Tag Archives: Sermon

by | September 22, 2013 · 6:00 am

Good Preaching?

Today is Sunday, and many of you will be going to church somewhere. Many of you will not. So here is a question:

Does preaching have anything to do with your decision?

There are many opinions as to what constitutes “good” preaching. Some prefer a preacher who spits and hollers, bangs the pulpit, and makes that little “huh” sound between every amplified phrase. Others prefer the professor/preacher who reads from a manuscript in a mono-tone, non-offensive, Winnie the Pooh-like voice. Either way, what we are talking about is delivery, not substance.

Does delivery matter?

When Paul told Timothy to pay close attention to his doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16) and to “preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2), content was the issue. However, if a sermon is poorly delivered, the efforts of the preacher could be nullified. If the hearer is distracted, bored, offended, lulled to sleep, or has his ear drums wounded, what is the point?

In my opinion, good preaching is preaching that contains solid, biblical content, but also keeps the audience engaged. One should never discount the importance of the power of the Spirit working through the weakness of men (1 Cor. 2:4; 2 Cor. 12:9). But, as ambassadors of the King (2 Cor. 5:20) who have been charged by our Sovereign to “compel” (persuade)  hungry souls to come to His table (Luke 14:23), shouldn’t how we say what we say be important?

It is reported that Abraham Lincoln preferred listening to preachers who looked like they were swatting at a swarm of bees. In a similar vein, I think it was Charles Wesley who said that a preacher should “put some fire in his sermon, or put his sermon in the fire.”

On the other hand, Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) is said to have read his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” with a steady, monotone voice, as the audience screamed in terror at the thought of falling into hell. So, delivery shouldn’t matter?

It would make sense that those entrusted with delivering sermons should do so in a manner befitting the “greatest story ever told,” but does delivery make a difference? After all, some of the greatest public speakers of all time were tyrants (Adolph Hitler). Should delivery be an issue, or should we simply focus on truth?

What about you?

bibleWhat type of preaching style do you prefer? Has a particular style of sermon delivery ever caused you to tune out to what was being said?

Below is an example of me preaching. This sermon was delivered on a Sunday evening at Riverside Baptist (in the gym, while our auditorium was being remodeled). It was part of a series I did on the book of Ephesians and focused on the blessing of the Holy Spirit and the simple two word phrase, “but God.”

I’m interested in your feedback.

16 Comments

Filed under Preaching

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | June 11, 2013 · 12:30 am

Still At It

“You Still Preaching?”

I don’t hear it too much any more, but I used to hear it rather frequently. Family members, old friends, former acquaintances, and the average person I never wanted to see again would come up to me and ask, “Hey, you still preaching?”

Maybe it’s the thing to do. Maybe it is customary to ask a person if they are still doing what they were doing the last time you saw them. It makes sense. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked,

  • “Are you still unemployed?”
  • “You still sick with that sickness thing?”
  • “You still married?”
  • “You still running off at the mouth about things you know nothing about?”
  • “You still planning to party with Hitler for eternity?”

I just don’t get why people ask if I am still preaching. It’s like they think I’ll change my mind or walk away from the ministry, or something.

Some Statistics

In reality, it’s not that unreasonable to ask someone who once accepted the call to ministry if he is still preaching. Even though it sorta feels like an insult, I shouldn’t be surprised by other people’s shock. I mean, it has been nearly 30 years since I made my calling public. I’ve known more than one who have walked away the first year.

If more people knew the statistics, few would would ever enter the ministry. Stop and think about it, would you enter a career with the highest rate of heart attacks? Would you take out student loans for a degree that demands you work multiple jobs? Consider these sad facts…

  • 70% felt God called them to pastoral ministry before their ministry began, but after three years of ministry, only fifty percent still felt called.
  • 80% of pastors’ spouses wish their spouse would choose another profession.
  • 70% of pastors constantly fight depression.
  • 80% of adult children of pastors surveyed have had to seek professional help for depression.
  • 70% of pastors do not have a close friend, confidant, or mentor.
  • 80% of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years.

Still Preaching

Yet, I’m still preaching. It may surprise people who haven’t seen me in a while, but I’m still doing the Lord’s work and still following the call I first heard when I was 16. It may sound strange, but I can’t help it.

