HOMILETICS PART 1

HOMILETICS PART 1

(THE POWER OF PULPIT)

INTRODUCTION: Preaching is both Art and Science. it’s a God’s appointed way of spreading the gospel message and it cannot be replaced by anything.

A good preacher would have not only mastered the rules of the hermeneutics and homiletics, but he has imaginations and personalities enough to make his sermon alive.

This course (Homiletics) will help you to master the techniques of opening a passage of a scripture; and you will learn the basic principles of Biblical interpretations.

DEFINITION:

1.     Homiletics can be defined as the science and art governing the preparation and delivering of sermon.

2.     Homiletics is the elementary principle that governs the presentation of the gospel message so as to be understood by the young believers.

3.     The words Homiletics come from Latin word, which is known as “HOMILY” “A DISCUSS”.

Studying the distinction of science and art.

A.   SCIENCE means the classified knowledge

B.   ART means the application and uses of the knowledge.

It is one thing to acquire a theoretical knowledge of a subject; it is another thing to utilize that knowledge to the best advantage in passing it to others. This Art, of course comes largely through practise.

 THE SUBJECT OF HOMILECTICS INVOLVE THE FOLLOWINGS

1.     A consideration of the essential qualifications of a preacher.

2.     The importance of the preacher preparation of the preaching materials, including its discovery and arrangement.

3.     The preaching urgent necessities.

4.     The best means of securing its effective presentation and reception of the message by the audience. In view of these things, its importance should be obvious (understood) by all.

                 IMPORTANCE OF HOMILETICS

In as much as preaching is God’s ordained means of spreading the gospel among the unsaved, and also of teaching the word of God to the believers, any attempt to increase the effectiveness of both preaching and teaching should command earnest consideration of every believers. (Rom. 10:13-17, Eph. 4:1-12). It will surely be admitted that there is much room for improvement in the quality of preaching and teaching today.

THE NEED FOR PREACHER

“And He (Jesus) appointed twelve (12) to be with him and to be sent out to preach” (Mark3: 14). It is god’s plan that the gospel is known through preaching; therefore, there will always be the need for preachers to preach the gospel. In Rom. 10: 14-15, we read, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believe? And how shall they believe him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they are sent?”

As long as the world exists, there will be need for preachers but only those who have been sent by God should go. Not every Christian has been called by God to be a preacher, but all were called to be soul winners. If a man decides that he wants to be a preacher because he likes to talk to people or honour of such a job, he is sure to fail. For that person will go in the strength of man and not in the power of God gives to His ministers.

The need for preachers is great all over the world: this is why Jesus said, “the harvest is plenteous, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the lord of harvest top send labourers into his vineyard” (Matt. 9:37-38). When we consider that millions of people in the world today have never heard the name of Jesus Christ and know nothing of His redeeming love, we need to pray more and seek to do all that we can do to preach to them the gospel message.

           THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A PREACHER

Before considering the qualification of a preacher, we ought to know what preaching is!

DEFINITION OF PREACHING:

1.     Preaching has been defined by Beecher as the “truth through personality”.

2.     Preaching is speaking on the authority of God.

3.      Preaching is the proclaiming of the Good News of Salvation.

It will be advisable, first of all, to consider the qualification of a preacher, because we cannot divorce the preacher from his preaching.                                                                                        In reality, the man is his message: The preacher is his proclamation: The speaker is his sermon. It is the man behind the message that determines its weight, for in this; as in everything else, quality is to be preferred to quantity.

THE FACTS THAT PAUL

 HAS IN MIND

Paul in his letter to Timothy, made this quite clear and wrote, Take heed unto thyself and to the doctrine and teaching of the BIBLE” (1 Tim 4:16).                                           Paul reminded the people he led to Christ in Thessalonica that they were the witness of their lives as they stayed with those people in Thessalonica (1 Thess. 2:3-10, Jn.8:25). A man who studies medicine is qualified to be a physician or doctor, someone who learn carpentry is qualified to be a carpenter.

