The Prime Object of Preaching
Apprehension has been expressed by not a few ministers and laymen over the nature of many of our Sabbath services. Some have felt that the time has not been as profitably "occupied" as might have been; that there has been too much of the entertainment idea—presenting things which are interesting but not vital; in brief, that too much time is devoted in our Sabbath services to the promotion of matters of a secondary nature. The same concern exists in a way relative to evangelistic preaching. Tendencies that have developed in the field indicate a drift away from safe moorings in our preaching. These facts have led to the following symposium from experienced leaders in varying departments of service as to the prime object of preaching, both in the Sabbath morning service and in evangelistic endeavor. These statements are not set forth by way of dictum, but as an expression of mature conviction of experienced workers, and are worthy of careful consideration by the ministry as a whole.
L. E. F.
"Meat in Due Season"
As to evangelistic services, never has there been an hour affording better opportunity for the evangelist to appeal to the public with soul-stirring messages. No ordinary message will be fitting or effective at this time, and no attempt to entertain the public is appropriate. Daily developments throughout the world provide sufficient material for the basis of solemn appeals to the world to prepare to meet God. I am deeply impressed by the opportunities which are constantly afforded us to gain the public ear; and it seems to me that careful study should be given to ways and means by which the final message to the world may be given more effectively.
E.K. Slade. South Lancaster, Mass.
Every Sermon a Spiritual Message
In my judgment many of our Sabbath I services are missing the mark. If properly conducted, they could be the greatest single soul-saving agency at our command, because of the many visitors in attendance.. Our church members should never have occasion to hesitate to invite their neighbors to our Sabbath services, because of fear that the campaign or promotion part of the service will be considered by them as inappropriate to Sabbath worship. The unorganized and inappropriate way in which many of our services are conducted is indeed tragic, and calls urgently for reform. The Sabbath service should begin and close at a specified time, and nothing should ever be permitted to interfere in the least with the sermon as the vehicle for a spiritual message.
T. G. BUNCH. Loma Linda, Calif.
Appeal for a More Godly Life
I. J. WOODMAN.
Seattle, Wash.
Higher, and Holier Ground
The Sabbath was-given ter worship. I As we are commanded to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, so all the services conducted within the hours of worship should raise us to higher and holier ground. No presentation at this period should be of a light, frivolous, or trivial nature. A devout and earnest Christian Seventh-day Adventist layman told me, not long ago, that when a certain minister preached in one of our larger churches, knowing very well the methods employed by this minister, he prepared to count the number of jokes intermingled with the sermon, and the list totaled fourteen. Surely this is not as it should be.
The Sabbath services should not be conducted in such a way as to make God's house of prayer a house of merchandise. We all recognize that there are certain legitimate programs connected with the conduct of our worldwide work, which are not only necessary but proper on the Sabbath. Unfortunately, however, the zeal of some has led to making the Sabbath service border decidedly on commercialism. The program for so sacred an hour should be filled with that which will impress the listeners with the solemnity of the times, the nearness of the coming of Christ, and the importance of being prepared for the great testing events just ahead of us.
In our evangelistic services for the public there is also a tendency to lower the standard in preaching. Everyone who has been engaged in evangelistic work over a series of years recognizes that today people know vastly less of the Bible than they did years ago. The movie, the radio, and the auto have not urged the people forward to exercise their minds in an effort to grasp the deep and solemn truths of the Bible, but have rather brought them into a position where they must be spoon fed. Not that I would be misunderstood as saying anything against these agencies in their proper sphere, but they are being made the tools of the enemy to divert the mind from that which is of eternal consequence. Nothing spectacular, nothing which indicates that the messenger is not able to give the trumpet a certain sound, should be connected with evangelistic services. The great and solemn truths of the third angel's message alone should hold the center of the stage.
B. G. WILKINSON.
Takoma Park, D. C.
Touch the Soul
It was in a Sabbath service that I for the first time asked the prayers of God's people in my behalf. It was in Sabbath meetings that I received the inspiration which led me to work for others, and where I was taught how to work for Christ. Sabbath meetings, together with personal study and devotion, set my feet upon the Rock, and prepared me for service in the Master's vineyard. It was not my privilege to attend a Seventh-day Adventist school, my early training being received in the church and the field. It is therefore natural for me to think of the training of church members to become workers as one objective of the Sabbath sermon. We are instructed that "the church is to be educated and trained to do effective work." Surely the Sabbath service may have a part in this education and training.
