Most ministers are familiar with Paul’s imperative to his young protégé Timothy: “Preach the Word!” (2 Timothy 4:2). It’s a great text, frequently cited in pastoral ordination sermons and preaching lectures. Yet many evangelicals committed to “preaching the Word” don’t seem as committed to actually using it much in their sermons. The preacher dutifully reads the biblical text in the beginning of the sermon but, as his sermon unfolds, he seldom (if ever) reads the actual words of the text. Consider these reasons why preachers are wise to speak (and repeat) as many of the actual words of the text as possible as they preach.
- Emphasizing authority of the Word. If we believe the authority of our preaching is located in the text of scripture, then we’ll speak the actual words of the text as much as possible. To be clear, I am not arguing that each word of a text contains a power of its own apart from its relationship to other words in the passage. We are not prepared to preach until we have discovered the context and meaning by way of careful exegesis and sound hermeneutics. But once we’ve discovered the meaning of the text, we will speak the actual words as much as possible because we believe authority and power are localized in the text.
- Teaching the text through frequency. The “law of frequency” asserts that learning increases as content is repeated or emphasized. Applied to preaching, the more we speak the actual words of a text, the more likely our hearers are to learn it. Because preachers can say only so much in thirty or forty minutes, expositors committed to speaking as much of the text as possible will craft their sermons accordingly. Instead of preaching sermons heavily weighted in lengthy illustrations or first-person narratives, preachers committed to making much of the text will give as much time as possible to the Word itself.
- Guiding members to remember the Word. Like most ministers, I’ve faced the challenge of being my family’s pastor. When my two sons were small, they were always hearing dad preach. Often I would ask them after Sunday morning worship, “What did the preacher preach about?” This was a slightly humorous way to remind them they were expected to listen to the preacher (even if he was their dad!) and a means to measure the effectiveness of the sermon. It was a humbling exercise to be sure, but it reminded me that the more I spoke the actual words of the text, the more likely they were to remember it.
So as you “preach the Word” this Sunday, preach the “words” of your text as much as possible!
To read more from Dr. Linn, visit his website at www.preachingtruth.org.