From Dr. Mark Thompson of Moore College, Sydney, Australia.
Theological Theology: Simeon on Preaching
I have just been listening to John Stott's talk on Charles Simeon, given at Taylor University in November 2004 (it can be found here: http://vimeo.com/17650814 DPV: We have it posted below). Simeon is one of the great evangelical heroes. The object of fierce opposition when he first took to the pulpit in Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge, he went on serve God's people in that church for 54 years. He influenced generations of evangelical preachers and was active in a myriad of ways to transform the Church of England. His legacy continues in Anglican evangelicalism around the world today.
John Stott drew attention to Simeon's own summaries of his approach to preaching. They are worth pondering by new and old preachers alike.
Simeon aimed at:
--unity in his subject (likening a sermon to a telescope with one object in its field of vision)
--perspicuity in his arrangement (a recognisable and memorable structure to the sermon)
--simplicity in his diction (avoiding the temptations to display either rhetorical skill or a mastery of technical language)
He insisted that all his preaching (and all preaching in general) should be subjected to this test:
Does it uniformly tend to humble the sinner, to exalt the Saviour, to promote holiness?
Simeon's preaching could not, in the end, be separated from his manner of life. His personal integrity, the transparency of his personal relationship with the one about whom he spoke so powerfully, and his hard won personal humility, reinforced all that he had to say. His was a broken and contrite heart at the foot of the cross and that simple truth about the man gave his sermons enormous impact.
John Stott's entire address is worth listening to. Simeon has much to teach those who want to preach well and are prepared to do more than simply ape the self-proclaimed masters of preaching in our own time.
Theological Theology: Simeon on Preaching
I have just been listening to John Stott's talk on Charles Simeon, given at Taylor University in November 2004 (it can be found here: http://vimeo.com/17650814 DPV: We have it posted below). Simeon is one of the great evangelical heroes. The object of fierce opposition when he first took to the pulpit in Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge, he went on serve God's people in that church for 54 years. He influenced generations of evangelical preachers and was active in a myriad of ways to transform the Church of England. His legacy continues in Anglican evangelicalism around the world today.
John Stott drew attention to Simeon's own summaries of his approach to preaching. They are worth pondering by new and old preachers alike.
Simeon aimed at:
--unity in his subject (likening a sermon to a telescope with one object in its field of vision)
--perspicuity in his arrangement (a recognisable and memorable structure to the sermon)
--simplicity in his diction (avoiding the temptations to display either rhetorical skill or a mastery of technical language)
He insisted that all his preaching (and all preaching in general) should be subjected to this test:
Does it uniformly tend to humble the sinner, to exalt the Saviour, to promote holiness?
Simeon's preaching could not, in the end, be separated from his manner of life. His personal integrity, the transparency of his personal relationship with the one about whom he spoke so powerfully, and his hard won personal humility, reinforced all that he had to say. His was a broken and contrite heart at the foot of the cross and that simple truth about the man gave his sermons enormous impact.
John Stott's entire address is worth listening to. Simeon has much to teach those who want to preach well and are prepared to do more than simply ape the self-proclaimed masters of preaching in our own time.
John Stott on Charles Simeon at Taylor University from Randall Gruendyke on Vimeo.
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