It Takes a Village to Make a Sermon

How Elders and Deacons Can Have a Role in the Preaching of the Word

Howdy,

We have about three more weeks in the Directory for Worship’s section on preaching. Spending this amount of time on it can seem a bit self-serving since a preacher is writing these Thursday devotions. However, for most Christians the vast majority of their education as a believer is going to come in the 30-40 minute window in morning service when the pastor is expositing God’s holy and perfect word. For us to understand the purpose and how we can benefit from the word as it is brought to us from the mouth of the minister on the Lord’s Day is worth our time. Another aspect of this worth noting is that the more we grasp in our mind and soul about what is happening the easier it will be for our hearts to by feed by faith through the preached word.

Let’s go ahead and read what the DPW has to say:

If any doubt obvious from scripture, reason, or prejudice of the hearers, seem to arise, it is very requisite to remove it, by reconciling the seeming differences, answering the reasons, and discovering and taking away the causes of prejudice and mistake. Otherwise it is not fit to detain the hearers with propounding or answering vain or wicked cavils, which, as they are endless, so the propounding and answering of them doth more hinder than promote edification.

He is not to rest in general doctrine, although never so much cleared and confirmed, but to bring it home to special use, by application to his hearers: which albeit it prove a work of great difficulty to himself, requiring much prudence, zeal, and meditation, and to the natural and corrupt man will be very unpleasant; yet he is to endeavour to perform it in such a manner, that his auditors may feel the word of God to be quick and powerful, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart; and that, if any unbeliever or ignorant person be present, he may have the secrets of his heart made manifest, and give glory to God.

There is an old quip that there is a thin line between a sermon which goes long and a hostage situation. That line is whether or not the preacher is revealing meat from the Bible or if he is rambling on like an uncomfortable best man’s speech. Underneath the concerns of the opening sentences is that the minister needs to be aware of the spiritual needs of the people. It is a part of the importance of visitation, Christian fellowship, prayer meetings, and other means of conversation. We also see part of the role elders play in assisting the minister to preach well. If the session is doing their job of checking in on members and reporting that to the shepherd then when matters come up in sermon preparation the pastor knows better about those things that need touched on, and those things that do not, in the limited time he has on the Lord’s Day.

Having a well-ordered church only improves the content of the preaching. There is a way that even the deacons play a role in constructing the subjects on which the minister feels a call to touch on. If there are material needs not being taken care of by the ordinary works of providence that could be handled by members of the local church, then it is right and good for the pastor to maybe by way of application note that. We see this in Paul’s letters all the time. There was evidently a great demand in Jerusalem and so the apostle wrote to the people of Corinth to gather together offerings on the Sabbath. Not only did he do this to remind them of their daily duty to provide for the poor and the needy in Corinth, but also by way of encouragement to give them leave to remember the wider body of the church outside their Peloponnesian home. Droning on about subjects that don’t matter is a good way to waste the time we have on the Lord’s Day. Here the directory is calling all Christians as well in their own lane to help the pastor in his preaching.

Some other things the DPW touches on this morning are specific applications in the sermon. The above says, “. . . which albeit it prove a work of great difficulty to himself, requiring much prudence, zeal, and meditation, and to the natural and corrupt man will be very unpleasant”. As someone tasked with writing and working on two sermons a Lord’s Day, as well as Sabbath School and Wednesday night teaching responsibilities, there is a maturity required that only comes through prayer, focus, and personal devotion to the Bible. One of the pieces of advice that older preachers give to younger preachers is that you don’t have to preach the whole counsel of God every week. What the DPW calls prudence is recognizing that there is a time and place for everything. Sometimes that application might work best in a more informal setting, like our Wednesday Night study at Bethany where it can be better explained through conversation, and sometimes that application must be pointedly said from the pulpit in order to drive home the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. However, there are also circumstances where the text might be suggesting a needed word on a sin which is prevalent, but some providential situation going on in real life means that wisdom calls for temperance, until the right moment comes.

However, the preacher can never be afraid of offending the goats, or what the quote above calls “the natural and corrupt man”. There is no benefit to anyone when a man shades the harder edges of the clear teaching of God’s word. When defining what godly preaching is there is a saying that has probably been around a long time, and which the internet tells me was originally penned not by a preacher at all, but applies well to what we are doing in a sermon and that’s afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted. Knowing the difference is part and parcel of what the section of the directory portion on preaching is getting to today.

In closing, more could be said but I want to close where it closes, and that is with the ultimate goal of all sermonizing and the proclaiming of God’s word, and that is with the heart. When Paul says that men come to faith primarily and ordinarily through the work of the pastor from the pulpit he is saying it in the context of hoping that his brother’s in the flesh (the Jews) might come to see the true glory of God and embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ. A good sermon not only pricks the conscience of the believer to love the Lord more, to repent where needed, but it also bring forth the beauty of our Savior and freely offers Him to every unbelieving heart present.

Last word:

https://sb.rfpa.org/the-elder-to-aid-and-assist/

Blessings in Christ,

Rev. Benjamin Glaser

Pastor, Bethany ARP Church