Lesson 6

The Purpose of Preaching

I. What is the purpose of preaching?

The effective preacher (1) knows he has a message to _________, (2) has a definite purpose in
delivering that __________, and (3) is consumed with the necessity of getting that message
across and __________________ that purpose.

Do you know why you are preaching? Do you sense an urgency to deliver it?

A. There is a general ___________ in preaching.

“The preacher’s __________ is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable”

Jay Adams states in his book Preaching with Purpose (pg. 13),

“The purpose of preaching, then, is to effect ________ among the members of God’s
church that build them up individually and that build up the body as a whole. ___________,
good pastoral preaching helps each person in the congregation to grow in his faith,
conforming his life more and more to biblical standards. ___________, such preaching
builds up the church as a body in the relationship of the parts to the whole to God and to the
world.”

1. Preaching should be for the purpose of ___________ and should seek to accomplish
the same things that Paul prayed for in relation to the saints.

a. For their __________ well-being (Jn. 14:16)

b. That they might be __________ (Acts 9:40; Jam. 5:15)
c. That they might live in __________ and sincerity (Phil. 1:10)
d. That they might be full of the ________ of the Spirit (Phil. 1:11)
e. That they might ________ the will of God (Col. 1:9; 4:12)
f. That they might walk __________ of the Lord (Col. 1:10)
g. That they might ___________ in the knowledge of God (Col. 1:10)
h. That they might be ______________ with all might (Col. 1:11)
i. That the __________ of Christ might be worked in them (Col. 1:11)
j. That they might fulfill their _______ in life (II Th. 1:11)
k. That they might bring _________ to God’s name (II Th. 1:12)
l. That they might know the _______ of their calling (Eph. 1:15-18)
m. That they might know the _________ of God in their life (Eph. 1:19)
n. That they might effectively _______________ their faith to others (Phm. 4-6)
 2. All preaching should accomplish some general ___________ results.

a. It should create faith in the __________ (Rom. 10:14-17).

 Faith in _______
 Faith in His ________
 Faith for freedom, healing and _____________
 Faith and __________ to live for God

b. It should give ____________ to the hearers (Ex. 18:20; Ps. 119:133; Is. 30:20- 21).

c. It should bring __________ to people’s lives (Is. 55:10-11).

“My grand challenge in preaching is to break the hard heart and to heal the broken
one.” --John Newton

d. It should bring a __________ to which the people must rise (Phil. 3:13-15).
You are challenging people to lay hold of their inheritance and their destiny.

3. Jay Adams in his book Preaching with Purpose (page, 31) lists the three general
purposes for preaching as:

a. To _________.
b. To ___________ (to believe or not).
c. To ___________.

“The evangelical spirit can be present at all times. What deed of social action is urgent?
What community problem needs attention? What new adventure of faith do we bring to our
people? What concerns to we transmit in our preaching? If the sermon is comfortable or too
easy for people, then we need to reexamine ourselves and our message.” --Turnbell

B. There should also be a ______ purpose that the preacher hopes to accomplish with
every message preached.

1. The preacher should ______ himself three questions:

a. Why have I ________ this topic or text?

b. What do I hope to __________?
c. How do I want the people to __________?

2. The preacher’s purpose should be ___________ to the congregation.

3. The preacher should actually feel that he has a _________ message to deliver that the
people absolutely need to hear.
In other words, “You must really believe what you are asking people to believe.”

II. What are the ____________ in preaching that will help to ensure that the purpose is
accomplished?
The attitude with which the preacher ministers will have a great bearing on whether or not the
preacher’s purpose is ultimately accomplished.
A. Preach with a ____________ heart (Rom. 12:1; 15:30; 16:17; I Cor. 1:10; 4:16; 16:15;
II Cor. 2:8; 6:1; 10:1; Eph. 4:1).

“Edwards was appealing to his audience’s emotions. He believed that the passions were the
prime movers in life, and, therefore, he was not afraid to appeal to the elementary instincts
of self-interest and fear. He believed that unless a man was moved by some affections, he
was by nature inactive. ‘Take away love and hatred, all hope and fear, all anger, zeal and
affectionate desire, and the world would be in a great measure motionless and dead; there
would be no such things as activity among mankind or any earnest pursuit whatsoever.’” –
Turnbell

Notice some of the biblical words that are used by Paul to describe how he spoke to them.

1. ______________ (II Cor. 5:11a)

This word “persuade” means to convince by argument (Acts 28:23-24; Gal. 1:10).

2. _______________ (II Cor. 5:20)

The word “pleading” here means to call forth or appeal to with some emotion. It is used
of some of the following instances:

 The centurion pleading with Jesus to heal his servant (Mt. 8:5).
 The leper seeking a healing touch from the Lord (Mark 1:40).
 Jairus pleading for the life of his daughter (Mark 5:23).
 John the Baptist pleading with people to repent (Luke 3:18).
 Paul pleading with the Lord to take away his thorn (II Cor. 12:8).

3. _____________ (II Cor. 5:20)

The word “implore” literally means to beg or petition (Luke 5:12).

“Preaching is truth through personality. If we give the impression that we are simply
reading something from a sheet of paper, that is not very important or urgent, and that
we are not desperate about what happens, then nothing will happen. Language that is
nebulous as well as cold and casual preaching means that the preacher has lost the
wonder of his calling. I am not calling for shouting in the pulpit, but for intensity and
compassion.” --Turnbell

B. Preach with confidence and ___________ (Acts 4:31; 28:31).

1. The word “boldness” means “__________, bluntness, openness.” It speaks of speech that
is unreserved, free, fearless and confident. It refers to those who are brave, courageous
and daring.

When we speak of boldness, we are not talking about being obnoxious, reactionary,
abrasive or abusive, but bold in faith, convinced of our message and full of the Spirit
and power of God.
 2. Boldness is the opposite of _________, timidity and shame. It is the opposite of
cowardly, fainthearted, fearful and chickenhearted.

We are not to be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ (Rom. 1:16).

3. Boldness was ______________ by the apostles in the Book of Acts (Acts 2:22- 23, 29.
36; 4:13, 31).

The boldness of the apostles was dependent upon five things.

a. Their boldness was dependent upon their ____________ to Jesus (Acts 3:13).

The closer that you are to someone, the easier it is to defend them.

b. Their boldness was dependent upon their personal __________ of salvation (Acts
4:19-20).

c. Their boldness was dependent upon their _____________ of their message (Acts
4:12).

d. Their boldness was dependent upon their hearts of love and ____________ for the
lost (II Cor. 5:14).

e. Their boldness was dependent upon the __________ of the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:31).

C. Preach with ____________ (Mt. 7:28-29; 28:18-20).

D. Preach with _____________ (Mt. 9:36-38).

The preacher must be able to sit where the people sit (Ezek. 3:15).

Assignment:

1. Why must a preacher preach with boldness and no hesitation and reservation?
2. How can preaching with passion and compassion contribute to the preparation, delivery, and outcome of
the preacher’s preaching?
3. Explain in your own words: “The preacher’s business is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the
comfortable”