Archive for the ‘Preaching’ Category
Preaching Like Jesus
Try to preach with authority, and you won’t have it. Authority comes instead from one bedrock conviction.
(This is an interview by Brian Larson editor of Preaching Today a ministry of Christianity Today. He recently published it on their site.
Editorial note from Brian Larson: On my commute home from work, I used to drive by a big-box, home-improvement store called Handy Andy, but eventually that store went out of business, and it was with delight that I one day realized a church steeple was being added to the structure. The new owner was Harvest Bible Chapel, pastored by James MacDonald. Their church in the Chicago suburb of Rolling Meadows was growing quickly, and they needed lots and lots of space. One reason for that growth has unquestionably been MacDonald’s preaching. How would I describe his preaching? Let’s put it this way: he’s not shy, and the only time he sticks a wet finger up in the air to see which way the wind is blowing is when he’s on the golf course. When the editors of PreachingToday.com began a series of articles on the theme of preaching with authority, we knew that James was one person we needed to talk to. James MacDonald is author of When Life Is Hard (Moody, 2010), and radio speaker for Walk in the Word, which is broadcast regularly on Moody Radio.
PreachingToday.com: Many would say our culture is anti-authority and that people today don’t respond to an authoritative style of preaching. To me, you are the epitome of someone who preaches with authority, and yet you’re having great results. How do you explain that?
James MacDonald: One of the pillars of Harvest Bible Chapel from the very beginning was preaching the authority of God’s Word without apology. That’s very different from the phrase “preaching with authority.” I would never refer to myself as preaching with an authoritative style. But I know why you’re saying that, and that’s coming from the unapologetic proclamation of the Word. The prophets used to say, “Thus saith the Lord.” God says this.
I try not to spend any time in my message preparation thinking about what people want to hear or what questions the culture is asking. I just don’t spend any time on that at all. I have believed now for 21-plus years that if you try with all of your heart to say some things that God wants said—God has some things he wants said; that’s why he wrote a Book—God would get some people over here to hear it. Twenty-one years later, with a little over 13,000 people in weekly attendance, that’s happening. It’s been a steady journey. It hasn’t been explosive growth. It hasn’t been a ton of transfer growth from other churches. Like all churches, we’ve seen some of that, but mainly it’s just been a ton of people coming to know Christ.
The most common thing people would say about the teaching of Christ, after they had listened to him, was that he teaches as one who has authority. Of course, his teachings are filled with Old Testament quotes, and he is the Word of God, so every Word that proceeds from his mouth is the Word of God. That’s certainly not true about any of us, least of all me. The disciples on the road to Emmaus said, “Did not our hearts burn within us as he walked on the road with us and expounded to us from the Scriptures all the things concerning himself?” So Jesus was a Bible preacher. He had great authority because he didn’t apologize for God’s Word. He didn’t back down from anything that God’s Word said.
I just preached two weeks ago on Revelation 6. The message had one point: Repent; the wrath is coming. That’s not very seeker-friendly, but I believe that people are hungry for truth—truth that is openly expressed without reservation or prevarication. Paul said, “By the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God,” and that’s what I believe. Paul said, “My preaching was not with persuasive words of human wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” A lot of preaching today leaves people with faith in the wisdom of men. “Wasn’t that a clever talk? Wasn’t he an eloquent speaker?” It glorifies the messenger. Instead, when we just try to say what God wants said and get out of the way, that glorifies the message and the source of the message, which is, of course, God himself.
To read the whole article, follow this link.
Social Gospel vs Gospel Proclamation
What Gospel are you preaching? Are you preaching the true, biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Things I Would Change If I Could
Here’s the final video from the Q and A sessions from the Preach the Word Conference. I trust that you’ll find this content as helpful and hilarious as I did. J
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I hope you make it a priority to be in a church where God’s Word is taught without apology this weekend. I am heading into the final hours of sermon prep for our services right now. Talk to you next week.
Sermon Prep Methods from Some of the Best
Here’s some “gold” for all of you pastors—find out how some of the best expositors in the country prepare to teach God’s Word. You will hear from John MacArthur (a preaching mentor to me for sure!), Chuck Swindoll, Jack Graham, as well as Greg Laurie and me. Get ready to take notes, my friends!
