Roy W Harris

Called to Preach, Now What? Roy W Harris

This book can be a tremendous help to rookie and veteran preachers alike. It is filled with practical suggestions on: knowing one has been called to preach, how to develop sermons, along with a plethora of sermon topics and simple skeleton outlines. It is a handy guide to art of sermon preparation and development. God's call to preach his Gospel is a serious matter. We should understand the gravity of the call before we say yes to it. Our ultimate accountability for the sermon is not to the deacons, congregation or our alma mater, but to Christ. Christ is the one who calls us, empowers us, and one day we will answer to him and undergo his examination. Romans 14:12 makes this very clear, "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Albert Barnes in his notes says states this about preachers, "That is, of his character and conduct; his words and actions; his plans and purposes. In the fearful arraignment of that day, every work and purpose shall be brought forth, and tried by the unerring standard of justice. As we shall be called to so fearful an account with God, we should not be engaged in condemning our brethren, but should examine whether we are prepared to give up our account with joy, and not with grief."Preachers are held to a high standard, God's standard. We are called to accountability when we are called to preach. The Apostle James cautions preachers, "My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation" (James 3:1). Every believer will appear before The Judgment Seat of Christ. But the strictest, strongest, and severest judgment is reserved for preachers or teachers of the Word of God. We must remember that the call to preach is a serious matter. The call involves heavy responsibilities, divine accountability and eternal consequences. The call to preach is joined at the hip with the command to prepare. The Bible is filled with examples of and the need for study, training, preparation and education. The Old Testament model began with training by parents in the home and there is no shortage of admonition to prepare in the New Testament. Why should we prepare to preach? We are instructed to. Paul tells Timothy that he must study or prepare if he is to be an effective preacher. Notice what the apostle Paul instructed the young preacher Timothy to do in 2 Timothy 2:15: Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (KJV). We should remember each time we stand to proclaim God's Word, that God himself is looking our hearts, listening to each word we speak and recording the entire sermon for eternity. We must do our best to be as prepared as possible. We will stand before God one day and be accountable for our ministries including each sermon we preach. We want Christ's approval and to hear him say well done. We do not want to hang our heads in shame hearing God's sad words of disapproval.