Sunday, July 28, 2013

Sunday Are for Sermons #3: Kevin DeYoung on Preaching

On Sundays this month, I'm posting key thoughts on my philosophy of preaching.

In 2012, Kevin DeYoung gave two lectures on preaching at Westminster Theological Seminary.  Kevin is a young guy, probably younger than me, so I wouldn't count him as a major influence on my preaching (like I did Piper last week and I will Bullmore next week), but I really enjoyed his "refresher course in preaching."

How Can a Biblical Sermon Be So Boring? Part 1: The Case for Clarity, Specificity, and Authenticity

How Can a Biblical Sermon Be So Boring? Part 2: The Case for Ingenuity, Spontaneity, and Authority

As I said after I first listened to them:
One of the things I really enjoyed about DeYoung's talks was that I am already doing 95% of what he talked about. Not only was it not "new," but it was fun to hear someone else talk about what I do week in and week out. It encouraged me that I'm on the right track.
At the same time, DeYoung challenged me to keep growing in my craft, and he gave me some strong exhortation to truly believe that God is doing His work through the preaching.
I needed to hear that. In the second lecture, DeYoung taught on Mark 4:26-29 and pressed home that the Word is the seed, and it is powerful even though it work is mysterious. Good reminders to keep preaching going.
 Highly recommended.

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