PERSONAL STORY AND LIFE OF CHARLES E WHISNANT FAMILY . Life is growing and learning every day, every experience gives us new wisdom and insight into giving God the glory.
In the preparation of writing out a sermon or a manuscript or\r even an outline has always being a challenge.
As a matter of fact, I have never had a class on how to write. You would think in Seminary they would have had a class on how to write out a sermon, or even an outline.
But my wife Charity remained me I must have had that in High School. How to write a sentence. And I guess I did have that in High School. What is that call English grammar?
So how have I learned? Well, I imitate great preachers over the years. You are kidding? No.
Fish left me with questions. He convinced me that to get better at writing great sentences, I must imitate the great ones. With three or four examples per chapter, Fish demonstrates how to practice imitation. All right, I’m convinced, but where do I find more of these great sentences? How do I pick out a great one from a good one?
I am glad to learn it is okay to imitate great sentences in order write ones myself. I have been doing that for years.
Charles Spurgeon
John Piper
Oliver B Greene
Lloyd-Jones
Dallas Billington from Akron Baptist Temple back in 1966
Lee Roberson: Pastor of Highland Park Baptist and founder of Tennessee Temple in Chattanooga, Tennessee. For years read his sermons
I have been reading SERMONS for 50 years/ Charles Spurgeon's sermons were the first I believe. Then I remember Lee Robertson's sermons. John MacArthur sermons for 40 years. Oliver B Greene, John Rice, to name a few.
I would not hesitate to put in the first position [for the decline]: the loss of belief in the authority of the Scriptures, and a diminution in the belief of the Truth. I put this first because I am sure it is the main factor. If you have not got authority, you cannot speak well, you cannot preach. Great preaching always depends upon great themes. Great themes always produce great speaking in any realm, and this is particularly true, of course, in the realm of the Church. While men believed in the Scriptures as the authoritative Word of God and spoke on the basis of that authority you had great preaching. But once that went, and men began to speculate, and to theorize, and to put up hypotheses and so on, the eloquence and the greatness of the spoken word inevitably declined and began to wane. You cannot really deal with speculations and conjectures in the same way as preaching had formerly dealt with the great themes of the Scriptures. But as belief in the great doctrines of the Bible began to go out, and sermons were replaced by ethical addresses and homilies, and moral uplift and sociopolitical talk, it is not surprising that preaching declined. I suggest that this is the first and the greatest cause of this decline.
One of my shortest sermons in history. The singing took the wind out of me, I guess. I believe the message stopped at 23 minutes. But that is okay. I had more to say on the subject but next time I will finish the message.
1ATHE RECEPTION THAT THE CHURCH MADE OF THE WORD OF GOD
2ATHEY HAD A LOVE FOR THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THE SAINTS
HOW DOES THE WORD OF GOD (ITS PRINCIPLES) WORK IN US WITH POWER IN THE BELIEVER
SAVED US1 PETER 1:23, James 1:18
BLESSES USLuke 11:28
TEACHES US2 Tim 3:16
REPROVES US2 Tim 3:16
CORRECTS US2 Tim 3:16
TRAINS US IN RIGHTESOUSNESS
PERFECTS US & EQUIPS USEph. 4:12
GUIDES US Psa. 119:105
COUNSELS USPsa. 119:24
REVIVES US Psa. 119:154
MAKES US FRUITFUL Col 1:6
GROWS US UP 1 Peter 2:2
WARNS USPsa. 19:11
REWARDS USPsa. 19:11
JUDGES US Heb. 4:12
SANCTIFIES USJohn 17:17
PURGES US John 15:3
FREES USJohn 8:31-32
ENRICHES USCol. 3:16
STRENGTHENS USPsa. 119:128
MAKES US WISE Psa. 119:97-100
PROSPERS USPsa. 1:3
GIVES US HOPE Psa. 119:147
PAUL WAS GLAD BECAUSE FIRST:THEIR RECEPTION OF THE WORD OF GOD INTO THEIR LIVES1 THESS 2:13
PAUL WAS GLAD BECAUSE SECONDLY:THEY HONORED THE SAINTS:1 THESS 2:14
“For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus: for you also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews.:”
followers-- Greek, "imitators." Divine working is most of all seen and felt in affliction.
