In this month’s Evangelicals Now, the editorial describes the visit of an elderly Welsh preacher as follows: He began his address by explaining the difference between a Bible Study and a sermon. If we recall it aright, he said words to the effect that, while a Bible Study is aimed especially at imparting information to… Continue reading Don’t make the wrong distinctions when it comes to preaching and Bible studies
Tag: preaching to the affections
Should I take questions after preaching?
Someone raised the question the other day about what would happen if we opened up the floor to questions when we had finished preaching. Now, as it happens, I’ve been in a fair few preaching contexts where we’ve done that. Sometimes, I’ve intentionally opened up to Q&A, at other times, it’s been the decision of… Continue reading Should I take questions after preaching?
A last word on note taking – what do I really care about?
Some of you will be following a little debate I’ve been involved in on whether or not we should be encouraging people to take notes during sermons. Alistair Chalmers wrote positively in favour of note taking here, I responded with the case against note taking here and finally, Steve Kneale offered this conclusive response, taking… Continue reading A last word on note taking – what do I really care about?
Why the purpose of preaching matters
I’ve written recently about listening to sermons and taking notes. My main reason for being against note taking is that it shapes and is shaped by our view of the purpose of preaching. Note taking is more associated with treating the sermon as primarily intellectual, educating, sharing information, applied to the mind. We are also… Continue reading Why the purpose of preaching matters
Is it best to use a knife and fork?
I’ve enjoyed and appreciated the discussion that has followed on from my articles about note taking. Responses have ranged from those who find it helpful to have the pressure to make notes taken off them through to those who have found note taking helpful and don’t intend to stop. A lot of you really don’t… Continue reading Is it best to use a knife and fork?
Instead of sermon note taking …
Yesterday I wrote about why I prefer people not to take notes when I’m preaching. So, how do we encourage people to retain, remember and apply what we preach. Here are some alternatives to note taking. Active engagement: One of my concerns with note taking is that it places the focus on intellectual processing and… Continue reading Instead of sermon note taking …
Against sermon note taking
Alistair Chalmers makes the case for taking notes during sermons here. This is something I’ve changed my mind on. Having a congregation furiously scribbling down notes during your talk is the gold standard measure of effective conservative evangelical preaching. It’s up there with getting a spontaneous outburst of hallelujahs and amens at a Pentecostal service… Continue reading Against sermon note taking
When did you last hear a pastor talk about mental health issues?
In my recent survey about application and what pastors talked about, I asked respondents to indicate whether or not they’d heard pastors address particular issues within the last 5 years. One issue concerned mental health. This is such an important subject to address within our churches because as we preach and pastor we are so… Continue reading When did you last hear a pastor talk about mental health issues?
“Do you want to be clean?” Preaching to the affections from the Old Testament
I mentioned the other day the conversation I had with Dan James about Haggai 2. One of the things I’ve been challenged about increasingly is the importance of preaching to the affections. This is an old puritan phrase meaning that our preaching should speak to the whole person not just to the intellect. We don’t… Continue reading “Do you want to be clean?” Preaching to the affections from the Old Testament
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