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Sermon Prep and Devotional Life with Bob Coy and Greg Laurie
Hey, I am thinking about my sermon for this weekend today—a lot. It’s one of those messages that I cannot wait to preach—I’ve been thinking about it for quite a while. I am often asked about how I prepare a message.
That’s why I want you to see the Q & A session from the Preach the Word Conference at Greg Laurie’s church last fall. I am with Greg who is one of my best friends in ministry and the Senior Pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in California and Bob Coy who serves as Senior Pastor at a Calvary Chapel in Florida. We were asked about how we approach our devotional time and sermon prep time in God’s Word.
My prayer is that this is helpful and challenging to you as you head into this Christmas season.
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Why Take a Preaching Break During the Summer?
As many of you know, I typically take a preaching break during the summer. People always ask me “how was your vacation?” It’s NOT vacation 
. Anyway, here’s a video that explains the logic of taking a preaching break. It’s something that has worked well here at Harvest, and I commend it to you.
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Practical Help for Preachers: the Power of a Simple Analogy
I was preaching through the seven letters recently and I came to Jesus’ letter to Pergamum at the end of Revelation 2. I called the message, “Jesus Confronts Sexual Sin.” It was an especially impacting message with application for everyone and much Holy Spirit conviction. At the end of the message I wanted to confront the rationalizing that allows people to continue in this sin even if they know it’s wrong. Time after time I have dealt with people who somehow convince themselves they will beat the odds and end up in a good place even though they are living in sexual sin. Watch the clip and see if you think the analogy made the point. I used this analogy right after the part where Jesus says, “But I have this against you that you tolerate . . . [sexual sin].” My goal was to obliterate the blindness of thinking bad living can somehow get my life to a good place. It’s hard to pick up the full force that had built over almost 50 minutes of preaching on this sensitive subject, but check it out . . .
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Let me know your thoughts, or an effective analogy you have used in preaching. Hopefully this will help you search for the right analogy to drive home the points you are making from God’s word. Keep Preaching the Word!
The Worst Comment of All Time
I believe in giving credit where credit is due. Several thousand people have now left comments at this new blog, and I am blown away and edified by the diversity of opinion. Recently I posted a video blog trying to get pastors to think more carefully about how they use key words/concepts in their preaching. The idea was to set up the significance of a word before you use it, rather than after. Pretty simple really, but at times I have found it helpful. Anyway, I get this comment that . . . Ok, this is the absolute WORST comment I have ever gotten on my blog. So completely out of touch with scripture and culture. First the quote and then some comments.
“Astounding. I already feel a swelling confidence that I can give better speeches. It’s a shame that giving speeches has to be the poorest method ever devised for declaring the gospel of the kingdom to a dying world.”
This guy is sorely in need of a biblical education. Sadly he is not alone in his sentiments. Many people today believe that preaching is humanly ‘devised,’ ineffective, and passé.
1) Preaching the gospel is not a method; it is a mandate (2 Timothy 4:2).
2) Preaching the gospel is not humanly devised, but God ordained (Mark 3:14, Acts 10:42).
3) Preaching does seem like a foolish idea, always has been and always will be, but God has chosen it so that the glory would be his not ours. “…my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (1 Cor 2:4-5).”
4) Preaching is not limited to pulpit expression, but is to be the method of individual interaction regarding the good news. “Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:4).
5) Preaching the gospel has been incredibly effective in our church with more than 10,000 baptisms in 21 years in our churches and church plants. This includes not just suburban broken, but urban poor and those in prison, and many countries of the third world. How is that watered down, hyper-relational, culturally confused, “I like Jesus and you should too” approach going?
Peter L. Berger, the twentieth-century sociologist, said that, “Strong eruptions of religious faith have always been marked by the appearance of people with firm, unapologetic, often uncompromising convictions—that is, by types that are the very opposite from those presently engaged in the various ‘relevance’ operations. Put simply: ages of faith are not marked by ‘dialogue’ but by proclamation.”
Yep, worst comment ever. Congratulations.
