Fear Not, 21

~ Abiathar Knew Peace ~

God does not want His children living in fear.  “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:2-3).

“Fear not,” or its equivalent, is recorded many times in Scripture—ALN will post one “fear not” each week during this calendar year.

This Week’s Verse  ~  “So David said to Abiathar, ‘I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul.  I have caused the death of all the persons of your father’s house.  Stay with me; do not fear.  For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe’” (1 Samuel 22:22-23).

The Foundation Of Peace  ~  “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid” (Psalm 27:1).

The Solution If You Lack Peace  ~  “Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble” (Psalm 119:165).  “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You” (Isaiah 26:3).  “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Summary  ~  “No Christ = No Peace” versus “Know Christ = Know Peace”

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .

Good Preaching, 3of3

~ Examples of Good Preaching ~       

In this post we will look at two examples of the early church as recorded in the Book of Acts.

PREACHING IN ACTS 10  ~  In this chapter we find Peter preaching to the household of Cornelius. Notice five critical elements of his message. 

Salvation Is Available To All People  ~  “Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him’” (Acts 10:34-35)

Peace With God Only Comes Through Jesus Christ  ~  “The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all’” (Acts 10:36). 

Jesus Christ Was Crucified And He Rose From The Dead  ~  “And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead” (Acts 10:39-41).

Judgment Will Come On Unrepentant  ~  “And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42). 

Jesus Christ Has Paid The Price Of Your Sin  ~  “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43). Jesus Christ offers forgiveness if you admit your sin and turn to Him as your only Savior.

PAUL’S PREACHING IN ACTS 20  ~  In this chapter Paul is encouraging and exhorting the elders of the church in Ephesus. 

The Gospel Of The Grace Of God  ~  After briefly reminding them of his past Paul says, “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). The grace of God was a basic component in Paul’s preaching. 

The Gospel Of The Kingdom Of God  ~  “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more” (Acts 20:25). The kingdom of God was the object of Paul’s preaching. 

The Gospel Of The Whole Word Of God  ~  “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Notice that Paul’s instrument for preaching was the whole content of God’s Word. Paul sought to provide a complete and balanced approach in explaining God’s Word.

a key principle:  A clear conclusion is that preaching is about God, and what He can do, and is willing to do, in individual lives.

side note:  One thing which bothers me is a modern trend which has changed the terminology of past eras. For example, when referring to an “historical account” given in Scripture it is referenced as a “story” from Scripture. Excuse me! Historical records are a lot different than stories—many of which are pure fiction.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .

Good Preaching, 2of3

~ The Mechanics of Preaching ~       

Many believe that the contemporary Christian church in developed countries has become so overly enamored with audience trends, cultural analysis, relevance, process, journey speak, that we have created communicators who are not preachers! 

The first part of this post on preaching started as follows. “How do you define a great preacher? Does the Word of God define what makes a great preacher? If you had a great preacher would it satisfy you? Preaching is something not often discussed except within seminaries.”  That first post mentioned, “there is a huge difference between preaching and communicating.” Finally that post ended as follows, “The bottom line is that the greatest measure a preacher can use is the number of times individuals sincerely remark to him, ‘God spoke to me today!’”

Process, Purpose, and Principle  ~  In the book of Nehemiah we find a key passage. “So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading… And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them” (Nehemiah 8:8, 12).

The process was to use the Word of God to teach God’s promises.  The purpose was to provide understanding to the hearers.  A key principle is that good preaching helps people to understand the Word of God in meaningful ways.

Types of Preaching  ~  There are many styles of preaching, with perhaps the most common in churches today being Topical Preaching. Several decades ago the most common style was probably Expository Preaching. We now look at some of the various types of preaching.

Expository Preaching  ~  This is preaching directly from the Word of God. Typically a portion of Scripture is read and then the preacher attempts to explain that portion of the Word in a way that improves the hearers understanding. Many time expository preachers will deal in successive messages with consecutive portions of the Bible. A great benefit of this type of preaching is that it tends over time to impart maximum Bible knowledge to the congregation.

Topical Preaching  ~  This style of preaching focuses on a specific subject. Many time a variety of verses or passages are utilized throughout the message. Sometimes topical preaching is a series of messages with a common base subject. (Unfortunately, in extreme cases a single proof verse is used to justify a talk about a particular topic.) A danger of using almost exclusively topical preaching is that rarely is the “whole counsel of God’s Word” (Acts 20:27) shared with the congregation.  

Biographical Preaching  ~  This is preaching based on a particular Biblical character based upon what the accounts in the Word of God. Good biographical preaching makes it clear when the preacher is “filling in the blanks” between the pages of Scripture. A benefit of this preaching is it is relatively easy to point out both strengths and weaknesses of Biblical characters and to make good application for today’s everyday living. 

Polemical Preaching  ~  This is the specific type of preaching which is designed to correct error. Generally it is not wise to rely heavily on polemical preaching except during times when specific correction is needed for the particular congregation. The best normal pattern is to teach the truth. When people know the truth they are equipped to spot error for themselves.  

Non-Preaching – This is the difference between preaching and oratory. I have known a number of “preachers” who were great orators but, in my opinion, were not good preachers. These individuals often rely on their charisma and sales-like tactics to keep the attention of their audience. Be very careful if this is the regular style of preaching which you hear—usually the message of these individuals are not heavily based upon the Scriptures (or they are based on a distorted view of portions of Scripture).

In our next post on preaching we will look at examples from Scripture.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .