After watching the film …

Which of the Bible’s pictures of a preacher do you feel most drawn to?

Scan Jesus’ sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7). Which of the Biblical pictures do you think he’s displaying at different portions of the narrative?

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to our masterclass

My name is Ian White and in this segment I want to get get us thinking about what we’re doing when we’re preaching and why on earth do we do it?

Seems pretty fundamental to think about this because if we don’t I could end up sharing with you a method without any motive or meaning!

The idea of preaching

The idea of preaching sometimes gets a pretty bad press.

Collins dictionary “If someone gives you advice in a very serious, boring way, you can express your disapproval by saying “you’re preaching at me”.,

I subscribe to a photo library from where I get some of the images you’ll see in these films.

I have several million images to choose from.

• If I enter the keyword ‘preacher’ into their search engine, the results are very revealing.

We get photos like this …

In no way am I criticising the curators of the images.

After all, the photographers largely choose their own keywords.

However this seems to indicate that in our contemporary society (or at least this cross-section of photographers) the concept of preaching is associated with tropes like:

• formal religious structures (very churchy)

• a strong sense of detachment between the preacher and people. (religious garb)

• with the exercise of power over others (the preacher is someone to be revered, looked up to)

… oh and it’s entirely male!

The only female faces are either in a subservient position in the shot … or just wacky nuns

I remember having an interesting conversation with a man who wasn’t part of the church and I was trying to explain to him what preaching involved

• he appeared to have imbibed some of the more negative stereotypes of preachers

• and held the view that preaching was little more than unwanted, supercilious moralising that was inflicted on a gullible audience

Honestly, I felt as if I wanted to put him straight!

• But what contemporary equivalents could I come up with to help him understand what it’s like to preach?

Here are some of them

As preachers we are:

Part teacher

We have a syllabus – a message – it’s the message of the gospel.

Not just an evangelistic gospel (Come to Christ) but the whole gospel

• the good news about displaying the fruit of the Spirit

• the good news about finding God is dependable in times of crisis

• the good news about devoting ourselves to the care and benefit of other people.

When Jesus was on earth he was known primarily as a teacher, a Jewish Rabbi.

So people would look to him as a person who has a deeper knowledge of God and (hopefully) take his teachings on board.

We have something in common with the teacher.

Part politician

In a politician’s speeches he or she is unashamedly wanting to win people over to their point of view – to see the world as they see it.

• There’s an element of persuasion in our preaching.

Much of Jesus teaching and parables were unashamedly persuasive in their tone.

• The wise and foolish builders – so be like the wise one!

• The sermon on the Mount in Matthew – Do pray like this – Don’t worry about your life – Ask your heavenly father for what you need, and do on..

Paul said

Since we know what it’s like to fear the Lord, (in the sense of revering him and being in awe of him) we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to you. 2 Corinthians 5:11

Preaching is more than merely the presentation of information on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, it’s presentation of the whole counsel of God

• with the hope and expectation that the people listening to us will take it on board

And here’s something I find enormously reassuring about the persuasive side of preaching

• It’s not up to me to persuade.

Persuasion, inveiglement, conviction, – that’s God’s job by his Spirit.

• All we have to do is to give him the platform from which to do it and leave the outcome to him.

We are not here to twist people’s arms

Here’s an old piece of doggerel

Convince a man against his will, he’s of the same opinion still.

Our teaching role is to inform and to motivate by expounding God’s word and being enthusiastic about it.

We have something in common with the politician (or motivational speaker)

Part stand-up comic.

Their job, what they do every week, is very similar to what we do!

The stand-up comic has to engage his or her audience and keep them engaged.

Usually the audience’s attentiveness is contingent on the performer telling stories the crowd can identify with – and be amused by.

• He or she is sometimes provocative, sometimes subversive

• And often touches on uncomfortable truths through stories.

Isn’t that Jesus?

He threw stories around like confetti (we tend to call them parables)

In fact in Mark there was a time when

With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable

Mark 4:33-34

And he must have been gripping to listen to, otherwise thousands of people simply wouldn’t have bothered to crowd into a valley to hear to him.

Of course our role is not primarily entertainment

• but if you’re not interesting, nobody will listen to you!

• Nobody was ever bored into the kingdom of God!

Please, if you’re going to preach – be interesting!

