Authenticity in Preaching

3 July 2024 2 Comments

The world of fashion is estimated to have lost US$2 to 3 trillion a year to counterfeiters of their branded products, usually fashion and luxury goods like clothing, shoes, watches and leather items. I wonder how much is lost in the kingdom when there are counterfeit or fake preachers in the pulpit. Probably, it can never be quantified. There were false prophets in the Old Testament, wolves in sheep clothing in the New Testament and they are not absent from Christendom today. Authenticity in preachers is super important for effective communication.

Authentic preaching changes lives

Effective sermons are forged in the furnace of authenticity. Authenticity in preaching is power-packed, not in a spectacular flourish, but in a quiet way. There is no lightning or thunder, no fire nor earthquake, but the Spirit’s work in connecting the speaker with the hearer and penetrating their hearts with the unvarnished truth.

Authentic preaching facilitates a connection with the hearers and engages them. Such sermons seem to come from the heart of someone who seeks to practice the truth in everyday life, even though the preacher is far from perfect. With the qualities of openness and transparency, such sermons make the preacher relatable to ordinary people with common struggles. There is a bond of trust as the congregation senses that the preacher is for real and not wearing a mask.

If the preacher is also their pastor it is even better because he or she cannot escape scrutiny and the church grapevine, and if what they hear from the pulpit is congruent with what they see in the life of the pastor, that word has tremendous power to inspire changes in values and beliefs and upload new operating systems in people’s lives. The reverse is also true: inconsistency or incongruence between what is preached and what is practised cannot be hidden and will undermine the credibility and power of the message.

An authentic preacher is someone with the qualities of being genuine, true to oneself and not pretending to be something other than what one is, and living a life that seeks to be congruent to the values, beliefs, and convictions one holds dear and proclaims. There is honesty, integrity, and transparency present in the authentic preacher and this potent mix inspires trust and accelerates personal connections with others.

Jesus and Paul on authenticity

Are there scriptures that highlight the importance of authenticity in life and preaching? Take a look at a few of them below:

“Then Jesus said to the crowds and his disciples: ‘The teachers of the law and the Pharisee sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach ‘”. (Matt 23:1-3) The people feared the teachers of the law and Pharisees because they wielded religious power, but were despised because they did not practice what they preached. Jesus saw through their masks of hypocrisy and exposed their deceit.  St Paul warned the church in Corinth of the fakery of the so-called apostles who had fooled them. He underlined the importance of integrity in apostleship and ministry: “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways: we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Cor 4:2). St Paul claimed the high moral ground in both the character of the messenger and the substance of the message. In his letter to Titus, he enjoined authenticity in leadership and preaching: “In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us”(Titus 2:7-8).

One of my favourite books on preaching is John Stott’s “Between Two Worlds” and in this concise gem he wrote: “Communication is by symbol as well as speech. For ‘a man cannot only preach, he must also live. And the life that he lives, with all its little peculiarities, is one of two things: either it emasculates his preaching or it gives it flesh and blood'(John here quotes J.H. Bavinck). We cannot hide what we are. Indeed, what we are speaks as plainly as what we say. When these two voices blend, the impact of the message is doubled. But when they contradict each other, the positive witness of the one is negated by the other. This was the case of the man Spurgeon describes as a good preacher but a bad Christian: he ‘preached so well and lived so badly, that when he was in the pulpit everybody said he ought never to come out again, and when he was out of it they all declared he never ought to enter it again.” (John quotes from Spurgeon’s book) It is at this point that a practical problem presents itself to us. Pastors are told to be models of Christian maturity.”

