Hands That Are Empty

Preaching Maxims, nos. 351-400

Introduction and Maxims 1-50 can be found here. Translated into French here and here.

Maxims 301-350 (and links to Maxims 51-250) can be found here.

(351)

What about campus talks? These are a wonderful opportunity. First, to bring the Gospel of grace to students who are under a lot of pressure. Second, you can tell your funniest stories, because they have not heard them before. It’s not Sunday morning, have a bit of fun with it.

(352)

When a campus ministry invites you to speak, respect the guidelines they give, both on topic and on time limit. Remember you are their guest and this is a privilege. Don’t plug your church. Go with a steadfast commitment to do one thing - bring them Christ.

(353)

There’s one campus ministry that likes to use bright lights. I suppose most speakers are less tied to notes than I am. So, I have learned to print out my talks in extra-large font. I squint at their blurry faces and love every moment of it. It’s a privilege.

(354)

There’s another campus ministry that after I speak calls me back up to ask how they can pray for me. Then they surround and lay hands on me, praying all at once, Tongsung Kido style. I always leave encouraged. Pray for your teachers and leaders! Tell them you do so.

(355)

Preachers, give people freedom! Not everyone you train for the ministry will end up in church ministry. Some God will call into other equally important fields of service. Don’t make them feel like second class citizens in the Kingdom for listening to God’s true call.

(356)

If you discover that you have discouraged someone during the service or in the sermon unnecessarily, do what you can to make that right. If there is cause, swallow your pride and apologize. That will do far more good than any sermon you can preach.

(357)

If you have a busy week and can’t do what you should in sermon prep, do what you can - with prayer. God will honor that. His Word does not return void.

(358)

Pastors should have some sort of creative hobby. I don’t care what it is, but a hobby that makes something, that takes you into another world, something with imagination and beauty. Don’t just read about politics and culture. It will likely make you sour, even if you can’t see it.

(359)

Preachers should have a good grasp of the whole Bible, especially the flow of redemption and how it all fits together as one Story. But it is OK to specialize in one book or genre. The deeper your exegesis in one spot, the more it will help your exegesis in all.

(360)

Pastors have three main jobs all leading into their sermons. First is prayer. Second, caring for the sheep under their care (along with the whole Body). Third, getting to know the Scriptures more deeply. That’s Word, Prayer & Sacrament (see I Cor. 10:16-17). All preaching flows from and into these.

(361)

In my seven years as an associate pastor, I could perhaps point to several areas of growth that helped me transition to senior pastor. But, in my opinion, the foremost professional accomplishment was getting to know (most of) the New Testament in depth. Do the quiet work that will speak volumes later.

(362)

As you grow as a pastor, you will see new patterns of sin you did not see before – the insidious kind you can probably get away with if you try – anger, envy, gossip. Repent deeply of those, along with the more obvious ones. That will empower your preaching more than any study of Greek grammar.

(363)

Let’s talk about when to tell stories. If they are long, only at the beginning or the end. In the middle of the sermon you will be thick into exegesis and application and no one’s got time to hear about that time you sat on a PB&J sandwich in the subway.

(364)

If you have a humorous story, it’s best to tell it as an introduction. If it is moving, then at the end. Don’t end your sermons with a funny story. That’s when to drive the main point home and let silence linger.

(365)

One of the best preaching mentors out there, Bishop Will Willimon, has a special talent of ending his sermons suddenly, almost mid-thought, like Mark 16:8 or the end of a chapter in Mere Christianity. It leaves us hanging, thinking – knowing we must respond. But few can pull it off like him.

(366)

Now that I have your attention, if you have not seen the documentary on Dr. Willimon’s preaching on South Carolina’s PBS station, you should. We Reformed guys have some great models, men like Sinclair Ferguson or Dale Ralph Davis. Add a little variety by giving Willimon a spin.

(367)

While I’m hawking lesser known resources, go to the late John Stott’s website and look up his lecture at Duke Divinity School on Preaching in the Modern World from 1986. Permit me a little boasting - this is only online because I kept a cassette tape recording of it in a clementine box for 30 years. It is well worth the listen.

(368)

How should you begin your sermon? This is a matter of freedom and style. You may wish to mix it up, sometimes jumping straight into the text (in context please!) and sometimes with a story. I think it is usually best to pose a question: why do we need to hear what’s in the text? What problem are we trying to address?

(369)

I often use the phrase “our text” when I preach. Is this appropriate? I think it is. First, it distinguishes it from other texts. This is the one we are considering this morning. Second, it is our text, God’s Word given to us as a gift, in love.

(370)

How should you end the reading before you preach? Probably by some liturgy you say every week – e.g. “The grass withers, the flower fades, etc.” or “This is the Word of the Lord; Thanks be to God.” Then pray. Liturgically, I’m not a fan of an “inerrant” rubric here. It feels too much like a jab at other churches.

(371)

On ending the sermon in prayer, I think it is good to be spontaneous, based on how the Holy Spirit moved you as you preached. You might also consider adding the Lord’s Prayer in at the end of your prayer, all said together.

(372)

It was also the habit of some Reformed churches to say the Apostles Creed after the sermon. Each week, after hearing the Word preached in a variety of styles, the Creed objectively states what the whole of Christ’s church believes. No matter how good or bad the sermon, the Gospel never changes.

(373)

After all is concluded, it is the privilege – and the duty – of the preacher to stand before the congregation lifting holy hands to bless God’s people. Preachers, pronounce His love upon them. Do not give them a choice - TELL them God loves them as they depart into the world.

