Preaching: Answering Questions Preachers Ask

By Keithron Powell

No matter if your just starting or if you've been preaching for 40 years there is always room for improvement. This book speaks to the things that most books neglect about preaching like microphone usage, things not to do while preaching, taking care of yourself as a preacher and so much more.

Pastor Keithron Powell, Victory In Praise Outreach Ministries Jacksonville, FL, deals with the questions that every preacher either has or has had about preaching in a practical and easy to understand way. You will discover easy things you can do to become a better preacher. You will discover mistakes you probably didn't know you were making and how to fix them. This book is a must have for anyone that is called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: May 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781312170087

Book preview

Preaching

Answering Questions Preachers Ask

by

Keithron D. Powell

Copyright © 2012 Keithron D. Powell All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-312-17008-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America. Cover and Interior design by Keithron Powell

All scripture quotation is from the King James Version (KJV) version of the Bible. Public Domain.

www.justwritepublishers.com

Jacksonville, FL

Introduction

God Called Me To Preach

Now that God has called you to preach you have a myriad of questions. What do I say? How do I say it? How do I construct a sermon? Should I use notes or not? The list goes on and on.

No matter how spiritual anyone tries to make preaching and the call to preach, every preacher has questions about it. The problem that most preachers run into is they have more questions than they do answers. Most preachers have never verbalized their questions. They’ve learned from their mistakes over time but they’ve never considered that the next generation of preachers needs to learn from their wisdom and experience. Simply put, the mind wants to understand how to deliver a spiritual message and to make sense of the spiritual call. Its only natural.

There is nothing unspiritual about having or even asking questions about your calling or preaching itself. Ask many seasoned preachers any of your questions they might say, Just follow God. This answer is unfair to new preachers from veteran preachers. It makes young preachers feel like they are missing something. It gives the appearance that it is easy when honestly, it’s not.

Closing the Gap

Every time you take the podium to speak to the people of God you will notice that there is a physical distance between you and the people. You will soon discover that this gap is more than just a physical distance gap but also a spiritual, intellectual, and environmental gap as well. It is the job of the preacher to close that gap. Most preachers learn the hard way that there is more than just preaching involved in preaching. Because of this truth, many preachers have died the death of a thousand men because they preached a good message that didn’t go over well simply because they made a mistake, often, unknowingly.

Help a Preacher Out

In 1Samuel 3:1-10, the prophet Samuel learned how to hear from God because of the instruction of Eli the prophet that was training him. Elisha learned from Elijah. The apostles learned by asking questions and watching Jesus. You needn’t be embarrassed because you have questions because the only ignorant question is the one that goes unasked.

This is the book I wish would have been around when I began preaching. In my beginning days I had plenty of questions and I got very few answers. Eventually our church developed a preachers in training class that answered many of my questions but not all. The bulk of my questions would be answered through trial and mostly error.

The one thing that helped me with my sermon construction was that my pastor would allow me to take his notes after every sermon. At first, he thought I was going to preach his messages but was surprised to find out my real reason for wanting his notes. I used them to learn how to construct a sermon and to understand his train of thought while constructing the sermon. I wanted to know if there was a logical explanation of how he got from point to point. After studying the mind of the preacher I did discover a sort of pattern to his thinking. My hope was to adopt the same mindset. However, I soon discovered that studying preachers will not make you a better preacher.

In this book it is my goal to pass along what I’ve learned over the years concerning preaching. I provide technical information and true stories of things I have seen that can help paint a picture and answer the questions preachers ask. The names of the people involved have been omitted to protect their identities. Some of the questions may be new to you but any preacher, beginner or otherwise, can glean something from these pages. The information I’ve provided in this book will benefit you immediately and be helpful for years to come.

Pastor Keithron Powell

Chapter 1

Preaching At A Glance

What is Preaching?

Preaching, in its purest sense, is speaking the written word of God and providing explanation to the hearers.

Nehemiah 8:8

So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

Preaching involves 2 major elements:

The written word of God.

In order to preach you must use the Word of God as your starting point. It must be the foundation on which you build. Anything other than this and you are merely lecturing.

Verbal explanation of the written word.

Preaching begins with the assumption that people do not fully understand what is being said in the text and requires that the preacher explains it to the hearers.

Although many will attempt to complicate the matter it just doesn’t get any simpler than that.

What is a Sermon?

Sermon is the word used to describe what is preached. It is the organized thought presented to the listener to convey understanding on a particular topic or passage of scripture. A sermon is what the explanation becomes.

A preacher then is a messenger, the sermon is the message, and the message is based on the explanation of the written word of God.

The written word is the heart of God. It is His love letter to man. God has chosen to express His will to man by using a man, the preacher. The job of the preacher then is to explain the heart of God to man. The only role a preacher plays in preaching is the delivery of the message. Preaching then carries with it the responsibility for the preacher to be in constant contact with God through study of His word to know what God wishes to convey to the listener. Preaching does not make the messenger special. God can, does and will choose and use anyone He pleases.

What has preaching become?

Many believers have mistaken life coaching and motivational speaking for preaching. Remember preaching must first employ usage of the written word of God and in the written word is the heart of God to man. This means that the intent of God for man is carried within the written word. The intent of God goes far beyond this natural and temporal world and is rooted in the spiritual and eternal realm.

Intent implies purpose. God’s main purpose or intent is never in this world. God invades the temporal world to offer his true purpose. God’s purpose is in the spiritual and the eternal so any message preached that has its sole roots and end purpose in this world,