The Message and the Man:: Some Essentials of Effective PreachingJackson, J. Dodd (James Dodd)
Religion
The Message and the Man:: Some Essentials of Effective Preaching
Jackson, J. Dodd (James Dodd)
Preaching
So then it comes to this:--That the edification of the Church and of
the individual believer, so far as it forms part of the task of this,
our messenger, is to be accomplished by the faithful preaching of such
things as the Master has left on record for the learning of His
followers, and by calling them to make proof of truth in the exercise
of Christian activity, self-denial, sacrifice and self-culture. We
believe, notwithstanding all that may be said to the contrary, that the
Church and her children long to hear this message and that they will
respond to it. Once more we admit that to the preacher, it may not be
the easiest kind of preaching to attempt, for here he will soon be
among the deep things of God, and he will have to ask for great
endeavours and great surrenders. But the divine commission is in his
hands, and has he not undertaken to speak what God shall teach him
"Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land"?
CHAPTER V.
The Note of Cheer
The chapter now to be added is written under the influence of a Sabbath
afternoon service in which, a few hours ago, we occupied a pew. The
scene was a village chapel among the mountains of the North of England.
The preacher was a layman well advanced in age, who told us that, for
five-and-forty years, he had been coming from the head of the circuit
to take appointments in the village. The sermon was not eloquent. It
was neither learned nor profound. It gave no evidence of any great
acquaintance with modern thought. There was absolutely no attempt at
exegesis. Indeed, the discourse would have failed to satisfy most of
those elementary canons upon which the homiletical professors lay such
stress. Yet, one great excellence it had, which, to its simple-minded
auditors, more than atoned for all its many imperfections:--It was
effective; it was successful. We came away thanking God for the
testimony we had heard.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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