“But if I say I’ll never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!” – Jeremiah 20:9 NLT

“For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” – 1 Corinthians 9:16 KJV

photo (16)Today is the anniversary of my father’s death. Not long ago I went to his grave and placed my Bible on his tombstone. There, glistening in the sun, were the gilded words “Rev. Anthony C. Baker.”

“Daddy,” I said, “I’m still at it.”

Related articles

4 Comments

Filed under Faith, ministry, Preaching, Struggles and Trials

Tagged as , , ,

by | May 24, 2013 · 10:02 am

Preaching by Fire

Fiery Preaching

W. A. Criswell once said, “There is something wrong if a man charged with the greatest news in the world can be listless and frigid and dull.” In other words, as John Wesley put it, “Put fire in your sermon, or put your sermon in the fire.”

If there is anything I try not to be is “frigid and dull” when I proclaim the gospel. For that matter, I hate be “frigid and dull” in business meetings. I would make a horrible librarian, I suppose. My preaching style is one that seeks to wake the sleeping, not put people to sleep.

By the Fire

But even though I like to keep some fire in my sermons, I have never preached with a fire. This Sunday will be a first.

campfire 1Our church is having Vacation Bible School this weekend, and the theme is “Hay Day!” The stage in the main auditorium is set up to sorta look like a cross between a farm and a cowboy campsite – complete with an electric fire. On Sunday morning is when everything will wrap up, so the stage will remain set up for a campfire sermon.

It’s gonna be interesting, that’s for sure. Lord willing, I am going to remain 75% in character as I talk with a fellow cowboy/farmer about the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19). It should be entertaining for both the children and adults. Let’s just pray the sermon, preached by a fake fire, is full of some of that real “fire” John Wesley described.

3 Comments

Filed under Preaching

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | January 3, 2013 · 1:29 pm

Don’t Waste Time Being Warm

More to the List

My first post of the year contained a list of 13 things that I did not want to do in 2013. I could have made the list longer, but it was the basis for a sermon to be preached, so having 47 points might have been too much.

Some other things I do not want to do in 2013 could include eating cottage cheese, jumping from a perfectly good airplane, licking a cheese grater, or kissing Lady GaGa. Some things are just too nasty to contemplate.

I also don’t want to become the fattest man in Chattanooga, the slowest driver, the worst preacher, the least-read blogger, or a Democrat.

Freezing for Love 

Number 9 on my list of thirteen things I don’t want to do in 2013 was “Waste Time.” So, when my 16-year-old daughter, Katie, asked me to go riding bicycles in 40 degree weather I thought, “This is insane.” But, when I thought about the movie “Courageous,” and then remembered that Katie will be going away to college very soon, I put on my helmet and grabbed my coat.

I could have stayed at home, inside where it was warm, doing something “important.” However, I made a list of things that I did not want to do, and here was an opportunity to test my resolve. Would I waste an opportunity to be with my little girl? No, it was time to freeze my taillight off for love.

IMG_9615Katie and I rode about 5 miles, took a break at McDonald’s to get warm, and I drank some coffee. Then, once we were warm, we rode back home and froze all over again…and it was worth it. Not a bit of time was wasted.

3 Comments

Filed under Relationships and Family

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

by | January 1, 2013 · 11:57 pm

13 Things (I Don’t Want to Do)

Year-End Sermon

On Sunday night, December 30, 2012, I preached the final sermon of the year at Riverside Baptist Church. It was an honor to stand before the congregation and deliver a word from the Lord. So, what was the message I chose to encourage and motivate us all as we faced the new year?

Forgetting the past and reaching toward the things before has been preached countless times. Beginning again has been covered, as well as how to have a prosperous new year. Therefore, this year I decided to do something a little different. Instead of talking about resolutions or remembering, I simply listed 13 things I do not want to do in 2013.

I Don’t Want to…

1. Believe another politician. Why did I ever? I won’t do it this year, that’s for sure. Even if he/she is telling the truth, how would I know? Let God be true, and every man a liar, especially those running for office (Romans 3:4).

2. Eat more in one sitting than the average family in Africa eats in a week. (Prov. 23:21; 21:17)

3. Lie, cheat, or steal, even when it’s socially acceptable. This is especially important during tax season, but there are many times we lie to each other, deprive each other, and take what isn’t ours. Have you ever told someone you were “fine” when you actually weren’t? You lied. Used two coupons instead of one, just because the cashier didn’t notice? You stole.

