Monthly Archives: December 2013

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Spurgeon’s 7 Canons of Public Prayer

Public Prayer

Some might be surprised to hear Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, say he would rather give up preaching the sermon than give up his role in another element of worship. What is that element? Public prayer.

In his lecture on public prayer Spurgeon said, “I am not able to see any reason for depriving me of the holiest, sweetest, and most profitable exercise which  my Lord has allotted me; if I have my choice, I will sooner yield up the sermon than the prayer.”

spurgeon_chair1Few documents in church history extol the house such remarkable affection for and counsel on public prayer as this lecture. I have said before that I find public prayer the most daunting, and glorious, privilege of pastoral ministry. To stand in the congregation’s stead and plead with the Lord Most High ought to cause a shiver go up many a pastor’s spine. It sure does for me. So it is no coincidence that I find myself almost monthly gravitating to Spurgeon’s thoughts on public prayer. With characteristic wit and conviction he humbles the heart of every man called to this ministry. But he also inspires the soul.

Let me whet your appetite for this fine feast of a lecture by giving you Spurgeon’s six canons, or rule, to “make our public prayer what it should be.”1

7 CANONS OF PUBLIC PRAYER

First, public prayer should be a matter of the heart. A man must be really earnest in prayer. You can pardon a man’s familiarities and vulgarities too, when you clearly see that his inmost heart is speaking to his Master, and that it is only the man’s defects of education or experience which create his faults, and not any moral or spiritual vices of his heart. Cast your whole soul into the exercise of public prayer. So pray, that by a divine attraction, you draw the whole congregation up with you to the throne of God. So pray, that by the power of the Spirit, you express the desires and thoughts of every one present, and stand as the one voice for hundreds of beating hearts which are glowing with fervor before God’s throne.

Second, public prayer should be appropriate. There is no need to make the public prayer a gazette of the week’s events, or a register of the births, deaths, and marriage of your people, but the general movements that have taken place in the congregation should be noted by the minister’s careful heart. He should bring the joys and sorrows alike before the throne of grace.

Third, public prayer should not be long. John Macdonald said, “If you are in the spirit of prayer, do not be long, because other people will not be able to keep pace with you in such unusual spirituality; and if you are not in the spirit of prayer, do not be long, because you will then be sure to weary the listeners.” Ten minutes is the limit to which our public prayer ought to be prolonged.

Fourth, do not use cant2 phrases. Be done with these vile things altogether. There should be no grotesque mingling of Scripture texts, alterations of Scripture texts, or abuses of Scriptural truth in prayer. It ought always to be a point of honor among ministers always to quote Scripture directly. Make us of an expression fresh from your own mind, and it will be quite as acceptable to God as a scriptural phrase defaced or clipped. Vehemently strive against garblings and perversions of Scripture, and renounce forever all cant phrases, for the are the disfigurement of free prayer.

Five, vary the order, length, and current of your public prayers. Vary the order of your prayers, then, for the sake of maintaining attention, and preventing people going through the whole thing as a clock runs on till the weights are down. Also vary the length of your prayers. Do you not think it would be much better if sometimes instead of giving three minutes to the first prayer and fifteen minutes to the second, you have nine minutes to each? Would it not be better sometimes to be longer in the first, and not so long in the second prayer? Finally, vary the current of your prayers. There are many topics which require your attention; the church in its weakness, its backslidings, its sorrows, and its comforts; the outside world, the neighborhood, unconverted hearers, the young people, the nation. Do not pray for all these every time, or otherwise your prayers will be long and probably uninteresting.

Six, keep from all attempts to work up spurious fervor in public devotion. Do not labor to seem earnest. Pray as your heart dictates, under the leading of the Spirit of God, and if you are dull and heavy tell the Lord so. It will be no ill thing to confess your deadness, and bewail it, and cry for quickening; it will be real and acceptable prayer; but simulated ardor is a shameful form of lying.

Seventh, prepare your prayer. Proper preparation means solemn consideration beforehand of the importance of prayer, meditation upon the needs of men’s souls, and a remembrance of the promises which we are to plead; and thus coming before the Lord with a petition written upon the fleshly tables of the heart. This is surely better than coming to God at random, rushing before the throne at haphazard, without a definite error or desire.

