Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

LESSON 4 | THE EQUIPPING MINISTRY: THE MINISTRY OF PROCLAMATION / 349

Declare the Kingdom Come in Jesus Christ In the Gospels Jesus is characteristically portrayed as One who came ‘heralding the kingdom of God’. In Luke 4.16-21 Jesus interprets his ministry as the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy of a coming Servant Messiah through whom the kingdom of God would at last be realized. This kingdom is best understood as God’s ‘kingly rule’ or ‘sovereign action’. Only secondarily does it refer to a realm or people within that realm. That God’s eternal sovereignty was now invading the realm of evil powers and winning the decisive victory was the basic content of Jesus’ kerygma. Conclusion • Three critical dimensions lie at the heart of planning and applying an effective preaching ministry. • We must first establish contact with hearers, communicate the content of the Word clearly and boldly, and finally strive to make connections with the truth of the message and the lives of the audience. • In all of these efforts, we must never forget that it is only the Holy Spirit who makes the delivered Word effective in our preaching. The following questions were designed to help you review the material in the video. In this lesson we saw how the preaching ministry involves three critical dimensions: establishing contact with hearers, communicating the content of the Word clearly and boldly, making connections with the truth of the message and the lives of the audience. As we prepare ourselves diligently in Scripture and depend on the Holy Spirit, we can learn how to represent the Lord with clarity and integrity through the preached Word. Review these three dimensions carefully through the questions below. 1. Give an overview of the three essential steps involved in effective ~ R. H. Mounce. “Preaching.” In The New Bible Dictionary. D. R. W. Wood, ed. 3rd ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996, p. 951.

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Student Questions and Response

C hr i s t i an M i n i s t ry

biblical preaching. How do these dimensions recognize and build upon the essential ministry of the Holy Spirit in all effective presentations of the Word?