In Colossians 1:28 the apostle Paul gives us a surprisingly exhaustive blueprint for preaching when he says, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

In the short span of this one verse we find the center, means, and aim of faithful sermons.

THE CENTER OF OUR MESSAGE

In verse twenty-five we find Paul telling the Colossians that God gave him a stewardship in the church to make the word of God fully known, which Paul is going to define further on two different levels.  First, in verse twenty-six we see him call the word of God the mystery.  If Paul had a favorite word, μυστήριον might just be it.  In Ephesians and Colossians alone he uses the word some twenty times.  And its use is intended to communicate to us that the Word of God has been progressively unveiled throughout redemptive history.  He has in mind that specific truth about God and His plan of salvation that had previously remained hidden, but has now been revealed.  So the word of God is the mystery, and verse twenty-seven gives us the second level definition when it says to them God chose to make . . . the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim . . . The word of God is the mystery and the mystery is Christ. Christ Jesus is the center of our message.

I want to then ask a question here, “Why must Jesus be the center of the church’s message?” We should not blithely pass by this truth or take it for granted. Why must Christ be the center of our message?

The Word must be all about Christ because only Christ can reveal the Father unto us. The Father created us for His own glory, He created us to have an intimate relationship with Him, and of course that relationship is marred by sin.  Sinful people seek there own glory, not the glory of God.  Because of this we are subject to the righteous wrath of God.  But in His love God sent His Son – the radiance of His glory – to remedy that broken relationship. Jesus is God Himself, and He comes, not only to share the love of the Father with us, but also to share His knowledge of the Father with us. He comes that we might grow to know the Father as He know the Father. Through His perfect life, death, and resurrection Jesus reveals the Father unto us so that, through faith, the relationship might be restored.  Christ therefore must be the center of our message.

And what a glorious center it is, as Paul says, “how great are the riches of the glory of [Christ]!”  To say that Christ is the center of the church’s messages is to say that our message centers on a treasure of unsearchable riches.  We call people to come and drink from the fount of Christ for we know that He satisfies.  We call people to place their faith in the blood of Christ because it can cover any sin. We call people to open up the Word of God and stand astonished and breathless at the majesty of God revealed to us.  We say with John Owen, “On Christ’s glory I would fix all my thoughts and desires.”

THE MEANS OF OUR MESSAGE

“Proclaim” a general term not restricted solely to preaching, yet is summarily comprehends the entire preaching ministry. The message of the church is rooted in the preaching ministry. Paul tells us that his proclamation includes two aspects, one negative and one positive.  The negative aspect is warning everyone; which speaks of encouraging counsel in view of sin and coming punishment.  Faithful preaching and ministering of the Word always has an eye towards loving admonishment and warning of sin and its consequences.

Faithful ministering of the Word means that we care enough to lovingly warn and admonish our brothers and sisters from the inherent danger that comes from a perpetual practice of sin.  The positive aspect of our proclamation is that we are also teaching everyone. Our message must also build up and instruct Christians in the truths of Scripture and the way of life found in Christ. Paul tells us that rightly proclaiming, warning, and teaching the message to the church requires that one do so with all wisdom.  Proclamation saturated with wisdom means choosing the right times and likeliest means, the different circumstances and capacities to those who are listening, and instructing accordingly.

Christ is the center, proclamation is the means, and now we look at the aim of our message.

THE AIM OF OUR MESSAGE

Paul has clearly articulated the center and means of the church’s message and just in case someone might ask “why?” he says that we do this so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. The aim is maturity. This word maturity actually may not capture the fullest sense of what is happening in the Greek.  The Greek word in view here is τέλειον, which more literally means “perfect.”  The problem is that “perfect” is too strong and “mature” is too weak. The sense that I want you to grasp this morning is that the aim of our message is wholehearted devotion in mind, heart, and spirit to the Lord.  The aim is wholehearted devotion.  Preaching Christ is unto the end of conforming one to the image of Christ.

This then is the blueprint for faithful sermons: Christ is the center, proclamation is the means, and wholehearted devotion and conformity to Christ is the aim. Preach on!

One of my favorite books on preaching is Tony Merida’s Faithful Preaching: Declaring Scripture with Responsibility, Passion, and Authenticity.

The book has a strong Trinitarian emphasis as Merida calls preachers to preach Christ unto the glory of God with the help of the Spirit. Such a goal is no easy endeavor though. Obstacles to Trinitarian preaching can be found in the preacher’s motivation, message, and manner. Merida discussion of four obvious obstacles within a preacher’s motivation is most useful.¹

4 MOTIVATIONAL OBSTACLES TO FAITHFUL PREACHING

Obstacle #1: Indwelling Sin. Sin clouds our vision of God and hinders intimacy with God. Consequently, our motive gets distorted when our hearts are not clean. Our motive may end up being popularity, praise, success, or power. Therefore, the primary opponent we have to deal with in preaching motivation is the indwelling residue of sin, and the pride that so interwoven with it.