If we wanted to summarize the canons with adverbs we could say, “Spurgeon exhorts pastors to pray soulfully, appropriately, quickly, authentically, variously, and prepared-ly.”

Spugeon’s conclusion of the lecture is a most fitting place for this post to end:

Let your prayers be earnest, full of fire, vehemence, prevalence. I pray the Holy Ghost to instruct every student of this College so to offer public prayer, that God shall always be served of his best. Let your petitions be plain and heart-felt; and while your people may sometimes feel that the sermon was below the mark, may they also feel that the prayer compensated for all.

  1. The following canons and their respective elaborations are either direct or adapted quotations from Spurgeon’s lecture. ↩
  2. Meaning sanctimonious or hypocritical talk. ↩
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The Cross Centered Life: A Summary Review

1590520459George Orwell once noted, “Sometimes the first duty of intelligent men is the restatement of the obvious.”

In his short book The Cross Centered Life author CJ Mahaney writes, “Sometimes the most obvious truths are the ones we need to be reminded of the most” (15). What then is the truth he aims to remind the reader of? Simply put, the gospel. “Perhaps the purpose of this book is to restate the obvious, yet of-neglected, truth of the gospel, to bring it before you one more time” (16). Mahaney’s working definition of the gospel is simple and solid, “Jesus Christ died so that sinners would be reconciled to God and forgiven by God” (11).

THREE HEART TENDENCIES

Yet, Mahaney knows how difficult it can be to keep that which is of “first importance” central to our daily lives. A fair portion of the book is devoted then to “three main tendencies” that can draw our hearts away from the gospel:

  1. Legalism: Basing our relationship with God on our own performance.
  2. Condemnation: Being more focused on our sin than on God’s grace.
  3. Subjectivism: Basing our view of God on our changing feelings and emotions.

Mahaney quotes Tom Schreiner to show the serious danger legalism, writing, “Legalism has its origins in self-worship. If people are justified through their obedience to the law, then they merit praise, honor, and glory. Legalism, in other words, means the glory goes to people rather than God” (25). Mahaney is wise to remind the reader that breaking free from legalism doesn’t mean you stop reading the Bible, obeying God, or praying with disciplined dedication. Rather, the core issue is an appropriate understanding of the relationship between justification and sanctification. Although the two works of God cannot be separated, they are nonetheless distinct. The legalist problem is that “he confuses his own ongoing participation in the process of sanctification with God’s finished work in justification” (33). Further, “the legalist allows his performance of spiritual duties to become his preoccupation and a source of self-righteous pride. In doing so, he unwittingly walks away from the main thing – the gospel” (34-35).

The second human tendency that draws one away from the gospel is condemnation. It’s danger is found in how it feeds upon sinful flesh. “In its opposition to God, our flesh will tell us that Jesus’ sacrifice couldn’t possibly be enough to win the Father’s favor completely, unreservedly, and forever” (42). The answer to condemnation is quite simple, “Confess you sin to God. Then believe in Him. Exercise the gift of faith that God has given you to believe that Jesus died for the very sins you’re being condemned for” (43). Yes, every sinner is worthy of condemnation, but the Christian is set free from such crippling baggage because of the glorious work of Christ on the cross.

The third danger is that of subjectivism. The average evangelical orientation is inward and subjective. We base our view of God and His view toward us based on fleeting emotions. Mahaney’s remedy for this problem is tried and true: spend more time looking outward – at the finished work of Christ – than inward. “Being your day and at numerous points throughout the day ‘admiring, exploring, expositing, and extolling Jesus Christ’” (51).

So what does the cross centered life look like in everyday life? Mahaney says, “A cross centered life is made up of cross centered days” (54). Cross centered day will be occupied with two primary realities: preaching the gospel to yourself and fanning gospel affection into flame. This second reality is fueled by memorizing the gospel, praying the gospel, singing the gospel, studying the gospel, and reviewing your day in light of the gospel.

