Preaching 101

I love to preach.

I have been struggling with preaching lately--not preaching in general, but ways or methods of preaching.

Let me explain.

I have been taught a method of preaching called "the four page method" or "four pages of a sermon". This is taught by professors at Calvin Theological Seminary due to an influence from Paul Scott Wilson.

Let me break it down a bit.

The four pages of a sermon are not literal pages; rather they are four movements of a sermon. Here they are:

1. Trouble in the Text (Page 1)
Here the preacher finds what is called the trouble in the text--the problem at hand. An example would be from Romans 14:1-4. The historical context usually provides a clear trouble in the text. So in Rome; the Jews were deported out of the city, therefore the Gentiles were in charge of the church. However, when the Jews were allowed back in the city, there was confrontations that were happening over ritual practices such as dietary laws. The trouble is found in vs 1 "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters." The trouble here is the Roman Christians were not accepting others; therefore they were passing judgment. Seems clear.

2. Trouble in the World (Page 2)
Then on page 2, it would be relating it to the trouble in the world which is similar to the trouble in the text. So a good example would be relating it to Sunday dress. Some people think that only a suit and tie and dress is allowed in church; while others think that jeans are okay and casual clothes are appropriate. These two groups judge each other and don't accept one another. Seems clear again.

3. Grace in the Text (Page 3)
On page 3; it is called the grace in the text; meaning, what does the author say to fix the trouble? Well Paul says that we should "accept him whose faith is weak". Therefore the grace would be that we should accept others views. We shouldn't judge them (vs 4) and the Lord will make him stand. It seems pretty clear here what the grace is.

4. Grace in the World (Page 4)
On page 4; then it swings back to the world and relating the grace in the text to the grace in the world. The grace in the world is essentially the same in as the grace in the text.

However, I don't think the 4 page method can be applied to all passages of Scripture. There are certain passages where this just doesn't seem to apply very well if a preacher wants to find the truth of the passage and exposit it clearly.

One emphasis of the four page method is story telling and the use of images/illustrations to keep the audience attentive and interested. They intend to have a story, image or illustration for the introduction and conclusion as well as one of those for each page of the sermon. And they want to keep in to 20 minutes.

To me, this does two things. It shows me that their view of the power of the Word of God could be lower than mine and secondly, it shows that they are there for the people's attention rather than preaching.

I've heard many sermons that were easily 45 minutes to an hour (sometimes more!) that have held my attention the whole time (without ANY stories/illustrations/images--straight up exposition!) and have gripped my heart. I am not saying that the use of stories/illustrations and images are bad; I do use them, but I only use 1 or 2 in my sermons (which are normally 30-35 minutes.........) because I believe that preaching is exposition. Preaching is explaining the text and the power of the Holy Spirit is powerful enough to grip anyone's heart and the power of the Word of God can transform any life.

Another emphasis that the four page method emphasizes is this: "show don't tell". This means that don't just tell the congregation that there were problems in the church in Rome, but show them. Tell a made up story about a possible situation or scenario that was going on. Such as this: "In Rome, some believers thought that eating pork, shrimp and fish were okay, while others thought that only eating cabbage, celery and tomatoes was appropriate; therefore this created conflict and judgments being passed."

This emphasis of "showing and not telling" is one that drives me nuts. I feel as if it goes outside of what the text says. It is making a situation and scenario up that isn't even true and very unlikely to happen. And if God's Word doesn't say; can a preacher say it? Can a preacher assume it?

Sinclair Ferguson says this, "We [preachers] are at our best when we speak of Christ and at our worst when we speak of us."

I would agree.

Preaching is not about the preacher; not about a story that happened. Preaching is about the Word of God meeting people's life through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Another emphasis and the last one I want to discuss is their use of "God active language" meaning that sermons shouldn't say "We must do this...." or "We must do that..." Rather, sermons must say, "God does this..." or "The Holy Spirit does...."

But then, what do we do with Paul's imperatives where he explicitly tells the Christians to whom he is writing to, to do something??????? Do we just ignore them?

Of course; it isn't all about doing something, but I believe that Christianity has lost the zeal to actually know and follow Christ.

Following Christ is a call to die to everything. Because when we die, we actually find life in Christ.

And life in Christ is to live in union with Him.

When we are united to Christ; we have left the old way of life in Adam (the first one); therefore we have no reason and no desire to go back to that lifestyle.

Yes grace is important and that is how and why we are saved, BUT an overemphasis of one over the other can create a false sense of Christianity.

Brothers and sisters; may we strive to follow Christ our Lord by the way that He wants us to live and act in a worthy of the manner to which we were called.

Praise be to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to the powerful and wonderful working of the Spirit and to the gracious and merciful Father whom we call Abba.

To God be the glory for ever and ever!
Amen.