That'll Preach!

“God promises that you will experience His presence if you make Him your priority.” – Os Hillman

When I was first “cutting my teeth” as a preacher, I listened to and learned from scores of very gifted pastors. Some of them were Baptists, some were Presbyterians, and some pastored independent Bible churches.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was from Rev. David McMurray, one of my spiritual mentors who has also pastored the First Baptist Church of Blackwood NJ for more than 40 years. “Tell them [your audience] what you’re going to tell them, then tell them, then tell then what you just told them.” That sage advice has stayed with me for decades. So has Dave’s suggestion to be “more animated” in the pulpit, something that I have no trouble doing these days as the sheer excitement of sharing God’s truth overwhelms me at times.

Something else I gathered from watching and listening to so many great men of God over the years was that many of them limited their sermons to three alliterated points. Whenever I questioned that format, their answer was always the same: “It’s easier for people to remember that way. And if it’s easier to remember, there’s a better chance of them applying it to their daily lives.”

Maybe that’s what Os Hillman was thinking when he included three “P’s” in today’s quote. God’s promise… His presence… and your priority.

In pastoral terminology, “That’ll preach!”

“Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12-13 (NKJV)

“Jesus declared, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.’” Matthew 22:37-38 (BSB)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President