In your opinion, what is the most important aspect of your church? Is it the style of worship, the music, preaching on current social issues, or something else?
There are many elements which make up a healthy, biblical church, but our biggest concern should always be primarily focused upon the pulipit. The style of preaching, messages preached, and issues addressed from the pulpit, will nearly always form the mould of the other aspects of the church.
My Preaching
Some of you may have noticed, since I’ve arrived in Australia and taken up a weekly pulpit ministry, I have been preaching in a ’sequential’ manner. That is, I’ve been doing ’studies’. The first I started almost as soon as I arrived, in 1 John, as my burden to preach through that book began long before I arrived here. It took a total of twenty messages for me to get through it, although if I really wanted, it could have gone on longer. The reason I didn’t, is because 1 John is quite repetitive in places, and I don’t possess all the knowledge required to go deeper, as someone trained may be able to do.
The second was in the life of Joseph, a study which we’re still in the middle of, and will probably make up around (I’m guessing) thirty messages.
Now, I’ve started a third series. This time, as you’re aware by now, in Philippians, and I’ve no idea how long it will take. There’s so much in it, if God gives me grace and help, it could take a while.
What’s My Point?
I don’t know why God placed in my heart before I came here, a desire to do a series of studies in 1 John. However, as I started to go through the book, it wasn’t long before the benefit of such a practice became apparent. I might be wrong, but to me it seems to be the biblical pattern, and the right way to preach. With ‘expository‘ preaching, you have to deal with everything the bible says in context, and try to bring out truths that, without diligent study, the congregation will not see.
Since I’ve arrived here, I’ve preached in the region of a dozen ‘topical‘ messages. That is, messages where I decide on a topic, or a ‘text’, break it up into sections, search through the scriptures for other references to the ‘topic’, and build the message upon what is found. It has its place, but more and more, I think it should be done as little as possible. It just seems to me, that it gives a shallow ‘hit’ to the hearers, whereas week by week exposition of the scriptures, builds the people up gradually, but well rooted, in their most holy faith. They get to know the book, see God’s purpose in the book, see Christ in the book, cover the doctrines the Holy Spirit covers in the book, and get a better grasp of it’s overall message, rather than a snippit which may be distorted and pulled out of context, just to fit the preachers fancy.
John MacArthur is a well known ‘expository’ preacher, and although I disagree with him on a number of things, I like what he said,
“Slower is better than faster. Why? Because deeper is better than shallower. Because thorough is better than superficial.”
His point was, one (specifically a preacher) ought to go through the scriptures slowly, diligently, purposefully, and systematically, to seek out the deep and profound treasures, even in the most simplest of texts.
Why Did The Reformers Have Such An Impact?
John Calvin preached through book after book, for years on end. He was so diligent in this practice, that it is said he almost entirely ignored Christmas and Easter periods in his selection of texts during those times. Each Sunday he would nearly always preach from the New Testament, and weekdays in the Old Testament. As an example of his pace, he spent almost five years in Acts, 186 messages on 1 and 2 Corinthians, 43 in Galatians, 48 in Ephesians. His studies in the OT included, 159 sermons in Job, 200 in Deuteronomy, 353 in Isaiah, and 153 in Genesis, and more.
This was the kind of diligence which turned the Church of Christ around, from dark times, into times of light, understanding, and ultimately, power. If one preaches almost entirely topical, he can very easily avoid contradicting himself, even if he’s preaching error. If you preach through the scriptures consistantly, you’re going to have to deal with passages you don’t maybe like that much.
Our Need For Revival
There’s no doubt about it. Australia, Europe, and America need a move of God. Lasting moves of the Spirit, always arise from a returning to biblical preaching. Preaching through the scriptures, uplifting the supremacy of Christ, the holiness of God, and the utter depravity of man is what is needed today; coupled with a return to the closet to meet face-to-face with God, in order to gain “a knowledge of the holy” (Prov 9:10).
Please pray for me. I’m young and ignorant, but I know God delights in using the most pathetic of His creatures, for in doing so, He will get the glory. Will you please daily ask God to pour out grace upon me, grace that will move me to apostolic praying and preaching? Thank you!
Have Your Say…
Do you have an opinion on preaching styles? Do you think it matters? Please share your thoughts, and let iron sharpen iron…
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Added Commentary
By Daniel Ritchie
on 18.07.07
Sounds like you are doing a great work borther in feeding the people of God with His word. Keep it up.
As you say, expository preaching means that we have to deal with passages and issues which we would often rather avoid; however, a true minister will declare ‘the whole counsel of God’ and will not fear the face of man (easier said than done, of course). Occasionally, I take a Bible study at my church’s mid-week fellowhsip (this is not preaching theough); and I decided rather than to look at isolated passages, I would take them through James - we covered the book over 6 evenings - and this meant that a number of controvesial and dificult issues were looked at, as well as practical and devotional themes.
Now I am moving on to look at Titus (one study done so far - 1:1-9); the verse about women being ‘workers at home’ is one that many would like to avoid due to our feminist, egalitarian society; however, its in the word of God and it must be taught and obeyed.