4. Be angry.  Anger rarely solves anything. Angry people are miserable and always finding fault. Angry people turn a leisurely drive into a demolition derby. “Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools” (Ecclesiastes 7:9).

5. Whine or complain. What do I have to complain about? Really?

6. Tell people how stupid they are. I don’t understand why some people act the way they do, but I need to be a little more understanding of idiots, morons, ignoramuses, and bone-headed nincompoops. They must answer to God, not me, for their actions (Rom 14).

7. Add another x to my large. I can’t afford any more clothing. Even now I must wear Hawaiian shirts year-round because nothing will stay tucked in. I mean, seriously! The last thing I need is to expand the “temple.” (1 Corinthians 6:19)

8. Lose another favorite sock. I can’t figure out how it happens, but something has to be done.

9. Waste time.  Today I listened to my two girls play with a new ukulele. They laughed and sang.  Soon they will be grown, and there will be no more music, games, or bedtime stories. “Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away” (Psalm 144:4).

10. Get a divorce.  Many do it because the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence. They don’t realize the unnatural stuff has a nasty aftertaste. I want to stay with the woman God gave me. Who could be better than a gift from God?  “Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth” (Proverbs 5:18).

11. Give one more dollar to a guy on the street….without offering the gospel as a condition. If he wants a dollar, then fine. I’ll give him $5 if he lets me tell him about Jesus.

12. Be on a reality TV show. So many people say, “Anthony, your family would make a great reality show.” I say, “Yes, I know.” However, it ain’t gonna happen. The world isn’t ready for it.

13. Forget to pray. I don’t pray enough. More is better. What I need is to follow David’s example and pray morning, noon, and evening (Psalm 55:17). I shudder to think how much I’ve given up by forgetting to spend time with God.

James 4:17  “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

5 Comments

Filed under Christian Living, Defending Traditional Marriage, Divorce, Do not judge, Future, God, Life Lessons, Preaching, Relationships and Family, scary new year, the future, Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | February 1, 2012 · 1:49 pm

Give Attention to Your Doctrine

I don’t do this very often on the blog, but indulge me for a little bit. There is more to me than funny monkeys, you know.

Every once in a while I feel the need to do a little teaching. Keep in mind, many who read this blog do not go to a church, never hear a real pastor preach, nor even read a Bible. This might be the only path through which they choose to accept Biblical truth.

I just finished recording the audio for an upcoming radio broadcast. The text from which I preached was primarily the following:

Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. … Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. – 1Ti 4:13, 16 KJV

One of the greatest challenges for the preacher is to make sure his doctrine is biblical, not based on human desires, such as the desire to only hear what we want to hear. I am reminded of the what Paul told Timothy in his second letter…

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; And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. – 2Ti 4:3-4 KJV

How many Christians (and I use that term with caution) have literally “heaped to themselves” stacks of books, CD’s, cassette tapes, magazines, study guides, and DVD’s from televangelists, conference speakers, and popular authors who preach what scratches the itching ear? People want to hear what makes them feel good, more encouraged, and can lead to a more prosperous, fulfilled life. Few want to hear the Word of God.

The challenge, then, is for the sincere man of God to give priority to what is true doctrine, not the doctrine of men. This takes serious study, a willingness to be led by the Holy Spirit, and an understanding that what is of the Lord might not be popular.

Next time, I will address what I think is one of the most un-biblical, heretical, and outlandish lies preached by “itching-ear-scratchers.” It is a false doctrine that has captivated many Christians, but is a doctrine of devils, a doctrine which has its roots in the garden of Eden.

 Can you think of what doctrine to which I am referring?  Hint: It has to do with “speaking” and “faith.”

 

1 Comment

Filed under Christian Living, God, ministry, Preaching, Theology

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | January 24, 2012 · 11:42 pm

Sermon Audio and Prayer Request

It is late at night, but I had to finish a recording for the radio this Sunday. Do you want to hear it?

I am going to take a big risk, here, and upload the audio file for this coming Sunday. It was recorded in my kitchen, on a laptop, using a cheap headphone mic and Audacity.