The book closes with a wise exhortation, “Never move on from [the gospel]. Jesus died for your sins. May every day be lived by His grace alone. May you know the joy and peace of the cross centered life” (85).

INFLAMING GOSPEL EXCITEMENT

I last read this book in December of 2010 and loved it. Three years later I find myself even more appreciative of Mahaney’s pastoral sensitivity. He steers clear of the redundancy and reductionism that can mark contemporary gospel-centered parlance. On a side note, should this book have been published any time after 2008 (it was originally published in 2002) I bet it would be titled The Gospel Centered Life. Mahaney would have been wise to have some reflection on Christ’s resurrection and ascension, yet the focus on Calvary is warranted and it comes with great warmth.

The gospel clearly affects CJ Mahaney and its inflaming power permeates everything in this little book. Although you can read it in less than an hour, its influence on your life will likely be measured by months and years.

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3 Books Every Pastor Should Read: On The Trinity

Books are some of the best friends a pastor can have. How to know which friends to have is quite difficult, for as the inspired Preacher said, “Of making many books there is no end” (Ecclesiastes 12:12). So every couple of weeks I suggest three books a pastor should read on a given topic, hoping they will serve his ministry.

Few areas of theology are as simultaneously difficult and useful as that of our Triune God. The difficulty comes from the sheer mystery of it all. The usefulness comes from its far reaching application to the church’s worship and life together. I think we can all agree that studying the Trinity is of utmost importance for a pastor. Such study provides balance in his understanding of the godhead, protects him from theological reductionism (eg. Christomonism), and aids his faithful proclamation of salvation accomplished and applied.

Here then are three suggestions for reading about the deep things of God:

41YuP66JciL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith by Michael Reeves. I know of no other 130 page book containing the stunning depth and wit as this one. Reeves argues that God as Father must be the starting point in our doctrine of the Trinity and then proceeds to show how this overflows into our view of the Son and Spirit. Delighting in the Trinity offers up biblical and historical sensitivity with an unusual freshness that will cause the soul to explode in doxology. I have had read this book with dozens of men and it has received a surprising amount of unvarnished praise. I don’t hesitate to include it among the best books I’ve ever read.

41tyFre5-oL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship by Robert Letham. For me, Reeves has the best “short-ish” book on the Trinity and Letham has the best “long-ish” one. In over five hundred pages Letham does exactly what the subtitle heralds: evaluate the Trinity in Scripture, history, theology, and worship. Letham’s writing is clear, if weighty – you might find yourself making good use of the glossary. Those savvy with historical theology might quibble with his immediate jump from Calvin into the 20th century, but it would be a small quibble indeed. This heavy read leads to a happy heart.

51HDSDXPK7L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_Our Triune God: A Biblical Portrayal of the Trinity by Peter Toon. Our Triune God is a Trinitarian primer is aimed to aimed at the person in the pew. As such, it is rigorously clear, profoundly biblical, and unshakably orthodox. The prose isn’t as lively as Reeves or Sanders, but it’s truth is accessible and satisfying. Toon’s work will help make sure you have a healthy, biblical, and clear formulation of the trees which make up the forest of Trinitarian doctrine.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

De Trinitate (On the Trinity) by Augustine. Sure, reading Augustine is akin to a 300lb theological deadlift. But he has a pivotal place in the development of Trinitarian doctrine for a reason.

The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything by Fred Sanders. Sanders has great fun extolling evangelical Trinitarianism; I bet you’ll have great fun reading it.

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A Burning Light

In his incredible lecture on “The Preacher’s Private Prayer” Spurgeon remarked,

It is said of Alleine, ‘He poured out his very heart in prayer and preaching. His supplications and his exhortations were so affectionate, so full of holy zeal, life and vigour, that they quite overcame his hearers; he melted over them, so that he thawed and mollified, and sometimes dissolved the hardest hearts.’

– Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, 45.

