Selection of Sermonic Materials

The point: Do not listen to Martin if he seems to move into ironclad rules, but rather chew gum or stuff your ears.

Charles Spurgeon's method of waiting for a text to come, almost like direct revelation, is used as an example of a godly man whose unique method should not be made into a rigid rule for others.

On the other hand, beware of dear, godly men like Charles Spurgeon, who got his sermons like a prophet got his message to Israel and said everyone else ought to get it the same way. He literally waited until the text came, until the Holy Ghost gave it to him, almost a form of direct revelation, and he almost makes that a rule for others. Or you have others who say you ought to map out your preaching schedule for a year ahead and stick to it. Whenever I read those things, a few things get me really angry, but that's one.

9:04 - 9:35 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not listen to Martin if he seems to move into ironclad rules, but rather chew gum or stuff your ears.

The idea of 'cookie cutters' is used to describe the absurdity of rigid rules for sermon selection, implying that such rules treat all men and the Holy Spirit as uniform and predictable.

It's a good thing whoever writes those things is not around when I read them, because I just want to get him and shake him and say, now look, man, you really don't mean that, do you? I mean, you just weren't thinking when you said that. You see what it's saying? It's saying we're all cookie cutters as men, and God the Holy Ghost is bound to a certain method.

9:35 - 9:52 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of copying others' methods for sermon selection, as what works for one preacher may not work for you.

Pastor Blaise's struggle to copy Spurgeon's sermon selection method, which almost 'drove him bananas,' illustrates the danger of copying others' methods.

Beware of copying others. Pastor Blaise and I were talking about this the other day and he said as an early Christian, having been young Christian, having been helped so much in his early Christian life by Spurgeon's lectures to his students, he tried desperately to get his sermons the way Spurgeon did and it almost drove him bananas. And I was sharing with him how it almost used to drive me bananas when I was in the itinerant ministry and I'd go away sometimes literally for two and three hours of wrestling and waiting for some text to grip. And at the end of that time I had nothing but my fru...

11:42 - 12:21 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of copying others' methods for sermon selection, as what works for one preacher may not work for you.

Martin shares his own experience of wrestling and waiting for a text, only to end in frustration, reinforcing the warning against copying others.

Beware of copying others. Pastor Blaise and I were talking about this the other day and he said as an early Christian, having been young Christian, having been helped so much in his early Christian life by Spurgeon's lectures to his students, he tried desperately to get his sermons the way Spurgeon did and it almost drove him bananas. And I was sharing with him how it almost used to drive me bananas when I was in the itinerant ministry and I'd go away sometimes literally for two and three hours of wrestling and waiting for some text to grip. And at the end of that time I had nothing but my fru...

11:42 - 12:21 Read in full sermon

The point: Be diligent to know the state of thy flock, applying Proverbs 27:23 analogically to undershepherds.

Paul's reference to reports from Chloe's household in 1 Corinthians is humorously called 'sanctified gossiping' to illustrate how specific information about congregational needs guided apostolic preaching.

They show that he was not fighting in uncertainty. He knew of specific needs to which he addressed himself with specific instruction and exhortation. He opens up 1 Corinthians with these words that have been reported unto me of the household of Chloe. He didn't say the Lord gave me a revelation in the middle of the night.

23:36 - 23:54 Read in full sermon

The point: Be aware of the overall or general needs of the flock, tailoring your preaching to counteract past errors or address current spiritual conditions.

Examples of tailoring preaching to counteract past diets of dispensationalism (preaching continuity of grace) or hyper-Reformed doctrine (preaching James to blast complacency) illustrate being sensitive to general congregational needs.

Secondly, be aware of the specific or critical needs and thirdly, be aware of the occasional needs. Now what do I mean by the overall or general needs? Well, if you go to a church that in the past has been fed a constant diet of dispensationalism or has been taught to be more technical verticalism and approach to the scriptures that sees things in hard fast vertical categories and people have had very little appreciation of the continuity of God's dealings with men in grace why then it's obvious that your preaching ought to counteract the baneful tendency of this other form of teaching. Howeve...

26:48 - 28:10 Read in full sermon

The point: Be aware of the specific or critical needs of the congregation, allowing crises or significant events to dictate sermonic materials.

The example of a flock of young converts with no family structures or understanding of creation ordinances illustrates the folly of immediately preaching on complex doctrines like the two natures of Christ, emphasizing sensitivity to general needs.

If you have a flock of God made up primarily of young people saved out of the typical background with no family structures no appreciation of the dignity of labor no understanding of the doctrine of creation and creation ordinances the sanctity of sex and of marriage well you'd be a fool to strike out immediately dealing with a series of lectures on the two natures in the person of Jesus Christ something of this kind. No, no. And I'm amazed how it seems that something happens when people get their hands laid on by a group of other elders that utterly purges them not of indwelling sin but of in...