 

                                   CONSIDERING SEVEN ESSENTIAL             

                            QUALIFICATIONS OF A PREACHER

1.     HE MUST BE REGENERATED: These may appear self evident but the fact remains that there are literally thousands of so called ministers of the gospel who have never experienced the regenerating power of the spirit of God. They know nothing of what it means to be born again and being saved by the grace of God through a personal acceptance of Christ as saviour and a confession of Him as Lord of one’s life. Jn 1:12-13; Rom 10:9-10

                 

2.   HE MUST LOVE THE LORD JESUS: (Jn 21:15-17) “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter; Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, yea, Lord: thou knowest that I love thee, He saith unto him, feed my lambs; He saith unto him again  the second time, Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, yea, Lord; thou knowest that I loved thee.

Jesus said to him feed my sheep. Jesus said to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I loved thee. He said unto him; feed my sheep” (Jn. 21:15-17)

This passage shows that no one can be a servant of Jesus Christ and feed His sheep without loving Him. The more you love your master who is Jesus Christ the more you loved to do His work and preach the gospel to others about the love Christ has for us. “in that while we were yet sinners Christ died  for us.” Rom. 5:8

3.    HE MUST LOVE SOULS: It is possible to love to preach without those to whom we preach. A lawyer may develop great ability in his profession without loving his client. A physician may enjoy great success without loving his patient. A business tycoon can rise to great height of prosperity without loving his customers. But a preacher can never be a real/good worker for Christ without deep passion for lost souls to whom he preaches the gospel of God’s grace.

4.       HE MUST BE A STUDENT OF THE BIBLE: Since the bible is the preacher’s supreme authority and the subject of all his preaching, it is imperative that he be well acquainted with its content as a whole, just as a teacher of music, mathematics or art, must study and understand the subject, before he can effectively teach others, so the preacher must study well before he can pass  on his message to the audience.

HE MUST BE A MAN OF PRAYER: when we look at the life of Christ we see that he lived the life of prayer. He prayed early in morning, he prayed through the night, and also prayed for his enemies, even he prayed for his disciples and those that are in troubles.

It has been well said that: “He that would speak much to man for God, must speak much to God for man”. A prayer less minister is both a powerless and profitless minister. Theology must ever be accomplished by “knee logy”. God has placed at the believer’s disposal a force that can move the hand, which moves the world.

HE MUST BE CLEAN IN LIFE (PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY): As far as Christian ministry is concerned, cleanliness is Godliness; a preacher must have a good report of them that are without i.e. the world. 1Tim. 3:6-7; James 3:1, Titus 1:7-9, Paul wrote to Titus and said, “A bishop as God ‘steward, must be shameless, He must not be arrogant or quick tempered or drunkard”; etc.

Many people watched the life of a preacher as well as they listen to his sermon, infant his life is not a private matter, if he misuses his life, he will damage the lives of people under his ministry.

HE MUST BE FIT FOR THE WORK: when God calls a person to his service, He also fit and equips him for it, 1 Sam. 10:1-7 for God’s calling are without repentance Rom. 11: 29. We shall think of this fitness in four (4) fold senses. Spiritually, Physically, Mentally and Educationally fit.

THE SERMON AND ITS STUCTURE

Three major points has to be examined regarding this topic, these are as follows:

1.     Introduction

2.     It’s definition

3.     It’s structure

INTRODUCTION: The word sermon has its origin in latin word, which means “A STAB” or “A THRUST”. STAB means harming someone suddenly with either a knife or sword; and STABBER’S means person who stab with either a knife or sword in other words “A preacher is stabber” because the preacher stabs with the spiritual sword, which is the word of God. (Heb. 4:12). This indicates its purpose to pierce the hearer’s mind with the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God (Eph.6:17). What this means is that, a sermon prepared and delivered under the anointing and the power of the Holy Spirit can stab anybody who is under the message.

DEFINITION OF SERMON: A sermon is oral address to the popular mind. Upon the scriptural truth contained in the bible, elaborated treated, and with a view to persuasion. Though, there are lots of definitions but this one is mostly taken as important.

