Preaching with Purpose: The Urgent Task of Homiletics

by Jay E. Adams

Publisher:

Zondervan

, 2015

Overview

"The amazing lack of concern for purpose among homileticians and preachers has spawned a brood of preachers who are dull, lifeless, abstract and impersonal; it has obscured truth, hindered joyous Christian living, destroyed dedication and initiative, and stifled service for Christ." –Jay Adams, from the book Preaching needs to become purposeful, says Jay Adams, because purposeless preaching is deadly. This book was written to help preachers and students discover the purpose of preaching has and the ways that the Scriptures inform and direct the preaching task. Preaching with Purpose, like the many other books of Jay Adams, speaks clearly and forcefully to the issue. Having read this book, both students and experienced preachers will be unable to ignore the urgent task of purposeful preaching. And the people of God will be the better for it.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Faithful fulfillment of his weekly task, then, entails edificational preaching. The minister of the Word is a mason who goes to church each week to lay block. He builds on a foundation, and to be faithful he must build that which will be able to withstand the fires of testing (I Cor. 3:10-15).” (source)

“The pastoral preacher must be prepared at each gathering of the saints to use the Word in some way in order to ‘equip’ them for their work of ministry.” (source)

“You must never preach on a passage until you are certain you understand why the Holy Spirit included that passage in the Bible. When you have grasped His purpose, what He intended to do to the recipient of His message, then—and then only—do you have the purpose for your sermon, and then—and then only—do you know what God wants you to do to your listeners through it. Everything in the sermon—the organization of the material into an outline, the style (language usage), the delivery (use of voice and body)—should contribute to, and therefore be conditioned by, the purpose; everything must further the Holy Spirit’s intention in the passage.” (source)

“There seems to be a reference to this teaching format inherited from the synagogue in I Timothy 4:13, where it is stated that it is a part of the pastor’s task to read the Scriptures publicly, to teach what the Scriptures mean, and to exhort the congregation to follow the teaching.” (source)

“These words, kerusso and euangelizo, are used in the New Testament to describe ‘heralding’ and ‘announcing the gospel” (source)

Product Details

• Title : Preaching with Purpose: The Urgent Task of Homiletics
• Author: Adams, Jay E.
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication Date: 2015
• ISBN: 9780310524328

About Jay E. Adams

Jay E. Adams A.B., B.D., S.T.M., Ph.D. (1929-2020) served as a pastor, church planter, denominational executive, seminary professor, author, and lecturer. He taught homiletics at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and was the Director of Advanced Studies at Westminster Seminary in California. He was the founder of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF), the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (formerly NANC), and the Institute for Nouthetic Studies (INS). He was the author of over 100 books including the best seller Competent to Counsel which launched the modern biblical counseling movement. He was the recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor awarded by the State of South Carolina.