While God’s word was delivered to specific people at a specific time in a specific place, the quality of the Word is such that it lives on and can be applied to all people in every place in every time. The reason for this is that the Word of God is universal and carries a meaning that gets to the heart of what it means to be human and to be a child of God. To do the will of God is always Christ’s message. Whether that means that one must fight against temptation, or exercise more charity towards one’s neighbor, or to honor God by keeping His commandments, the message is there for everyone to receive and apply it in his or her daily life. The job of the preacher is to condense that message and make it fresh for the audience so that they feel it and feel the need to renew their commitment to God in their everyday lives. This paper will expound upon the application of the sermon as it relates to the daily lives of the congregation and show that in order to inspire the congregation, the preacher has a wide array of tools to use in his preaching.
As Duvall and Hays (2012) point out, “God worked through the various human authors, including their background, personality, cultural context, writing style, faith commitments, research, and so on, so that what they wrote was the inspired Word of God” (p. 25). Just as God worked through the Apostles so too does He also work through the preacher in his sermon. The Holy Spirit first and foremost is the ally of the preacher, inspiring the preacher’s thoughts and directing the preacher’s words, so long as the preacher remains open and faithful to the will of God. At the same time, the preacher must do his part and prepare accordingly. The Scriptures are filled with ideas that, if not understood properly, can be twisted into something they are not. This is why it is so important that the preacher understand the backgrounds of the Gospels and Epistles, their contextual relation to the Old Testament, the meanings of words and communication techniques that were used at the time, and how they can be interpreted today so that they resonate with one’s congregation. The more prepared the preacher is on his end, the more the Holy Spirit can work through the preacher to touch the hearts and minds of his hearers.
Thus a preacher must be able to apply the old lessons to today’s audience. The preacher...
References
Duvall, J.S. & Hays, J.D. (2012). Grasping God’s word: A hands-on approach to reading, interpreting, and applying the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
McDill, W. (2006). The 12 essential skills for great preaching (2nd ed.). Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group.
Robinson, H.W. (2014). Biblical preaching: The development and delivery of expository messages. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
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