The Use & Abuse of Sermons
Preachers, a good note of caution from The Gospel Coalition Website:
A NOTE ON THE USE AND ABUSE OF SERMONS
The instant availability of thousands of expository sermons and
addresses prompts us to reflect a little on how they should not be
used, and how they should be used.
To take the latter first: many of our Council members avidly read
the sermons of others, or, increasingly commonly, listen to them while
they are driving or walking or jogging. Good preaching not only opens
up texts, but helps us learn how others tackle the challenge of
structure, apply Scripture to their particular congregations, relate
their texts to the central themes of God and the gospel, and much more.
We soon sense their urgency and God-given unction. We are sent back to
the study and to our knees to become better workers who do not need to
be ashamed of the way we handle the word of truth.
The bad way to listen to the sermons of others is to select one such
sermon on the topic or passage you have chosen and then simply steal
it, passing it off as if it is your own work. This is, quite frankly,
theft, and thieves, Paul tells us, will not inherit the kingdom of God
(1 Cor 6:10). Yet in some ways that is not the most serious aspect of
this form of plagiarism. Rather, it is the deep damage you are doing to
yourself and others by not studying the Bible for yourself. Ministers
of the gospel are supported by their congregations so they will give
themselves to the ministry of the Word and prayer. That demands
rigorous study. A faithful minister of the gospel is never merely a
biological tape recorder or CD, thoughtlessly parroting what someone
else learned, thought through, prayed over, and recorded. Indulge in
this exercise and before long you will starve your own soul — and, no
matter how good the sermons you steal, your ministry will sooner or
later, and deservedly, become sterile, for the stamp of inauthenticity
will be all over you.
One helpful suggestion: Listen to many sermons, not just one or two.
You will be far less likely to steal, and far more likely to be
stimulated and helped, if you listen to five or ten sermons than if you
listen to one.
I’m not a pastor (I don’t even play one on TV) but I do read and listen to sermons, both vintage (Spurgeon, Whitefield, Gill, Wesley, etc.) and modern (Piper, MacArthur, Jeremiah, NOBTS, DTS, etc.) which not only complement my own church attendence and Bible readings but they also aid me in thinking about scripture in ways I hadn’t considered before. I regularly post on Christian Usenet Newsgroups and such sermons give me spiritual ammunition (to go along with the armor of God so to speak) when I engage Christian brethren in discussions (I’ve stopped responding to the vehement and vitriolic anti-Christian participants — funny thing…they’re insulted that I refuse to engage them in their attacks).
Anyway, just wanted to share how online sermons both in text format as well as audio format benefit an average layperson.
I’d like to add that as someone who struggles with being amazed by and shocked by people rather than God. It’s less tempting for me to be sucked into the individual when I am getting my goods from the source. (carry over from following too much self help material)
It’s kinda like someone buy food from a chef and then bringing it to a potluck. Even if the person says from the get go that the compliments go to the chef, you tend to forget.
Or at least I do…