By Armen
on 18.07.07
Daniel - I’m glad you believe in expository preaching too. It just makes more sense to me. The wealth, health, and prosperity preachers, are getting away with a heretical gospel, because they preach in a topical manner. They couldn’t preach in an expository way, because their lies would be revealed.
The fruit I’ve seen from my preaching is minimal, but it’s there all the same, and I’m thankful to God.
To be honest, it’s taken six months for me to really begin to have a vision for what God could (I need grace and faith to turn this into ‘will’) do here. I was listening to Alan Cairns yesterday, and he was mentioning about his move from Ballymoney FPC, in order to start a work in America. God specifically sent him, so he expected God therefore must have a purpose, and that He was going to do something. I sort of feel the same. I have no question that God sent me here, and that it’s me for a reason.
God used (in a singular fashion) one man in John Knox, to turn Scotland from darkness into light. I have access to that same omnipotence; all I need to do is procure it by persistant faith. May God be glorified!
By Roman
on 18.07.07
Hey brother, here’s a possibly off-the-wall comment, but I hope you won’t consider it un-intelligent.
In your post you asked what we thought was the most important focus of the service in our home churches. Your own answer seems to be “the pulpit.” Of course, in a “Bible church” or in any congregation which finds its roots in the evangelical (Protestant Reformation) faith, I would agree
By Armen
on 18.07.07
Roman
By Roman
on 19.07.07
All Orthodox churches have the same worship style and content. Worship consists in setting the Word of God in the midst of you, and letting you speak to Word to God (in worship) and receiving the same Word back from Him (in teaching). Ideally, all Christians would worship together, using the Orthodox liturgy, as their temple worship, and meet together locally in their homes for daily prayer, fellowship and study. I wrote about this in my blog post “Not post-Christian, but post-church“.
I understand what you mean by knowing the Word before you accept Christ can be dangerous, but I don’t know if I entirely agree. The case of the Jews with their unbelief in Jesus as Messiah is and has to be a “mystery”. But anyone, like myself, who was brought up “Christian” but then lost it, and came back to it by studying the Word of God, and THEN accepted the Lord (”got saved” at age 24) through studying and believing the Word, well, I suppose that’s a mystery too. Like I said, I know what you mean. There are people who study the Word as a book only, looking for ways to refute it. These are bound for Gehenna. But a typical unbeliever can read and study the Word, and the Lord can use that to prepare him for receiving salvation by faith.
I don’t believe that preaching is the main method God wants to use to edify the Church, altho it can be and in some cases must be. The passage you alluded to applies to getting the message across to those who are not saved yet, so that they can believe. As for those, once they have accepted Christ and are now members of the Church, hearing preaching will be of primary value at the beginning, as they grow in Christ, but gradually other methods kick in, culminating in personal and group study of the Word, close fellowship with a few brethren, and also practicing more and more what they have learned, because doing the Word further reinforces the message in one’s own life.
One other thing about “preaching.” In the churches themselves, that is, churches in the “Christian” countries, people have by and large gotten so accustomed to the idea of preaching as sitting for a hearing, that they rarely follow up on anything the preacher says. This is true of all churches I have experienced, including the Orthodox. The difference with the Orthodox, though, is that the people get their regular input from the Word of God not from Sunday sermons, but from daily prayer and bible study, to the extent they want it, some more, some less. In the “Christian” couintries, we all have the education and the means to purchase Bibles and “other books” to further our understanding of the Word and will of God. If we don’t use these blessings to edify ourselves and each other, is it likely we will make much use of the brief, once weekly sermon or talk given by a preacher at a service? Again, for me, the work of a preacher is to preach the Good News to the unsaved world, like the apostles did, and nothing but the Good News. When the preachers preach to the “saved” (let’s hope they’re saved!), they often no longer preach the Good News but rather promote the latest book or idea they’ve had or even worse things. Why can’t preachers just preach the Word? (I hope you do.) To see what I mean better, take a look at my blog post entitled, “A word of advice to preachers“.
By the way, no, I have no “sermons” by Fr Paul, our proistamenos, because we do not record sermons electronically, and he is a memoriser, so he doesn’t write his sermons down.
We see eye to eye on mass evangelism, I think.
As for the separation of the sexes, this has come from my personal experience as well as from Jewish and Christian “tradition”. Though before God in the life of salvation, men and women are equal partners, women and men are still different, and I think much of what is wrong with the Church today has come from its surrender to feminism. The Word of God reveals the truth about men and women and their relationship to each other, and many other things about gender and sexuality. We should abide by these, but we don’t even abide by the smallest and easiest of these. How then can we tackle the bigger issues? In the book of Acts, men and women assembled together in the upper room. This is for worship and prayer and, yes, probably for study of the scriptures as well, but anyone who knows anything about HOW they assembled, will tell you that men stood with men, women with women, as it is in the synagogues of Israel and in the churches of the Greece, Russia and other Orthodox countires. This may seem a minor issue, but by ignoring it we reap the consequences. I believe God wants us to make the most of our time with Him and with each other in this earthly life. That’s why He has continued to speak to us in the Word about such “unimportant” matters as behaviour in worship and in the bedroom. God simply cares about every detail of our lives. Problem is, do we?