Practical Help for Preachers: Set Up the Word Before You Need It!
One of the things I longed for as a young preacher and found very tough to find was practical help with how to actually communicate. I was deeply persuaded about the importance of exposition and the need for application and all the main things, and there was tons of info on how to interpret and outline a passage and settle on the big idea, etc. But what I could hardly find was practical help in the actual process of communicating. I am going to begin posting some little snippets of ‘how to communicate.’ Not because I think I have it down in any sense but because I know how hard it is to find input and discussion at this level.
Below is a clip from a recent sermon on Revelation 2. I was referencing Jesus statement: “I know” repeated in each of the 7 letters. I wanted people to understand that Jesus’ ‘knowing’ is far more than fact-based knowledge. I chose to compare knowing factually to Kindergarten knowing. The simple move I made, and commend to you, is setting up the word before you need it. By making the word significant in the hearers’ mind before you want to use it, you accelerate your move from explanation to application. Tell me what you think in the comment section, and try it yourself this weekend. PREACH THE WORD!
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Expository Preaching Is Not for the Faint of Heart.
When you are committed to teaching through the text verse by verse it raises some tensions that might be good to discuss. (I am currently underway on our 2009-2010 journey through the book of Revelation)
1) How do you make repetition interesting and engaging? Revelation 6-16 is filled with images of the judgment and justice of God (same as when I was going through Hebrews 7-10, which is filled with OT temple and high priest imagery). How do you talk about every verse and word in depth and not get incredibly repetitive? Repetitiveness is a big issue in expository preaching.
2) Do you need to handle everything sequentially or can you group sections by topic? For example this week I begin the seven churches. Do I group the good churches, the bad churches and the mixed churches, out of sequence. Do I follow the geographical sequence the text does? Do I have to do that? Could I group all the commendations and then all the rebukes? Is that ignoring or disrespecting the obvious sequence the Holy Spirit inspired, or is there no significance to the order other than the geographical order looping through Asian Minor? Topical versus inspired order is a big issue in expository preaching.
3) Why do so many commentaries seem to need to report significance beyond the obvious understanding gained by knowing what the text actually says? For example when John reports seeing that Jesus’ “head and hair were white as wool, as white as snow,” so may commentaries say this is a picture of purity? I beg your pardon, but he didn’t tell us that so we could draw some cheesy connection to a (albeit legitimate) characteristic of Christ. He told us that because that is WHAT HE SAW! Maybe because Christ is awesome and imposing in his appearance, nothing more. In the same part of Revelation 1, John hears that ‘his voice is like the sound of many waters.’ I am just staggered by the number of respected commentaries that go on at length to say how this is a picture of his voice being this or that, duh? HIS VOICE IS LOUD, like mine would be if we could talk in person and you could hear my frustration at people making the text say more than it says, and thereby making it into a puzzle that ordinary people can’t understand. I totally hate when people, pastors, do that to the Bible. Clarity versus needless complexity is a big issue in expository preaching.
4) How much text is too much to cover in one weekend? How much depth do you go into? Martin Lloyd Jones spent years in Ephesians, and his six volume commentary is nothing more than an endless list of word studies. But other commentaries race through the same content a week per chapter and really don’t even touch on the significance of each phrase and verse. Pace is a big issue in expository preaching.
Ok, what do you think?
My Mt. Rushmore of . . .
OK, so I know that Luke and Gerald have been listing their “Mt. Rushmore” of preachers (thanks for the mention guys ), writers, musicians, quotes, and experiences. Is it OK if I cover all that in one post? I actually went to Mt. Rushmore earlier this summer to witness a Greg Laurie Crusade in Big Rapids (great time!) so I get the concept . . . here goes . . . (three’s not four’s OK?).
Mt. Rushmore of Preachers
1) Dr. Roy Lawson: Now in his 70’s, my first preacher also baptized me and was preaching the gospel on a cold winter night in 1967 when I gave my heart to Christ. He preached biblically and with passion; what more needs to be said? I still remember a message he gave on Peter’s Denial, “When surrounded by wrongdoers wrongdoing comes easily.” I used that line in a sermon this year not even referencing him. It’s so ingrained in my thinking I have to focus to remember where it came from. What a privilege to have my ‘first preacher’ be so exemplary. (He also gave me my first opportunity to speak at a Bible conference. Thanks for believing in me Roy.)
