There cannot be a strong ministry or church without effective preaching. The spiritual prosperity of any church is mainly determined by the preaching gift of its ministry. Poor preaching, however, will empty a church quicker than good preaching will fill it. Preaching is set forth prominently in Holy Scripture. Christ's final words emphasized the great commission to preach the gospel.
The apostle Paul, preeminently a preacher, cried out, "Woe unto me if I preach not the gospel." Someone has said, "Preaching is truth through personality ;" and I like that definition, because it puts the emphasis on the importance of the individual as the channel of truth.
We must employ system and method in order to be successful soul winners. Let us seek to give our freshness and strength to matters of primary concern, putting first things first. To be successful, we must go into our workshops regularly for systematic study. He who trusts to facility of speech or the inspiration of the moment as a substitute for preparation will find that his indolence will eventually reap its bitter reward. One must be prepared for his audience's sake.
We must see Hosea's homeland if we would appreciate him ; and how can we preach about Amos "among the herdmen of Tekoa," unless we live with him, and know his environment? It is imperative that the preacher do thorough work in his laboratory—the study room in which he works out his sermons.
Importance of Study.—No preacher so speedily betrays himself as the one who does not study. Extemporaneous talk does not win; neither does fluency of speech which is ignorant of where it is going.
An old Quaker who found his clergyman out in a fox chase said, "Parson, were I a fox, I could hide where thee would never find me."
"And where?" queried the preacher.
The old Quaker astutely replied, "In thy study room."
It would seem that some sermons are produced like Aaron's idol from the people's gold: "There came out this calf." The best sermons are seldom produced by chance, but by prayer and careful, painstaking work in the laboratory. I cannot too strongly emphasize the need of filling oneself with information upon one's subject. One man asked another, "Why do you go to church? Isn't it old-fashioned and out of style these days?"
In turn he was asked, "Why do you go to a gasoline station every week?"
He replied, "To fill my car with gas and oil in order to keep it running."
"And I go to church every week for the same reason," he was told. "I need to keep my spiritual tank filled with oil and gasoline to keep me going on the road of righteousness."
Some of the best sermons come out of the enrichment of one's experience through the years. The great preacher, Henry Ward Beecher, was once asked, "How long did it take you to prepare that sermon of this morning?"
"Forty years," was the reply.
Methods of Preparation.—Our thoughts should be jotted down as they come to mind. Then, too, we may read and search for added material from books, periodicals, and other sources. Writing down our thoughts should not be for the purpose of committing them to memory. Very few can memorize their sermons and deliver them with directness and power. We must, however, think our thoughts through. If we ponder and read, and read and ponder, then when the time comes for us to deliver what we have prepared, mind and memory will serve us well. Ideas become clear when they are transmitted through the medium of telling them to others. It is good to cultivate the gift of conversation, for it is in conversation that one learns to express himself convincingly. Unless a minister prepares, he may be like the pastor who was invisible six days of the week and incomprehensible on the seventh.
Of course our work should be steeped in prayer. The truehearted minister will desire and seek to know God's will for His people. He will lift up his heart in prayer, and wait -upon God for His message. Then when the preparation is over, he must commit himself to God in order that his delivery may be vital, spiritual, and powerful.
Sermon Outline.—It is essential that we have an outline for the arrangement of the discourse. There are various methods, but I like and use this one: (1) introduction; (2) explanation; (3) exposition or proof ; (4) conclusion; (5) summary; (6) appeal.
* A companion article will follow, entitled "The Delivery of Sermons."—Editor.
