Church of God (Holiness)

In The Four Steps of Sermon Preparation I discuss Kenton C. Anderson’s method of sermon development which considers the tension of the authority of God’s Word as well as the apprehension of the listeners. In my application of this method, I have typically spent some amount of time trying to dig up the cultural and historical background of the text in order to understand “The Story.” In my search to understand “The Problem”, I have typically listed possible questions or objections my listeners may have. Recently, however, I have taken a different approach to figuring out “The Problem” that I believe has enriched my messages.

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Preacher, Sunday School teacher, small group leader – have you ever stayed up late the night before you were to give a sermon, lesson, or devotional struggling to understand the Bible passage you were to speak from or to know how to apply it to your hearer’s lives? Probably all of us have.

There is a dual challenge that ministers of God’s Word must master. First, we must accurately teach the principles that are found in God’s Word. In doing so, we must carefully consider such things as the literary style of scripture passage we are studying, the historical context in which the text was written, the culture of the people and how it varies with our culture today, etc. Secondly, we must appropriately apply God’s Word to our hearers. In facing this challenge, we must consider our own culture, our place in history as well as the significance of current events on the people’s lives, etc.

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