Spirit Empowered Preaching: An Introduction

By Mozart Dor PhD and Rev. Derek Youngblood

Although there are several preaching books today, there are only handfuls, if any, that address the centrality of the Holy Spirit in preaching. A hindrance to preaching in the twenty-first century is over intellectualization of the Gospel. After receiving a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Preaching, I thought I was now ready to prepare and preach an effective sermon that will draw any audience to Christ. I told myself, “I am ready. I have attained and I can double the size of any given church with my vast knowledge on preaching.” Little did I know that my degrees from the best schools around the world were not sufficient to preach the whole counsel of God’s Word. I have come to realize that clever persuasions of men do not change lives. The name of Jesus through the power of the Holy Ghost does.

The secret ingredient in preparing and preaching Spirit-empowered messages is the power of the Holy Spirit. Ministers of the Gospel must not depend upon natural means to produce supernatural results, but must use supernatural means to produce supernatural results. Paul said to the Thessalonians, “Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance” (1 Thess. 1:5). The church is in desperate need of revival. Sinners are urgently in need of the Savior, and only the Spirit of God can convict sinners of their sins and bring revival to the nations.

Consequently, the goal of this book is not to produce another great preaching book, but to help students and ministers prepare and present effective, Holy Spirit-empowered sermons to their audience. The book seeks to instruct readers on the importance of the Holy Spirit in preaching the Word of God while laying the foundational building blocks of effective preaching. This book is for both beginning ministers who are just starting ministry and for veteran ministers who would like to brush up on their preaching and teaching skills in order to become better, Spirit-empowered ministers of the Gospel.

May God bless you and speak mightily through you with clarity, urgency, fervency and power as you endeavor to preach Spirit-empowered messages to a dying generation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781664143241

Mozart Dor PhD

Dr. Mozart Dor is the lead pastor of First Assembly of God in Clarksdale, Mississippi, the co-founder of Oasis School of Ministry (OSM) and the author of “Living the Victorious Life”. Dr. Dor is a Mississippi State licensed educator and also a preaching instructor for the Mississippi District Assemblies of God School of Ministry. He is an adjunct applied theology, missions and general education professor at SUM Bible College and Theological Seminary in El Dorado Hills, California. He has a professional accounting degree from the Association of Charted Certified Accountants, United Kingdom and two undergraduate accounting degrees from Ho Polytechnic, Ghana, West Africa, and The University of Mississippi. Dr. Dor received his Bachelor of Theology degree from Christian Life School of Theology, Columbus, Georgia. He earned both his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, Cordova, Tennessee. Dr. Dor has over twenty-five years of spiritual leadership experience in both Ghana and the United States. Both from Ghana, West Africa, he and his beautiful wife, Joana Dor, are blessed with a wonderful son, Christian Makafui Dor. When he is not preaching, teaching and writing, Dr. Dor loves playing competitive tennis and has represented the State of Mississippi in United States Tennis Association championships at 2.5, 3.0, and 5.5 combo levels.

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Copyright © 2020 by Mozart Dor, Ph.D.

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.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Rev. date: 11/23/2020

844-714-8691                          Mozart Dor, 662-202-8954

www.Xlibris.com

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Contents

Dedication

Foreword

Endorsemnetnts

Acknowledgements

Abstract

THE SPIRIT - EMPOWERED MINISTER’S LIFE

Chapter 1     The Spirit-Empowered Minister’s Personal Life

Chapter 2     The Role Of The Holy Spirit In Preaching And The Spirit -Empowered Minister’s Calling

THE SPIRIT - EMPOWERED MINISTER &

HIS/ HER MESSAGE PREPARATION

Chapter 3     Preaching Defined

Chapter 4     The Spirit - Empowered Minister’s Sermon Presentation

Chapter 5     The Spirit-Empowered Minister’s Sermon Illustration

Chapter 6     The Spirit-Empowered Minister’s Sermon Application

Chapter 7     The Spirit-Empowered Minister’s Sermon Conclusion

Chapter 8     The Spirit-Empowered Minister’s Sermon Introduction

Chapter 9     The Spirit-Empowered Minister’s Preparation

THE SPIRIT - EMPOWERED MINISTER’S

SERMON PRESENTATION

Chapter 10   The Spirit-Empowered Minister’s Sermon Presentation

Chapter 11   Twelve Simple But Relevant Facts Of The Spirit-Empowered Sermon Presentation

Appendix

Sample Sermon One

Sample Sermon Two

Sample Sermon Three

Sample Sermon Four

Sample Sermon Five

Selected Bibliography

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the memory of Pastor David A. Reeves, my spiritual father and mentor, who foretold and encouraged the writing of Spirit-Empowered Preaching before going to be with the Lord on September 8, 2018. I pray that whenever and wherever this book is read, his faithfulness in ministry and love for the nations will be remembered. Amen.

