Teaching Notes for Session Titled: The Preaching/Teaching ministry of the local church
MARK: A healthy church understands the preaching ministry not as an independent cluster of sermons, but as a body of work intended to transform the people of God.
The preaching ministry of the elders is the primary means by which God saves and grows His people in the local church.
What Preaching Is
Preaching Defined
Don Whitney says, “Preaching is the proclamation of God’s truth by any and every legitimate means.” It is done in various venues, such as Sunday School, private discussion, public debate, print media, and of course from the pulpit. Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 1:21, “it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” The primary point is “the message” and the communicating of it.
However, preaching as commonly understood, a one way proclamation, is still indeed necessary and relevant.
Preaching in the Bible
The prophets of God in the Old Testament were “preachers of righteousness.” They declared “Thus saith the Lord,” and wrote down the inspired Word of God. Moses, Jeremiah, Isaiah and others proclaimed the Word of God.
In the New Testament, John the Baptist and Jesus were preachers. Jesus’ ministry is described as preaching, teaching and healing. Matthew 4:17, Jesus is recorded preaching, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Luke 4:33-34 records Jesus’ insistence that preaching was to be a major emphasis of His earthly ministry, “I must preach the kingdom of God…for this purpose I have been sent.”
Jesus sent His disciples to go and preach “the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” in Matthew 10:7. Paul was known as one who “preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.” (Galatians 1:23 )
Types of Preaching
Topical – the gathering of several Scripture passages on a particular topic
Biographical – exploring the life of someone in the Bible to show God’s grace and to encourage believers to live by faith
Textual – using a verse of text as a springboard into a topic (ex. Matt. 27:36 – “Keep your eye on Jesus”
Expository – preaching that exposes God’s Word; it takes the point of the passage as the point of the sermon and applies its meaning to the life of the church.
The majority of preaching in a local church should be expository. The other forms can be helpful at times, but expository preaching through all the Bible is the most efficient means of hearing the whole counsel of God’s Word.
What is to Be Preached
The core to preaching is the message preached. For preaching to be biblical it must be based on, grounded in, God’s Word. The Word of God must be central to preaching and it must be central to the life of the church. Mark Dever makes the point that God’s Word is what saves us and sanctifies us, and has always been the instrument through which God creates and forms His people. Therefore, we must take great pains to ensure that God’s Word, in totality, is faithfully proclaimed in our churches.
People are saved through God’s Word
People are sanctified through God’s Word
“A healthy church is a church that hears the Word of God and continues to hear the Word of God. And such a church is composed of individual Christians who hear the Word of God and continue to hear the Word of God, always being refashioned and reshaped by it, constantly being washed in the Word and sanctified by God’s truth.” – Mark Dever
The Purpose of the Preacher
Preach the Word
If people are saved and sanctified only by the Word of God, then it stands to reason that the purpose of the preacher is to proclaim the whole counsel of God. The fallen nature of humanity is such that we must hear all of God’s Word to us, not just that which we want to hear, but what we need to hear.
Paul commanded Timothy, in 2 Tim. 4:2, to “Preach the Word.” In the book of Acts, the apostles fought to maintain the primary function of their calling to give their attention to ”
“The great design… of a Christian preacher [is] to restore the throne and dominion of God in the souls of men.” – Cotton Mather
How the church should respond to preaching
Corporately
1. More than anything else, center your church on God’s Word.
a. The core of everything we do must center on God’s Word.
b. You are not writing the letters, you are delivering the mail.
2. Redefine success.
a. Faithfulness to God and His Word
b. Not numbers, beautiful buildings, relevance
c. Aspire to be faithful, by that you will be what the world needs – be salt and light
d. The OT – bad shepherds were condemned for not being faithful; for leading God’s people away from God’s Word and from God Himself
3. Be faithful.
a. What we do, what we say and how we organize ourselves
b. Read the Bible, Preach the Bible, Pray the Bible, Sing the Bible, See The Bible (Lord’s Supper, Baptism) – Ligon Duncan
c. Saturate everything with God’s Word
i. John 10: “my sheep hear my voice”
(Joh 10:14) “I am the good shepherd, and I know1097 My own and My own know Me,
(Joh 10:16) “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
4. Simplify and solidify.
a. Preach the Word – don’t get caught up in music or programs, but being faithful to the Word
b. Love the people
c. Lead the church to be Word-centered
Individually
1. Interact with other believers concerning the sermon
2. Review and meditate on the sermon during your quiet time
3. Study to answer questions that arise from the sermon
4. Submit to God’s Word
5. Encourage expository preaching
A church who understands the role of preaching in the life and growth of the church should expect true preaching from their leaders, pray for them, thank God when it comes.
Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church, p. 61
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