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Preaching/Speaking Tips

Various tips for preaching sermons and speaking from various sources. 

Preaching 

Four Marks of Faithful Preaching

By Dr. Jason K. Allen

      1. Preach Biblically
      2. Preach authoritatively
      3. Preach pastorally
      4. Preach persistently.

1 Timothy 4:1-2 1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort*, with great patience and instruction.

*Exhort – Do get to application. What does this mean for our walk this week?

A few notes on Preaching (12-2024)

Have a thesis statement in 7 words or less. This is your main point. This is the focus (the bottom line, the North Star). You might also have a proposition, which is similar but more pointed to application or response, making it practical and relevant for the audience. Perhaps a main point and a main application. Could be sub-points under each.

To develop the main point (and give yourself an outline), Erwin Lutzer recommends having a key word, usually a plural noun, under which all of your points are subsumed. These might be lessons, characteristics, barriers, ways, features of, questions, gifts, steps, truths, realities, reasons (for a ‘why’ passage), instructions, blessings (note “things” is too vague, dimensions/aspects has potential, but potentially vague). This gives coherence and  unity to the outline/sermon. (Key word is not necessarily the same as the main point/topic (topic might be, for example, salvation, scripture, forgiveness, the Kingdom ).  

How to Be a Good Pastor

    1. Conquer the tyranny of selfishness.
    2. Devote yourself to live in the presence of God. Coram Deo
    3. Lead by example.
    4. Be a life-long student of the Bible.
    5. Know the condition of your flock.

7 Ways to become a Better Preacher

    1. Read Scripture and pray
    2. Preach with Empathy
    3. Acknowledge the Hard Parts
    4. Believe What You Preach
    5. Pray for the Humility to Learn
    6. Listen, Read, and Write
    7. Trust Your Call

Speaking

6 Public Speaking Tips To Hook Any Audience – YouTube: https://youtu.be/k8GvTgWtR7o

  • Captivate audience within 10 seconds.
  • Use a prop to catch their attention.
  • Include jokes.
  • Include stories – captivate with stories
    • Become one or more of the characters. Act it out.
  • Use Hand gestures and move around

 

‘La Bella Predica’: The Beautiful Sermon Beauty, Truth, and Goodness come through. Not just biblical.

Quote: “The ancient rhetorician Cicero famously insisted that an eloquent person must speak to teach, to delight, and to persuade. “To teach is a necessity, to delight is a beauty, to persuade is a triumph,” he held. In Cicero’s ordering, beauty is central to eloquence—preceded by truth, followed by persuasion—linking the former to the latter. In short, beauty makes truth persuasive.”

“Where we go wrong is when we tilt the scales away from grace, or beauty, or excellence, as if truth were all that mattered.”

“Conclusion

What is beauty? What is its place in preaching? Beauty is something we appreciate, something that charms us, but something that we rarely capture and never hold for long. Why should we even try? Here’s why. Because the attempt is a gift of grace. In it we experience God’s presence, and through our attempt to convey it we worship him who is the author of all beauty.”

5 S’s rule link

  1. Symbol. Some icon that makes your ideas easy to hold on to.
  2. Slogan. A simple linguistic handle for your ideas.
  3. Surprise. Make people say: “Did you see that talk …”
  4. Salient idea. Have an idea that really sticks out.
  5. Story. Tell stories that engage the audience.

Remember the Will of God

H.B. Charles said, “It is the

  • Will of God, that the
  • Spirit of God, use the
  • Word of God, to make the
  • People of God, look like the
  • Son of God.