Skip to main content

Shall we dialogue on Sunday morning? Do you preach via monologue or dialogue?

These last few weeks have submerged me in the wonderful realm of preaching the Bible. More specifically, though, I've been grappling with the idea of expository preaching and if there is an occasion where "dialogue"—verbal, interactive dialogue—is acceptable during the Sunday morning church service (note my qualification of the Sunday morning service only; I deliberately have excluded such studies as the Sunday evening service, mid-week service, a home community group, etc.). In my thinking, reading, and consideration of God's Word, I am convinced that preaching via monologue is the best way to communicate on a Sunday morning.

One of the quotes I came across was from Jack Hughes. Enjoy!
Many pastors are struggling to keep their churches from becoming like the church of Sardis. They try biblical exposition, but something doesn’t seem to be working right. They faithfully preach the word, but contrary to the promise of God in Isaiah 55:11, the word of God seems to come back void. Their church doesn’t grow spiritually or numerically. People don’t seem to be responding. As they struggle to maintain a good attitude and fight the good fight, they see the church that doesn’t do expository preaching growing by leaps and bounds. Legions of cars pack the car park of the ‘seek sensitive church’ Saturday night, Sunday morning, and Wednesday night because it is meeting ‘felt needs’. . . . It can make an expositor have second thoughts. ‘Maybe biblical exposition is a cultural thing. Times have changed. Maybe expository preaching is out, and we should try something new.’ Snap out of it! Don’t even begin to entertain such thoughts. Satan is willing to trade solid biblical preaching for numerical growth. He would be glad to fill your car park if you will dump expository preaching. Satan skips with joy when expository preaching is substituted with anything else. He knows, if he can get rid of expository preaching, he can steer the church any way he wants. Satan knows that, when faithful preaching is set aside, the church will become vulnerable to his subtle deceptions and become ineffective.
From: Jack Hughes, Expository Preaching with Word Pictures, 8–9.

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 58:10 - Rejoice at the Destruction of the Wicked?

Does the Bible really say that the righteous will rejoice at God's vengeance upon the wicked? Yes, it does. First of all, the Bible no where advocates or condones people rejoicing over the downfall of the enemy because of personal vengeance . All vengeance must be left to the LORD (Deut 32 and Rom 12). Nevertheless, when the Christian has a God-centered perspective, it is absolutely reasonable—yes, required—that believers rejoice at the destruction of the wicked. (Again, this is not personal vengeance or gloating that the wicked are finally cast into hell.) But in my sermon last night I provided seven reasons why the righteous will rejoice at the judgment of the wicked: 1. God commands it (Rev 19:1-10) In a mysterious way, God commands believers to rejoice because His judgments are poured out upon the wicked. Just read Revelation 19:1 (which immediately follows Rev 17-18 and the cataclysmic destruction of Babylon, the false religious system and the false political system durin
Read more

Quotes on God's Sovereignty from AW Pink

Yesterday I read Pink's classic work again in preparation for my sermon on Psalm 47 this week at Church. God is good and He truly is the Sovereign King. Quotes from A. W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God . Revised edition. Reprint, 1928. Carlisle , PA : Banner of Truth Trust, 1998. “From every pulpit in the land it needs to be thundered forth that God still lives, that God still observes, that God still reigns.” (p.15). “Learn then this basic truth, that the Creator is absolute Sovereign, executing His own will, performing His own pleasure, and considering naught but His own glory. “The Lord hath made all things FOR HIMSELF. (Prov 16:4). And had He not a perfect right to do so? Since God is God, who dare challenge His prerogative? To murmur against Him is rank rebellion. To question His ways is to impugn His wisdom. To criticize Him is sin of the deepest dye. Have we forgotten who He is?” (p.30). “Because God governs inanimate matter… when we complain about
Read more

The Upright of Heart as a Metaphor for Integrity.

The Upright of Heart as a Metaphor for Integrity Psalm 11.2 says that the wicked seek to destroy those who are “upright in heart” ( לְיִשְׁרֵי־לֵב). The LXX renders the Hebrew phrase as: τοὺς εὐθεῖς τῇ καρδίᾳ (“the straight ones [=upright] of heart”). The Aramaic Targum renders the phrase in its oft-expanded way:  תקיני  לתריצי לבא (“the firm stability of the upright ones in heart”). Why is this language used to speak about integrity? Why does this describe the godly? I want to offer a few observations concerning this phrase. 1. This phrase refers to the godly person being one who is unbending and standing straight up for the Lord and for His Word. The Hebrew root for “upright” (יָשָׁר) speaks of that which is straight and right. So then, the person who is upright in heart is one who is straight in his life, straight in his course, unbending in his convictions, unswerving in his conduct. Joshua was told not to turn away from the Law of God either to the right or the left (Josh 1.7;
Read more