Responsible Theology and How a Sermon Is Born
November 4, 2023 · 1:12:46 · Watch on YouTube ↗
These notes - summary, key points, and highlighted thoughts - were generated by AI from the recording and are not the preacher’s exact words.
Summary
In this second session of the preacher's seminar, the teacher unfolds what he calls responsible theology - a way of thinking in which Scripture holds the final, unrivaled authority over every teaching. In an age when people no longer accept "because I said so," he warns that fathers and preachers cannot outsource the understanding of doctrine to the pastor or to anyone else, because each believer answers to God for what his own family is taught.
He urges his hearers to tell the difference between primary doctrines, where no compromise is possible (the inspiration of Scripture, the Trinity, the incarnation and virgin birth, the bodily resurrection of Christ, and Christ as the only Savior), and secondary matters, where there should be freedom and love. Theology, he reminds them, is one connected system, so no single doctrine can be preached in isolation without distorting the rest. He cautions Pentecostals not to cheapen baptism in the Holy Spirit by reducing it to tongues, for it is power for mission, witness, and healing.
Finally he turns to how a sermon is actually born, drawing on Fred Craddock. Revelation is not something dead and static but living and active. A sermon moves from silence, when the preacher waits with no word, to a whisper, when God quietly speaks and only those ready to obey can hear, and then to bold proclamation from the rooftops. The language of preaching should paint pictures, not bury people in jargon.
Key Points
- Scripture, not human authority or tradition, is the final test of every teaching.
- Hold firmly to the core doctrines and leave real freedom in lesser matters.
- Theology is one connected system; no doctrine can be preached in isolation without harming the rest.
- Baptism in the Holy Spirit is more than tongues; it is power for mission, witness, and healing.
- The Pentecostal church keeps growing because it keeps proclaiming the living power of the Spirit.
- A sermon is born from silence, then a whisper from God, then bold proclamation.
- Only those who are ready to obey the word truly hear it.
Devotional
Before you can speak God's word, you must first grow quiet enough to receive it. Sit in the silence, lay aside your hurry and your jargon, and wait until the Lord whispers something you are willing to obey. The word you long to give others is first a word you must live yourself. Remember too that Christ comes to us not as a riddle for the elite but as a parable for the seeker, so keep seeking Him until His word stirs in your heart.
In the essentials, unity; in the secondary, freedom; and in everything, love.
Baptism in the Spirit is not merely tongues; it is power for the mission field.
A sermon is born in silence, comes as a whisper, and goes out as a shout.
