Preach The Word

Chuck Swindoll: Declare the truth as you have been built to declare it. Explanation of the meaning and the application of Holy Scripture. It is the most effective method of getting knowledge from the page of the Bible into the hearts and minds of the believers.

Aaron Massey: The book of Acts has some of the greatest sermons ever preached. Peter at Pentecost, Paul in Greece, and Pastor Chuck Swindoll, when he was preaching on Acts, mined those passages for principles on how to preach effectively. In this video, I want to share Chuck’s best insights from four of his sermons on Acts. These insights provide a masterclass in communication and will help you deliver God’s Word with clarity, relevance, and power.

By the way, I'm Aaron Massey. It's my joy to serve at Insight for Living and to bring you this special Preach the Word series. Through it, we're offering preaching insights based on the preaching and teaching of Chuck Swindoll. Now, our first section comes from a sermon Chuck called "Peter's First Sermon and Best." It's on Acts chapter 2, where Peter stands up on the day of Pentecost and preaches to the massive crowd. In this section, Chuck gives us four takeaways, starting with three things that made Peter's sermon great.

Chuck Swindoll: Three things made it great. Number one, it was simple. You read this sermon, verses 15 down through 36, and you will find simple, understandable terms that to people in that day would have been clearly grasped. If you are engaged as a communicator—if you teach a Bible class, or you teach a group of people, or you pastor a church—in some way involved in communication of the Gospel, if you're on radio or if you have TV as your medium of communication, whatever, if you write books—communicate in simple, understandable terms.

Strange to me how people sometimes think because it was confusing, it was deep, and they're made to feel it's their fault. I've heard speakers say that, "You don't understand this, it's your fault." And I want to answer back, "No, it's your fault, baby. You're the guy talking. Explain it so I can understand it." So it was simple. Even kids could understand it. When you communicate, can teenagers understand?

I'm bothered that teenagers are systematically emptying themselves from church services because they're bored stiff. They hate it. And as soon as they have a chance to fly the coop, they fly, fast, because they haven't been understanding what's been said since they started. Second, it was scriptural. See what he says in verse 16? "The prophet Joel said this." See down in verse 25? "David says." See verse 34? "David, who—it wasn't David who ascended into heaven, but he says," and he quotes Psalm 110. All the way through, he's punctuating it with Scripture.

If you want to have a message that God will use as an impact in people's lives, tell them what the book says. God will honor His Word. If you're going to communicate, show how scriptural principles apply. Use the Bible as you communicate. There's nothing like it. People are starved for a clear presentation of the relevance of Scripture. They love it. I have yet to speak to an audience that doesn't just love it when the relevance of Scripture is made clear. Just starved for it. So it was scriptural.

Third, it was Christ-centered. Got your pencil ready? Verse 22, "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene," circle that. Verse 23, "This man," circle that—that's Jesus. Verse 32, "This Jesus," circle that. Verse 36 closes, "This Jesus whom you crucified." Is it any amazement that verse 37 says, "When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter, 'Brethren, what shall we do?'" That must have been magnificent. What an encouragement to Peter.

Isn't it interesting also that the sermon begins with a question, "What does this mean?" and closes with the question, "What shall we do?" Are you a communicator of the Bible in some way—a class, or congregation, or in some way communicating it? Start with the question, "What does it mean?" what I'm trying to say. Start where they are. And then when you're all through, be sure that they know what to do about what it means. So important.

By the way, I won't charge you anymore for this, I just throw this out and take it for whatever it's worth. God can use your tongue and your lips. Please do not think you have to be a slick pro to get the job done. The professionals can never get in where you work and live. You can get in there. That's your calling. Just give it to them as you know it. Stumble over it if you have to, but get it out, and then just model it. Just model the message and they can't turn it off.