THE STRUCTURE OF SERMON

Good sermon have five (5) parts. Any sermon which does not have these parts is not Homiletical.

1.     Text                                                            2. Theme

3.   Introduction                                              4. Discussion and

5.   Conclusion                                                (T.T.I.D.C.).

This structure is universally accepted. There is no law that bounds numbers 1 to 3; so any one can be used among these three as the first because it depends on the type of sermon one is delivering.

Discuss on and conclusion must not be changed from their number. Our introduction should be brief likewise the conclusion must be short.

TYPES OF SERMON

1.     Testimonial sermon                                    2. Expository sermon

3.   Textual sermon                                         4. Topical sermon

5.   Historical/accidental sermon                    6. Biographical sermon

There are things one should not do while preaching on the pulpits. A preacher should not discuss private matter in his message. If the matter is private, he should call on the elders and whosoever is involved and counsel them, rather than saying it in his preaching. Though the man of God has to flexible but not to be sentimental while preparing his message. 1 Tim. 4:16. Of every message there will be someone behind it, and the weight that the message carried determines the type of person behind it.

TEXT

The word comes from the Latin – Text us which means something “WOVEN” as texture, it does refer to that portion of scripture which has been chosen for exposition and around which the sermon is woven.

THE NECCESITY FOR THE TEXT

1.     It gives authority to the message.

2.     It confined the preacher to its subject.

3.     It gives unity to the sermon.

4.     It prepares the hearer for the discussion.

5.     It promotes variety in preaching.

6.     It keeps the message biblical.

THE SELECTION OF THE TEXT

There are certain broad principles governing the selection of the text:

1.     Be careful about choosing the text.

2.     The text as a whole should express complete thought.

3.     Avoid as a rule, the use of odd texts.

4.     Be careful about choosing texts that promise great effort that we cannot fulfilled in a sermon.

5.     We should not be afraid to choose a familiar text.

6.     One should avoid using text in which its interpretation is not clear to the preachers.

7.     Only those texts that personally appeal should be taken.

8.     The text should be selected with one’s audience in mind.

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE TEXT

1.     The text should be interpreted with honesty, that is, we should interprete what the writer means.

2.     The text should be interpreted in the light of its context.

3.     The text should be interpreted in the light of its language.

4.     Its grammatical construction should be considered.

5.     The exact meaning of the English word must be noted.

THEME

Before a preacher can prepare a sermon, he needs to know the theme he is going to consider from the text he has chosen. More than one, theme can be taken in a text, but we cannot have more than one theme in a sermon. If we are talking of the theme, we mean part of the sermon which defines the main truth to be expanded from the text; it should be simple and modest, the theme therefore should state exactly what the preacher intends to discuss.

INTRODUCTION                                                                                            This is the part of a sermon that leads us the discussion. This prepares the audience for the main part of the sermon that is, the discussion. It should be brief.

THE PURPOSE OF INTRODUCTION                                                                     It serves many excellent purposes:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      1. To awaken the hearers’ interest in the subject                                                                2. To enable the speaker to remove the obstacles that stand in the way of hearers’s                             interest.                                                                                                                                         3. To prepare the audience for an understanding of the theme under consideration.                  

4.     To secure the good will of the audience.                                                                                                                                              

                      Sources of material for introduction

There are many materials for introduction                                                               1.   You can take your introduction from text itself, as seen in the life, or world or environment.                                                                                                              2.  You can make the use of the book on which the text is been chosen as the introduction.                                                                                                                                              3.   We take introduction by comparing the text to another text, which relates to the topic we are to preach on.                                                                                                                                      4.  By addressing question or statement that can make people to listen or you calculate to gain the attention of the hearer or use illustration that draws attention to the theme.                                                                                                                                                   5.  By present occasion, funeral wedding, New year, Christmas or Naming ceremony.                               6.  Secular history, both past and present can be used, but it must be relevant to the message been preached.

