Not so long ago I discussed the subjective nature of a 'good' sermon. A good minister is not so subjective to assess as a sermon because the apostle Paul discusses it in his letters and he gives advice about a good minister 1Tim 4:6 and evangelist 2Tim 4:5 when writing to Timothy. Ministers and preachers …
Category: Congregational life
What constitutes a ‘good’ sermon?
The answer to this question is subjective, although it ought to be objective. The difficulty in making it objective is that everyone has a different idea of 'good'. The preacher will have a different assessment from his hearers, and the hearers will differ according to their readiness to receive instruction from the preacher. Even Jesus …
Pastors and teachers
Scripture makes a difference between pastors and teachers. "He gave ... apostles ... prophets ... evangelists ... pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints."Eph 4:11 The apostle Paul distinguishes pastors and teachers. Pastors are shepherds and preachers are teachers. Some preachers call themselves pastor, such as Pastor Jack Glass, but a preacher teaches …
View from the Pew
In the 1980s I edited View from Farr and in the 1990s Auldcastle View. The past two decades have given me another perspective and so I am beginning a new series in my blog called View from the Pew. It is specifically aimed at preachers, preaching and congregations. The reason for this is that whereas …
The biblical view about denominations
"I am the Vine. You are the branches," said the Lord Jesus Christ. John 15:5.So why are people trying to join different branches of Christ's church into one branch? Whoever thought that a vine or a tree should have only one branch? Yet this has been the unwieldy vision of the ecumenical movement, which floundered …
What should we expect from preachers?
Most people watch television, so public speakers including preachers should thereby learn some presentational skills. This being so, preachers who cannot read the Scripture clearly and intelligibly are without excuse. It is sometimes evident from the wrong emphasis they use in their reading of Scripture that they do not understand what they are reading. What …
Ambiguity and exegesis: confusing English words
My last blogpost highlighted the mistake that early Christians made between 'soon' and 'suddenly'. It continues to the present hour, even among academia, with serious practical consequences both to the early Christian church 2Th 3:11 and to current Christianity. There are other examples of ambiguity in English words leading to confusion in exegesis. Such an …
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The Seven C’s of Christian action
A Happy New Year to one and all! Let us begin 2018 by considering the 7 C's of Christian action. It will be good to incorporate them into New Year Resolutions. There have been many books written on Christian doctrine, many biographies of Christians which motivate to Christian action, but not as much about the …
Homosexual Christians – an oxymoron?
There are real oxymorons – Unitarian Christians and Arian Christians – and there are what ought to be oxymorons but are only too real – flawed Christians and sinful Christians. Is it any surprise? Biblical students and students of human nature should not be surprised. So why is it a great surprise that there are …
What do we do about confusion in congregational preaching?
Intelligent listeners will notice differences in teaching between preachers even in the same denomination, as well as between denominations. The right of private judgment is permitted to Christians, but the continuous and unchallenged preaching of different doctrines only leads to confusion in congregations - and God is not the author of confusion 1Cor 14:33. So …
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