Preaching Made Simple

Developing the Art of Evangelistic Preaching

Sydney Gibbons

• Publisher: Spirit Reign Communications
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9781940002651
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Preaching Made Simple is a masterpiece that is worthy of your time. Dr. Sydney Gibbons has done extensive research and shared this information in such a manner that will capture your attention and invigorate your mind. Given the scope of this book it will not only capture the interest of the layperson but also appeal to the members of the clergy. It can serve as a resource for ministers and even as a textbook for those who are seeking to learn the art of preaching. Preaching Made Simple takes the reader on a journey into the philosophy and practice of lay preaching.

PART ONE

CHURCH MEMBERS REFLECT ON THEIR LEARNING HOW TO PREACH THE EVANGELISTIC SERMON

1

CHAPTER ONE

ELEVEN OF TWELVE STUDENTS REFLECT ON LEARNING THAT OCCURRED 23 YEARS EARLIER

OVERVIEW. The course, “Preaching Made Simple” was first taught to twelve students in 1989. The students were members of the Southampton Seventh-day Adventists Church, Bermuda.
They conducted a three-week evangelistic meeting after completing the course. Eight persons were baptized. Six students were interviewed individually between February 15, 2012 and February 21, 2012. The remaining five students were interviewed between March 01, 2012 and March 05, 2012. The names of students with church affiliation in 2012 are listed below.

Students of the 1989 class, “Preaching Made Simple:”

• Alvin Wilson, Member, Rockaway Church

• Craig Swan, Christian

• Cyril Smith, Assistant Leader, Personal Ministry, Southampton Church

• Donna Simmons, Gourmet and Hospitality Leader, Southampton Church

• Henry Gibbons (Brother of the Author), Member, Rockaway Church

• Ivan Gibbons (Father of the Author), Deacon, Southampton Church

• Joanne Smith, Member, Southampton Church

• Dr. Leonard Gibbons (Brother of the Author), Health Ministries Director, Bermuda Conference and Southampton Church

• Michael Ray, Bible Instructor, Southampton Church

• Pamela Greyson, Treasurer of the Bermuda Conference of Seventh-day Adventist

• Roseanne Russell, Personal Ministries Director, Southampton Church

The responses of persons interviewed to questions asked are summarized below. All those interviewed gave consent to include their responses in this book. Students were asked seven questions to ascertain their memory of project events and of instruction received through the course on preaching. Questions also led students to express the value of the course they attributed to their growth as Christians and as evangelists for Christ.

The questions are stated immediately below:

1. What do you remember about the course on evangelistic preaching I taught you at Southampton Church over 20 years ago?

2. Tell me the name of the course and the name of the crusade that followed at the upper-level field of the Southampton Rangers Sports Club.

3. Describe your experience in preparing for and preaching at the crusade.

4. What did you learn from the course and how have you applied your learning in Christian ministry and soul winning?

5. How significant has the course “Preaching Made Simple” and the “Jesus Loves You Crusade” been in your life? Choose one among the following three statements that best represents your experience:

1) My Christian life and witness would have been the same had I never taken the course.

2) My witness for Christ has become more effective as a result of the course.

3) Knowledge acquired through the course and skills developed through the crusade have directly impacted souls I’ve led to Christ and to baptisms over the past 20 years.

6. What else would you like to share in relation to the preaching course and the crusade?

7. Do I have permission to include your name and responses today, in my book, Discipling Christians for Mission through Evangelistic Preaching? [Preaching Made Simple]

SUMMARY OF STUDENT RESPONSES TO INTERVIEW QUESTIONS.

Permit me to summarize highlights of responses from Mr. Craig Swan first. Then I will capture responses from students who are currently active Seventh-day Adventist Christians. Mr. Swan attested to the impact of the course for its logical and progressive structure in organizing public presentations. He stated that he has applied the instruction that he received to other settings, such as the work place. His first response to reflecting on the course was to comment on the three-part development of the sermon: introduction, body and conclusion. He continued to discuss other elements of the sermon including illustrations, rhetorical devices and factors of content as well as techniques of delivery. He remembered the name of the course and the effect of the course in leading Ellington Anderson, whom he named during the interview, to decide for baptism. He expressed the opinion that his preaching had significantly influenced Ellington’s decision for Christ. He stated that the course contributed to his leading persons to decide to follow Jesus and affirmed that his witnessing for Christ improved as a result of taking the course. Mr. Swan expressed satisfaction to know that the course will be taught again and validated the course for its usefulness in contributing to developing young adult members of the church.