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3 Traits of a Disciple-Making Church

A Disciple-Making Church Slider

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-201

For the last twelve months or so I have been engrossed in studying the Cold War. We could say that the Cold War was a clash of cultures – capitalism on one side and communism on the other – and certain components contributed to each culture. A capitalist economy is based on private ownership, private profit and free competition. It encourages private individuals to own businesses and make profits. A communist economy, on the other hand, is controlled by the government. A country’s wealth and resources are owned by the state or government. The state controls and plans all economic activity so that everybody benefits.

Every culture has unique components. I believe the Great Commission calls the church to have a disciple-making culture. A disciple-making culture is the product of many different components or traits. Here are three . . .

THREE TRAITS OF A DISCIPLE-MAKING CHURCH

First, a prayerful trait. Earlier in Matthew Jesus talked about how the fields are ripe for the harvest, but the laborers are few. What should his disciples then do? “Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Faithful disciple-making is marked by a prayerful disposition before the Lord of the harvest. I wonder if you have ever noticed how Paul often calls churches to pray for him, that doors would be opened for him to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. Our sovereign God is not only the one who saves sinners, but sends His laborers to proclaim that salvation. Thus, disciple-making people are praying people. This is a reason why, at our church, we pray so much in our gathered worship and spend much of our time praying for things outside of our body. This is why we regularly post links to Operation World to encourage our members to pray for the nations each day. Let us also be encouraged tonight to let our prayers have a particular accent on the glory of God being made known to all nations.

Second, an intentional trait. Disciple-making is ordinary Christianity. Like learning to count and say your alphabet in the natural realm, there is scarcely any part of the Christian life where discipleship does not touch. In his wonderful article Disciple-Making is Ordinary Christianity Erik Raymond provides the following examples of intentionality in disciple-making:

  • Intentional disciple-making happens when a guy wants to be married but doesn’t have a game-plan for how to go about it. He asks another brother for guidance and help. This brother takes him out for lunch and talks through some biblical and practical principles. He then commits to pray for him, to be available for questions, and to meet occasionally to talk about his progress.
  • Intentional disciple-making happens when a mom with two toddlers drops something off that she borrowed from another sister at church. During the exchange they get to talking and the young mom expresses her feelings of fatigue and failure to measure up to her perceived standards of motherhood. The other woman listens to her, reminds her of Scripture, prays with her, and then continues to come alongside of her for encouragement in the gospel.
  • Intentional disciple-making happens when a brother notices another brother is running hard after his job and neglecting his family and ministry. He comes alongside of his brother to remind him of the true and lasting treasure, and the proper perspective on work.
  • Intentional disciple-making happens when a mom is at the park with her children. At one point the kids become unruly and she patiently, graciously but faithfully, disciplines her children. There are many watching eyes around her. Both the believing and unbelieving women are intrigued. Conversations begin and soon the fruit of the Spirit points to the matchless worth of Christ.
  • Intentional disciple-making happens when a home-school mom breaks away with free time only to go to the same coffee house hoping to make new friends and open doors for sharing the gospel.

So, faithful disciple-making includes a prayerful trait and an intentional trait.

Thirdly, a disciple-making church will have a sacrificial trait. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” That means that Jesus is Lord over every one of our lives and therefore has the right to do whatever He wants with our lives. You often may hear someone say, “I have decided to make Jesus the Lord of my life.”  Now that statement is often a sincere way of professing truth faith in Christ, but at a certain level it’s not true.  For Jesus says that he is already the Lord of your life. You didn’t really have a choice in the matter. The real issue is not if Jesus is Lord of your life, but if you will submit to His lordship over your life. Will you do it now or will you do it after it’s too late? What does it mean to surrender to the lordship of Christ? It means that we have surrendered – we have sacrificed – every right to determine the direction of our lives. No longer do we get to call the shots in our lives.  Men, if you have surrendered to Christ you no longer have the authority to call the shots as to what career you have, what you do with your money, in what direction you lead your family. As your Lord Christ looks at those rights and says, “Mine.” The glorious news from Matthew 28 is that we know what Jesus wants to do with your life, He wants you to make disciples of all nations! The sacrificial trait comes into play when His Lordship calls you to sell a house to give the money for a church plant, to take a job in a foreign country to be a Christian businessman bearing witness to our Lord and King, to leave the DFW to help with a church plant in another state, or to take the gospel to an unreached people group that are so hostile that you may lose you life in the process.