Obstacle #2: The Praise of Men and Fear of Men. Preachers regularly care too much about the reaction of people. Many times we forget that the primary audience of our sermon is God not people. If we neglect this reality, we will fall into the trap of either altering the message to please people or not preaching truth because we fear people. Remember that if you do not please God, it really does not matter who you please.

Obstacle #3: Competition and Jealousy. The unfortunate competition between preachers is on perpetuated by the contemporary milieu of the day. Many preachers tend to get jealous when others are favored as the keynote speaker, or receive offers from large churches.

An old 4th century story illustrates this well. Some inexperienced demons were finding it difficult in tempting a godly hermit. They lured him with every type of temptation, but he could not be enticed. The demons returned to Satan and recited their problem. He responded that they had been far too hard on the man. Satan said, “Send him a message that his brother has just been made bishop of Antioch. Bring him good news.” Baffled by the devil’s advice, the demons returned and reported the wonderful news to the pious hermit. In that very instant, he fell into deep, wicked jealousy. Jealousy can tear down the godliest ministers.

Obstacle #4: Obsession with Church Growth. Obsession with church growth has the power to keep you from preaching for God’s glory. The temptation is to do “whatever works” (pragmatism) in order to attract a crowd, keep your job, or get a raise. However, the means to not always justify the ends. A faithful preacher has a higher goal than merely putting people in the seat and paying the church’s bills. We have a doxological purpose in preaching (glorifying God) before we have a numerical purpose in preaching (increasing numbers).

I remember sitting in a systematic theology class at RTS while Doug Kelley lectured on Christology. When he got to the ascension and session of Christ he said something like, “If any of you do doctoral work, consider doing it on the ascension. It is woefully neglected.”

It was one of those random asides from a professor that sticks with you.

Ever since then I have kept my eye out for books on the ascension, but the years have proven Dr. Kelley to be quite the prophet. The ascension of Christ does indeed seem to be the forgotten aspect of Christ’s work.

Tim Chester and Jonny Woodrow bucked the trend last year by publishing The Ascension: Humanity in the Presence of God. It is theological pithiness at its finest. In just over 75 pages they unpack how Christ’s ascension is paradigmatic to our understand of and mission for Christ. 

HOW THE ASCENSION SHAPES PREACHING

Chapter two is a masterful exposition of Jesus’ ascension as His enthronement as king. Along the way they rightly observe how the ascension profoundly impacts our understanding of evangelism. If we substitute “preaching” for “evangelism” here’s what we get:

When we proclaim the gospel we are heralds of a coming king. It is as if we go to the citizens of a country and say that a king is coming who rightly claims their allegiance. Those who currently rule them are usurpers and tyrants. But the true king is coming and He will be king. He will reign.

This is what takes place in [preaching].  We declare that Jesus is king and that Jesus will be king. The earliest encapsulation of the Christians message is ‘Jesus is Lord’ – confessed at a time when the rest of the world was declaring Caesar to be Lord (Rom. 10:9). Jesus has been given all authority by the Father and one day every knee will bow before Him. If people acknowledge His lordship now, they will experience His coming rule as blessing, life and salvation. If they reject Him, they will experience His coming rule as conquest, death, and judgment.

We live in a culture where choice is everything and value judgments are relative, in which I decide what is right for me. The declaration of Christ’s kingship cuts right across this. We do not invite people to make Jesus their king; we tell people that Jesus is their king. We do not invite people to meet Jesus; we warn people that they will meet Jesus as their conquering king, either through the gospel or as their judge on the final day. We do not offer people a gospel invitation; we command people to repent and submit to the coming king. Of course we do this graciously and gently (1 Pet. 3:16). We cannot force or manipulate repentance. But one day everyone will bow the knee before Jesus one way or another (Phil. 2:9-11). . . .

Nothing could be more momentous for life on earth than Jesus’ ascension. This story creates [preachers] who proclaim Him boldly in the face of hostility. . . . It is an event to be publicly proclaimed to all nations. It does not create a church bunkered down in a ghetto, but a church that confidently proclaims the coming of Earth’s king.

Amen!

One of my favorite living preachers is Alistair Begg. I find him to be a model of convictional clarity in exposition. There is an art and unction to his preaching uncommon in our time.

If you want to find out more about Begg’s thoughts on preaching you can reach for his little booklet Preaching for God’s Glory. One section of the work that is particularly helpful is on his own method of sermon preparation. He mentions five points he “learned from an older minister when [he] was a theological student.”¹

THINK YOURSELF EMPTY

“It is helpful if we can survey the passage in a proper spirit of unlearnedness. We do not want to be uncertain by the time our study ends, but it is all right and often beneficial to avoid the proud assumption that we know initially what everything means . . . In this stage I write down anything that comes to mind – parallel passages, possible illustrations, textual difficulties, poems, hymn quotes, a sketchy outline if it emerges naturally.”

READ YOURSELF FULL

“The pastor should read widely and regularly. There are certain books we should return to routinely: Baxter’s The Reformed Pastor, Augustine’s Confessions, and as daunting as we may find it, Calvin’s Institutes. I also find great profit in reading biographies. The two volumes on Lloyd-Jones should be a prerequisite for all pastors, as well as at least the first volume on Whitefield by Arnold Dallimore. . . . We must learn to benefit from these resources without becoming tied to them or allowing their insights to rob us of the necessary personal experience of discovery and creativity.”