I was happy to learn that students, twenty-three years after engaging in a preaching project, could recall significant facts and experiences related to the course, “Preaching Made Simple,” and the evangelistic meeting named, the “Jesus Loves You Crusade.” Most students acknowledged that benefits from the course improved their growth as witnesses for Christ. Most students engaged the interview with excitement and recalled their experiences with passion. One student expressed fear of taking the course, due to self-consciousness of having left the classroom of formal education for many years. The challenge, however, was greatly reduced by the friendly atmosphere of the class, according to the student.

General recall. One student stated the following:

The course was [taught] at a time when I was new in the church. I found it a learning experience. It boosted my self-confidence in my ability to stand up and speak. There was a lot of camaraderie among the students who took the course. It was a very positive experience.

Other students made comments like, “I remember the enthusiasm in the class;” “it [the course] was really good;” “People were so excited;” and “I can picture it right now. It’s really like it was yesterday.” Descriptive words used by different students for the course included, “interesting,” “deep,” and “comprehensive.” A number of students remembered the name of the course and/or the name of the crusade. Some stated clearly that they had forgotten one or the other or both. Yet they all remembered the learning and practice events.

Some choice students’ memories related to specific instruction they received and skills they developed as aided by the course. The following student quotations capture the substance of their memories as recalled during interviews. “I guess what I remember is more in terms of the structure of a sermon. The introduction, the body and different approaches [to preaching] is what sticks out in my mind.” “We knew where we started and how we had to finish and the middle brought it all together.” “The thing that sticks out in my mind is the compiling of the sermon. It has helped me with things I’ve done on my job. It has stuck with me.” “Although I was nervous, I was more confident because I knew the material.”

Evangelistic preaching is designed to lead people to take action for Christ. It was, therefore, affirming to hear one student state, “I remember those elements that are necessary for persuasion to take place.” A significant element of preaching with simplicity, as taught in the course, was preaching with a sense that one is delivering a message of great importance. One student noted, “Another thing that stayed with me was that a message should have eternal weight. Delivering a message for God is not to be taken lightly but something that is to be taken seriously.” One of the four critical elements of preaching taught in the course is the conversion of the preacher. The same student quoted immediately above, also stated that, “the life [of preachers] should reflect what we are saying.”

Name of course and evangelistic meetings. Two students repeated the name of the course but could not recall the name of the evangelistic meetings. Another two students remembered the name of the meetings but not the name of the course. Five students stated that they could not remember either the name of the course or that of the meetings. Although students forgot the names, they remembered the events and the effects of learning on their lives. One of the students, who remembered the name of the course, shared the following:

Preaching Made Simple. I remember that clearly. I don’t remember exactly, the name of the crusade. But the venue was at the Rangers top field. I do remember working the field [witnessing in preparation for the meeting] before [the evangelistic meeting was held], simply because it was a neighborhood church campaign and the response was very cordial.

The fact that some students remembered both names attests to the impact of the names for those persons twenty-three years after they took the course. Remembering, learning how to preach, and preaching that led to conversions, attest to the value of the course for students.

Sermon preparation and preaching. Responses to the question concerning sermon preparation and preaching could fall under five categories which appear below. The categories are discussed in alignment with four critical elements of preaching taught by the course: 1) the conversion of the preacher, 2) the content of preaching, 3) the call to accept salvation, and 4) the delivery of the message. Students gave evidence in their responses to having learned and remembered these critical elements.

Spiritual preparation - conversion of the preacher. Students attested to the value of prayer and Bible study as vital to sermon preparation. One student remembered catch phrases used as teaching devices to combine research with spiritual preparation. A key phrase used was, “Read yourself full; think yourself clear; pray yourself hot; then let yourself go.” The human preparation must give way to divine control of the preacher and the message. When the preacher depends on God, the hearers will sense the divine presence through preaching. One student captured this truth as follows: “In preparing the sermon, I found that for the sermon to be able to react on someone else, I had to spend the time in study and prayer so that it could react on me.”

