{"id":33403,"date":"2022-09-10T20:47:33","date_gmt":"2022-09-11T01:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/7-pitfalls-for-preachers\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T20:47:33","modified_gmt":"2022-09-11T01:47:33","slug":"7-pitfalls-for-preachers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/7-pitfalls-for-preachers\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Pitfalls for Preachers"},"content":{"rendered":"

7 Pitfalls for Preachers<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a recent article for The Gospel Coalition, Michael Kruger discusses 7 pitfalls preachers often fall into. Here are four of the most common:<\/p>\n

#1 – Confusing \u2018expository\u2019\u00a0preaching with running commentary<\/strong>.<\/em><\/h3>\n

Somewhere along the way,\u00a0some pastors\u00a0have became convinced that the \u201cexpository\u201d part of preaching means a sermon must sound like a commentary. They see it as a strictly chronological, running list of observations about the text.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, such a move confuses two different genres.\u00a0While preaching should unpack the text, it differs from a commentary in meaningful ways. Primarily, sermons have an\u00a0exhortational <\/em>component that commentaries often lack\u2014sermons speak not just to the mind\u00a0but also to the heart.\u00a0They\u2019re concerned not merely with truth, but also with\u00a0pressing\u00a0truth into lives.<\/p>\n

#2 – Assuming more illustrations is always better.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Illustrations are a critical part of an effective sermon.\u00a0We often remember the illustrations more than the sermon itself.\u00a0But\u00a0that doesn\u2019t mean (as some often assume) the more illustrations the better.\u00a0Sometimes, less is more.<\/p>\n

Charles\u00a0Spurgeon, the master illustrator, said a sermon without illustrations is like a house without windows. But, he adds, you don\u2019t want a house that is\u00a0only\u00a0windows!<\/p>\n

#3 – Refusing to cut good stuff from your sermon.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A major pitfall for new preachers is the lack of \u201cscraps on the cutting room floor.\u201d\u00a0They are so excited about every point, they decide to leave them all in. Unfortunately, this approach creates a bloated, clunky\u2014and overly long\u2014sermon.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the equivalent of a movie director keeping every scene he shoots.\u00a0If he did this, the film would be 12 hours long.\u00a0He has to cut even good scenes to make room for the essential ones.<\/p>\n

So\u00a0it should be with preachers.\u00a0When sermon prep is over, there should be a (big) pile of good material you\u2019ve left behind.\u00a0It\u2019s then\u00a0a sermon moves from good to great.<\/p>\n

#4 – Making application before you\u2019ve developed a point to apply.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Since preachers are eager to apply, sometimes it\u2019s easy to jump the gun.\u00a0They will hurry over exegetical details and move to discussions about practical implications. There is a real danger here. Hurrying to application too fast leaves you with no real point to apply.\u00a0Sermons like this end up becoming almost\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0application, merely one \u201cpractical\u201d application after another with no real, deeper understanding of the text.<\/p>\n

This pitfall is really the opposite of the first.\u00a0While some never get to application, others barely develop their textual point at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Read the full article, including 3 more pitfalls.)<\/p>\n

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7 Pitfalls for Preachers In a recent article for The Gospel Coalition, Michael Kruger discusses 7 pitfalls preachers often fall into. Here are four of the most common: #1 – Confusing \u2018expository\u2019\u00a0preaching with running commentary. Somewhere along the way,\u00a0some pastors\u00a0have became convinced that the \u201cexpository\u201d part of preaching means a sermon must sound like a … Continue reading “7 Pitfalls for Preachers”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33403\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}