28:10 - 28:50 Read in full sermon

The point: Be aware of the specific or critical needs of the congregation, allowing crises or significant events to dictate sermonic materials.

Martin humorously suggests that the laying on of hands during ordination sometimes purges young preachers of 'indwelling good horse sense,' leading them to ignore the general needs of the flock.

If you have a flock of God made up primarily of young people saved out of the typical background with no family structures no appreciation of the dignity of labor no understanding of the doctrine of creation and creation ordinances the sanctity of sex and of marriage well you'd be a fool to strike out immediately dealing with a series of lectures on the two natures in the person of Jesus Christ something of this kind. No, no. And I'm amazed how it seems that something happens when people get their hands laid on by a group of other elders that utterly purges them not of indwelling sin but of in...

28:10 - 28:50 Read in full sermon

The point: Be aware of the specific or critical needs of the congregation, allowing crises or significant events to dictate sermonic materials.

The recent congregational discipline crisis at Trinity Baptist Church is used as an example of a 'specific or critical need' that dictated the preacher's choice of biblical instruction to fortify and illuminate the people.

Those of you who are part of this congregation will know exactly what I'm speaking about when I say when we faced the crisis of several weeks ago and had to engage in this very serious act of corporate discipline why a preacher would be heartless who did not seek to give his people clear biblical instruction both to fortify them for the trauma of that experience as well as to illuminate their minds as to their responsibilities in it. Again, illustrating from our own congregational life a year and a half ago when they had that tragic flood in the Lewisburg area what more appropriate time than t...

29:23 - 30:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Be aware of the specific or critical needs of the congregation, allowing crises or significant events to dictate sermonic materials.

The tragic flood in Lewisburg a year and a half prior is used as an example of a 'specific or critical need' that prompted sermons on Christian benevolence from 2 Corinthians 8 and 9.

Those of you who are part of this congregation will know exactly what I'm speaking about when I say when we faced the crisis of several weeks ago and had to engage in this very serious act of corporate discipline why a preacher would be heartless who did not seek to give his people clear biblical instruction both to fortify them for the trauma of that experience as well as to illuminate their minds as to their responsibilities in it. Again, illustrating from our own congregational life a year and a half ago when they had that tragic flood in the Lewisburg area what more appropriate time than t...

29:23 - 30:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Be aware of the specific or critical needs of the congregation, allowing crises or significant events to dictate sermonic materials.

An unusual number of deaths in quick succession is given as an example of a 'specific or critical need' that calls for sermons on the reality of death, judgment, and the brevity of life.

Those of you who are part of this congregation will know exactly what I'm speaking about when I say when we faced the crisis of several weeks ago and had to engage in this very serious act of corporate discipline why a preacher would be heartless who did not seek to give his people clear biblical instruction both to fortify them for the trauma of that experience as well as to illuminate their minds as to their responsibilities in it. Again, illustrating from our own congregational life a year and a half ago when they had that tragic flood in the Lewisburg area what more appropriate time than t...

29:23 - 30:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Be aware of the occasional needs, such as funerals or weddings, and use these opportunities to address relevant biblical themes.

Examples of preaching on death and judgment at funerals, and wedding themes at weddings, illustrate being sensitive to 'occasional needs' and seizing natural inclinations for gospel opportunities.

providence is saying listen what a foolish thing for you to distract the mind from the very thing that god is calling the attention to in providence let providence and the word strike in the same direction together you see and then there are what i'm calling the occasional needs you're facing a flock of god in a funeral situation i've questioned the sanity of any man who said well i've waited on god and god has laid upon my heart to speak on the relationship of the active obedience to christ to the justification of a believer in a in a funeral service now it may be true that the truth of the a...

30:49 - 32:17 Read in full sermon

The point: Be aware of the occasional needs, such as funerals or weddings, and use these opportunities to address relevant biblical themes.

Martin's decision to preach through 1 John when he first came to Trinity Baptist Church, due to the congregation's diet of 'easy-believism,' illustrates addressing general needs.

opportunity and likewise i think uh... dr lloyd jones has a good case for being sensitive to what we would call the uh... occasional periods in the calendar year in which men are thinking in a given direction new year's christmas is seven now of course we have uh... examples of this in the ministries of many men i will not weary you with such examples let me just try to give one personal anecdote that may help to show the difference in these areas we've dealt with the matter of the general needs of the flock when i first came to this congregation some twelve years ago and realized they've been...

32:17 - 33:07 Read in full sermon

The point: Seek to be sensitive to God's dealings with your own heart and mind, as truths that grip you devotionally are often what God intends for your people.

A series on 'Will your Christian experience stand the test of death and of judgment?' preached after a number of deaths in the congregation, illustrates addressing specific/critical needs.

give them an ear for expository preaching and at the same time zero in on that most fundamental of issues and then along the way when there are critical periods in the history of the church i can remember a few years ago when we had a number of deaths uh i felt i should prepare a series on this very subject will your christian experience stand the test of death and of judgment they were all professing christians sitting there but one after another had been snatched away in a relatively short time and you couldn't help but wonder when you came the next sunday who'll be next now we ought always ...