DISSCUSSION                                                                                                                          Discussion is the part of sermon which present the truth contained in the text and theme. The preacher may be likened to a builder and his sermon to the building, which he proposed to build in the hearer’s mind. If a builder wants to build, he needs plan, and then build the foundation, so also the preacher needs to build upon the introduction, which is discussion that is the real message as the building he brought out.

CONCLUSION OR LIFE APPLICATION                                                                                                           It is sometimes called application. Many preachers do not even make their conclusion as it should be, but there is a passage in the holy Bible that says “in conclusion, fear God and keep His commandment”. Eccl 12:13. This is the best example of conclusion to be followed. This structure is universally accepted. There is no law that bound 1-3. So any one of 1-3 can firstly be used, because it depends on the sermon you are delivering. There are six types of sermon, but the discussion which is number 4 and conclusion which also is number 5 must be brief likewise  the conclusion must be short.

THE PREPARATION OF THE SERMON                                                                                                                                            It is essential and compulsory for any preacher to prepare well his sermon before delivery.                                                                                                                                                                                 The necessities for preparation of sermon are:                                                                                                    

1.     IT IS ESSENTIAL: Since preaching is the means God uses to awaken the    conviction and general faith in the unsaved, it follows that the one who brings the message should both make and take time to pray. 

2.     IT IS SCRIPTURAL: Here, the scholar or theologian has a common saying “Solomon method which is to be considered” Eccl 12:9-14.                                                     

Three things have to be in the passage read in which we can call preacher in his preaching. 

a.     The character of the preacher vs. 9-wise, instructive and preserving.

The conscientious preparation vs. 9-10 - as a preacher,                                                                                               i.  He was attentive                                       ii.  Studious                                                                         iii.  Systematic                                              iv.  Judicious                                                                                                           v.   Scriptural                                               vi.  Sincere                                             vii.  Truthful

b.     The convincing preparation vs. 11&12.                                                                                                              i. His preaching was pointed “as arrow edge”                                                                           ii. Impressive, fastened.                                                                                                                    iii. Authoritative, given one shepherd                                                              iv. Effective “admonished”                                                                                                             v.  Handwork, “much study”.

3.      IT IS SENSIBLE: God doesn’t rob His people of their common sense when He saved them. Just like a lawyer carefully prepares his brief, a builder examines his plans, a doctor studies a case, so also a preacher must use every endeavour to consistently prepare the material for the sermon he is to preach.                                                                  

THE SELECTION OF THE TEXT OR SUBJECTS                                                                                    Supposing a person is invited to come and preach, may be in a seminar or in any other programme, the first question after accepting the invitation is that what is the text to be used and what kind of sermon to be prepare.

1.     There must be definite and earnest prayer or the divine guidance.                           In as much as the preaching is the Lord’s work, it is essential that the preacher get in touch with the master about it. And the following should be done:                                                                                                                                                           a. Humble: Because a preacher must remember the word of our Lord in mind that without me ye can do but nothing. Jn 15:5.                                                                                           b. Believingly: God has promised to hear the prayer of the saint. James. 1:5-6, Heb. 11:6.

2.     The text or subject may have been previously impressed upon one’s mind. YES! It is true, how? This may have come through the daily devotional reward. It may be some incident Topic or Text that griped the soul and impressed the mind and the heart. As he waits upon God, this impression is deepened and the conviction grows that this is the text to be taken.

3.     The text or subject may have been suggested by hearing some preachers preaching from it. It is possible for one to have received message from another preacher.

4.     Perhaps the reading of your book of sermon or outline of a sermon.

5.     A current event may suggest a text. As the season of the year.

6.     The needs of the audience will also proof to be a factor in ones choice. It may be to boys/girls, prisoners in jails or others.

