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 a ton 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’d like 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 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, with 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’ minds before you want to use it, you accelerate your move from explanation to application. Tell me what you think in a Facebook comment, and try it yourself this weekend. PREACH THE WORD!

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FG_AUTHORS: James MacDonald

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