Preaching 101: Listen to this Talk By Francis Chan

Break Out with Francis Chan: Communicating God's Word

Unfortunately I don't know of anywhere where you can find this talk for free, but you can buy it for $1.99 at the 268 Store.

My natural bent is towards highly practical, how-to type books, articles, and talks about preaching. I'm looking for ways to make me a better communicator. It's not to say I don't care about the heart, but I've heard too many talks which over-sell the immediate out-come of preaching with a pure heart. I'm normally looking for advise on how to keep an audience engaged, while handling the word accurately, and getting people to apply the Word. Hearing anecdotes about famous preachers of the past who spent 20 hours in pray before each sermon makes me feel less spiritual, but it doesn't help me much. The reality is that you can become a very popular preacher without doing anything to prepare your heart. However, it's unlikely God will choose to bless a ministry like that with eternal results, and you're extremely likely to eventually have a severe moral failure.

With all that stated, I was driving in my car listening to this talk by Francis Chan, and it convicted me of my own flesh based sermon preparation. This sermon pretty well lays out most of the universal struggles of gifted preachers, and offers a solution to how to combat it.

If you're not a preacher and want to know what preachers struggle with weekly (or daily), this sermon will give you a look into the heart of preachers. Well, I can't speak for anyone except Francis and myself, but I suspect we're not alone.

If you're starting out preaching, it's a great place to go to learn to prepare your heart and fight doing ministry in the flesh or for prideful reasons.

Outline:

1) Am I More Concerned About What God Thinks or What People Think?

2) Do I Truly Love These People?

1 Corinthians 13

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

3) Am I Handing This Passage Accurately?

2 Timothy 2

¹⁵Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

4) Am Trusting the Holy Spirit or My Own Cleverness to Communicate God's Word?

1 Corinthians 1

¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

5) Have I Applied This Truth to My Life?

Revelation 3

¹"To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

6) Does this Sermon Make God or Me Look Good?