in Judea -- The churches of Judea were naturally the patterns to other churches, as having been the first founded, and that on the very scene of Christ's own ministry. Reference to them is specially appropriate here, as the Thessalonians, with Paul and Silas, had experienced from Jews in their city persecutions Act 17:5-9 similar to those which "the churches in Judea" experienced from Jews in that country.
in Christ Jesus -- not merely "in God"; for the synagogues of the Jews (one of which the Thessalonians were familiar with, Acts 17:1 were also in God. But the Christian churches alone were not only in God, as the Jews in contrast to the Thessalonian idolaters were, but also in Christ, which the Jews were not.
of your own countrymen -- including primarily the Jews settled at Thessalonica, from whom the persecution originated, and also the Gentiles there, instigated by the Jews; thus, "fellow countrymen" (the Greek term, according to Herodian, implies, not the enduring relation of fellow citizenship, but sameness of country for the time being), including naturalized Jews and native Thessalonians, stand in contrast to the pure "Jews" in Judea Matt 10:36. It is an undesigned coincidence, that Paul at this time was suffering persecutions of the Jews at Corinth, whence he writes Acts 18:5,6,12; naturally his letter would the more vividly dwell on Jewish bitterness against Christians.
even as they --Heb 10:32-34. There was a likeness in respect to the nation from which both suffered, namely, Jews, and those their own countrymen; in the cause for which, and in the evils which, they suffered, and also in the steadfast manner in which they suffered them. Such sameness of fruits, afflictions, and experimental characteristics of believers, in all places and at all times, is a subsidiary evidence of the truth of the Gospel.
—Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
They were "imitators”.“followers”.Vs 14
ØPaul mentioned other believers in other churches as to what they were doing. You could pattern your life after them.They honored the saints by patterning their lives after them. They copied the Saints. They tried to be like those in those churches.
ØTHE MARK OF REGENERATION?
oThey had a longing in their heart to be like Christ, to be like the preacher who gave them the gospel, a longing to be like other maturing saints.
o
Of the churches of god which in Judeaare in Christ Jesus.”Vs 14
ØLocal assemblies.Acts 20:28, I Corin 1:2, 10:32, 11:22, Gal. 1:13.
ØA general term for church. Eph 1:22-23.A church “in Christ Jesus.”
ØIn Judea, Jerusalem, the birth place of the NT church. 7 years before.
For the first time in my long preaching/teaching, I record my message from a small Kodek, which does a great job by the way. And at present I can only upload 1G at a time, that is about 22 minutes in length.
I must confess, I have a hard time when I am preaching to stay focus in my mind. My mind plays all kinds of tricks with me. I keep thinking while I am preaching. Now that should be good, if my thinking is about the sermon content, or the Holy Spirit giving me a sense of understanding about what I am speaking on.
While you are teaching, a number of events are happening in the crowd before you. Youth are talking, someone will get up and go out, others will fall asleep, others look fun, others are wonderfuing what in the world is the Pastor talking about. You know a number of things.
While I have always recorded my message, well since Madison in 1971. I have only one video of me preaching.
I am thinking while I am preaching, is this too long, is this too short. Am I getting the point across, what are they thinking. Boy at times you can get really a bad feeling about your delivery of the message.
Then after the service, I would sometimes just rather go to the office and hid. But that wouldn't be nice.
Usually the folks are nice, and as they are shaking hands they will say, "Good message, pastor." Some will mention the reason they like the message. Some will say, the message was a blessing to them. Some will correct a comment I made. Generally the response is better than I think I should have gotten.
Then after the service on the way home, I ask Charity, "How did I do." That is always a loaded question. She is always honest.
Then I will come home and listen and watch myself preach the message. Of course from a objective perspective. Did I get the content of the passage across? Did I stay the course of the passage? Did I bring home the purpose of the writer? Was the delivery okay? How was I?
Boy! Will they come back next Sunday? You know? Do I really want to put this on the Blogger?
Okay, I am a little hard on myself. I love to preach and teach. I love to present the Word of God. I love to teach the truth. I love to bring truth of the Word into the lives of those who listen to the message each Sunday.