He is Lord of your individual body and Lord of this collective body. In what ways might he be calling you and calling us to live sacrificially for the glory of Christ in all nations?

Christ’s authority, command, and presence call us to be a disciple-making church. Those things ought to stir up within our midst prayerful, intentional, and sacrificial head, hearts, and hands. Henry Martyn, the great missionary to India said,  “The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions, and the nearer we get to Him the more intensely missionary we must become.” He promised to be with us to the end of the age, therefore a faithful church will be “intensely missionary.” Prayer, intentionality, and sacrifice are aids to such a disciple-making culture.

  1. This post is adapted from my sermon “A Disciple-Making Church.” ↩
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Follow Them to Their Family

Jeremiah_BurroughsIn his excellent work on a holy life, Gospel Conversation, Jeremiah Burroughs writes,

There are some who make profession of religion indeed, and, if you come to them before other company, their conversation seems to be very fair and square.  But just follow them to their families and see what they do there.  Will you see their conversation to be holy as becomes the gospel of Jesus Christ?

– Burroughs, Gospel Conversation: Conduct Worthy of the Gospel, 23.

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Recent Reads

I love to read. By God’s grace I am a pretty fast reader; I usually read a couple books each week. I find it helpful to summarize my thoughts on each book and I offer those thoughts in the hope that you will be encouraged to either read or pass over the given title.

51CTv3RNFyL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative by Sam Storms. This surely is now the “go to” resource for amillennialism. Storms was trained in classic dispensationalism and the book represents a few decades worth of study, so he is uniquely equipped to deal with the pertinent content. In over 500 pages he covers everything from escatological hermeneutics to systematic strengths/weaknesses of the various positions to exegesis of the disputed texts. Storms writes winsomely and clearly, thus the book steers clear of the dry, academic treatment one usually finds in this debate. If Kingdome Come doesn’t convince you of the amillinnial position it will at least give you the best representative study you can find. Of particular help are his chapters “Problems with Premillinnalism” and “A Cumulative Case Argument for Amillennialism.”

41Yp2URq4rL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_The Pastor’s Family: Shepherding Your Family through the Challenges of Pastoral Ministry by Brian & Cara Croft. Croft is the curator of the popular practicalshepherding.com and I was pleased to see his wisdom make its way into print with The Pastor’s Family. The strength of this book is the written interplay between Brian and Cara. At appropriate points in Brian’s chapters Cara will offer up a paragraph or two on perspective from a pastor’s wife (and vice versa on Cara’s chapters). For me, Part Two –  “The Pastor’s Wife: ‘I Don’t Recall Saying ‘I Do’ To This!” – is the strongest part of the book. Few available resources today specifically address the impact of ministry on the pastor’s wife, and this one does it wonderfully. The book would serve any family involved in pastoral ministry, but I can see it being uniquely helpful to younger couples just about to start in ministry. Well done!

5125onP+cjL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of Little Bighorn by Nathaniel Philbrick. I have been hooked on Philbrick ever since reading Mayflower, so I was eager to read his latest on Custer’s last stand. In all my history reading I have never studied much related to the 1870s, the decade with which this book is preoccupied. Although he does dip into military strategy and requisite battle speculation, Philbrick concentrates on Little Bighorn’s principal characters: Custer and Sitting Bull. And what fascinating characters these men were! Philbrick builds their stories to a point that when the battle begins the reader has a deep understanding of the opposing generals. Woven into this work is sober reflection on the decline of life for Native Americans and the government that precipitated it. An excellent introduction to such a small, yet significant battle in our nation’s history.

512RsVDUF2L._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_Still Life & A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny. I came across Louise Penny when I saw her latest publication debut at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. She is famous for her Inspector Gamache series and quite critically acclaimed. The series sounded like something right up my alley, so I dove in and read the first two Gamache books. Still Life introduces the reader to life in Three Pines, a quaint Canadian village two hours from Montreal. When a well known citizen is murdered Gamache arrives to investigate, for Three Pines falls under his jurisdiction. After some extended character development Still Life eventually gets the tension going and captures the interest. It was a solid read.

