Feed My Sheep

Title: Feed My Sheep, A Passionate Plea For Preaching
Authors: Eric J. Alexander, Joel R. Beeke, James Montgomery Boice, Sinclair B. Ferguson, Don Kistler, John MacArthur, R. Albert Mohler Jr., John Piper, R. C. Sproul, R. C. Sproul Jr., and Derek W. H. Thomas
Publisher: Reformation Trust, 2008
Pages: 155
Begun: April 8, 2009
Completed: April 12, 2009


This book was originally written and published in the late 90s by Soli Deo Gloria Publications and then was republished again in 2004 by Ligonier Ministries. The newest publication of the book is the second edition published by Reformation Trust now in an attractive hardback cover. The work consists of eleven chapters, each chapter written by the eleven contributing pastors listed above. The overall theme as indicated by the book's subtitle is "a passionate plea for preaching." The book, then, is a biblical defense of preaching in general and of the lectio continua method in particular. Specific topics discussed are the primacy of preaching, the foolishness of preaching, expository preaching, experiential preaching, preaching to the mind, preaching with authority, and evangelistic preaching.

The two chapters that made the deepest impressions upon me were Ferguson's on "Preaching to the Heart" and Piper's on "Preaching to Suffering People." Ferguson gives five characteristics of heart preaching:

1. A right use of the Bible.
2. Nourishment of the whole person.
3. An understanding of the condition of the hearers.
4. The use of imagination.
5. Grace in Christ.

I like what he says here: "Preaching to the heart, then, is not merely a matter of technique or homiletic style. These things have their proper place and relevance. But the more fundamental, indeed, the more essential thing for the preacher is surely the fact that something has happened in his own heart; it has been laid bare before God by His Word. He, in turn, lays his heart bare before those to whom he ministers. And within that context, the goal he has in view is so to lay bare the truth of the Word of God that the hearts of those who hear are opened vertically to God and horizontally to one anther." (104)

He goes on to say: "In the last analysis, this is what preaching to the heart is intended to produce: inner prostration of the hearts of our listeners through a consciousness of the presence and glory of God. This result distinguishes authentic biblical preaching from any cheap substitute; it marks the difference between preaching about the Word of God and preaching the Word of God." (104-5)

In discussing grace in Christ as it affects the manner of our preaching: "For while preaching involves bringing the world of the Bible to bear upon the world of our contemporaries, it also involves bringing the message-in-words of the Scriptures through the message-in-manner of the preacher. There needs to be a marriage between the message and the manner; therein lies the heart of the mystery of preaching." (114)

Piper, in his chapter on Preaching to Suffering People, begins with five assumptions:

1. Preaching is expository exultation.
2. Preaching is a normative event in the gathered church.
3. The aim of preaching is the glory of God through Jesus Christ.
4. God is most glorified in our people when our people are most satisfied in Him.
5. Suffering is a universal human experience, designed by God for His glory, but endangering every Christian's faith.

If all these assumptions are true which they are, then "our preaching must aim, week in and week out, to help our people be satisfied in God while suffering. Indeed, we must help them count suffering as part of why they should be satisfied in God. We must build into their minds and hearts a vision of God and His ways that helps them see suffering not merely as a threat to their satisfaction if God (which it is), but also as a means to their satisfaction in God (which it is). We must preach so as to make suffering seem normal and purposeful, and not surprising in this fallen age." (131)

God uses our own suffering as preachers to affect our preaching to suffering people in the following ways:

1. God has ordained that our preaching becomes deeper and more winsome as we are broken, humbled, and made low and desperately dependent on grace by the trials of our lives.

2. God has ordained that when we preach from weakness and suffering sustained by joy in Christ, the people see that Christ is treasured and they are loved.

3. The suffering of the preacher helps him see from Scripture what he must say to his suffering people.

Piper's conclusion: "We must preach with a passion to produce people whose satisfaction in God is so solid, so deep, and so unshakable that suffering and death will not make our people murmur or curse God, but will help them count it all joy and say with Paul, 'To live is Christ and to die is gain.' How will that happen? I said that the preacher must suffer. That is what I have tried to show thus far. And then the preacher must rejoice. He must be hurt in the ministry, and he must be happy in God." (138)

I have found this a helpful resource on preaching that I want to reread in the future. It was greatly convicting and encouraging at the same time. I would highly recommend it to my fellow preachers.