“Whether the preacher be what is called a linguist or not, he ought to know at least two languages, the language of books and the language of common life” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 343).
The Plain Truth About It
“There is prodigious power in this plainness of presentation. It is the power of actual contact. A plain writer, or speaker, makes the truth and the mind impinge on each other. When the style is plain, the mind of the hearer experiences the sensation of being touched; and this sensation is always impressive, for a …
Pulpit Smoke
“A certain grand-looking obscurity is often pleasing to some hearers and readers, who suppose that it shows vast learning, or great originality, or immense profundity. To treat subjects in this fashion is no new thing” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 339).
Transparent Style
“The most important property of style is perspicuity. Style is excellent when, like the atmosphere, it shows the thought, but itself is not seen” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 339).
So Don’t Get Too Grammary
“Correct habits may be formed, and right principles comprehended, without books of grammar, but more rapidly and surely with them, provided we use them only as helps, and aim to go deeper than they can carry us” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 328).
Style Honors Another
“The best style attracts least attention to itself, and none but the critical observer is apt to appreciate its excellence, most men giving credit solely to the matter, and having no idea how much the manner has contributed to attract and impress them” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 324).
American Bombast
“And the great American fault, in speaking and writing, is an excessive vehemence, a constant effort to be striking. Our style, as well as our delivery, too often lacks the calmness of conscious strength, the response of simple sincerity, the quiet earnestness which only now and then becomes impassioned” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 323).
Whetted Style
“Style is not a thing of mere ornament. Style is the glitter and polish of a warrior’s sword, but is also its keen edge” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 322).
Metaphors Install
“A lecture may connect a teacher’s notebook with a student’s notebook, but a sermon must connect God’s mind and heart with the mind and heart of the listener. It’s when we penetrate the imagination with metaphors that we assist the listener in ‘putting things together'” (Wiersbe, Preaching and Teaching with Imagination, p. 80).
Well, Yeah, There’s That
“One great reason why many ministers find expository preaching difficult is, that they have not been sufficiently accustomed to study the Bible” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 308).