2) Dr. John MacArthur: Roy Lawson introduced me to John MacArthur when he spoke at the Muskoka Bible Conference. Tears rolled down my cheeks during his exposition of Romans 1. He spoke at the national conference of our denomination just after I was out of college and his exposition of Psalm 19:7-11 was a cassette I listened to probably 100 times. Very, VERY formative for my convictions about the priority, power and SUFFICIENCY of Scripture. Now a friend, John’s command of the details of Scripture is exceeded only by his personal warmth, humility and graciousness. 100 years from today, he will be seen as the “Spurgeon” of this century, a true giant of the faith.
3) Dr. Lee Roberson: Founder of Tennessee Temple University and pastor for almost 40 years of Highland Park Baptist Church in Chatanooga Tennessee, Lee Roberson was a fired up old school fundamentalist preacher. My first semester out of high school I attended his university and listened to him preach three times a week. Those three months altered the course of my life. I can still remember his outline on a message from Acts called, “The Power of the New Testament Church.” My call to ministry, my hunger to pastor a church that preached with passion and see people saved, my desire to build a work that touched the world…all came from Lee Roberson. Just three years ago on a road trip I dropped by to thank him for his impact on my life. In his 90’s he was in his office responding to correspondence, etc. He prayed with us and signed a couple of his books with a very shaky hand. Soon after he was gone to heaven. A great preacher, who finished his course while keeping the faith. PTL!
OK, as you can see this got a little longer than I thought. It’s good to reflect upon those who have shaped our lives and seek to be just as faithful in passing the mantel to others. Next time I get to “Mt. Rushmore” I will give you my authors.
Gerald’s Mount Rushmore of Preachers
This one is a bit more difficult than the Mount Rushmore of writers. I don’t follow preachers in the same way I follow authors, so my list is going to be even shorter than Luke’s. But here goes…
James MacDonald—There’s no way to avoid sounding like a suck-up here, so I won’t even try. James is the best preacher I’ve ever heard. One of the advantages of being at a church that hosts an annual pastor’s conference is the opportunity to regularly listen to great preachers. And we’ve had a lot of them roll through for Straight Up over the years—John MacArthur, Bob Coy, Al Mohler, Ravi Zacharias, Jack Graham, John Piper, CJ Mahaney, etc., etc. But year after year James’ messages are the strongest at Straight Up. Along with John Piper, I’ve never hear anyone more accurately communicate the urgency and life and death nature of spiritual matters like James. One of the first messages I heard James preach was on the parable of the talents and how it didn’t go so well for the wicked, lazy servant. At the end of it I remember thinking with great conviction, “I do not want to be that guy.”
John Piper—I’ve not heard a great deal of Piper’s sermons—maybe only a handful. But every time I’ve heard him preach he’s left me with the unswerving impression that he truly, deeply, profoundly, and earnestly (even fiercely) believes the things he preaches about. And that’s not a small thing. Lord have mercy! If we even believed half the things we say we believe… As mentioned above, Piper has an immense ability to communicate the urgency of spiritual matters. Eternity is at stake and Piper doesn’t let you forget it. One of the most powerful sermons I’ve ever heard was Piper’s One Day sermon called “Don’t Waste Your Life.” If you haven’t heard the sermon, quit what you’re doing right now and go listen to it. (”Look Lord, here are my shells…” Ahhh, that line still kills me.)
James and Piper are very different preachers in many respects. James is more of a nuts and bolts, pragmatic sort of preacher. Piper is more of a philosophical and abstract preacher. Yet both of them, in their own way, have a profound ability to communicate the vital blood and bones earnestness of spiritual truth. I aspire to this.