The how of authentic preaching

How then can one preach with authenticity? First, the preacher has to engage with the Bible He has to cultivate a life of prayerful, systematic study and meditation of God’s word. He approaches the Bible with an openness that allows the truths of God’s word to penetrate his mind and heart. He allows the Word to affect his thinking, affection, and action. Little by little he incorporates truth into his lifestyle and it becomes the dominant operating system of his life. One verse that inspired me and that I hold dear is in Ezra 7:10: “Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.” This one verse summarizes the three essential habits of the authentic preacher. First, he studies – eats, digests, and assimilates the word. Second, the truth points him to the reality of the Living Word, and he relates intimately with Jesus himself. This faith relationship releases the grace to do what the word says, and to experience the fruit of obeying God. Finally, this growing confidence in the power of truth enables the preacher to boldly proclaim the truth he has incorporated into his life. This growth in congruence is “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Second, the preacher is humble and transparent when he or she struggles to live out the topic being preached. Admitting lack, mistakes, and struggles or that you do not have all the answers displays authenticity. The preacher can ask the congregation for prayers so that you may grow continually in the particular facet of Christian life that you are preaching about. St Paul called on the believers in Ephesus to pray for him “that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19).

Third, authentic preachers speak from the heart and are not hesitant to talk about their personal experiences of struggle or success. Sharing personal, real-life examples that illustrate the truth you are preaching about is inspiring and memorable. Personal stories are engaging, disarming, and moving. They have a way of touching the affective and volitional domains of listeners, moving them to make decisions that lead to change in their lives. St Paul, in his legal defence against his accusers, chose to share the personal story of his conversion encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Fourth, during the preparation of the sermon, the preacher engages personally with the passage or topic to experience its power and to notice how it moves him or her. The preacher reflects on how those insights and truths have impacted him or her in the past and in the present. He or she prays for a deepening of the application of the truths in their own life and congregation.

Fifth, the authentic preacher is open to feedback from the congregation and is in dialogue with them so that he or she knows whether their preaching is connecting with their needs, questions and struggles. They hear their perspectives on how the sermon was received by them so that they can be of greater help to them in the future.

Heavenly Father, to preach is a sacred invitation to share your truth and my life with the congregation I serve. Help me to be true to your word in the way I live, and the way I communicate your truth. I want to dedicate myself to prayer and the preaching of your word. Grant me great grace to do so. Amen.

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Sermons for Good Friday & Easter

6 March 2024 Leave a comment

One of the tasks that pastors find challenging is to find fresh sermons to preach during Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

In the past, attendance increases during these special days in the Christian calendar, but nowadays more Christians are taking the opportunity to get out of the country for a break. This is sad because these are high days for followers of Christ to be present to receive the full significance of Christ’s death and resurrection. These high days mark the great turning point in the salvation history of the world.

The forty days of Lent before these high days are preparation for a more meaningful remembrance and experience of Christ’s death and resurrection. Look further back and there is Advent, with its theme of hope in the midst of darkness. Advent and Lent point us to this pivotal point in salvation history. It is meant to be the high point, the climax of the Christian year. Christians should all be geared to honour, celebrate and worship our God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Preaching sermons about Christ’s death and resurrection can be forbidding for some pastors. Partly because expectations are higher. Partly because there are usually special programs like evangelism and baptisms planned around it, and these can be tiring. Partly because the members half-expect and know what’s going to be preached. They can guess what the preacher’s next point is. Partly because the pastor has already preached so many Good Friday and Easter sermons in the past, that he or she is now scraping the bottom of his creativity pot.

My suggestion is to use a resource I have put up. They are actually a first draft of a book I have written titled, “A to Z of Christ’s Finished Work”. Here are my suggestions:

You can do a series on “Blessings of Christ’s Death & Resurrection” or some title like this and choose three points for each sermon. That’s a total of six points out of 26 points available. Use the ones that resonates with you, or that the congregation can be blessed with, or because it suits your purpose (eg. evangelistic sermons have to focus on facets of salvation).

Alternatively you can preach A, B, and C for Good Friday, and then D,E, and F for Easter and end it by encouraging cell groups to do the rest of the alphabets in their Bible discussion groups.

Or if the response and feedback is good, you can continue the series for the following Sundays. It only takes seven more Sundays to finish all the alphabets. It will give the congregation a good grounding and understanding of the whole gospel.

Well, have a look and pray about it. You can look at all the material HERE. You have full permission to use whatever you wish without acknowledgement, and add or subtract to make it suitable for your purposes and for the feeding of your people.

Have a great and exciting Good Friday and Easter.

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Asbury Revival: What To Make of It?