Sermon structure - content of the message. The basic parts of a sermon include the introduction, body, conclusion and the appeal. Students recalled these basic elements as they discussed the importance of structure to sermon preparation. A local church elder who took the class expressed the value of the course instruction on structure. He made the following statement:

I was an elder at Southampton church. I hadn’t really been taught how to prepare a sermon. I had preached … a couple of times for a youth week of prayer but didn’t really know how to structure a sermon. The course did sharpen [my focus on sermon preparation].

One student said,

For me, first of all, it was deciding what was most important. What was the message I wanted to get across. Where did I want to go with this topic? And once I … had a clear picture of where I wanted to go, then everything else was … [developed] around that main theme … [or] thesis.

Another student described structuring the sermon from the perspectives of knowing where you want to conclude and knowing how you will start, concepts that were taught in the course. Students responded, “Get your beginning. Get your end. Then develop the body to flow from beginning to end.” A student declared:

When I start with the beginning first I could focus and did not have to think about everything [else in the sermon]. [Preparing] the three parts [introduction, body and conclusion] helped me to be more focused [throughout the development of the sermon]. That really helped me.

Developing the structure included the following processes identified by students who were interviewed: reading widely, focusing on the main points of a sermon, and linking thoughts through transitional words, phrases and sentences.

Sermon writing and practice preaching - arranging content. Students could recall writing the sermon, and re-writing it after receiving critiques from students and the instructor. Their responses indicated that they experienced the normal stages of writing, which includes frustration, taking multiple notes, and making changes, before producing the final sermon manuscript. Then one must practice preaching in private before preaching to a public audience. The following is a student’s account of sermon writing and practice preaching.

And everywhere you are - you jot notes. You wake up in the morning, you go to bed, you have to take notes. You take all this paper. You put it together. You write a sermon, you cross it out and you start all over again to get it. And that’s what it was like for me. That was my experience [in] putting the sermon together. And you’ve got to read Sister White’s books along with the Bible because they all go together. Then, when you read her books it’s so much that helps to make the Word clearer. But you don’t want to overburden the people, so you have to ask the Lord, ‘where do you want me to go.’ And put it within the timeframe. And when it [the sermon preparation] is finished, you’re … [at] the mirror practicing [preaching]. I’m not accustomed to talking to the mirror but you’re practicing [how to preach] there.

Sermon delivery. One student was very animated throughout the interview. The animation is captured in the response to the question of sermon delivery, as follows:

The delivery, I can’t eat. I’m in the back [of the stage]. I’m nervous. My legs are weak. My stomach is turning. I’m crying. I can’t wait till they finish the preliminaries so I can go up because I’m sick. Those are the things I’m going through. You’re nervous. I’m blank. I’ve got it all in my head and I don’t know how to start. I’ve memorized the whole sermon. You take your papers up and you stand up and you pray, ‘Lord bring something back to start me off.’ And you start talking. Once I start talking I start moving. The [Holy] Spirit takes over. Doubt seems to slip in again. It might be something that you’ve left out but then, that’s maybe what God would have you leave out. I can even see the dress that I’m [wearing] …. And I’m talking and I’m sharing and I am looking at people. People are very encouraging. You have to have faces that encourage you [to continue preaching]. But the Spirit just takes control and you are sharing the sermon with them. It’s beautiful. It’s really beautiful, pastor. You’re just preaching to them. All in your mind you just want them to be saved. I really want them to know that God is real. You really want them to know that God loves you. You want them to know that what you are sharing is what God has given to you. And you’re just looking at every one to let them know that this is real. It’s really beautiful. It’s really indescribable.

Another student discussed idealism and realism concerning delivery.

He said,

You can picture yourself delivering in a flamboyant way, believing that’s how the [Holy] Spirit can use you. But in delivering, I was far more subdued, but the points were still made with feeling and expression. And it was clear to me that we cannot use the Holy Spirit. The object of the Holy Spirit is to use us. And there may be times when He will use us more than we see in our mind’s eye but other times He will say just do it this way and I’ll do the work. It didn’t have to be in the thunder [that God spoke].

Appeal - call to salvation. ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Discipling Christians for Mission Series
• Endorsements
• Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Part One: Church members reflect on their learning how to preach the evangelistic sermon
• Part Two: Helping Christians develop the art of evangelistic preaching
• Part Three: Resources to aid evangelistic preachers
• Conclusion
• Endnotes
• Appendices
• Bibliography
• Abstract Works by the Author
• About the Author