Mount Rushmore of Preachers…
James MacDonald —- Spending your whole life under a preacher week after week while growing up in his house and counting him one of your best friends makes it a bit hard to calibrate his influence as every other influence seems trite by comparison. Let me take a second in this public setting to say that humanly if there is anything worthwhile in me, it is because of my dad’s influence in my life. He has been the biggest ongoing evidence of God’s grace and the gentle shaper of my thinking. As far as his preaching goes, it brings glory to word of God and the Son of God not the messenger. He preaches it simply, clearly, and honestly. Pretension is not anywhere in the formula. He preaches for the common everyday follower of Christ in a way that changes their lives. He is so big, he counts for two of the four heads on Mt. Rushmore.
As I went to college to explore some things for myself these other main influences started to emerge.
so here are other two on my Mount Rushmore of Preachers.
Louie Giglio —- Through his old bible study 7.22 and the Passion Conferences, Louie has made a massive impact on my life. His creativity in preaching is astounding, his passion undeniable, his centrality of focus inspiring. God’s glory is almost always the theme. Louie never gives half an effort. His messages have continually inspired me to have a bigger view of who God is.
Francis Chan —- I have found an anti-dote for the overwhelmingly soft preaching in our day. Francis always challenges way past my point of comfort. This message (click here.) was a massive turning point in my life. Never one to take an easy answer or go with the flow of American Christianity, Francis Chan has pushed me towards more full followership of Jesus Christ.
On Preaching Notes
I’m frequently asked about my preaching notes. In the video below, I explain the logic behind how I structure my notes. I know such things aren’t one size fits all, but hopefully there’s something helpful in there for you.
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To see a page from my preaching notes on Isaiah 6:1-4, click here.
Hey Young Preachers: Use more Commercials in Preaching
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Note: To see a list of James’ regular commercials, click here. (These pages are pulled from here).
Common Mistakes Made by Young Preachers
One of my greatest joys these days is working with young preachers, trying to ‘fast track’ them through some of the lessons I have learned through almost three decades of preaching. I was blessed to attend some great schools, but truthfully most of the bit I have learned about preaching came from painful Sunday afternoons of lamenting the ‘getting it wrong’ and determining to do it better next time. I am humbled and blessed by the thought that my lessons learned through much travail can be given to hungry young preachers just starting out. Ok so here’s some of the mistakes I made and observe:
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James’ Recent Series on Trials
This blog isn’t about selling products. The other day we were shooting a few of the Straight Up videos, and I asked James if he wanted to talk about one of his latest books. I’m not doing self promotion, was his reply. Fine. But since this is my little corner of the blog, I figure there’s nothing stopping me from doing a little James promotion. James just finished preaching a six week series on trials called, Turnig Your Trials to Gold. It was probably the best series I’ve ever heard him preach (and, as you know, he’s preached one or two good ones).
As many of you are aware, James has been going through a bit of it himself. So this series isn’t ivory tower, pie-in-the sky type stuff. It’s the real deal. If you’re hacking, slogging, or wading your way through a trial, and want some biblically based exhortation/teaching on how to honor Christ in the midst of it, I strongly encourage you to get your hands on this series. You won’t be sorry.
On Ordering Songs for a Worship Service
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Happy Friday… (aka it’s cold out and i want to goof off on the internet while i warm up)
Hey Everyone, Great Stuff Today.
Something to Read on One of “Those” Days.
Do You Ever Feel Like Giving Up?
Something Amazingly Cool But Also Amazingly Lame.
The Price is Right. (loved by people home in the mid-morning on weekdays everywhere) A guy gets a perfect bid on the showcase, but Drew Carey can’t must even a slightly reasonable amount of excitement.
Something That Has Happened To Me
Ever let the cell phone brain (the thing that decides what word you are trying to text) make a huge mistake.
Something My Grandparents Would Never Have Believed Exists
Check This Out If You Want To Teach Your Kids How Be More Afraid.
Something Irritating.
Dude, Mark Driscoll is So Cool. The New York Times Did a Profile On Him.
Something Very Intriguing
The Bernard Madoff ‘World’s Biggest Ponzi Scheme’ Story is SO interesting to me. Where did he hide all the money???
Something That Shows The Changing of The Times
This Guy Has Been Reading My Mind..
Something Sweet.
Buzzer Beater of the Year.
