In a sense everything on this site is intended to help pastors, elders, deacons, and laity better serve Christ but some of the resources are specifically focused on the nature and act of preaching because, in distinction from some traditions, in the Presbyterian and Reformed understanding of Christian worship and liturgy, preaching is the central act of worship and of the liturgy not because it is all about the preacher but because it is in that act that the triune God speaks to his people through his minister, i.e., his servant. As Hebrews considers the congregation assembled for worship (e..g., Heb 10:19–21) the image that drives his preaching (Hebrews itself is a sermon) is that of the congregation of Israel gathered together at the foot of Sinai. At the top of Mt Sinai is pre-incarnate Son of God and, in the New Covenant, at the top of Mt Zion is God the Son incarnate (Heb 12:18–29). There the church, the covenant community, is gathered at his feet.

As the minister opens God’s Word and faithfully announces the Law (in all three uses) and the Gospel (Col 1:7; 2 Tim 2:15) God the Holy Spirit uses the preached law to convict his elect of their sin and need for the Savior. As the minister announces the gospel, the sovereign Holy Spirit works mysteriously through it to bring the elect to new life (regeneration) and to true faith (knowledge, assent, and trust). Through the faithful exposition of the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27) the Spirit sanctifies believers in the image of Christ giving to believers the desire to love God with all their faculties and their neighbor as themselves (Matt 22:37–40). Through the announcement of the history of salvation, the Spirit draws the Christian into the history of redemption and leads him to see that story as his story and as through the careful, prayerful application of the Word to the congregation, the Spirit leads believers to see the implications and consequences of what it means to believe in, be united to, and follow Christ by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. In short, through the preaching of the law and the gospel the Spirit does wonders.

These resources are both an introduction to some of the basic questions around preaching and also a source of encouragement and continuing education for the preacher. Read more»

Resources

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