Foreword

I consider it a high honor to write this foreword for a volume that I found refreshing and inspiring. As a minister of the gospel for over forty years, I have accumulated a number of volumes for my library on the subject of Preaching. To be honest, in several, I got lost in the weeds as they say, as they were as exhausting as they were exhaustive. I found this volume lacking in no essentials yet clearly and minimally stated. And then, as icing on the cake, several manuscripts were given at the end that fleshed out the principles that had been espoused.

Beyond the text of this book is the man who wrote it. Dr. Mozart Dor is the genuine article. I feel like the words Jesus used in describing Nathaniel are appropriate—though my declaration is not prophetic, but as one who has observed Bro. Dor’s dedication and hard work, his passion and zeal, and his love and commitment to prepare for the call God has placed on his life. I have every expectation that God will use this addition to confirm Dr. Dor’s ability as an academician and expositor.

This volume exudes the Spirit by which it was inspired and will, if heeded, fill sanctuaries, preaching points, and platforms with powerful declarations and demonstrations as Spirit-filled preachers share the everlasting word of God. I pray that will include you.

Rev. Derek Youngblood

Secretary Treasurer

Mississippi District Assemblies of God

Director, Mississippi District School of Ministry

Endorsemnetnts

Spirit-Empowered Preaching: An Introduction addresses the fundamental essentials of preaching with effectiveness in today’s post-modern church. This book not only addresses the academics of preaching, but, the preacher’s day-to-day life and walk with God, outside the pulpit. Doctor Dor makes it clear that Spirit- empowered preaching can only come about as a result of a Spirit-empowered life.

From the introduction to the invitation, the detailed mechanics of sermon preparation are addressed. A systematic process of studying and preparing Spirit- empowered messages is laid out in a scholarly yet, practical fashion. Spirit Empowered Preaching: An Introduction is a must read for every preacher, and a valuable resource for his or her library.

Rev. Bob Wilburn

District Superintendent, Mississippi Assemblies of God

I am most pleased to endorse this excellent book, Spirit Empowered Preaching, by Dr. Mozart Dor. I know Dr. Dor to be an excellent teacher and trainer of ministry leaders. He has taught preaching for SUM Bible College and Theological Seminary for several years with wonderful reports from students of the benefit they have received from his classes. Dr. Dor is both practical and unapologetically Spirit filled in his approach to life, ministry, and preaching. This book will be profitably used by many preachers to learn or strengthen their craft.

Gary Munson, EdD, ThD

Chief Academic Officer, SUM Bible College & Theological Seminary, El Dorado Hills, California.

Spirit-Empowered Preaching: An introduction is a needful book written at this crucial moment when the church is facing the crisis of materialism in contemporary preaching. The author Dr. Mozart Dor has gone through the rigors of spiritual discipline of submission to the Holy Spirit and academic study of preaching. I have known Dr. Dor for some years now as a scholar, pastor and colleague professor at the SUM Bible College and Theological Seminary. His passionate and prayerful approach to the study of the scriptures are evident from his teaching, especially as a professor of biblical preaching class among other subjects in the seminary. Most importantly, reading this book will bring the reader to a point of personal encounter with the Holy Spirit in sermon preparation and delivery. I endorse this book for all Bible college and seminary students, lay-preachers and pastors who study and minister the word of God from the sacred pulpit of the church.

Andrew Anane-Asane, Ph.D.

Professor at SUM Bible College and Theological Seminary, El Dorado Hills, California and President of the Ghanaian Assemblies of God Fellowship, USA.

The book Spirit-Empowered Preaching is a great resource not only for Bible college students around the world, who may be preparing for ministry, but is also a great resource for every preacher seeking to bless their congregation Sunday after Sunday with Spirit-Empowered Preaching! Dr. Mozart Dor has given great guidance chapter by chapter into this all-important aspect of ministry in this book. I highly recommend this book for all. This is a perfect time buy and to share this book. Very inspiring."

Bishop (Dr.) Patrick Elijah Anyomi

Presiding Bishop, The World Missionary Church International, Accra, Ghana.