6 March 2023 Leave a comment

The Asbury revival has sizzled the internet with exciting sounds and images, and claims and counter-claims of an authentic spiritual outpouring from heaven. The debates generated seems to me to stem partly from semantics. When I am asked, “What do you think of the Asbury revival?”, I find myself at “PAUSE”. I pause because of there are a few definitions of revival.

The word “revival” carries a range of different meanings. In the United States, it can mean an organised series of meetings with the goal of awakening God’s people to the gospel and outreach to the unsaved in the community. To others, it refers to the awakening and quickening of believers who have grown cold, apathetic, and indifferent in their love for God and people. This can happen in private prayer, in a worship service, retreat or prayer meeting. For others, it has to be a prolonged, wide-scale outpouring of the Spirit that is unplanned, with definitive signs of the Spirit’s power and transforming activity, resulting in lasting spiritual fruit and social transformation.

The Asbury revival is unplanned, so the first definition is out. The second definition may be the closest to what has been happening at Asbury. For the Asbury revival to pass muster with the third definition, what is required is observation over a longer period, and this uncertainty is multiplied because the Asbury University announced a decision to end the revival gatherings on the 24th of February 2022. While looking at the Asbury University website, I chanced upon the term they officially used to describe the services: “spiritual renewal”. Interestingly prudent!

The Asbury revival began suddenly when students in the chapel service continued to pray on after the service ended. Repentance and tears flowed and the presence of God was unusually palpable. That service would continue for about 16 straight days of non-stop worship, prayer, confession of sins, repentance, testimony and social media uploads. It would draw an estimated total attendance of 50,000 to 70,000 participants, drawn from the university and all over the United States. 

Videos & Articles

Type in “Asbury revival” on YouTube and a list of videos and commentaries on the revival would appear. There are gainsayers and doubters giving their opinions with video titles like, “The Asbury Revival is not of God”, “Asbury revival is very dangerous” and “Fake Asbury revival worship is being led by Homosexuals and Queers”. There are other videos that feature warm hearted testimonies of believers who experienced a healing encounter with God in prayer. Then there are simple quick videos of scenes of the revival services. Lastly, there are those news reports by TV networks both Christian and secular. Two good YouTube videos I have watched are “Seven Days Straight at Asbury Revival” and a lengthier, heavier discussion “Is Revival Happening?”.

Google “Asbury revival” and you will see a list of interesting articles about it. The one article I would highlight now would be “The Aftershocks of the Asbury Revival” where the spiritual-socio-political factors that made young people ripe for such a move of the Spirit were described: a longing for deeper sense of connection with God and each other; political polarisation and social fragmentation including racial injustice; global pandemic, economic uncertainty and wars; the acute hunger among young people for hope, for the real, the authentic. 

Preach and Teach About Revival

If you are a pastor or preacher and you want to talk about revival to your church or audience to help them make sense of what has been happening in Asbury revival and in the Revival of 1972’s in Singapore, what would be a good text to use? There are quite a number of them that can be used for preaching or meditations:

Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Ps 85:6

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Ps 19:7

I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. Isa 57:15

The valley of dry bones passage. Eze 37:1-14

The river flowing from the temple passage. Eze 17:1-12

O Lord, I have heard of the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy. Hab 3:2

For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Eph 5:14

(If there are other passages you have used in preaching about revival do add a comment. Share the blessing with other readers).

Acts 2 : Distinct Features of A Revival?

The one passage that has the most insights and inspiration would be St Luke’s description of the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Here is a possible outline you can use. It is from two chapters of Arthur Wallis’ book titled “In The Day of Thy Power” (subtitle “The scriptural principles of revival”). I read this book and this in his Acts 2 outline listing and explaining the distinctive features of a revival. I hope this will be helpful to preachers and pastors. They can do it in a two-part or three-part series with invitations to the front to pray for revival in their souls, churches and nation.

The Sovereignty of God: “When the day of Pentecost arrived…” (verse 1)

Spiritual Preparation: “they were all together in one place” (verse 1b, 1:14)

Spontaneous Working: “…there came from heaven..” (verse 2)

God-consciousness: “…a sound like a mighty rushing wind…divided tongues as of fire appeared to them …” (verse 2,3)

Anointed Vessels: “…they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” (verse 4a)

Supernatural Manifestation: “..began to speak in other tongues ..” (verse 4b)

Divine Magnetism: “…the multitude came together…”(verse 6)

Apostolic Preaching: “But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted his voice” (verse 14)

Supernatural Blessing: “…there were added that day about three thousand souls” (verse 41)

Divine Simplicity: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers” (verse 41-45).

