Do you have beautiful feet? You might want to consider Romans 10:15 before answering my informal Burge Poll question. "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!" Congratulations if you are a preacher of the gospel, because your calling elevates your standing into a sanctified group with attractive feet.
In my article titled "
Preparing Sermons that Deliver," you were instructed about how to prepare biblical messages. This article is designed to guide you through the delivery phase of homiletics. Sermon preparation and delivery should not be thought of as two separate acts but in a unified manner. Broadus wrote, "And as the preparation is not a speech till it is spoken, so the mere manner of speaking should not at the time receive separate attention." The two are intricately linked, and the preacher should not seek to put them asunder.
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Moreover, preparation and delivery of the sermon should come from one unimpeachable source: a person of integrity. Yes, character counts! Aristotle latched onto this truth more than two millennia ago when he wrote, "The orator persuades by moral character when his speech is delivered in such a manner as to render him worthy of confidence." Paul's praise of Timothy in
Phil. 2:22 should be a model for every preacher as he said, "You know his proven character."
The Use of Voice and BodyThe apostle Paul said in
1 Timothy 4:13, "Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine." Paul, the experienced preacher commanded Timothy to "give attention" (literally "to hold") to the public reading of Scripture. Those who are entrusted with this sacred privilege should pay careful attention to practice reading the text for the sermon before it is read in public.
Sadly, the public reading of the preacher's biblical text has lost the prominence it once held. "Unfortunately, the reading of Scripture in worship services today is often relegated to secondary status -- if it is read at all." The advice given by Grant and Reed in
Telling Stories to Touch the Heart should he heeded, "Some find that reading the story aloud 20 to 30 times privately allows them to be truly comfortable when they read to an audience." Your goal should be to imitate Jesus, who read the Scripture with such reverential conviction in
Luke 4 that verse 20 says, "And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him."
Read the Scripture with good posture. Aspire to reflect the author's tone of the passage with your voice. Bartow's observation is profound that "neutrality is an interpretation." Don't attempt to imitate others with your voice. Be content with the tool (the voice) that the Supreme Tool Maker has given you and trust that God's Holy Spirit will use that unique tool for the glory of God.