Look at, he overcame the inertia of the crowd. Remember, the first inertia you've got to overcome is ho-hum. People are not on the edge of their seat waiting to hear what you have to say. Believe it or not, they really aren't. They're yawning inside. They're first checking their watch, and then they're shaking their watch. So you've got to overcome that when you communicate. Peter says in verse 14, raised his voice. Now I'm not saying stand up in the office and shout. That's not the application of this.

But you've got to get their attention. Begin where they are. They were saying a bunch of drunks inside that place talking in those languages and Peter couldn't stay silent. He raised his voice. He said, "Men of Judea, all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and you give heed to my words." He didn't plead with them. He said, "I've got something to say, and you can't afford to turn it off."

Aaron Massey: So these are the takeaways from Peter's first sermon. One, great preaching is simple, scriptural, and Christ-centered. Two, start with their questions and then end with clear action steps. Three, you don't need to be a polished professional; just be faithful. And four, get their attention and help them know how to respond to what you're saying.

That's it for the first section. Now, our second one comes from a sermon Chuck called "Neck Deep in Greece." He's preaching on Acts chapter 17, verses 1 through 15, covering Paul's ministry in Thessalonica and Berea. In this section, Chuck gives us principles from Paul's communication approach.

Chuck Swindoll: I'm impressed right off the bat with Paul's patience. It would have been very easy for Paul, who knew he had the truth, to take a package and come into the synagogue the very first Sabbath, unwrap it, shove everybody's face in it, say "This is the truth, take it or leave it," but he didn't do that. Paul respected the dignity of his fellow man.

We are in need of that in our evangelical world. We are in need of realizing that people are to be treated with respect and dignity and care, even those without Christ. And the patience that is illustrated in the three weeks of ministry is a perfect model to follow. Paul was there three Sabbaths doing three things. First, verse 2 says he was reasoning from the Scriptures. The word literally means to pick and choose.

It's the idea of distinguishing or selecting. In other words, he went to the Old Testament Scripture and he picked and chose those pertinent passages that reflected the Messiah. And on the basis of what the Old Testament was saying about Messiah, Paul built a bridge to Jesus Christ. The second thing is in verse 3. He explained those verses. The word explain means to open up completely, to make clear and plain.

I place a very high priority on making my teaching clear. I want to be assured in my mind that anyone can come in off the street and can sit down in any service or any gathering where I am and I'm involved in the communication, and that they can understand most, if not all, of what is being said. I think that's a very high priority for us. As a matter of fact, I have three priorities: accuracy, clarity, and practicality.

I get that really from Paul's method. Is it accurate with what the Scripture says? Is it clear so that anybody can understand it? And third, is it practical so that people care? What good is it when it's all said and done if people walk out saying, "Ah, so what? Big deal"? It's hard work to explain. It's hard to say it without clichés. I was caught up short with a group of kids at Vacation Bible School a number of years ago.

And kids will do it to you. They'll ask those hard questions. I was teaching about the death of Christ, and I said, "Now kiddos, you understand when Christ died on the cross, He shed His blood for our sins." Little girl at the back said, "What does shed mean?" To her, a shed was a place you put a pony. Wait a minute. I got to thinking, I never use the word shed in that sense except in that statement. And it's a cliché.

And I stick that word in because I don't stop and think what it really means. You say, "Why nitpick on little words?" Hey, it's little words that keep them from understanding. You throw the word reconciliation around with a lost person, he's not going to track you. Or redemption, he'll think about stamps. Or propitiation, don't use that! They don't understand it! And we dump that verbage on them, and the sinner says, "I'm not interested," you walk away and say, "That's just the way it is, people not interested in Jesus." They're interested in Jesus, but they don't understand it.

Well, the third thing he did, he gave evidence. See verse 3? It means to place beside, to set something alongside something else. And it's like Spurgeon put it, it's like opening windows to let in the light. That's what an illustration, that's what supplementary material will do. Don't just drone on, drone on with those same clichéd terms. Stop and illustrate, explain.