51gW6wt3UXL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_When I started A Fatal Grace, book two in the Gamache series, I thought to myself, “Surely this book will be set outside of Three Pines.” But lo and behold, one year after A Still Life ends, someone has moved into the tiny town only to find herself the victim of a intricate killing scheme. Three Pines sure seems to be a cursed little village, albeit unbelievably so. A Fatal Grace was interesting, yet I found the conclusion to be a reach. The jury is still out on whether or not I will proceed to book three (one intriguing plot line was unresolved) as the emotive and delicate prose may keep me away.

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The 2nd Question to Ask of a Sermon

Questions for Sermons

Yesterday, I said the one question to be asked of any sermon is, “Was it faithful?” A faithful sermon is one that exalts God’s glory in Christ, by clearly making the point of the passage the point of the sermon and broadly applying its truth to the life of the congregation.

Once this question is asked and answered the pastor ought to move on to the second question, “How can it be better?”

METHODS OF EVALUATION

No sermon is perfect, thus every sermon can be better. Honest evaluation can be painful, but inspired Solomon said, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6). So, how can a pastor evaluate his sermon? Here are three options:

  1. Listen to the sermon. I am regularly amazed at how few preachers ever listen to one of their sermons. Listening is an easy way to identify what habits in vocal delivery are helpful or hurtful.
  2. Watch the sermon. Even better than listening is watching the sermon. This allows the preacher to not only hear vocal tendencies, but also see how his physical expressions and movements serve or distract.
  3. Watch the sermon with trusted brothers in Christ. This is the best way to evaluate a sermon. Some pastors are prone to discouragement and the feedback of other brothers helps to counterbalance doubt and despair. On the flip side, some pastors are prone to think every sermon is a “home run” – or at least an extra base hit – and the critique of other brothers promotes humility. Additionally, multiple perspectives will help the preacher see areas of improvement he might have otherwise missed.

CATEGORIES FOR EVALUATION

Sermon evaluation is done best when every person involved has concrete categories and questions driving the critique. Two basic ones are worth consideration:

  1. Content. Did the sermon faithful exposit the individual passage? Did the sermon have a main point? If so, was the main point clearly and rightly derived from the text? Did the main headings/points/divisions appropriately support the main point? Was there a clear and logical flow to the sermon’s persuasion? Was application used throughout and discriminatory in nature? Was the application tied to the text? Were the illustrations winsome and illuminating? Was the gospel responsibly and naturally integrated into the sermon? Did the sermon have a strong introduction and conclusion? Was the sermon too long or too short?
  2. Delivery. Was the sermon passage read with clarity and appropriate expression? Was passion and authenticity demonstrated? Did the preacher speak with confidence, clarity, and credibility? Was humor used purposefully and naturally? Did the preacher maintain solid eye contact? Was gesturing appropriate and natural? Did the sermon have dynamic pacing and momentum?

The questions that can be asked of a sermon are legion. Therefore, it would be wise for a preacher to concentrate on questions that uniquely reflect his congregation’s sermonic convictions. For example, at our church I am primarily concerned that a sermon have two things: 1) undeniable unity/clarity in exposition, and 2) discriminatory gospel application. Your church may have different priorities.

Proverbs 15:32 says, “He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.” If we adjust the text for preachers and preaching it might say, “He who ignores evaluation despises his preaching, but whoever heeds correction gains ability.”

We should ask questions of our sermons. Begin with the question, “Was it faithful?” And then ask, “How can it be better?”

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You Need to Read

spurgeon_chair1“Paul had a few books, which were left perhaps wrapped up in the cloak, and Timothy was to be careful to bring them. Even an apostle must read.

“Some of our self-sufficient brethren have thought a minister who reads books and studies his sermon must be a very deplorable specimen of a preacher. A man who goes up into the pulpit, professes to take his text on the spot and talks any quantity of nonsense is the idol of many. If he will speak without premeditation, or pretend to do so, and never produce what they call a dish of dead man’s brain – ah! that is the preacher. How rebuked they are by the apostle!

