Questions I must ask myself as a preacher

We had the pleasure of gleaning from John MacArthur's insights on preaching this morning with a Q&A.   While he was talking about the importance of expository preaching (preaching that draws out the meaning of a text and its implications on a modern audience), I decided to jot down some of his points in question form just to make it a bit more personal.  I hope you can also find it useful.

  • Will I establish the authority of God over the mind and soul of the hearer?
    • Am I the authority?
    • Whose words will I speak?
    • If it is the words of the true Head of the church that I truly what to preach, am I being faithful to that aim?
    • Can I walk the line of being the central personality in the pulpit without giving the impression that I am in charge?
    • Who will I model as the sovereign head of the church?
    • What is the most important impression I want to establish when entering a church for the first time?
  • Will I facilitate the work of the Holy Spirit through expository preaching?
    • What is the primary tool of the Holy Spirit?
    • Do I want to create experiences for my people, or provide the Spirit a vehicle for true change?
    • Again, whose authority do I want to testify of in the lives of my people?
    • When people look closely in my life, will they see the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit through the washing of the Word, or will they see a disconnect between what I proclaim and what I experience in my life?
    • Will I take the people deep into the Word so they can go high in their worship? Or will I manipulate the church service to create the illusion of worship experiences in their lives?
    • Will it be Christ's pulpit so that He can speak fully on every issue through His Word?
    • Am I going to rely on my own insights or will I allow the Spirit speak through the text?
  • Will I teach people to study Scripture through my model in the pulpit?
    • Will I use the Bible as a springboard for my thoughts, or will I model how to draw meaning from the text?
    • Am I willing to let the Bible’s theology get in the way of whatever clever outline I think I created for it?
    • Am I able to take a text of Scripture and explain what it means to normal, hurting people?
    • Is my preaching tethered to God’s meaning in the text?
    • Will I try to honor God by preaching His Word without boring people with it, demonstrating its relevant implications for modern life from the text?
    • Does my sermon transcend my zip code—does it demonstrate faithfulness to God’s meaning because I could preach it in other countries and cultures?

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