Cong Fang

Source: Pastor, Aim to Preach Simple Sermons by Jeff Wiesner

Simple Preaching

“A sermon should be a bullet, not a buckshot.” — Dr. Haddon Robinson

“Faithful preaching is marked by simplicity. And simple preaching best serves others by communicating the point of the passage in a clear and Christ-centered way.” — Jeff Wiesner

“A sermon should contain one ‘big’ idea in a simple, clear, and concise manner. In other words, the main point of the passage should be the main point of the message.” — Jeff Wiesner

“Unless you are simple in your sermons, you will never be understood.” — J. C. Ryle

“Are you able to summarize every sermon in a sentence?” — Jeff Wiesner

Know Your Congregation

“The preacher must labor to clearly explain and apply it to his own context and congregation in language they can understand. What might this look like practically?” — Jeff Wiesner

“Know your congregation. Don’t preach in language of the congregation you wish you had.” — Jeff Wiesner

“Short sentences and full stops will allow your congregation to thoughtfully keep up with your sermon.” — J. C. Ryle

“Avoid cleverness and smartness. The people will detect this, and they will get the impression that you are more interested in yourself and your cleverness than in the truth of God and their souls.” — Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Exalting Christ and Him Crucified

“The New Testament describes only three things as being ‘the power of God’ — ‘the gospel’ (Rom. 1:16), ‘the cross’ (1 Cor. 1:18), and ‘Christ’ (1 Cor. 1:24).” — Jeff Wiesner

“All the simplicity in the world can do no good, unless you preach the simple gospel of Jesus Christ so fully and clearly that everybody can understand it. If ‘Christ crucified’ has not his rightful place in your sermons, and ‘sin’ is not exposed as it should be, and your people are not plainly told what they ought to believe, and be, and do—your preaching is of no use.” — J. C. Ryle

“When divorced from the grace of Christ, knowledge and obedience regress into wearisome moralism.” — Jeff Wiesner

“Simple sermons that are useful to souls always aim to clearly proclaim ‘Christ crucified’ (1 Cor. 1:24).” — Jeff Wiesner

“The primary goal in preaching simple sermons—in exposing the point of a passage and employing simple language—is for God’s people to see Christ more clearly and to love him more dearly.” — Jeff Wiesner

Before we can choose God, we need to hear about God, we need to be able to think, we need to have the heart to know God, etc. So, who choose who? 

Sinners have free will to sin, but no free will to choose God.

Romans 3:10-11 “None is righteous, no, not one. no one understands; no one seeks for God.” Jesus comes to save sinners.

If sinners can choose God, Jesus did not need to come and die on the cross for sinners. 

Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” (John 15:16)
God chose us in him before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4)

Sinners have free will in darkness, they can move, they can breath, but they have no free will to see. They don’t know where God is. Jesus is the light. He is how we can know God, because when we see Him, we see God.

Jesus says, “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:7).

In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

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“Having free will” is not the same as “having the ability.”

Before the Fall: Man had free-will to sin and not to sin.
After the Fall: Man only has free-will to sin, not free from sin.
After Born Again: Man is saved, has free-will to sin and not to sin.
In Eternity: Man has free-will. There will be no sin.