But I don't find Paul addressing any of the idols in the first three verses. That's significant. What did he do? He presented Christ, and then Christ took care of all the idols. Leave the idols alone. Don't nitpick with lifestyle and habits and choices and decisions on how to live and marital status. Talk about Christ. Stay on the issue of Jesus Christ. God will honor that.

As ambassadors for Christ, we need to have an ethical standard which guides our appeal regardless of how people respond. I believe there is such a standard and simply stated it is this: any persuasive effort which restricts another's freedom to choose for or against Jesus Christ is wrong. We don't believe that. We believe in cornering them. Let me read it again. Some of you are saying, "What'd he say?" Okay, here it is again.

Any persuasive effort which restricts another's freedom to choose for or against Jesus Christ is wrong. We prefer to corner them and get a few troops around us so they can't get away. Hey, let's treat them with dignity. Give them space. If they choose to reject it, back off. Oh, we reveal our insecurity so much in our presentation of the message. It's my job to share it, and we equate pressure with sharing. No.

Aaron Massey: And that wraps up Chuck's principles from Paul's ministry in Thessalonica and Berea. First, respect people's dignity with patience. Second, aim for three things: accuracy, clarity, and practicality. Third, avoid insider language and clichés. Fourth, use illustrations to open the window and let in some light. Fifth, present Christ, not arguments against people's lifestyle. Sixth and last, persuade, don't pressure. Give people the freedom to choose to respond.

And some of these are especially helpful to keep in mind as we preach to non-Christians or new Christians who aren't familiar with the Bible or our special language. Now our third section comes from a sermon Chuck titled "Areopagus Eggheads versus a Seed Picker." He's preaching on Acts chapter 17, verses 16 through 34, which is Paul's famous sermon on Mars Hill in Athens. Here, Chuck walks us through five factors that made Paul's speech excellent.

Chuck Swindoll: I want to point out five major factors related to this excellent speech. Number one, he started where they were. Verse 22, Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." No. "God created the heavens and the earth." No. "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I found an altar with this inscription: 'Agnostos Theo,' the Unknown God." Let me ask, does he have their attention?

"Men, you are very religious." That wasn't a compliment, it was just a fact. As I would say, Southern Californians, we travel fast. People don't move to Southern California to retire. They move here to die in speed. That's why they move here. They plan to retire shortly after arriving. But there's one thing about us: we move fast. And if you don't get it done fast, if you don't say it in a hurry, then please move to Arizona or points east. Don't do it slow if you're here.

Oh, that's the way it was at Athens, except it was religious. "I noticed, Athenians, you're very religious." By the way, it wasn't kosher to compliment on the Areopagus, so it wasn't a compliment. It was a statement of fact: you're very religious. As a matter of fact, I was walking through the streets and I came across this interesting inscription: Agnostos Theo. And I thought, religious people. He began where they were.

Second, he took them from the familiar to introduce the unfamiliar. Verse 23: "What therefore you worship in ignorance," the familiar, "I proclaim to you," the unfamiliar. Got it? Agnostos Theo, this unknown god. Everybody's walked by, leaned on it, looked at it, talked about it, referred to it. Everybody's been to that god, they've seen it in the streets of Athens. "You worship him in ignorance. Hey, I got a better idea. You can know him."

We erect a tomb to the unknown soldier. They erected a tomb or a shrine to the unknown god. And Paul says, "I know His name. He's available." He started where they were and he built a bridge from the familiar to the unfamiliar. That is a basic assignment of a good communicator. Now, wait a minute. I hear Christians respond saying, "We have a supernatural message. You don't need that." Wait, you don't have supernatural listeners.

You've got natural listeners who could not care less about spiritual things. You've got to do your homework. You learn how to go from the familiar world of where they are into the unfamiliar territory of where you want them to come. That takes thought. Paul was a master at it. Third, he developed his theme forcefully and clearly. Now watch it unfold. "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands." Point number one.

