A Christmas Special: The Place of Humour in Sermons.
Well a lovely day, presents and food galore and I couldn't think of a more suitable extract than this. It sets the tone beautifully for this day.
"I would not dare to say that there is no place for humour in preaching but I do suggest that it should not be a very big place because of the nature of the work and the character of the Truth with which we are dealing. The preacher is dealing with and concerned about souls and their destiny. He is standing between God and men and acting as an ambassador for Christ. I would have thought that as that is the overriding consideration, the most one can say for the place of humour is that it is only allowable if it is natural.
The man who tries to be humorous is an abomination and should never be allowed to enter a pulpit. The same applies to a man who does it deliberately in order to intigrate himself with the people. That is the kind of thing that has been expected of so-called 'professional evangelists' and has always passed my comprehension.
A final word ... the length of the sermon. What determines the length of the sermon? First and foremost the preacher. Time is a very relative thing is it not? Ten minutes from some men seems like an age, while an hour from another passes like a few minutes".
Ref: taken from Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Preaching and Preachers" - published by Hodders.
Happy Christmas!!
3 comments:
Ha ha ha!! And a merry xmas to you too, you old misery!! :) x
Thought you'd appreciate!
I have to say, I do appreciate your careful choice of pix so far on your blog!! V impressive. Dr L-J and Terry!
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