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Thursday, July 3, 2008
my 3rd assigment! will post the fourth one in a few days!!!
The book How to Prepare Bible Messages by James Braga gave me more insight than I expected. More than just another book that states theories and principles, gives format and a standard guideline to follow, etc., it actually blessed me by enhancing the perception I had of the task of preaching and sharing God’s Word.James Braga stressed the importance of the need for the preacher to be “more and more intimately acquainted with precious portions of the Word” for the preacher to be able to come up with a good sermon to bless and impact the congregation. That was definitely great encouragement as that would mean getting a revelation from God first-hand before you can deliver the revelation to the people. Surely nothing beats hearing from God directly yourself!
And I couldn’t agree more that the most rewarding feature for the diligent worker in sermon preparation is the delight your sermon will bring to those who hear the Word as they receive the spiritual nourishment which a single verse of Scripture can provide. That is indeed the compensation of the hard work that is needed to put a good sermon together.
In Chapter 10, James Braga reminded me that it is so necessary for me to jot down whatever and whenever the Holy Spirit suddenly – in a moment of illumination – plants a striking idea in my mind. Because if I don’t, the thought may be lost forever. It was thus a good wake-up call for me to be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit for little revelations that can come about as I make observations of the people and happenings around me. The truth is that God speaks all the time, everywhere, and more often than not, He can be found in the mundane activities of daily living instead of just the big-day events a local church may organise.
However, I would have to say that the most impactful content from the whole book would be a quote by Handley C. G. Moule that that the author quoted. It reads: “Take care that no pre-occupation with things pastoral allows you to forget the supreme need of drawing out of Christ’s fulness and out of the treasures of His Word for your own soul and life, as if that were the one solitary soul and life in existence.”
When I read that quote, I was like “Woah!”. This quote can’t get any more true than that. Many times I may get so busy with the ministry that I start neglecting my own soul and the personal attention that it needs to ensure a continual, growing relationship with my Master.
To sum up what how good preaching can come about, I thought the author puts it very nicely: Preaching which warms the heart and stirs the conscience is not born in the cold atmosphere of intellectualism but in intimate and continual fellowship with the Lord. There is ultimately no eloquence greater than the natural and gracious speech that flows from a warm and loving heart that must first be filled and touched by the Holy Spirit.
On 7/03/2008 09:34:00 PM, eunicechan let go.