Being the Creator, He cannot be contained. Now, my friends in Athens, very religious people who build shrines to gods that they revere, let me tell you first of all about this unknown God. He is the Creator of heaven and earth, and therefore a shrine won't do. You can't contain omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. It's uncontainable. I can just picture verse 24 when Paul says it: "The God who made the world and all things in it."

Can't you just see that sweeping gesture? He's standing on the hill looking over all this Athens and the beauty of it and all of its structure, and he says the God who made all these things doesn't dwell in any shrine. I can just see those guys. You get a little spooked when you have worshipped an unknown god in a shrine all your life and you've proclaimed that, and now you've got a guy saying He's alive and well.

Second fact: being the Originator, He has no needs. Verse 25: "Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things." Isn't that good? It's simple enough for a child to get. Well, I thought he was speaking to intellectuals? He is. He's not speaking down to them. He's speaking in terms they can understand. Don't kid yourself. The intellectual is an intellectual in his realm.

He's a specialist in music, or mathematics, or science, but not theology. Don't think you can toss books at them with all of those phrases and terms and say that'll turn their life around automatically. God says model that message clearly and carefully. And Paul is saying this Originator does not have needs. Oh, do we need that reminder? He does not dwell in temples made with hands, and He doesn't need anything.

God doesn't need our information. That ought to encourage us. When you pray, you don't have to inform God. "Lord, remember three days ago I asked You to do such and such? I thought You might have forgotten, so I'm bringing it to Your attention again." He doesn't have to have that. Or "Lord, you know how so-and-so is doing this, and let me tell you about what she did the other day." He doesn't need that. He knows what she did. When He's ready, He'll zap her.

He's got it together. The only thing He needs is our worship. That's the only thing. And He takes pleasure in it. He seeks our worship. It's the only thing He seeks from us. He doesn't need this stuff. He's the Originator. Third, being intelligent, He has a definite plan. Listen up, Stoics. Listen up, Epicureans. Verse 26: "He made from one every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined the appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation."

This God who determined appointed times has set the parameters. Why? "That they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us." He's near. Build all the shrines down through the ages and you will not come closer to Him. He is near. He is ever accessible. He has definite plans and He is accessible. Now there's one more point that he makes. Verse 28: "For in Him we live and move and exist."

Now, right at this moment, Paul interjects an illustration. Now, I wonder why when I read this text? Why would he do it? The same reason anyone does it: to recapture attention, to give a little bit of refreshment. You know, there was just so much that could be taken in in one sitting before you could let a window of light open and bring in some relief. That's what an illustration does. It clarifies and it refreshes.

Paul does it from a poet. See the quotation? He says, "To verify what I'm saying, let me quote from one of your own poets." Aratus of Soli, who lived in the third century BC, wrote a poem. And he's been quoted several times, so he refers to it in the plural, "the poets." And he lifts a line from it that says, verse 28, "For we are also His offspring." Not only do they know it, they've learned it from childhood.

You want to hear the whole poem? It just has four lines. "Zeus fills the streets, the marts, Zeus fills the seas, the shores, the rivers. Everywhere our need is Zeus. We also are his offspring." Paul happened to leave off the first three lines because it isn't Zeus. It's Jesus Christ. And he picks up the thought from the unknown god and he says, "Listen to what one of your poets said about someone you can trust in. He called him Zeus. It's not Zeus. It's Jesus Christ."

By the way, it's time to say something about illustrations, so that's the fourth point I should make that clear. He kept their attention with relevant illustrations. No matter how good your subject matter may be, illustrations are needed. You will be asked to communicate as a Christian on several occasions. Be certain that in the plan for communication you don't just dump a load of facts. You need to include some time of refreshment, some clarification. There's a word for individuals that never illustrate: boring.