Being that many of you may never listen to AM radio, nor could you get this station where you are, this should be interesting. Don’t count on high quality. This isn’t FM, nor am I ready for Moody Radio.

Essentially, I have 15 minutes to preach a sermon which usually takes me 45 in a regular service. I don’t know why it is harder to cover stuff in a shorter amount of time, but it is. Anyway, what I sound like on this broadcast is a little different than in church.

Well, you may not think too highly of me after this. Be prepared. I may be shattering some preconceptions. Please forgive me if I do. I know I can’t preach like Chuck Swindoll or Tony Evans. I’m just me. What’s more, I may not sound like you expect. I may sound like the type of preacher you don’t like. I hope not.

Also, I wanted to write on here tonight because of something else. My wife is having some procedures done tomorrow (same day surgery). Please keep her in your prayers. But I would also ask that you keep me in your prayers, too. 5 and 6 hours of sleep every night is taking it’s toll.

Let me know what you think of the recording. If you have any suggestions on how to make it better (microphone headset, gadgets, software, etc.), please let me know. But if the message is a blessing, please let me know that, too. It won’t hurt my feelings.

Click here to listen: January 29 Sermon

2 Comments

Filed under Preaching

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | September 12, 2011 · 1:43 pm

Glass or Wood? Depends On What You’re Hiding.

It may have never crossed your mind, but for some it is a question more important than whether or not someone chooses to be a Calvinist…

Glass or Wood?

What am I talking about? Pulpits. Sacred desks. Lecturns. The piece of furniture behind which preachers stand and do battle with the devil, not to mention anoint the blessed on the front row with sanctified spittle.

Believe it or not, many have nearly gone to fists over whether the wooden pulpit should be replaced with a more modern, see-through, beautifully-etched glass one. I don’t know why it is such a big deal, except for pastors who might feel totally naked with nothing to hide behind.

On the other hand, glass pulpits have one major disadvantage – you can’t put stuff in them. If you don’t think that is a problem, then you have never looked inside one. Or, maybe you have never been in a service that required the items contained behind those sacred doors.

I’ll never forget the first time I took a pastorate and decided to inventory the items in the pulpit. I opened the doors, sat down on the floor, and quickly realized that this was a place few ever saw. If they had, they may have claimed some of the items in there for themselves, if not for the owners (which had probably been buried in the church cemetery 10 years ago).

There were old bulletins, vials of olive oil, broken pencils and pens with dry ink. There were 20-year-old mother’s day poems, and stale breath mints. In one corner was a single gold earring, a half-stick of hard chewing gum, and a dead ant. To one side was a hymnal with pages missing and a Gideon Bible. To the other side were the minutes from a 1980 business meeting and a cassette tape. There were even old illustrations typed on 3×5 cards, a laminated obituary, three Happy Meal toys, and ten broken crayons.

None of those things would look good in front of a preacher’s knees, so a see-through pulpit would be unacceptable. Even if I had a big, rotating, golden skeleton of the earth behind me when I preached, someone would get distracted. You never see Joel Olsteen standing behind stacks of paper and old candy, do you? NO!

But if we are going to keep the old pulpits in many of our churches, shouldn’t we make better use of them? Why hide away useless memorabilia, tasteless mints, and dead bugs? Why not make it a tool shed? Why not store things that could actually be used in an emergency?

Here are some suggestions:

1. A cooler. Wouldn’t that be more convenient than having a deacon bring you water that sits out and gets warm during the message?

2. An air horn. This would be to wake up the 3rd-shifters that nod off in the service.

3. Altoids.

4. Kittens. You would never have to worry about losing anyone’s attention again. When the message starts to get dull, bring out a kitten and everybody wins.

5. Flame Thrower. Would be good for self-defense and an awesome illustrative tool for evangelistic services.

6. A Fire Extinguisher. For when illustrations go wrong. Safety first, you know.

7. Sermons that Work. For those days when nothing else seems to do the trick, a book of pre-written messages could help keep the preacher from looking like he didn’t study.

Well, whichever you choose for your church, just keep one thing in mind…

2 Timothy 4:2-4 “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 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; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

4 Comments

Filed under baptist, General Observations, ministry, Preaching, Southern Baptist

Tagged as , , , , ,