To read the full script of Wallis’ exposition of this text go HERE and HERE. I trust this has been helpful and if you have anything you would like to express about the Asbury revival feel free to comment. The comment box you need to click on is below the title of this post. 

If you are curious about a definitive Singapore revival go HERE to watch a video done by Salt & Light about the Revival of 1972.

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The Preaching Style of Bishop Robert Solomon

28 December 2022 6 Comments

Preaching style has to do with the preferred ways a preacher uses to communicate truth with his audience. This includes verbal as well as non-verbal communication; the way the talk is organised, structured and presented, and the way the preacher’s personality comes through.

Besides reading scores of books on homiletics since seminary, I find it fascinating to observe and learn from the way other preachers preach. There is much to glean, and some discoveries are useful to weave into one’s personal preaching style.

On 27th November 2022, Bishop Robert Solomon was the guest preacher in World Revival Prayer Fellowship, my home church. He is a well-known former lecturer and Principal of Trinity Theological College, and had served as the Methodist Bishop, and is a prodigious author of many books.

I have read his book, “Till Christ is Formed in Us”, a book gift from my good friend Seng Chor, who had invited him a few times to speak about spiritual formation to the men’s ministry in Holy Grace Presbyterian Church. I always wondered what kind of preacher he was. Some write well but preached ineffectively. Others preached well, but wrote poorly. By the end of the sermon, I was convinced he excels in both, a rare combination indeed!

It was the first time I heard him preach. He connected well with the church and I was so moved by his message that I went on to listen to him on YouTube. There are things I observed in his messages that the most experienced preachers need reminders of.  We preachers can constantly grow in our wholeness in Christ, and hone our craft of preaching, by imitating the good we see in other models who preach what they faithfully live out. I here offer my observations of Bishop Solomon’s preaching style. 

First, his presentations are in a conversational tone. He preaches like he would talk with anyone, but with an enhanced tone. He does not have the dramatic preaching tone of revival preachers of old, nor the booming thunder of evangelists like Billy Graham and Reinhard Bonnke. His manner of speech does not grab the attention. Rather, the conversational tone gradually draws one into a circle of trust. The listener would feel like he or she was listening comfortably to a friend, feeling relaxed and open. There is sufficient variation in the tone of his voice not to sedate you into a daydream. He does not read from the manuscript, but he refers to his notes occasionally. He is stationary most of the time, keeping guard of the word, standing behind the pulpit, a cameraman’s dream. 

Second, he takes pains to preach the real meaning of the text. Isn’t this what every preacher is supposed to do? He preaches the truth in the context of the passage and the whole book. He explains what verses his truth, insights are drawn from, clearly basing them on the scriptures as the source of authority. When required, he explains the cultural practices of that time and the historical context and draws rich insights from them. Occasionally, he dips into the original Greek text to highlight a truth. He is well-read, with theological breadth and depth and a grasp of what’s happening in the society and world events, and he constructs a bridge in “between two worlds”, to use the sub-title of John Stott’s well-written book on “Preaching”. 

Third, his sermons have a logical outline that can be followed even though he does not use power-point. He is probably one of those who does not believe in using power-point in sermons. He is orderly and disciplined and seldom veer and meander from his main outline. He shows how the different points relate to the central truth he was delivering.

Fourth, his sermons have substance and interesting insights. He does not squeeze, or force, or stretch scriptures to come up with fanciful angles and fresh interpretations. His words are deliberately plain, unvarnished of theological terms, but effectively conveys the truth. Solomon is no Spurgeon, whose sermons are rich, with every sentence containing a flourish: a turn of phrase, a metaphor or simile or image. These days nobody preaches like Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers. Maybe, I would make an exception of Peter Chao of Eagles Communications. I think, Obama did speak in this grand oratorical style though.

