Tag: hard work

By Jay E. Adams (summary by Jeffrey Bush)

• Purpose is vital in everything a preacher does — from the illustrations to the points
  used to the order a delivery.
• It appears that Paul was not concerned with his oratory skills. He wanted to make
  the message clear – Colossians 4:3–4; 1 Corinthians 2:2-3
• Our goal is not for men to praise us for our oratory skills, but to praise the Christ we
  preach.
• The purpose of preaching is to affect change and build up individually as well as the
  entire congregation.
• Truth observed and practiced is what we aim for in our preaching.
• God has promised to bless His Word, not our opinions.
• You should not preach on a passage without first understanding why the Holy Spirit
  included that passage in the Bible.
• When preaching a message, the purpose of the message should come from the
  Word of God and not from the preacher.
• The preacher that does not counsel is missing out on much. By talking to his people,
  he can know better how to preach and help them.
• If you’re in seminary, or before you take a church, prepare six months worth of
  sermons to help you start.
• In order to move others, the preacher must be moved himself. He must be moved in
  his study, and again in his preaching it.
• When telling a story, write down the punchline so you make sure to share it
  powerfully.
• Learn to use dialogue. Use questions, don’t just tell them what they have to believe.
• The purposes of a story:

1. To clarify truth
2. To personalize truth
3. To make truth memorable
4. To demonstrate how a principle works
5. To back a claim
6. To create interest
7. To involve the listener

• When you are tempted to use a story, be sure it fulfills a purpose, not just because
  you have a story to tell.
• Good preaching, like anything else good, is hard work.
• When people walk away from hearing you, you want them to say, “What a wonderful
  Christ,” not “What a wonderful orator.”
• Christ is in all the Scripture, and you must preach it that way. Until you find Christ in
  the passage, keep researching. When you preach it this way, all humanistic or
  legalistic ideas vanish.