“Sermon Introductions”

The point: Learn by observation and practice when reading sermons, specifically asking what makes an introduction effective.

Martin uses Spurgeon as a prime example of a preacher who demonstrated tremendous variety and judiciousness in his introductions, ranging from a single paragraph to two and a half pages, drawing from various sources like the text, circumstances, or historical setting.

You can take almost any volume of Spurgeon, I did it yesterday, and thumb through at random and find Spurgeon using introductions derived from the text or the universe of discourse, circumstances in the life of the people, circumstances in his own life, the life of the church, or giving you the biographical, historical setting of the passage. You see Spurgeon is a wonderful illustration, and I think again, from the human side, that's one of the reasons he was listened to with such profit and eagerness over so long a period of time, tremendous variety in his introductions. Sometimes it's just a...

1:44 - 2:26 Read in full sermon

Driving home: If that be taken from us, what have we more?

Martin recounts his own study of Samuel Davies's sermons, noting the tremendous variety in his introductions, which he then samples for the audience.

beginning to try to get into some of these sermons, some of the sermons of Samuel Davies, who was a great preacher. And what I did yesterday was to take his volume one of his sermons and notice his introductions. And it was tremendously interesting to see the variety of his introductions. Let me give you a little sampling, and I think we have these in our library.

2:36 - 2:57 Read in full sermon

Driving home: If that be taken from us, what have we more?

Martin quotes Samuel Davies's introduction to a sermon on Luke 16:27-31, where Davies challenges the audience with the hypothetical question of Christianity being an imposture, to draw out their consciousness of the need for certainty.

In his opening sermon, which is on the divine authority and sufficiency of the Christian religion, his text is Luke 16, 27 to 31. Then he said, I pray, therefore, Father, you would send into my father's house. I have five brethren that he may testify to them. And Abraham said they have Moses and the prophets.

2:58 - 3:15 Read in full sermon

Driving home: What if the religion of Jesus should be an imposture? I know you're struck with horror at the thought, and perhaps alarmed at my making so shocking a supposition, but this suspicion, horrid as it is, has probably been su…

Martin describes another of Davies's introductions where the preacher expresses his sense of frustration and agony in preparing a sermon on the final judgment, yet resolves to preach on it because the subject is never wrong.

And another time he speaks of his sense of frustration. He quotes his text, dealing with the final judgment. And he says, as I've wrestled with what I should bring for the benefit of your never-dying immortal souls, I have felt frustration and agony to know just precisely what note I should sound, but convinced that this note can never be wrong. Then he launches into a sermon on the second coming and the judgment of the great day.

4:33 - 5:00 Read in full sermon

The point: Read the sermons of Shedd and notice his different introductions.

Martin recommends B.B. Warfield's 'Faith in Life' as an excellent model for judicious introductions, noting that these sermons, preached to Princeton students, reveal Warfield the preacher in a unique way.

Notice his different introductions. If you want a helpful model of judicious introductions, Warfield's Faith in Life. And again, I did this yesterday, so I'm not telling you to do something I didn't do. I tried to do this, but I tried to concentrate it into many hours.

5:31 - 5:46 Read in full sermon