He is inspired, yet he wants books!

He has been preaching for thirty years, yet he wants books!

He has seen the Lord, yet he wants books!

He has a wider experience than most men, yet he wants books!

He had been caught up into the very heaven and had heard things which it was unlawful for a man to utter, yet he wants books!

He had written the major part of the New Testament, yet he wants books!

The apostle says to Timothy, and so he says to every preacher, “Give attendance to reading.” The one who never reads will never be read. He who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains proves that he has no brains of his own.

“Brethren, what is true of pastors is true of all our people – you need to read!”

– Charles Haddon Spurgeon

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The 1st Question to Ask of a Sermon

Questions for Sermons

“How did it go?” Any time a sermon is preached that one question will be asked in a variety of ways.

Preachers will step down from the sacred desk and friends and family members will ask, “How did it go today?” Church members will walk away from the corporate gathering, go to lunch or dinner and ask, “What did you think of the sermon?”

While not being wrong in and of itself, the question is surely less than helpful. It begs shepherd and sheep alike to dive into the murky waters of subjective criticism. This water is murky because it can quickly devolve into formless personal preferences; i.e. the sermon was, “good,” “funny,” or “boring.” Childlike faith and obedience drown in such subjective and simplistic criticism.

Don’t get me wrong, yes, we should be asking questions of the sermon. We just need to ask the right one. And the first question, and right question, is – “Was it faithful?”

PURSUING FAITHFULNESS

The primary goal of every sermon is not that it be “good,” “enjoyable,” “funny,” or even “captivating.” The primary goal is faithfulness. It is required of pastor’s that they be faithful, thus the single requirement of a sermon is that it be found faithful. Faithful to exalt God’s glory in Christ, faithful to clearly reprove, correct, exhort, and train.

How do we know if a sermon is faithful or not? Can you even measure faithfulness in a sermon?

Answering those questions depends on what we mean by “faithful.” Here’s my stab at defining a faithful sermon: A faithful sermon exalts God’s glory in Christ, by clearly making the point of the passage the point of the sermon and broadly applying its truth to the life of the congregation. Let me briefly take each of these in turn.

TESTING FAITHFULNESS

A faithful sermon exalts God’s glory in Christ . . . The revelation of and delight in God’s glory is the goal of everything. And God’s glory is supremely shown in Jesus Christ. The Bible is the revelation of God’s glory in Christ, thus every faithful sermon will have a sweet flavor of this divine aim. Testing questions on this point might be, “Was the grandeur of God exalted? Was the way of salvation proclaimed? Was the sweetness and sufficiency of Christ on full display? Do I love God more after hearing this sermon?” Faithful sermons will thus be doxological and christological.

 . . . by clearly making the point of the passage the point of the sermon . . . Faithful sermons need not be inventive or creative. They need to plainly and clearly expose the passage they deal with. The best way to do this is to identify the passage’s main point and then make that point the point of your sermon. Such an approach ensures faithfulness to the text and faithful to the Glorious One the text proclaims. Testing questions on this point might be, “Was the passage clearly and contextually explained? Did the point of the sermon obviously flow from the point of the passage? Do I have greater understanding and affection for this passage?” Faithful sermons will thus be expositional.

. . . and broadly applying its truth to the life of the congregation. God said His word is “profitable, for reproof, correction, and training in righteousness.” A faithful sermon will apply the truth of God’s word in a way that spiritually profits the congregation. And it must do this broadly. When the church gathers it is filled with some member who are weak, some who are weary, some who are joyful, and some who are lost. A faithful sermon will show the passage’s profitability for all kinds of people. Testing questions on this point might be, “Did the sermon help direct my life in Christ? Did the sermon confront and comfort? Did the sermon apply to Christians and non-Christians?” Faithful sermons will thus be applicational.

Questions will be asked every time a sermon is preaching and I hope the first question more often than not is, “Was it faithful?”

Church members should ask this question. And pastor, you should ask this question of yourself. For then, and only then, should you move on to the second question to ask of a sermon. That one comes tomorrow.