Preaching Workshop: Improving Your Preaching

Great to have Jon Gemmell with us, Director of Conference and Resources, Proclamation Trust

Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Tim 4: 13-16)

Audio:

Blockers to progress:

  • Spiritual dryness
  • Lack of fruit
  • Busyness, Lack of organisation, Crises, Important versus the urgent
  • Unwillingness to unlearn bad habits
  • Assuming I haven’t got much to learn
  • Unwillingness to say no to things to make time
  • Wanting to say everything
  • Not knowing people well enough
  • Growth/progress takes extra time beyond preaching prep time
  • Gradually shifting priorities away from expository ministry
  • Tiredness is the enemy of creativity
  • Weariness, Hopelessness
  • Resistance from church
  • Laziness
  • Input versus output
  • Prayerlessness, Lack of walk with Christ, Sin
  • Spiritual warfare

Get Preaching: Growing as a Preacher

  1. Hold to our convictions – the Word is the most powerful force in the universe
  2. Know that it won’t get easier – Word work will always be really hard work
  3. Be humble – keep learning
  4. Remember that preaching is loving people – we are doing it for them – get it right but also get it across well – spend time with people
  5. Beware
    1. the idolatry of preaching – identity as a preacher
    2. the duplicity of preaching – hypocrisy of teaching/life – make sure preaching has gone the long way round, through your own life
    3. attempt at novelty – don’t pull rabbits out of hats
    4. lazily reheating old material
    5. verbosity – too many words – got to edit – chef presenting simple, beautiful plate
  6. Feed yourself – listen to others
  7. Pray – before, during, after
  8. Control your diary – or get someone else to – so you can have sustained wrestling time
  9. Sleep enough – faith

Hone your skills:

  • Groove the basics – Cornhill
  • Get good feedback
  • Listen to yourself
  • Listen to your wife