33:07 - 34:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Keep a record (notebook or file) of texts and themes that grip you, even jotting them down during prayer and meditation.

Martin describes keeping a file of 'sermon ideas in rough outlines' where he jots down texts and themes that grip him, illustrating sensitivity to God's dealings with his own heart.

come home with fire to your own bosom themes in the word of god that will come home with fire to your own bosom themes in the word of god that will come home with fire to your own bosom and there's a sense in which we can then say with the prophet jeremiah thy word was in my heart as a fire shut up within my bones thy words were found and i did eat them there are many times all you can do is gum chew on them but when god enables you to eat them so that you feel them breaking down under meditation and assimilating themselves into your very spiritual bloodstream very often those are the truths t...

34:30 - 35:55 Read in full sermon

The point: Keep a record (notebook or file) of texts and themes that grip you, even jotting them down during prayer and meditation.

His experience of being gripped by Hebrews 3:13-14 while reading John Owen's commentary illustrates how God uses personal study and meditation to lay themes on a preacher's heart.

about for what to preach i've got one thing on the back burner now the last thing hebrews 3 13 and 14 the ultimate evil to be avoided falling away lest there be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief in falling away from the living god the intermediate evil to be guarded against an evil heart of unbelief the subtle cause of both the deceitfulness of sin the means ordained to prevent them watchfulness take heed brethren and then exhort one another there's the four points of the structure of a sermon needs a lot more work to be preached but that thing gripped me i trembled inwardly before g...

35:55 - 37:09 Read in full sermon

The point: Keep a record (notebook or file) of texts and themes that grip you, even jotting them down during prayer and meditation.

Reading 'Precious Remedies' by Brooks or Owen's Volume 6 is presented as material that should naturally compel a preacher to share with his people, illustrating how certain truths grip the heart.

escuches if you have so much Drummond seed to Titus a little in the Ming class b operator God's not onto him had quarter o'clock a man with a pastor's heart can read through that and not say, I've got to preach through that starting next Sunday. I mean, it's the kind of thing that it's so helpful and practical that you just feel, I've got to share that with my people. I don't know how a man can read through Precious Remedies by Brooks and not say, I've got to preach that to others or read through Owen, Volume 6, and not say, I've got to preach that to others. Now, it doesn't mean everything th...

37:09 - 38:17 Read in full sermon

The point: Seek to be sensitive to your present development as a preacher and teacher, preaching according to the proportion of your faith and not presuming on gifts you don't yet possess.

The story of operatic tenor Richard Tucker declining a role because he felt his voice hadn't matured enough illustrates the importance of a preacher being sensitive to his own present development and not tackling roles (sermons) too big for him.

Recognizing and exercising the various gifts in the church and having exhorted us not to think more highly than we ought to think, then we are told if we discern that our gift is prophecy, teaching or preaching. Verse 6, having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith. That is, according to the measure of our confidence. God's gift to us and the present development of that gift. I shall never forget the shock that came to me when a few years ago, at that time he was my favorite operatic tenor, Richar...

39:36 - 40:32 Read in full sermon

The point: If you find you're in over your head with a preaching topic, tell your people that.

The example of a man preaching through Revelation after only three years of preaching, especially if relying on 'charts,' illustrates a lack of sensitivity to one's present development and presumption.

But at the same time, good sense will tell him that there are certain things that he should not attack as a novice. For instance, the man who plunges right in to preach through the book of the Revelation when he's only been preaching for three years ought to have his head examined or burn his charts, one or the other. If he feels confident, it's because he's got his charts. And if he feels confident because he's got his charts, then something is terribly, drastically wrong in the overall perspective.

41:47 - 42:19 Read in full sermon

The point: If you find you're in over your head with a preaching topic, tell your people that.

Martin's own reluctance to engage in biographical preaching for 15 years, and his eventual attempt with the Elijah series, supported by commentaries, illustrates being sensitive to one's development and seeking aids when venturing into new areas.

Be sensitive to your present development as a preacher. And if you find you're in over your head, tell your people that. I used to have a lot of pressure. Why don't you preach through, do some biographical preaching?

42:19 - 42:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate true, godly elders who feel at liberty to give you feedback on your preaching, such as sermon length or pace.

The scenario of godly elders giving feedback that sermons are 'a bit long' or too focused on one book for too long illustrates the value of listening to the flock's reaction through trusted leaders.

And here is one of the great blessings under God of cultivating true, godly elders who share in the oversight of the flock with you. Because if you develop the right relationship with them, they will feel at liberty to say to you, Now, Pastor, I feel that maybe it might be well for a little change of pace. Some of the folks have come. They haven't wanted to be nasty.

45:23 - 45:45 Read in full sermon