THE PREPARATION OF OUTLINE

1.     Begin early.

2.     Read the passages of the scripture slowly or repeatedly.

3.     Read the text in another version.

4.     Use a concordance.

5.     Concentrate on the text or topic i.e. underline with pencil.

HINTS SUITABLE FOR ILLUSTRATION SHOULD NOW BE PREPARED                                         Because of its importance we shall enlarge this points.                                                 

1.     Illustrations are like widow which lets in the light. i.e.

2.     It helps them to be clear in argument.

3.     It helps the hearer to remember the preached message.

4.     They stimulate the imagination.

5.     They provide for various classes of hearer

THE DELIVERY OF SERMON

The sermon, which has been prayerfully and carefully prepared, must now be delivered, if the audience is to be profited. Much depends, not only on the materials contained in the sermon but the manner in which it is delivered. Many a good message had been lost on an audience because of its poor delivery.

POINTS T0 EXAMINE IN PAUL’S WRITING

Paul’s letter to Timothy contains some much needed advice for preachers of the word. In his first epistle Paul uses the word “THYSELF” seven times and each occurrence of the word demands our serious attention. I want to compare this sermon to what we can understand. It is like the food prepare and not presented in a good condition, how will the food be accepted? But if the same food is prepared and presented in a good manner, then one will be able to accept it in anxious and gladly mood.

SEVEN WAYS OF USING THYSELF

1.     Behave thyself 1 Tim 3:15. The preacher must exemplify his preaching.

2.     Exercise thyself 1 Tim 4:7 A preacher must exercise conscience Acts. 24:16 mind. Heb. 5:14. Spiritually that means God must have helped you on some issue before preaching it. 1 Tim.4:7 and body 1 Tim. 4:7.

3.     Give thyself 1 Tim 4:15. This involves whole hearted and sacrificial body.

4.     Watch thyself 1 Tim 4:16. The preacher must be constantly on his mind and watch his thought, words, action, company and the opportunity for witnessing. Ps. 106:33, 1 Cor. 15:3 lf 3, 1 Tim 5:22, Gal 6:10

5.     Save thyself1 Tim 4:16. This of course shows no reference to the soul’s eternal security.

6.     Keep thyself 1 Tim. 5:22. The preacher must keep under, his body 1 Cor. 9:27. Keep himself from idol 1 Jn. 5:21 keep himself pure 1 Tim 5:22. Keep himself in the love of God Jude 21; keep himself unspotted from the world James 1:27.

7.     Withdraw thyself 1 Tim 6:3-5. He must separate himself from all unscriptural doctrines. 1 Tim 6:5, unequal partnership II Cor. 6:4-18, questionable amusement, habits and hobbies unprofitable argument, unspiritual companionship, 1 Thess. 5:27, 1 Tim 6:14.

                                 PREACHER’S ETHICS                                                                                                           

PREACHER SHOULD WATCH HIS LANGUAGE                                                                                                                                 In delivering sermon, a preacher should watch his language in as much as preaching is conveyed by the medium of words. It is imperative that these words should present the message clearly and forcefully. Language is the incarnation of thought: this thought can come from the speakers either poorly or well addressed. The Bible has a lot to say concerning words. 1 Cor. 2:13, pro 5:11, job 6:25, Eccl 12:10, 1 Cor. 14:9-19, Acts 15:24, 1 Tim. 2: 14, matt 12:36, Rom16:18, Ps. 55:81, Job 35:16-end

a.     The language used must be simple 1 Cor. 14:9 i.e. a preacher should avoid words that is not common to the audience.

b.     Avoid odds sentences or long sentence

c.      The language should be grammatically expressed, language has a grammatical foundation. The least a preacher can do is to study the rules that govern the use of English correctly. And then seek to carry them out to the best of his ability.

d.     The language should be forceful. This demands the correct use of the language to express the exact thought of the preacher, by which the passage is conveyed.

e.      The language used should be correctly pronounced. A well pronounced Bible verse is an eternal heritance if it is correctly used.

f.       The value of wide reading and the habit of writing.

g.     The value of a good disciple or a good instructor.

HE SHOULD WATCH HIS DRESSING

The dressing should be simple and not flamboyant, remember that God does not move by dress, yet you must be neat enough. Don’t be “sakadelic” (psychedelic) in your dressing.