It is my honor to recommend to you this great book by my friend and colleague Dr. Mozart Dor. It has been my privilege to work alongside him as we endeavor to train men and women for fruitful and fulfilling Pentecostal ministry in the twenty-first century. There are a plethora of books on the important subject of preaching, and most of them are valuable to those of us who have dedicated our lives to this noble assignment from the Lord. However, I am very impressed by Dr Dor’s contribution in this book. It can benefit anyone desiring to improve in the area of preaching, but is especially targeted to the younger generation who might struggle with the mechanics of the art. He goes into great detail on how to construct the sermon in a meaningful and authentic way. In addition, he places emphasis on the life of the preacher, which it vital to the process. It is my prayer that this work will accomplish its intended purpose - to engage and mentor a new generation of Spirit empowered preachers!

Dr. Richard F. Cook

Applied Theology Department Chair, SUM Bible College and Theological Seminary, El Dorado Hills, California.

"Dr. Mozart Dor is first and foremost a Spirit-filled minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He also happens to be a prolific academician whose latest offering, Spirit-Empowered Preaching, is filled with both scholarly research and practical applications on the subject. Whether used as a textbook in seminaries and Bible colleges or as a personal resource for those already in ministry, Spirit-Empowered Preaching is destined to become a classic in the anthologies of post-modern Christian literature."

Elder Edwin B. Smith,

Pastor & Founder, New Freedom Church of God in Christ, Oxford, Mississippi

Dr. Mozart Dor is a first-rate thinker, Theologian, and Christian Author. The Scholarly narrative set forth in this book ‘Spirit Empowerment Preaching’ are compelling, and a must require piece in the library of all serious-minded teachers and students of the fine art of preaching. His insight into the subject matter is beyond the conventional wisdom, without being too technical.

Apostle Adam Davis,

Founder and Overseer of The Word on The Move Ministries, West Memphis Arkansas.

This is a book well worth reading and mastering by any leader interested in developing a pulpit ministry which is biblical, practical, proven and powerful.

Spirit Empowered Preaching is an essential resource for ministers desiring to tap into the dynamics of Holy Spirit inspired preaching. You will discover practical and inspired ways of approaching the pulpit with a Spirit empowered message and a first century power every twenty-first-century pastor should strive for. Not only does he take you through the spiritual principals of sermon building, he teaches how to apply them to your pulpit ministry in a practical and effective way that will prove fruitful. You will want to keep this book in easy reach to gain continued insight as you reach, lead, teach, engage and equip, the diversity of generations and cultures listening to you. Regardless of size of the congregation, or style of the preacher, a Spirit Empowered Pulpit is a difference-maker!

J.D. Fillmore,

Senior Pastor NorthSide Assembly of God, Presbyter, and a teacher at Mississippi School of Ministry.

Dr. Mozart Dor is a dynamic leader and preacher who consistently provides fresh, insightful, and relevant content to his congregation. This book is birthed out of years of academic study and experience ministering God’s word. This book is a must read for all ministers who desire to hone their preaching craft.

Reverend Christopher J. Roy, JD

Cathedral of Praise, Memphis, TN & Federal Government Manager/Attorney

Dr. Mozart Dor has done an excellent job in bringing the minister into a relationship with the message. He has used a step-by-step process whereby a seasoned minister or a new candidate would understand the procedure and practice of the sermon, it’s purpose and preparation. He has also introduced the concept of a more contemporary preparation of the sermon while still maintaining the Integrity of the doctrine. Any individual following this guide would find it’s sensible and understandable in the process of the minister and the sermon. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone beginning a life of ministry and preaching the gospel.

Rev. Virgil Scherff

Lead Pastor, Friendship Assembly of God

This is book will aid any preacher in sermon preparation and delivery. It is full of valuable resources Dr. Mozart Dor has put together over years of preaching and study.

Rev. Mack Clements, University of Mississippi, OleMissXA.org

Acknowledgements

I am inspired, mentored and given the joy of serving God by the ministry colleagues; Bob and Sharon Wilburn, Derek and Teresa Youngblood, Gene Emswiler, Keith Kirkwood, Teresa Reeves, Virgil and Brenda Scherff, Jeff Fillmore, George and Cathy Black, George Quiacoe, Patrick and Linda Anyomi, Chris and Lisa Roy, Andrew Anane-Asane, Fish Robinson, Chris and Jodi Nowell, Jere Phillips, Timothy Seal, Eric and Vivian Gato, Wes and Wanda Nelms, James Sulton, Gery Munson, Richard Cook, Edwin and Fannie Smith and Mack and Courtney Clements. The motivation of these leaders is a fortune and a means of