Something That is Song of The Week
Great performance of a Great Song.
Something That Made Me Feel a Touch Old
The Chicago Bulls Dynasty Officially Ended 10 Years Ago This Week.
On Using the Week to Prepare a Sermon
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Hello Friday, my name is Links
Something I Liked
Malcolm Gladwell (The Tipping Point, Blink) is a genius. This profile gives interesting insight.
Can you become a millionare easily. no.
Something I Sort of Agree With But is Worth Reading
7 Kinds of Pastors to Run From.
Something About The Election That was Very Cool (I Don’t Hate Obama or Nader or Palin or Anyone Else–Be Calm)
Marketing Lessons from the election
Something
Ted Haggard. Sigh
Something That Looks Cool
Check all these amazing examples of packaging.
Something Probably A Little Over Dramatic.
This. Then this.
Leave a Comment On Any of This. God Bless See You Next Week.
On The End Game of Preaching
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Happy Halloween/Friday/Reformation Day
Hello Friends,
Some great stuff to pass along today. As always a little serious, a little fun.
Something I Liked
This article about ‘late-bloomers’ is staggeringly interesting. YO. Expand the mind right here.
This rant about single guys in the church reminded me of JMan(what i call my dad)
Basketball season is back. To get in the flow try this or this or if you are old and slow this.
Why doesn’t John Piper take anything seriously?
Picture of the Week
is it bad to wish i was him?
The Jerry Jenkins/Tim Lahaye The World is coming to an End Soon Sign of the Week.
Oh boy this is so despicable i am laughing
Song of the Week
Desert Song by Hillsong- Check out the story here.
Funnyness of the Week
I hate Pepsi. (caution-slight language alert)
Okay,
Peace Out
Luke’s Links, Oct 27
Hello. Sorry this is late. I was out of town on Friday, so I asked Gerald to load this up, but he was out of town as well. Better later than never. Let’s get started.
Something(s) I Liked
One of my favorite writers interviewed in TIME magazine. He is profane, yet brilliant. I would say worth a check.
Nice little article on how to pay Pastors by Jack Hayford.
Every guy’s dream.
Something Downright Interesting
The number 1 girls basketball player in the country decides not play basketball anymore before her freshman year in college. Why? Read and find out.
Something that is the Sermon of the Week
This wrecked me.
Something That Looks Awesome
I was in the stadium the day this happened. It was cool. And profoundly powerful.
Something Funny
Juvenile? Perhaps, but I bet you will laugh
He Loves Us,
LMac
Luke’s Links-Oct 17, 2008
Greetings cyber friends. Some cool stuff today. Check it out…
Something(s) I Liked
A really good look at insecurity and how it wrecks ministry.
A good insight about the realities of church work.
Something Downright Interesting
Someone likes Britney Spears’ mom. I know you are interested.
Something(s) That Scared Me (yet oddly pleasing)
Is this cool? Is it scary? Do I want to try it? Is it weirder than I could believe? Umm… Yes
Something(s) That Sounds Awesome
Remember where you heard it first. Move over Here I am to Worship, Everlasting God, Shout to the Lord, How Great is Our God, and Mighty to Save. The next big song to worship circles is about to arrive. (recording stinks, but just wait)
Something(s) Powerful
This might be the most powerful sermon I have ever heard. Vintage Creative Communication. It is worth 45 minutes of your life.
He Loves Us
LMac
On Resolving Every Issue in the Text
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Hey! Free Sermon from the Straight Up Conference!
OK, so the Straight Up sermons are always free. Just trying to spice things up a bit.
The Straight Up Ministry Leadership Conference began in 2003, calling pastors and ministry leaders to take their eyes off themselves and to turn their hearts and minds back to Christ. The conferences provides a place for pastors to connect with Christ through dynamic preaching and worship, and to connect with other pastors and Christian leaders who are fired up about what God is accomplishing in the local church. Here’s a sermon from a past year’s Conference. You can download more sermons from Pastor James at our preaching page. NOTE: To download in IE , right click on “download” and choose “save target as…”
God Energizes Preaching
James MacDonald: God Energizes Preaching I download I