Anyway, I affirm your good testimony in what you wrote, and thank God for you, brother. Keep serving the Lord, and keep yourself uncontaminated by the world. Go with God.
By Armen
on 21.07.07
Roman
By Roman
on 23.07.07
Yes, Armen, the Orthodox Church has a statement of belief, The Symbol of Nicaea. That’s it.
Altho I stand by what I wrote in my previous comments about the place of preaching, I do see your points and agree with you entirely in the way you understand the scripture texts you cited. I especially agree with your explanation “Nothing can replace personal study and prayer. However, listening to God
By Armen
on 23.07.07
By Roman
on 23.07.07
Regarding the “traditions” you observe in various Orthodox churches, there are many books about Orthodoxy, and also many good websites, and even Q&A forums online.
Everything you observe in and about an Orthodox temple (church, sanctuary) has meaning. Everything is done for a reason, nothing is done for show. Even the icons are not paintings for decoration but teaching and prayer aides. But there are often many meanings, and they can vary between Orthodox branches and even between local congregations. These “traditions” are sometimes part of the Holy Tradition (like the Bible, unchangeable) and sometimes only human constructs (local or national, but not essential). Orthodoxy can exist without most of them, almost all of the things visible in the sanctuary are in the second category. Orthodoxy’s guidelines are the Bible, the majority consensus of Church fathers, the ecumenical councils (not the Roman Catholic ones! but the early Christian ones, of which there are seven or eight), and the occasional statements made since Reformation days in response to challenges from the popes or the reformers. I hope this helps you out a little bit.
The daily faith and belief of an average Orthodox Christian is very similar to that of a basic evangelical Christian, in spite of the external differences in worship style and the like. If that were not true, I could not be in fellowship with most of you.
Thanks for your response to my comments. Grace and peace, my brother!
By Armen
on 25.07.07
Roman
By Roman
on 25.07.07
You know, it’s been the custom for centuries to ask the prayers of Mary and the other saints, especially the martyrs, and it’s done formally in Orthodox worship, and I know this offends our evangelical brethren, because they read into it the soul-destroying saint worship of the Roman Catholics. On a basic level, this custom comes from the saying of Jesus, that whoever believes in Him, though he dies, yet he shall live. The Orthodox believe that the saints (all true believers in Jesus) are not only alive but also awake, and that they join Christ in praying for those of us who are still here being tried and tempted. If you examine the texts of Orthodox “prayers to the saints” you may find some that are theologically incorrect, being copied from Roman Catholic ones during the Catholic hegemony over Orthodox peoples, but most are simply commemorations to God of the various saints, expressing that “through their prayers” we will attain salvation, etc. Still, I understand how even this would be objectionable.
But here’s the reality of it.
As Orthodox Christians grow in knowledge of the Word and develop a real and personal prayer life, tho the intercessions of the saints and Mary the Theotokos (God-bearing woman) remain in the formal prayers, most believers simply pray to the Father in the name of Jesus. That is how it is with me, but I am not exceptional. In fact, every Orthodox elder that helped me grow up by their teaching and example has had this kind of prayer life. It’s like this, what can be better than going to God in prayer as Jesus Himself taught? He never said, go and ask my mother to pray for you. There are mysteries in faith, tho, and we Orthodox try to follow and apply the teaching related to “weaker brethren” in regards to matters considered temporary. The children’s version of Orthodoxy yields place to the grownup version, as it should, for everyone who desires it.
I think I’ve said it all, but just so you don’t think I’m evading your final question, I cannot say that I ask Mary or any saint to pray for me, but I don’t know what effect the prayers of the saints have on me or anyone else. That’s not my concern. I do ask the saints that I live with for prayer, I ask you in fact, to pray for me, just as I ask Pilgrim (I should say, Brock, his real name). God knows I need help, and I accept all the help I can get. The Word of God does say, “Pray for one another.” And I believe, no, I KNOW, that He is faithful to answer our prayers.
I hope this clears some things for you, rather than muddy the waters more. I will warn you that Orthodox Christians who “speak for the Church” will sometimes not tell you what I’m telling you, but the average Orthodox believer will, if he trusts you. (Actually there are many Orthodox writers who dare to do exactly this!) What a lot of people, Orthodox or not, get hung up on is the fear of appearing to deny what their church officially teaches. They forget that it’s Christ they must answer to and for. He said, “if we confess HIM before men,” not “if we confess the church before men” He would confess us before His Father, “Yes, he’s one of Mine!”
(I wish I could just visit with you in person!)
Good night, dear brother! Peace and mercy to you!
Romanos
By Roman
on 25.07.07
One last thing.
“
By Armen
on 28.07.07
Roman
Haven't you got anything to say?
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