sin which results in death.

Adam and Eve sinned. They clothed themselves. It was God who slaughtered an animal to cover their nakedness. Blood was required to cover sin.

Exodus – Passover. Blood was required.

Leviticus – all about offering and mostly requires blood.

JESUS BECAME THE PAYMENT OF OUR SIN TO APPEASE GOD’S WRATH.

Rom. 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
Romans 3:23-26 (English Standard Version)
23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

PROPITIATION = something that appeases an offended power, especially a sacrificial offering to a god.

26It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

The reason I stand here preaching the word of God is not because of my good works (penance, nailing myself on the cross, giving to church and charity, being good) but because Jesus became the payment of my sin that appeases the wrath of God and fulfilled God’s justice.

I am forgiven because Jesus took my sin. I no longer live under condemnation because of what Jesus did for me. It is also the same reason I cannot be self righteous because I know it was only through Christ’s death and blood that I am forgiven of my sin.

The good news now totally makes sense because I now know how much bad the bad news is that God has to sent His son to die on the cross for our sins.

1John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Only through Jesus’ work on the cross do we have access to God’s forgiveness.

This is the reason I worship Jesus and love Jesus. Not because of the fear of God’s wrath but that in spite of my sin, He paid it and took my sin away.

27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

- don’t allow sin to hinder you from running to God

-don’t allow condemnation to hold you back

- don’t allow voices to tell you that you are not worthy to be forgiven.

- Jesus died and shed His blood on the cross that we might live for the glory of God.

“In the name of God, brethren, labor to awaken your own hearts, before you go to the pulpit, that you may be fit to awaken the hearts of sinners. Remember they must be awakened or damned, and . . . a sleepy preacher will hardly awaken drowsy sinners. Though you give the holy things of God the highest praise in words, yet, if you do it coldly, you will seem by your manner to unsay what you said in the matter. . . . Speak to your people as to men that must be awakened, either here or in hell. Look around upon them with the eye of faith, and with compassion, and think in what a state of joy or torment they must all be for ever; and then, methinks, it will make you earnest, and melt your heart to a sense of their condition.”

Richard Baxter, quoted in J. I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness (Wheaton, 1990), 279.

Related Post:

1. 4 kinds of preaching styles

Whatever it takes to preach the gospel!!!

Mike Myatt, CEO coach teaches us on some secrets of great communicators

Regardless of your station in life, both what you say and how you say it matters. It matters to an even greater degree for those in positions of leadership. Leaders simply don’t have the luxury of choosing their words in a cavalier fashion. Whether in written or oral form, your vocabulary matters. Few things make an impact, or lack thereof, like the words you allow to flow from your lips or from your keyboard. Even when you think they aren’t, people really are listening to what you say, reading what you write, and making important decisions about you based upon your choice of words.

Do not make the mistake of taking the importance of communication for granted. Put simply, the ability to effectively communicate with others is often the difference between success and failure. Don’t be fooled into thinking your title, education, influence, or charisma can take the place of sound communication skills. While the aforementioned characteristics certainly won’t hurt, they can be quickly eroded and/or undermined by making poor choices in the words you use.

I have always said that most problems in business could be eliminated through the use of direct, clear, and concise communication. Being a great communicator is one of the “x” factors in business. Part of what makes a great communicator is not only possessing a great vocabulary, but knowing how and when to use it. Great orators have commanded the attention and respect of others since the dawn of time. They are rarely ignored or spoken over, but they are the individuals that tend to inspire, motivate, educate, influence, and lead those around them.

While it would be easy to include discussions on focus, clarity, consistency, active listening, brevity, picking your battles, and a number of the other traits possessed by good communicators, this piece is about vocabulary. Vocabulary is the one of the least costly investments into personal and professional growth that an individual can make. Simply eliminating the “you knows” and the “and ums” from your patter can make a big difference in how you are perceived by others. Ask someone whom you can trust to be honest to give you an evaluation of the depth, breadth, and appropriateness of use of your vocabulary. Then be smart enough to listen to their feedback and diligently work to correct whatever shortcomings were identified. You’ll be glad you did…

If you reflect back on your experience and think of those people whom you hold in high regard, more often than not, they will have been gifted communicators. Rarely will the people that come to mind ever be described as having a poor command of language or limited vocabularies. While I could delve into annunciation, presence, delivery, grammar, syntax, and the like, I have found that it is the more subtle elements of communication that separate the truly great communicators from those that bumble and stumble through their interactions with others. When you can understand and incorporate the following five elements into your interactions, you’ll have developed the communications savvy used by some of the world’s best communicators:

1. Are your words consistent with your character? Will your choices stand the test of time, or will they come back to haunt you? It is important to understand that words are not easily forgotten – they leave a lasting and often indelible impression.
2. Are your words consistent with your actions? Nothing hurts a leader’s reputation faster than becoming known for being disingenuous. Do your words build bridges or burn them? Do your words engender confidence or destroy trust? If you say one thing yet do another, it won’t be long before you lose the confidence of those around you.
3. Are your words intended to help or hinder? Do they offer constructive criticism, or do they belittle and intimidate? Are your words benefiting others or just yourself? Are your words adding value or just adding to the noise? The goal of every interaction should be leaving others with the feeling that the time spent with you was beneficial to them. If you cannot espouse something helpful, then why say or write anything at all?
4. Do your words leave room for others? If your words overshadow or drown-out the words of others, you’ve simply wasted your breath. Remember that most people don’t want to be lectured and that it’s very difficult to learn anything when giving a monologue. However, great things tend to happen when engaged in meaningful dialogue.
5. Do your words start conversations or end them? The goal of any interaction is not to have the last word but rather to remain engaged in order to create the desired outcome. You don’t learn, inspire, motivate, influence, educate, or inform by shutting someone down.

Bottom line…The leadership lesson here is that whenever you have a message to communicate (either in written or verbal form), make sure that said message is well reasoned, authentic, specific, consistent, clear, and accurate. Spending a little extra time on the front-end of the messaging curve will likely save you from considerable aggravation and brain damage on the back-end. If you have any additional thoughts or tips you’d like to share, please do so by commenting below – as always, I value your feedback and input…

Mike Myatt is a noted leadership advisor, author of Leadership Matters – The CEO Survival Manual, and widely regarded as America’s Top CEO Coach. His theories and practices have been taught at many of the nation’s top business schools, and his work has been noted in several publications including: Success, Psychology Today, The Washington Post, Entrepreneur, Chicago Sun Times, and others. He also authors the N2growth Blog which has been consistently recognized as one of the top leadership blogs on the Internet. For more info: www.n2growth.com

More from Mike Myatt or visit Mike at www.n2growth.com