Warren Weirsbe: Preaching To Our Times
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Dear Visionary Leader,
Billion Soul Greetings!
Philip Brooks in his Lectures on Preaching said, “There must be a preacher to have authority and a pastor to have sympathy.” Both elements together bring effectiveness in ministry. It has often been said, “People will not care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
About ten days ago, I spoke with Dr. Warren Wiersbe while I was ministering in Omaha, Nebraska. I first met Dr. Wiersbe during my Doctorate of Ministry Program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, in Deerfield, Illinois. Although he is approaching eighty years of age, his passion for expository preaching and for applying
God’s Word is as clear and passionate as ever. He is a statesman of the pulpit and one of the greatest expositors of our generation. If you have not read his
“To Be” series on every book of the Bible, then I recommend that you acquire a set as soon as possible.
During our conversation, we spoke about the essence of the struggle today in the “Modern Church.” The contemporary Biblical struggle today is quite similar to the First Century Church. At that time, the Jerusalem Church wanted tradition while the Antioch Church wanted only what was modern. A similar struggle exists today with those who demand we keep the “old” and those who only want the “new.” The answer established by men of Dr. Wiersbe’s stature is the desperate need to hold to the “foundations of the old” but to deliver them in a new way.
Dr. Wiersbe said, “It is not that expository preaching is not effective today, but preachers do not understand what it is or know how to deliver the message to this new generation. We gear for the times, but build on the Rock.”
Network News
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“I wish to express a great interest in your set agenda in my country here in Ghana. I’ve been praying to God for resources to help promote this agenda to the glory of God. I believe in synergy to which I’ve also committed myself to two non denominational prayer and rehabilitation groups. Thank you and God supply your needs in Jesus.”—Pastor George
Pastoral Coaching
From 25 years of ministering in roughly 48 churches per year, I have observed that Biblical preaching captivates the minds and hearts of listeners. When we preach through the Scriptures, we are not just preaching God’s Word with our breath, but we are in essence preaching God’s Word with God’s breath.
During a doctoral course I took with Dr. Wiersbe entitled, “Imagination And The Quest For Biblical Preaching,” a fellow student brought to class one day an original handwritten two-page sermon outline by the late Dr. Charles Spurgeon. Dr. Wiersbe suspended the entire class until he had finished inquiring about this most valuable treasure.
Let us write and preach our sermons with a future tense in mind. One day our children and friends may study what we have preached and evaluate the value based on whether we properly divided the Word for our world. Before we preach, let us rehearse the sermon, renew the soul and release the Spirit in our own lives. Let us preach this week as if it were the last message we ever deliver from our pulpits. It may be the last one ever heard by someone in the pew. Blessings!
Until The Last Person Has Heard,
James O. Davis
COCHAIR/Global Networking