WRITE YOURSELF CLEAR

“Aside from the essential empowering of the Holy Spirit, if there is one single aspect of sermon preparation that is most closely tied to fluency of speech and impact in delivery, it is this: freedom of delivery in the pulpit depends upon careful organization in the study. We believe that we have a grasp of the text and that we are clear about our delivery, only to stand up and discover that somewhere between our thinking and our speaking things have gone badly awry. The missing link can usually be traced to the absence of putting our thoughts down clearly.”

PRAY YOURSELF HOT

“There is no chance of fire in the pews if there is an iceberg in the pulpit; and without personal prayer and communion with God during the preparation stages, the pulpit will be cold. . . . We dare not divorce our preaching from our praying. . . . We can do more than pray, after we have prayed, but not until. How easy it is to affirm this, and yet how difficult to practice.”

BE YOURSELF, BUT DON’T PREACH YOURSELF

“There is nothing quite so ridiculous as the affected tone and adopted posture of the preacher who wishes he was someone else. . . .  James Stewart used to say, “Be yourself, but also, forget yourself!” Self-forgetfulness is of vital importance. We cannot make much of ourselves and much of the Lord Jesus Christ simultaneously. If people leave worship saying, “What an amazing preacher!” we have failed. Instead we must long for them to say, “What a great God, and what a privilege it is to meet him in his Word, as we have just done.”

Early on in my ministry I purposed to figure out the best method for sermon delivery. I tried everything from a small outline, to a full outline, to a sticky note with one or two quotes, then to nothing altogether.

Looking back on it now I realize that, for some reason, I thought extemporaneous discourse free from notes was the quintessence of skill in preaching.

I now realize that’s just plain silly.

After about eighteen months of trying everything else, I finally tried preaching from a manuscript. What a difference it made! Now, I do need to explain that preaching from a manuscript does not mean reading a document before the church. Jonathan Edwards may have done that during prolific revival years, but Edwards I am not and you are not. Therefore, when I think of preaching from a manuscript I think of preachers going into the pulpit with elaborate notes on which they don’t heavily rely. Just like any other notes you might bring into the pulpit the manuscript exists summons your mind and heart to organized exposition. They are there and they are somewhat invisible. If you preach from a manuscript but your congregation would never think so, you are probably using it properly.

Here are three reasons why I find preaching from a manuscript particularly helpful.

3 MERITS OF THE MANUSCRIPT

1. Clarity. Many men throughout the ages have remarked on the value of writing oneself unto clear thinking, among them are:

• Calvin, citing Augustine: “I count myself one of the number of those who write as they learn and learn as they write.”
• Ed Welch: “I find that there are three levels of clarity. When I only think about something, my thoughts are embryonic and muddled. When I speak about it, my thoughts become clearer, though not always. When I write about it, I jump to a new level of clarity.”
• John Piper: “Writing became the lever of my thinking and the outlet of my feelings. If I didn’t pull the lever, the wheel of thinking did not turn. It jerked and squeaked and halted. But once a pen was in hand, or a keyboard, the fog began to clear and the wheel of thought began to spin with clarity and insight.”

An articulate manuscript will require the preacher to think carefully and clearly about his exposition in a way no other system of preparation will. Preachers who use a manuscript are often accused of being boring, but they are rarely accused of being unclear. Clarity in preachign is a apostolic essential (Col. 4:4) and the accusation of a sermon being unclear is one of the worst things a preacher can hear. A manuscript is a catalyst to clarity in a ways an outline – simple or extensive – can’t possibly be.

2. Sensitivity. Two things come to mind on this point. First, manuscripts help preacher be sensitive to time. For example, I know that a 3,100 word manuscript will lead to a 35-37 minute sermon (the normal sermon length at our church). Another guy who preaches regularly at our church needs about 4,300 word to preach for 35 minutes. To each his own, I guess.

When I go somewhere and am asked to preach for a specific length of time, the manuscript is an invaluable aid to helping me honor the request. It isn’t constraining, it is actually freeing because I need not worry in the moment if I will end up taxing the audience’s attention with undue length.I often tell guys that people will forgive you for just about anything, but most won’t forgive you for a sermon gone too long.

A second point on sensitivity is the ability to get feedback on particularly thorny sections of your exposition. Maybe there is a theological nuance in the text that’s difficult to explain. Maybe there is an application that you want to make sure comes across appropriately. Writing out your thoughts in full allows you to then get well-informed feedback from other brothers and sisters. I can sit someone down in our church and say, “I need your feedback on point I am trying to make, here is what I plan to say . . .” Surely you can get feedback when you don’t manuscript, but I doubt it will be as detailed or informed.

Manuscripts then, aid sensitivity in time and exposition.

3. Usability. Quite simply, it’s easier to reuse a sermon that you manuscripted than one you outlined. Even further, manuscripts can readily be turned into text for newsletters, blogs post, articles, or chapters in a book. A manuscript multiplies the usability of your sermon in ways that no other method of sermon preparation can.