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The Preaching Ezine (the newsletter of Preachology.com)

Hello,

Mark Hollingsworth here. Hope you are having a great week in the Lord.

2 Tim. 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

I would like to discuss today what Broadus said about the prerequisites of effective preaching. He said there were four requisites. The first is "piety."

(l) Piety. Men sometimes do good by preaching who turn out to have been destitute of piety. It is one of the many wonderful ways in which God brings good out of evil. But such cases are exceptional, and as a rule, the prime requisite to efficiency in preaching is earnest piety. This inspires the preacher himself with ardent zeal, and keeps the flame alive amid all the icy indifference by which he will so often be encompassed.

This gains for him the good-will and sympathy of his hearers, the most ungodly of whom will feel that devout earnestness on his part is becoming, and entitles him to respect. And to this is promised the blessing of God upon the labors which it prompts. Much false theory and bad practice in preaching is connected with a failure to apprehend the fundamental importance of piety in the preacher.

As was said above on a kindred topic, just rhetorical principles, as well as other and far higher considerations, imperatively require that a preacher of the gospel shall cultivate personal piety. It is bad rhetoric to neglect it.

I think what Broadus is saying is that one might actually be a good preacher without having piety (being devoutly devoted to God). However, piety is a must for spiritual efficiency and power in preaching.

I think it is obvious from experience and by the testimony of many other great preachers that walking with God makes a difference in one's preaching and the results of one's preaching.

2 Tim. 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

A historical incident sermon for Father's Day:

Father, Do Not Sin Against the Child

Genesis 42:22 "And Reuben answered them, saying, Spoke I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required."

Introduction: You know the story of Joseph and how his father played favorites and his brothers sold him into slavery only to eventually rise to prominence in Egypt and save his house from famine. When they found out that this ruler who sold food to them during the famine was their long lost brother, Reuben pulled out the "I told you so." I told you not to sin against the child.

But many fathers and mothers and older siblings sin against the children in their families today. Notice how they do it and why they should not sin against the child.

I. How We May Sin Against the Child.

• By Selling Him Into Slavery. (Gen.37:27-28)

  Joseph is not the only child that has been sold into slavery. Many are sold into economic slavery and addictive slavery and religious slavery.

• By Spoiling Him. (1 Sam.3:13; 2:22-24)

  He who indulges the child, paves the way to his sin and sorrow.

• By Provoking Him. (Col.3:21)

  By continual fault-finding, the child's spirit may be broken. And a broken spirit is fatal to youth.

• By Neglecting the Means of His Salvation. (Eph.6:4)

  He who allows the child to starve spiritually, sins against him.

• By Setting Before Him the Wrong Example. (Phil.3:17)

  The child is weaving the garment of his own character; do not give him the wrong pattern. Like father, like son. Like mother, like daughter. Like parent, like child.

II. Why We Should Not Sin Against the Child.

• As Parents, We Are Responsible for the Child's Existence.

  We have no right to bring him into the world, then sin against him.

• Because He is a Child. (Lev.19:14)

  His dependence should be his protection.

• By So Doing, We May Wreck His Entire Life.

  The mistakes we make with growing life are the most permanent mistakes, therefore, our most serious mistakes.

• To Do So Is To Betray God, Who Entrusted the Child Unto Us for Safe Keeping.

  (Psa.127:3; 1 Pet.4:10)

• A Sin Against a Child Is a Sin Against Jesus, Who Identifies Himself with the Child.

  (Matt.18:5)

• If We Do So, We Shall Have the Debt to Pay. (Prov.10:1; 17:2-11)

  It is a debt of sorrow. The memory of the sin will torment us; even as it did the brethren of Joseph.

Notice preachers and teachers that you can now have your own Preachology web page. If you submit 15 or more sermons on the "Your Sermons" page, I will then move your sermons to a page of your own where you can continue to add sermons and invite your family, friends, and followers to view your work. When they visit your page, they can make comments about each of your sermons.

Josh Hollingsworth, my son, is the first to submit 15 sermons and to have his own page. Check it out at "www.preachology.com/josh-hollingsworth-sermons.html" and then get your own page!

There are more outlines at the "Bible Study Outlines" page where I share my skeleton outlines and there are more outlines at the "Your Skeleton Outline Page" where you can share your great skeleton outlines with all of us.

I also just recently added some more material at preachology.com on the FREE SERMON ILLUSTRATIONS page. There is also new material at the YOUR SERMONS page. There are new sermons there from several different preachers.

Go to the... Free Sermons ...page to get the new sermons and come often because we will soon add more. Take a look. There are some new sermons there now.

Subscribe to my free newsletter and receive even more sermons, outlines, notes, and ideas on a regular basis emailed directly to you. If you subscribe, you will also be able to access "The Preaching Ezine" archives where you will find even more sermon material (not on the website), sent out in the past. I'll also give you a free copy of E. M. Bounds book "Power Through Prayer."

Click here to subscribe to...The Preaching Ezine.

YOUR SERMONS
Preachers, let's be an encouragement to other preachers by sharing our sermons and outlines and commenting positively about other preacher's sermons.

I love to read other preacher's sermons as devotionals for my own personal spiritual growth and also to get ideas for developing sermons of my own.

Go to the... Your Sermons ...page to submit your sermons and outlines and be a blessing to other preachers. There are some new sermons there right now!

Go to the... Your Skeleton Outlines ...page to submit your skeleton outlines and be a blessing to other preachers. There are some new skeleton sermons there right now!

Go to the... Your Illustrations ...page to submit your sermon illustrations and be a blessing to other preachers. There are some new illustrations there right now!

Well, that's about it for now.

Do you have any comments, ideas, or feedback? I'd love to hear from you. You can either reply to this ezine or go to the form on the "Contact Me" page on my website and tell me what you think.

Yours for Powerful Preaching,

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