(374)

You may ask, what right of it is mine to pronounce God’s benediction - God’s “good word” – upon his people? Are my hands truly holy (I Timothy 2:8)? My people don’t know what my hands have done – what they’ve taken, who they’ve shoved, what keys they’ve typed. No, but God does, and in Christ, He calls your hands holy.

(375)

Hands lifted up in benediction are hands that are empty, hands that are not clinched in anger, hands that bear no sword. Hands that are made holy by God’s cleansing forgiveness to you in Christ, received empty handed as a gift. And thus, raised empty to pronounce God’s peace.

(376)

It is most fitting for the one who preached to be the one who pronounces the Benediction even if other pastors or leaders have helped lead the service. He is the one who preached Good News. Let him be the one who confirms it.

(377)

I have had members tell me that their absolute favorite part of the service was the Benediction – and not just because they were ready for lunch. It is when the Good News hits – in a way that it would not have without the worship or the preached Word.

(378)

If all we needed was God’s benediction, we could show up, be called to worship, sing a song, hear the Blessing, and then leave. But God has ordained that we continue to grow in His Word, and has thus gifted preachers within the Body. Lean into that.

(379)

I have it heard it said that one reason the African American church worships longer than the typical suburban white church is because they know more what it means to suffer – and so need to hear hope each week, lingering in worship together, in community. This is worth pondering.

(380)

Preachers, do not use the length of your sermons to control your people. Be sensitive. Know your context. Preach long if the text and Spirit compel you, but not because you like to hear yourself talk. If you’ve never thought about the latter possibility, you should.

(381)

I’ve never done cowbell preaching, but it sounds like fun, truth be told.

(382)

What about giving invitations to faith during the sermon? The whole sermon should be one long invitation to faith. Let the reader understand.

(383)

Should you invite unbelievers who are there to give their lives to Christ in your sermon? Yes, but only in such a way that is also an invitation to believers to likewise come to Christ. We all need the Gospel, always. Jesus is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

(384)

Do not pinpoint unbelievers who are there. In fact, don’t pinpoint anyone, unless it is to praise them.

(385)

In terms of praising people from the pulpit, not only should you be careful to praise a variety of people for their gifts – not just leaders – you will also need to learn who does not want to be praised in public. It mortifies some folk even if your intentions are good.

(386)

Do not manipulate people from the pulpit. Trust God to work. You are not the Holy Spirit.

(387)

Let’s talk money. When should you talk about money in the sermon? When it’s in the text. When should you talk about the church’s capital campaign? Almost never. That’s not what sermons are for.

(388)

When should you encourage people to generosity in their giving to the church? Not in the sermon unless it’s very explicitly in the text. You may thank your folks generally, but do not ask for their money. That is why God raises up capable lay leaders and deacons. You stick to the Gospel. Trust God to provide.

(389)

When should you adjure people to their Christian duty of tithing? In my opinion, never. It’s not a New Testament ordnance. The standard is likely higher – a cheerful, sacrificial giver (2 Corinthians 8-9). Either way, be careful to never lay burdens on Jesus’ people that He Himself has not.

(390)

When you feel too weary to preach, remember that Jesus’ invitation extends to you as well – “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you... for I am gentle and lowly in heart.” He’s right there beside you, bearing you up.

(391)

Don’t be a showman. I heard one preacher begin a talk by mumbling into the microphone as if he were terribly shy, only then to transition to a loud and deep exclamation at the end of the sentence, taking over the room. It was a show. You can be funny on occasion, but don’t do that.

(392)

When should you use puppets as part of your Sunday sermon? On the following occasions:

(393)

I once heard of a pastor who decided to turn his sermon into a “parable” to rebuke his people in their attitude towards worship. He showed up late, sloppily dressed and ill prepared. As the person who told me that story commented, “that’s just fleshly.” Don’t be fleshly.

(394)

Is it appropriate to leave the Vacation Bible School set up behind the pulpit on a Sunday morning? Normally I would say no but one year we had this really cool castle our folks worked hard on, and just once I wanted to preach in a Gothic setting. In any case, if you do leave it set up, use it as a reminder to pray for the children who came.

(395)

How do you know whether you preach with integrity or merely to “tickle ears” to please men? It’s that you are willing to call out all sins and all sides fairly. You remember James 2, not showing partiality. You do your best to call balls and strikes, no matter the reaction.

(396)

Refusing to show partiality in the pulpit may cost you your job. You are not your own, minister. You have been bought with a price and ordained to follow holy orders.

(397)

As you endeavor to call out all sins equally, be mindful that there are certain groups who have been particularly scorned and wounded by today’s Church. Be sensitive to their sin struggles. Many are doing all they can to follow Christ, despite their internal pulls otherwise. Honor that.

(398)

When you have to preach on a sensitive subject it is wise to say that beforehand, expressing sympathy for those whose toes you will step on. You might say something like you will endeavor to step on everyone’s toes equally, and not just one toe but all ten. Wrap it all in Grace.

(399)

If you look up one Sunday, and numbers are way down, do not take it to heart or think it is a commentary on your preaching. Sometimes vacations pile up or the church down the road has a new fog machine. Preach with all your heart those who are there. You serve Christ.

(400)

If you look out one Sunday and the place is jammed full, and someone tells you it is because of your preaching, do not take that to heart. Joel Osteen can fill a stadium and what good does that do. You? Preach Christ, and Him crucified, in times both lean and fat.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

to be continued….