Discussion Post: Preaching Legacy
Nineteenth-Century European Preaching: Part 1
Robert Murray M’Cheyne-Preaching the Love of God in Jesus Christ-1813-1843
c c c c c c c c c c Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s hermeneutical approach to Scripture is best
expressed as a “doctrinal typological approach to preaching.”[1] M’Cheyne used a
God-centered method that aligns with Wayne McDill’s model skill 6 style of
preaching.[2] c McDill posited that “the Bible is not written to reveal man, but to
reveal God.”[3] M’Cheyne‘s theology for preaching was entrenched in the
“knowledge of God’s free love in Christ; nothing was more wonderful than the love
of Christ.”[4] M’Cheyne believed that Scripture required “preachers show forth
Christ with tones of tenderness.”[5] His preaching centered on “Christ crucified,
buried, resurrected, and glorified.”[6] M’Cheyne believed that ministerial fidelity is
contingent on “saturating a sermon with Christ because the more ministers have
Christ in their sermons, the more they faithfully preached.”[7]
c c c c c c c c c c M’Cheyne combined his “exposition into extended exhortations and
applications; this also aligns with McDill’s model skill 6.”[8] M’Cheyne’s division
statements were “textual and so feeling, and they brought out the spirit of a
passage so surprisingly.”[9] His preaching was specific in its application, with
exhortations directed “distinctly at the lost, the awakened, the backslider, the
afflicted, and the true believer.”[10] According to McDill, division statements are
“clearly and carefully worded theological truths; they express the theme of sermon
divisions, the portions of the exposition that correspond to the various elements
of the text writer’s thought.”[11]
Alexander Maclaren: The Art of Hermeneutics for the Practice of Homiletics -1826-
1910
c c c c c c c c c Alexander Maclaren‘s passion for the Scriptures and his prominent
“commitment to the original languages, as derived from his understanding of
Scripture as divine revelation.”[12] Maclaren “grounded his preaching in the biblical
text and applied it to the lives of his hearers, both as Christians and as
citizens.”[13]Maclaren also inundated his messages with “personal applications
for everyday Christians called to engage their culture; such as his sermons “show
how his heart and mind were anchored on essential Christian truth.”[14].
Maclaren’s skill as an “expositor and his proficient application of the Scriptures
emerged from his unwavering doctrinal convictions.[15] But the most “daunting
aspect of his interpretative task was determining an application of the sacred text
that was both appropriate to the world of the listener and yet accurate to the
original meaning of the message.”[16]. Maclaren’s faithfulness to the “biblical text
and commitment to contemporary relevance provide contemporary preachers with
the opportunity to develop a model for textual application through careful analysis
of his expositions.”[17] This is aligned with McDill’s model Skill 2, “inductive
thinking begins with details, the particulars.”[18] c By “examining portions of
“Maclaren’s sermons in each of four primary Hebrew genres (Hebrew narrative,
prophecy, gospel, and epistle) the influence of his theological convictions on his
methodology for applying various biblical texts can be observed.”[19]
Nineteenth-Century North American Preaching: Part 2
D.L. Moody: First International Evangelist-1817-1899
c c c c c c c c c c In surveying D. L. Moody’s sermons, two “basic theological elements in
his preaching emerge: first, Moody’s evidenced a profound understanding of the
love of God; this was a core belief that became a defining doctrine for Moody”[20]
Second, he accepted the “stranded evangelical conception of salvation;
specifically, Moody’s basic theological construct was the three Rs, ruined by sin,
redeemed by Christ, and regenerated by the Holy Ghost.”[21] The love of God was
a fundamental theme of “Moody’s evangelistic preaching; it was the central theme
of his life; he believed in the core attribute of Godhead is love, and that should
dominate the church.”[22]
c c c c c c c c c c Although Moody’s sermons were the “product of his Bible study, they
were not rightly organized exegetical studies.”[23] While Moody “extolled
expository preaching for pastors, he saw his role as an evangelist, not a pastor;
