The Equipping Ministry, Student Workbook, SW15

/ 8 1

T H E E Q U I P P I N G M I N I S T R Y

The following questions were designed to help you review the material in the second video segment. In this segment 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 biblical preaching. How do these dimensions recognize and build upon the essential ministry of the Holy Spirit in all effective presentations of the Word? 2. How do we establish contact with the audience? To what extent must we understand and incorporate issues of culture and custom into our work if we are to gain the ear of our audience? What limits exist in shaping our message with attention to culture, in other words, how do we keep from changing the message itself to accommodate the culture of those whom we address? 3. Why is it important to use contact only as a springboard into the larger context of the Word of God? What is liable to happen if we do not progress beyond the immediate concerns and issues of the hearers and move on to the word of God regarding Christ and his Kingdom? 4. What are some central principles we ought to keep in mind as we seek to communicate the Word of God with clarity and boldness to our hearers in a way they can appreciate culturally? What limits ought we to place on the way in which we communicate the Gospel? How does Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 9 help us to see the role of freedom in preaching the Word to others (cf. 1 Cor. 9.19-21)? 5. What did Jesus and the apostles preach as their actual content during their ministries, and how should their themes and focus affect what we choose to preach about today? 6. Why is it important to preach the content of the Bible in a manner that resonates with the Bible’s own methods of presentation: the use of images, metaphors, symbols, and stories presented in a plain and simple manner?

Segue 2

Student Questions and Response

2