HE SHOULD WATCH HIS VOICE

THE PURPOSE FOR HIS VOICE: The human’s voice is the God’s given medium by which God’s given medium is conveyed through a God’s given messenger to accomplish a God given purpose. Ps. 139:14

POWERS OF VOICE

The human, voice has about 4 powers, which are:

1.     The compass or range of pitch. (e.g. sopranos, altos, contraltos, tenors, baritones and basses)

2.     Volumes of voice or quality of tone (like a roaring of lion).

3.     Penetration voice, which describe the distance it can be clearly heard.

4.     Melody or sweetness of tone.

             The voice also has 3 registers of pitches that are been used.

a.     Low pitch       b.  Middle pitch                c.  High pitch

The high pitch is what we used when there is victory. The middle pitch is used when preaching. The low pitch is used to express to the audience what one wish that the hearers may know.

                SOME POOR EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF THE VOICE

There are many voices that people used that are very poor. And many people do imitate them; we shall examine eight (8) examples of poor voices!

1.     THE MUMBLER: This set of people, when speaking, it will be like if he has put hot food in the mouth. But Jesus opened his mouth and taught not in mumbling way. 1 Cor. 14:10-11; Matt 5:2.

2.     THE YELLER: This set of people are otherwise opposite the mumbler, they start their sermon with roaring and end up with roaring.

3.     THE SING SONG: These sets of people are those who adopt a kind of chant. Their voice rise and fall regular and calm, they cannot keep their eyes opened.

4.     THE MONOTONE: This is not a rise and fall voice but it is the opposite side to the yeller.

5.     THE VOICE DROPPER: This preacher begin his sentences in an audible tone, but as he nears the end of the sentence, he drops his voice to a whispering without caring for the people who sit on the chairs after about three feet distance, unfortunately no one hears him.

6.     THE REPEATER: This are set of people or preacher who persist in repeating his sentence, over and over again, as though his hearers are either deaf or mentally incompetent. By this, a ten minutes address is stretched out into thirty minutes address, and audience are made to feel that their time has been wasted.

7.     THE THROAT CLEARER: This set of preacher will want to clear their voice. But in a too much rampant manner. Such speaker entirely and unnecessarily will try to cough i.e. will try to clear his throat; at the end of each sentences they clear their throat.

8.     THE MEANDERER/WANDERER: This preacher’s sermon consists of number of disconnected thought, which apparently occur to him as he preaches or speaks. Driving and wandering in the wilderness; He wanders from Dan to barsheba and have a little to say about everything in general i.e. from Chaldesh-barnian to Chaldesh-barnia.

            In conclusion, with some preacher a course of voice cultivation will be helpful to produce the tones from the diagram. Constant practise, particularly of the consonantal ending of a word; will help the preacher to better fit himself for the grand task of preaching the word.

THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF A PREACHER

1.     The preacher should not preach the same sermon over and over.

2.     a. Don’t neglect to prepare your sermon carefully and prayerfully.

b.     Do not let anything disturb or hinder or interfere with your study and preparation time.

3.     Don’t under-estimate the ability of your people to learn, if you teach the word as you preach they will learn enormously.

4.     Don’t speak above the congregation’s level of understanding.

5.     Don’t try to be somebody else but be yourself i.e. don’t copy somebody, don’t be copycat.

6.     Don’t forget the lost, preach to them as a preacher, don’t forget the hurt in heart they are always present, comfort and strengthen them.

7.     Don’t forget the young because they are our hope for tomorrow, so we should teach them about marriage and how to live their lives for God

8.     Don’t forget the old, they are the best upon whom our foundation is standing, remember them in your prayer and preach to them.

9.     Always take along with you an handkerchief while going to the altar, check your pocket whether it is there or not before leaving home.

10.     Don’t be afraid to stand up for the truth. Don’t be afraid to speak out what is the true word of God.

11.     Don’t let hungry sheep come to the church service and go away without been fed.

12.     Don’t be discouraged by your personal handicaps. We all have them around but God strengthen the defected hand and honour them in that position.