Now, fifth, he applied the message personally. This is where it gets really neat. He has given this series of truths, and now he comes to the part, verse 29, that says, "This is for you." We're not giving a theological essay. 29, "Being then," there it is, that's a turning point, "then." Verse 30, "therefore." Those are transitional terms.

Aaron Massey: Those are five factors Chuck identified in Paul's speech that made it excellent. One, start where your audience is. Two, build a bridge from the familiar to the unfamiliar. Three, develop your theme forcefully and clearly and stick to it. Four, use illustrations strategically, not just to teach but also to recapture attention. And five, apply your message personally.

So that's our third sermon, our third section. Next, our final section comes from a sermon Chuck called "Preaching as Paul Preached." And it's not from his Acts series, but his biographical series on Paul. He's also preaching on Acts 17, verses 15 through 34 here, returning to that Mars Hill passage and extracting from it some fresh insights for us.

Chuck Swindoll: The reason Paul could speak as he spoke was because he felt what he felt. And he felt what he felt because he saw what he saw. Great sermons begin with the insight of seeing what others no longer see and feeling what the majority no longer feel, which fuels the passion to say what few are saying. I have four things I want to leave with you, and I don't want you to ever forget them.

All four taken from Paul's model. Number one, always start where your audience is. Always start where your audience is. They are on island B, you may exist on island A. They need a bridge. You bridge them there by the familiar. Start where they are. Find a way to get into their world and begin there. Second, always speak the truth without fear. Do not be overly impressed with those who have come to the class, or sit in the church, or are a part of your ministry.

Makes no difference how much they're worth or how little. Makes no difference what their gender may be. Makes no difference what their level of interest is. Makes no difference how they respond to you. It makes no difference. Your task is to speak the truth without fear. Learn that from one who didn't hear that early enough in his ministry. Speak the truth, that's your responsibility, and do it unintimidated. As you've learned today, the most brilliant in Paul's day had never even been exposed to the Gospel.

Third, always stay on the subject. It's God, it's God, it's He, it's Him, it's Himself, it's He, it's God, it's Him, it's His children, it's divine nature. He has fixed a time, He will judge, and there's a man whom He has sent to do so because He raised Him from the dead. Same theme all the way through. Great preaching carries a theme. The fourth, always surrender the results to God. Once they have heard, your responsibility has stopped.

Your task is to communicate truth. It's God's job to break their hearts. They don't need to be manipulated. God doesn't need your help. You don't need to follow them home. You don't need to push them in a corner. God will reach them, just as He did in this case. And you finished your message, you walk out of their midst. Paul spoke what he spoke because he felt as he felt.

And he felt as he felt because he saw what he saw. That's good preaching. Good preachers see what the majority don't see. Usually, it's the invisible. It's that which is hard to get your arms around. It's the gnawing emptiness of the human soul that the preacher sees and understands and can articulate. And when he sees it, he feels deeply, as Paul was provoked in his spirit. And being provoked, he was led to say what he said. It's just that simple.

Aaron Massey: So that's it for this video. I hope these insights from Chuck's sermons on Acts have equipped you with practical principles that you can use in your own preaching and teaching. Remember, it's not about being a polished professional; it's about being a faithful, clear, Christ-centered expositor of God's Word. Again, I'm Aaron Massey with Insight for Living, and it's our privilege and joy to serve you as you lead God's people and preach His Word.

Before we go, let me point you to a few resources. First, be sure to like this video, subscribe to our channel, and check out our Preach the Word playlist, where we're posting Chuck's best insights on this important calling. Second, if you don't own a copy of Chuck's book on preaching, "Saying It Well," we highly recommend it. It's about his preaching journey that is also like a practical preaching manual. It's a great read.

Third, Insight for Living has a section on our website where you can find hundreds of articles and sign up for our weekly email bringing you—and it's just for you, church leaders—an insight from Chuck. One week you'll get a technical tip for preaching, and the next you might get a biblical principle for shepherding. Find all the info you need in the description. Thank you so much for listening. Preach the Word and say it well.