Category Archives: Q and A

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Ask a Lot of Great Questions: What I’m learning from reading Jonathan Edwards’s earliest sermons

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If you want to keep your worshipers engaged during the sermon, then…

I can’t remember the source and it’s been years. But someone rated the best sermons and discovered that one thing that they shared in common was a noticeably greater number of questions than lesser rated sermons.

Jonathan Edwards’s sermon, Value of Salvation, could qualify for an effective sermon that effectively uses questions to keep listeners engaged.

In the Doctrine section, Edwards’s second particular is: “The whole world shall have an end with respect to every particular person at death…all worldly pleasure…come[s] to an end.” (p. 313 in Kimnach’s volume 10 of The Works of Jonathan Edwards)

After stating that particular doctrine, Edward bombards his listeners with seven straight questions. He leads off with, “To what advantage, then, will be bags of gold and silver?” (p. 313). Then, six more questions follow, often a variation of, “What good will it do him then that…?” (p. 314). The seventh and final question ends the second particular doctrine and comes directly from Luke’s parable in chapter 16 about the rich man who built more barns to store all his goods: “…then whose shall those things be…?”

Each question drives home the point of doctrine. And if you and I ask the right questions at the right time, we are forcing our worshipers to engage.

There’s a reason why the best sermons contain the most questions. Engaging preachers and teachers engage their listens with great questions.

Lord willing, tomorrow many of us will begin preparing for the fourth Advent Sunday of this year. As you write your orascript, think about the kinds of questions you can ask your listeners to force them to think along with you about the greatest gift of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And may our God receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) by our attempts to bring our listeners into heartfelt worship.

Randal

P.S. And one more thing, when you ask questions during the sermon, ask them in a way that lets them know you really expect an answer. I actually expect them to answer, but whether you do or not, it’s critical to ask the question so they know you want them to think with you.

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Anticipating, “I doubt that”: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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The, Convince-me-this-is-true, look!

It didn’t take long reading Jonathan Edwards’s earliest sermons to learn that he learned early in his preaching ministry to anticipate push-back from his listeners as he taught biblical doctrine.

In his sermon, Wicked Men’s Slavery To Sin, based on John 8:34 (“Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin”), Edwards begins his “Doctrine” section with this statement:

“Wicked men are servants and slaves to sin.” (p. 340 in Kimnach)

After the heading he wrote, “We shall explain and clear up this doctrine by answering these two queries… [emphasis added]”

What Edwards wants to “clear up” in the early goings of the message is the fact that many of his listeners don’t agree with that statement. He writes, “Perhaps you may think with yourself, ‘I don’t see but that wicked men are happy, and live as free as the best men in the world.'”

Edwards anticipates a reaction from his listeners. He knows some doubt the doctrine and he immediately goes to work addressing their thoughts. He also directly addresses those listeners who “object” to the idea that they are wicked and believe themselves to be free.

The slide below shows some of the rhetorical strategies preachers use to create message minutes. If you listen to a preacher or teacher you will hear them doing these things. Notice the contrapuntal circle. It’s a word I encountered years ago from Buttrick’s, Homiletic. A contrapuntal occurs when a listener doesn’t agree with what you’ve said; they have a different opinion about the matter. Edwards knew how important it was to anticipate push-back.

So, one of the ways Edwards crafts this sermon is by proving that the doctrine is indeed true, that wicked men are slaves to sin. It takes careful thinking, plus the ability to correlate the doctrine with other key Scripture.

In the next post I will show you some of the keys to Edwards’s approach.

As you work on your next sermon/lesson, consider the doubtability of your doctrine, address it, and God will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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How to Balance Saint-Sanctifying with Being Seeker-Sensitive (part 3)

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This post is part of a brief series on how to create sermons that sanctify the saints and justify the sinners at the same time. I’m building off the foundation of Paul’s analysis of the effectiveness of prophesy recorded in 1 Corinthians 14:24-25. The prophetic Word unmasked the man. An insider-directed message reached an outsider. Through my observations of the preaching of Jonathan Edwards (ancient), D. M. Lloyd-Jones (recent history), and Timothy Keller (current), I’ve started a list of ways these effective preachers reach both Christians and non-Christians with the same message. Here’s how they unmasked the man:

1. They categorized their listeners according to their spiritual condition (see previous posts)

2. Search the heart through questions.

In his book, The Preaching of Jonathan Edwards, Carrick cites Kimnach’s observation that Edwards was “perceived by the people of Northampton to be ‘a searcher'” (p. 304). All three preacher’s I read used searching questions to force their listeners to evaluate their spiritual condition. In one of Lloyd-Jones’ sermons on Genesis 3:8-9, I counted 46 of these kinds of questions! That’s 46 searching questions in the span of less than 10 pages. Through these questions, the conscience is pricked. Or, at least that’s the goal.

Here’s one example from Edwards: “Examine yourself as to this matter, and ask what has been the nature of your anger….Has it not been of the nature of ill-will….Has not your anger been…” (Carrick, p. 308). It’s almost as if you are acting on God’s behalf in interrogating someone on His witness stand.

This is different from asking rhetorical questions, questions that don’t really ask for an answer. These questions are effective because the listener’s spiritual condition is being exposed. See if you have opportunity in your sermon this coming Sunday to probe the hearts of your listeners and force them to come face to face with their sin and need of Christ’s righteousness (both saints and sinners).

Preach well for the sake of God’s reputation.

Your brother in Christ,

Randal