Having considered the:
I. THE PREACHER AND HIS RELATIONSHIP TO GOD AS HE PREACHES
II. THE PREACHER AND HIS RELATIONSHIP TO HIMSELF AS HE PREACHES,
…we now take up this third major category of concern, namely:
III. The Preacher and His Relationship to His Hearers as He Preaches
A FOUNDATIONAL PERSPECTIVE AS WE TAKE UP THIS SUBJECT
Rev. James Stalker, The Preacher and His Models, (New York: A. C. Armstrong & Son, 1891), pp. 167-168.
A. The fact and importance of mutual empathetic involvement between the preacher and his congregation in the act of preaching.
1. A definition of “empathy” – “empathy is the projection of one’s own personality into the personality of another, in order to understand the person better- the ability to share in another’s emotions, thoughts, or feelings.”
2. Listen to the testimony of some of the old masters who understood and experienced the reality of this mutual empathetic involvement with those to whom they preached.
John A. Broadus, On the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons, (Birmingham, AL: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2005), p. 2.
Joshua H. McIlvaine, Elocution: The Sources and Elements of Its Power, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1895), pp. 94-97.
Joshua H. McIlvaine, Elocution: The Sources and Elements of Its Power, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1895), pp. 103-106.
William G. T. Shedd, Homiletics and Pastoral Theology, (London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1965), pp. 226-227.
Robert L. Dabney, Sacred Rhetoric, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1979), pp. 333-334.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1972), pp. 84-85.
Charles Bridges, The Christian Ministry, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1983), pp. 286-287.
3. Surely, the testimony of these men cannot be treated with indifference. They all assert things which from your own experience, at least as a listener, if not yet from that of the speaker, cannot be denied.
4. No little part of your usefulness in preaching will be derived from the recognition and cultivation of this empathetic relationship between you and those to whom you preach.
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B. Practical directives for attaining and maintaining profitable mutual empathetic involvement between you and your congregation.
1. Seek to be the master of the essential content, structure, and thrust of your sermon.
2. Seek to be mastered by the biblical truths and practical implications of your sermon.
Charles H. Spurgeon, “Attention” in Lectures to My Students, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2008), p. 157.
Gardiner Spring, The Power of the Pulpit, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1986), pp. 131-132.
3. Seek to establish and maintain a continuous conscious sensitivity to the congregation.
a. Open your spirit to the congregation.
2 Cor. 6: 11- 13
b. Engage them with real eye contact at the outset, and maintain that contact throughout the sermon.
Lk. 4:20
Mk. 3:5
Acts 3:4
Joshua H. McIlvaine, Elocution: The Sources and Elements of Its Power, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1895), pp. 98-99.
Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Uses of Anecdotes and Illustrations” in Lectures to My Students, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2008), pp. 488-489.
4. Seek to establish and maintain undivided attention.
Joshua H. McIlvaine, Elocution: The Sources and Elements of Its Power, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1895), pp. 110-111.
a. Speak in a simple, artless and frank manner.
Joshua H. McIlvaine, Elocution: The Sources and Elements of Its Power, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1895), pp. 112-113.
b. Make judicious use of the pause and other arresting rhetorical devices.
Charles H. Spurgeon, “Attention” in Lectures to My Students, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2008), pp. 159-160.
c. Indulge the exceptional use of a direct appeal or a gracious rebuke.
Joshua H. McIlvaine, Elocution: The Sources and Elements of Its Power, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1895), p. 114.
Charles H. Spurgeon, “Attention” in Lectures to My Students, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2008), pp. 149-150.