his sermons reflected this.”[24] His sermons are very “loosely outlined; Moody
prepared by identifying key ideas drawn from his Bible study.”[25] These served as
a “frame for the sermon; he would then build around this frame using sentimental
illustrations, personal recollections, anecdotes, and pithy sayings he had
collected.”[26] This is aligned with McDill’s model skill 2, which “identified the
relationship of various ideas in the text and portrayed them graphically.”[27] This
allowed Moody to preach “multiple versions of the same sermon.”[28] This
product is a sermon that is “predominately narrative in nature and delivered
straightforwardly and earnestly.”[29] One lasting impact to Moody’s preaching was
to “simplify the sermon; his sermons devoid of gloss and rhetorical flourish, often
startled those who had never heard him preach.”[30]
B.H. Carroll: Preaching Sermons Saturated with Scripture-1843-1914
c c c c c c c c c c B.H. Carroll was concerned with aiding the ‘hearer to understand the
proper explanation and interpretation of the text; he was less concerned with the
application of the text.”[31]. Carroll’s sermons were an “outgrowth of his approach
to the Bible; he understood the Bible to be God’s inspired Word.”[32] Carroll’s
primary interest in every sermon was that “his listener come to a proper
understanding of the biblical text in its original context.”[33] His entire “homiletical
methodology is centered on his approach to the biblical text; as a result, Carroll’s
approach to preaching was dominated by the biblical text.”[34]
c c c c c c c c c c Carroll’s textual emphasis governed all facets of his “sermon
introduction.”[35] While most “preaching theory argues that the sermon should be
oriented around a purpose statement early in the sermon, Carroll rarely utilized
such statements.”[36] Carroll’s introductions were not “focused on raising a need
or arousing listener interest; rather they were almost entirely focused on the need
to discover a right understanding of the biblical texts and doctrines that filled the
sermon.”[37]. Carroll’s sermons were not “concerned with bridging his hearers to a
right understanding and application of a singular text; rather his sermons bring the
hearer to a full understanding of the Bible’s teaching of the idea or doctrine taught
within the text (s) being considered.”[38] Carroll built his sermons around a “single
text and developed much of his sermons from other texts like expository
preachers, he sought to faithfully explain the text in context, even when this meant
he ended up explaining a multitude of texts in a sermon.”[39]This is aligned with
McDill’s model skill 4, “inductive study of the text.”[40]
Bibliography
Forrest, Benjamin, K, Kevin L. King, Bill Curtis, and Dwane Milioni. A Legacy of
Preaching: Enlightenment to The Present Day: Volume Two. Nashville: Zondervan,
2018.
McDill, Wayne. 12 Essentials for Great Preaching. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic,
c c c c c c c c c c 2010.
[1] Benjamin, K. Forrest, Kevin L. King, Bill Curtis, and Dwayne Milioni. A Legacy of
Preaching: Enlightenment to the Present Day: Volume Two (Nashville, Zondervan,
2018), 60.
[2] Wayne McDill, 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching (Nashville, TN: B & H
Academic, 2010), 104.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Forrest, King, Curtis, Milioni, A Legacy of Preaching, 60.
[5]Ibid. 62
[6] Ibid., 64.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.,61.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11] McDill, 12 Essential Skills, 100.
[12]Forrest, King, Curtis, Milioni, A Legacy of Preaching, 73.
[13] Ibid.,75.
[14] Forrest, King, Curtis, Milioni, A Legacy of Preaching, 76.
[15] Ibid.
[16]Ibid.
[17] Ibid.
[18] McDill, 12 Essentials Skills, 75.
[19] Forrest, King, Curtis, Milioni, A Legacy of Preaching, 76
[20] Ibid., 247.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Ibid.,248.
[23] Ibid.,251-252
[24] Ibid.
[25] Ibid.
[26] Forrest, King, Curtis, Milioni, A Legacy of Preaching,
[27] McDill, 12 Essential Skills, 75
[28]Forrest, King, Curtis, Milioni, A Legacy of Preaching, 251-252.
[29] Ibid.,253.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Ibid.,262.
[32] Ibid.,263.
[33] Ibid.,264.
[34] Ibid.
[35]Forrest, King, Curtis, Milioni, A Legacy of Preaching, 265.
[36] Ibid.
[37] Ibid.,266.
[38] Ibid.
[39] Ibid.,269.
[40] McDill, 12 Essential Skills, 75
