Choosing to Preach Discussion

re: #25 - Legalism and Application

Posted by Sally Peng on Oct. 23, 2007 at 00:10

I think before the preacher suggests an application to the listeners, they should first ask themselves how the message could be applied in their own lives. So the very first thing we can do to avoid legalistic suggestions is to put ourselves in the audience members’ shoes and see what they see; feel what they feel. The second thing we could do is to discern the need of the audience. For example, prescriptive sermons would not work well with teens but it might work with other people; they might not work with a western audience made up of critical thinkers, but they may work for Asian listeners who respect the preacher’s authority, and expect some “prescriptions” from them. The most important thing is to humbly and faithfully seek wisdom from God on how we should give suggestions to our listeners.

re: #25 - Legalism and Application

Posted by Keith Whitaker on Oct. 12, 2007 at 11:15

I think it comes down to how the preacher presents his or her particular application. We can be descriptive, in a sense, without being legalistic. In my mind the way to do this is to place the emphasis of the application on the reason behind the actions. We must present the act of application as an act in service of the “big idea.” It seems to me that this is what Jesus was constantly doing with the hypocritical religious leaders of his day who failed to see past the act and behold the God who stood behind it. As preachers we must present the application of the sermon in a way where it serves to highlight the main idea that God wishes to speak in the hearts and minds of his people. When we loose sight of this, and present the specific actions of our big idea then we are guilty of feeding and fostering “empty religion.”

re: #25 - Legalism and Application

Posted by Andre VanWoerden on Feb. 22, 2007 at 12:46

This discussion question is in the chapter describing the visionary sermon. Although there has to be room for specific direct applications, an alternative approach might be to cast "a powerful vision of an altered future under God" that will inspire/motivate people to respond. I just listened to one of Rob Bell’s sermons and the way that he helped his listeners imagine a certain kind of Christian and then shared the story of someone who was already living it by means of an interview provided a very powerful and motivational application without being legalistic at all.

re: #25 - Legalism and Application

Posted by Melissa Lane on Jan. 30, 2007 at 23:27

Sometimes preachers will need to give specific, direct and concrete directives is sometimes necessary. There are certain things which are absolutes. But to soften the edge, the use of stories, "case study" senarios or leading questions can be useful.

(By leading questions I mean that the preacher could say, "what would happen if…." and then suggest a line of action. It gives the listener the chance to hear the options, weigh them and deal with them. At the end of the questions, the preacher could say something along the lines of "i don’ t know which of these may apply to you, but the reality is we are called to respond to XYZ." Something like that would limit the ability for someone to wiggle out of concretely responding to the message.)