We have something in common with the stand-up comedian (and we can learn from them)

So we are part teacher, part politician, part comic.

Part counsellor

A counsellor or therapist is a person whom we allow into our lives to point out (or draw our attention to) deeper parts of life.

• We let therapists dig up things in us which otherwise we might want to ignore or suppress.

• And with the aim of reducing tension or pain.

Why were some of the Pharisees so opposed to Jesus?

• Because he exposed their darker motives.

I believe that, under God, our preaching can delve deep into the hearts and minds of our hearers to bring the light and joy of Christ into corners of our souls that would otherwise remain centres of darkness, despair and dread.

We have something in common with the Counsellor.

preachers in the Bible

When we look at the Bible we see a whole raft of illustrations of who a preacher is and what he or she does.

The herald

Probably the most common is the herald or crier.

He’s been given some good news an it’s his responsibility to make it known to the public.

Prior to widespread literacy, town criers were the means of communication with the people of the town since many people could not read or write. Proclamations, local by-laws, market days, adverts, were all proclaimed by the bellman or crier.

In first century Roman society these people were crucial.

• Heralds typically proclaimed public announcements and news headlines during market days

When Paul was saying farewell to the leaders at Ephesus – knowing he may never see them again, he used exactly this image of himself

I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God

Acts 20:27

The word he used was ‘proclaim’ like a crier.

At the beginning of 1 Corinthians, Paul recognises that the church is divided and wants them to know that he preached a unifying gospel, not a divisive one.

We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

1 Corinthians 1:23-24

It’s that idea of being a herald that occurs here too.

The message is unpalatable to some, but transforming to others – because it’s got God’s power behind it!

The ambassador

The preacher has been commissioned to serve as an envoy from one nation (the kingdom of God) in the territory of another (a secular world)

Here’s Paul again

Pray also for me, that … I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.

Ephesians 6:20

An ambassador is a person who would reasonably expected to be treated with some dignity in the foreign nation, so the irony of being an ambassador in chains for the sake of the gospel would not have been lost on Paul’s hearers

The sower

In Jesus parable of the sower

He describes a farmer scattering seed on different types of soil. Some germinates and some doesn’t.

(In truth, it should really be the parable of the soils!)

when he explains the parable he said this;

This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.

Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved

Luke 8:11-12

When we preach faithfully we broadcast the word of God into the hearts of people and we hope that it will take root in some and produce the kind of spiritual harvest God longs to see in the church.

The shepherd

When Jesus was arrested, Peter denied he was anything to do with him three times over.

After the resurrection there is a poignant moment when Jesus re-instates Peter as a disciple and Jesus commissions him to

John 21

feed my lambs (v15)

take care of my sheep (v16)

feed by sheep (v17)

Peter is commissioned to be a shepherd.

And returning to the moment when Paul said goodbye to the church elders from Ephesus he said this

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

We are called, by our teaching , to care for God’s sheep, provide them with a nourishing diet, clear direction and sacrificial love.

Workers

Here is Paul writing to his prodigy, Timothy.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

Let’s just reflect on this for a moment

“Do your best” – that’s all our heavenly Father expects of us. Give it your best shot!

“present yourself to God” – He is the one to whom we hold ourselves accountable for the message we herald to people we love.

“a worker who does not need to be ashamed” – preaching is hard work and it will challenge you.

“Correctly handles the word of truth.”

You might have heard this translated as ‘rightly dividing the word of truth’ and while that’s a accurate rendition it doesn’t capture what Paul was saying to his culture.

It’s not the idea of cutting something into pieces, but ploughing a straight furrow, or cutting through the forest in a straight line to reach the town by the most direct, and therefore easiest, route.

The implication is that the people who hear Timothy teach and preach will be able to take the message on board without stumbling blocks or hindrances.

It’s the same for us. This passage calls us to simplicity and clarity in our exposition so people understand and follow us with ease.

Which is why, in these films, I’m seeking to avoid (as far as I’m able) obscure and technical language.

I long for you to follow what’s going on clearly – and do it in your way, in your context and see God work through you.

Paul knew that the end of his life was imminent and that he probably would never see Timothy again.

“One day I won’t be with you any more.”

Every time an old person dies, a library dies with them

In this series of films I want to lay out for you just a bit of one of the shelves in my library.

Go preach the whole gospel!

God bless you