The purpose of evangelistic meetings is not to afford theatrical entertainment, not to display the talent and skill of the evangelist in handling theological problems; rather, it is to impress upon men the incomprehensible love of God, and the mystery of His will in the gift of His only begotten Son for their salvation. Let the humility of the man in the desk be beautified by his dependence on God, and every word spoken be carried to the hearts of the hearers by the silent witness of the Holy Spirit. The prime objective in the evangelist's preaching is the salvation of men, made possible by the uplifted Saviour, whose majesty should be seen in every discourse.
W.H. Holden.
Berrien Springs, Mich.
Preach the Word
To all my brethren in the ministry I would say, with Paul, "Preach the word." Christ is coming very soon; but many are losing the sense of the nearness of His coming, and the event will be to them an overwhelming surprise. Seventh-day Adventists need to be awakened out of sleep, to be aroused from their lukewarm condition and spiritual lethargy, and to be warned to get ready for the Lord's coming. The preaching of the word, witnessed and impressed by the Holy Spirit, can alone prepare them for this glorious but solemn hour.
How important is the Sabbath service—the one service of the week when God's people meet together! Each service marks one week nearer the judgment. How serious to waste the time by failing to give to the people that which is most needed. They need not alone the message of comfort which Isaiah has recorded (Isa. 40: 1, 2), but also the message of Elijah, which is so clearly outlined in "Prophets and Kings;" pages 140, 141. Some will rise up against such a message; nevertheless it must be preached by men who watch for souls as those who must give account. Such a preacher will not be popular with some, but if he is true to his calling, he will preach the plain, straight truths of God's message for this time.
J.C. Stevens
Glendale, Calif.
Feed the Flock
The purpose of the Sabbath morning service, is to feed the flock of God. While we should be sympathetic toward all the enterprises which press in upon this sacred hour because of our many lines of activity, yet we must ever hold to that which is of primary importance,—providing the spiritual food so greatly needed and expected on this one weekly occasion when all the members of the church are together. Let this be properly taken care of, and much of the "drive" idea will disappear. The purpose in the Sabbath morning service should never be merely to "occupy the hour," but always to deliver God's message from a heart burning with the sacred fire of Holy Ghost baptism, sought and found through earnest prayer.There is no evangelistic preaching outside of that which wins men to Christ. Anything connected with our public services which is detrimental to the atmosphere which melts hearts to repentance at the foot of the cross, should be eliminated. Sacred and strange fire should never be mingled in the Lord's service. Nothing so attracts the public today as the uplifted and exalted Christ. Every digression from the Spirit-filled gospel message affords a sad commentary on a condition in which Pentecostal fire is pitiably lacking. The genuine gospel message, backed up by real heart experience, will attract, hold, and bring results.
L. K. Dickson.
New York, N. Y.
Convince of the Shepherd's Love
To love to preach is one thing; to love those to whom we preach, is quite another." "As the great test of medical practice is that it heals the patient, so the great test of preaching Is that it converts and builds up the hearers." "It is not a minister's wisdom, but his conviction, which imparts itself to others." Taking the foregoing principles as my basis in preaching, I consider that the.primary purpose:of the Sabbath service is
1. To deepen upon my own heart the conviction which I wish to impart to others.
2. So sharply to reprove sin, so sweetly to preach Christ crucified, and so earnestly to pursuade to a godly life, as to convince the sheep of the Shepherd's love.
3. Constantly to remind the hearers of what they are prone continually to forget; to fortify the feebleness of human resolutions; to recall the sheep from the bypaths into which they have turned, and direct them again to the narrow way leading to life eternal.
4. To send the congregation away with a desire for, and an impulse toward, spiritual advancement.
The primary purpose in evangelistic meetings is to exalt Christ and convert sinners. Any evangelistic service is lacking which does not include the clear setting forth of ruin by the fall, redemption through Christ, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit. We must lead men and women to Christ by a positiveness that is not denunciatory, by a tenderness that is not sentimental, and by an impassioned, loving appeal that will convince sinners of the reality of the deadly power of sin, the peril of the ungodly, and the provision of the gospel as the only adequate remedy.
A.A. Cone
Columbus, Ohio.