Fifth, Bishop Robert Solomon connects well with the church audience because he explains and applies the truth with examples, analogies, illustrations, stories, and practical ideas of how to practice the truth he was expounding. He has a good sense of humour and he is able to help local believers laugh at themselves and the way they behave in church and in ordinary life. He is never harsh in his critique of Singaporean church life, values and it’s witness in the marketplace. He gently reproves. He uses humour to disarm. He provokes by handing us the mirror of the word to make us think and feel more deeply. This is an art, it is not easy to do.

I have written enough. Maybe those who have heard more of his sermons and messages, his congregation members or students in seminary, can contribute their observations with their comments. I am sure many have been blessed by his preaching ministry. Please feel free to share your observations or how you have been blessed.

By the way, the sermon Bishop Robert Solomon preached in my home church can be accessed directly at the 1 hour 8 minutes mark of the video HERE.

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St John’s Chapel: a missional family church

31 July 2022 2 Comments

It was early Sunday morning at St John’s Chapel, and I was warmly welcomed by Revd Tang Wai Lung, the experienced priest who was newly appointed to lead the English congregation. He showed me around the lovely church sanctuary with parquet flooring and three-pointed arches that led your gaze upward to God. He showed me a set of four plaques that was preserved from their old church building in Jurong. He informed me that St John’s Chapel was originally a church plant initiated by Revd William Gomes and Mr Cheok Loi Fatt to reach out to farmers and villagers in Jurong in 1872.  By 1884, a church building was erected and a congregation established. The church was missional right from its birth. Thankfully, true to its DNA, St John’s Chapel has remained a strongly missional church that encourages all members young and old to sign up and embark on mission trips every other year. When the government took over the Jurong building for redevelopment, St John’s Chapel moved to St Margaret’s Secondary School, and has been there since.

Two pleasant surprises

I had two pleasant surprises before the service began. I met an old friend, Boon Sing, whom I knew from the Christian fellowship in Mindef, while doing my National Service. I recalled how we memorized verses and prayed together. The second surprise was that he was in the traditional choir of the church and they sang a lovely “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”. Why did the song at the prelude and this song moved me? The Lord was reminding me of his presence in the meeting.

Preaching the good news

I was asked to preach a gospel message and I had only one thus far and I have preached this five times before. I still had to sit before the Lord in prayer, hovering over the script, and making minor modifications and improvements. It took time for me to warm up to the new faces in front of me, but as I proceeded, the delivery of the message got better and better. I was glad that people responded to the invitation to pray in the front, for all the kneelers in front of the stage were occupied. A period of prayer ensued and I prayed that these precious seekers of God would be rewarded with real answers to their prayers. While I have been praying for souls to be saved through my preaching, there was no response to my invitation to non-Christians present to follow Jesus. Strangely, I was not discouraged about this. I trust God to anoint his word and let it germinate in its time. 

Kenny, Revd Wai Lung, Revd Barry Leong

A missional and family church

After the service, I had refreshments at the school canteen with the priest Revd Wai Lung, and Canon Barry Leong, the acting vicar, and my old friend Boon Sing. I found it amazing that Barry had to oversee three churches in the past, and is currently overseeing two churches for the time being. He said the secret to doing this is to have the right people in place and to trust them. After he left to go to attend the service of the other church he was overseeing, I continued to chat with Wai Lung and we talked about the Revival of 1972, different church polities, the culture of St John’s Chapel and other Anglican churches. He told me besides its missions emphasis, St John’s was a family church, a close knit caring community, which gives deliberate intention to include all generations into its activities, whether it be games, church retreats, or ministry. I thought these qualities are wonderful strengths for smaller churches to have. My observation is that the quality of community closeness fades as the congregational size enlarges. So this is the strength that small churches can cultivate and leverage, and be different from big churches.

Well, this was a visit and ministry I enjoyed. Taking on speaking engagements while you are still pastoring, is different from doing them after you have retired. With retirement, you are well rested, you have more time and space for God to move your heart and prepare yourself, and you are able to preach with more energy, restfulness and grace.

If you are interested to know more about this church and its services, you may visit their website HERE. Other churches where I have guest preached in or visited can be read about HERE.

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