This is the second blogpost in my current series on Bible exegesis for beginners. You may want to begin at the beginning. The first blogpost was to help you load an essential Bible tool on to your computer, which you can consult at anytime even when you are not on the internet. I plan to …
Category: Sermons
Don’t preach to me
Very many people object to being preached at. Indeed! Good training should teach preachers not to preach at people, nor beyond people, nor above people's heads, nor beating around the bush, but to people in a manner designed to engage their attention. However, many people do not want even this. So they cannot complain if …
My YouTube channel
Today is the second anniversary of my brother Andrew's death. It is also the 49th anniversary of my reading the whole Bible for the first time on 22/8/1971. I have read the Bible daily ever since and now I spend several hours a day on my Bible commentary, making its teaching accessible to ordinary people, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Before or from the foundation of the world?
There are many misquotations of Scripture that need to be corrected. I will gather over time a list of them here and put them into biblical order for easy consultation, but beginning with the one in the title of this blogpost. I will also supply mnemonics or the rationale which will help people to remember …
Continue reading Before or from the foundation of the world?
Even the Royals need the Gospel
The royal family need to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the King of kings, because they need the Gospel as much as any of us. It is probable that some of the royal family do not know what the Gospel is, which may explain their reaction to the sermon at today's royal marriage between …
Sermon on Acts 13:26
The Free Offer of the Gospel ‘Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you fears God, to you is the word of this salvation sent’ Act 13:26. The Gospel is 'good news'. The good news is that God's salvation is sent to you. Some people know about the Gospel, some …
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 …
Continue reading What do we do about confusion in congregational preaching?
Donald's Thoughts 