Preaching And Teaching
The Word Of God
Book Three

Editor's Notes and Introduction

Etext, last modified June 16, 2001, edited by Clyde C. Price, Jr. {CLYDE.PRICE@CDLF.ORG} for the Christian Digital Library Foundation from a printed book (used by CCP as a textbook at the Atlanta School of Biblical Studies) published by ....Fleming H. Revell Company {no date, but first published shortly after 1900} Printed in the United States of America.

CDLF Etext Editor's Note: Torrey himself says that this is not a textbook on homiletics, and it is not. BUT it is a wealth of practical suggestions and resources which are either immediately useable or easily adaptable for contemporary use.

Most of my "comments" in the first two volumes also apply to this one. I assume that the three sections will be distributed both together and separately. This volume required enough typographical corrections to mention it (especially with Bible references). I also made some punctuation changes. Spelling in the whole book is slightly updated (Americanized), but not fully.

A disadvantage of this work is that it is OLD: The cultural context and resources cited are a century out of date.

An ADVANTAGE of this work is that it is OLD: It contains much genuine wisdom which grows out of real-world experience of ministering the Word of God in (by our standards) a non-technological society, and giving a variety of ways, methods and strategies for feeding God's children their Father's bread. The "quaintness" adds an interesting flavor, and the aspects that are culturally-specific are much easier to spot than in a "contemporary" book.

When Torrey cites other authors/ workers concerning how they did something, he repeatedly exhorts the reader not to "copy" the source (too much), but to see how they did what they were doing, and then figure out how to accomplish the same thing. In 2001, our rapidly expanding technological resources (tools, toys) make many innovations possible which were not a century ago (such as the easy sharing of this work and other Christian resources in digital form). Torrey exhorts us NOT to copy any example slavishly, but to look for principles more than techniques. He also offers us his sermon notes as EXAMPLES on how to prepare sermons, and exhorts readers NOT to take these unchanged or undigested and simply use them without personal adaptation. In retyping this material, I found many places where I wanted to quibble, or would have done it differently. That's GOOD. That's the way Torrey WANTED us to handle this material. I fully intend to "adapt" much of this treasure for my own public use, but not until after I have digested it and made it my own.

If you use this volume as a primary textbook in homiletics, you'll flunk, but it makes a wonderful resource for people who are actually preaching and teaching the Word of God, and would be a valuable ancillary resource in a class where Torrey's specific content could be discussed, evaluated, and UPDATED.

An old edition of Broadus' "On the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons" is on CDLF's "to-do shelf", although this work is longer and harder to read than many 21st century students would appreciate. Worldwide, culture is changing (cultureS ARE changing), and the world is becoming much smaller. I urge those who would communicate the eternal truths of God's Word to study the principles, techniques and tools of COMMUNICATION, particularly "expository speaking" (look up the term), "persuasive speaking", and principles of logic and debate.

I will echo and underline Torrey's advice to gain experience ministering to children. I have heard several enthusiastic young men exclaim, "God called me to PREACH! He didn't call me to "teach"KIDS"!" (as if "teaching kids" were some sort of second- or third- class occupation for "losers"). From the beginnings of the Church, those who would be servants of the Word have been employed as catechists and teachers of children. If you dislike children, then you really dislike PEOPLE, and you probably shouldn't try to be a minister. If you learn how to communicate with children effectively, you can communicate with ANYBODY. Seminary graduates --appropriately--learn "theological jargon" and complex concepts in their studies, but to communicate the truths of the Scripture to ordinary people requires effort and study and practice. It is NOT "effective ministry" to inflict your theological jargon on your local church hearers. --It takes some people several years to "get over" their seminary studies, even if they went to a GOOD seminary. Ministry to children, and to adults with limited education and/or language skills (in the language in which you are ministering) is very valuable PRACTICE in communicating.

Some of the methods detailed in this work have fallen into disuse, and some have changed names. I personally believe that ALL the methods described by Torrey could be used profitably if used wisely and well.

During the 20th century, there has grown a tremendous wealth of Bible study resources in English (and other major languages) which would be profitable to consult and employ (as well as many which are not profitable). MOST of what Torrey details can be used in circumstances where there are fewer "other" resources, perhaps including other-language situations into which resources have not been translated.

AN APPEAL: If you and/or your co-workers are capable of translating "How To Work For Christ" into another language, perhaps "adapting" it somewhat for your target audience and documenting such adaptations, PLEASE prayerfully consider DOING SO. (And please inform us at CDLF of your project.) The original work and this etext are in the public domain, so there will be no fees charged you from us, and you can --and should -- claim a translator's copyright on your work. We simply want to KNOW about the availability of books we like in other languages.

Strangely, during the 20th century we have also witnessed an increase IN THE CHURCH of BIBLICAL ILLITERACY: Professing Christians have not read the Bible for themselves and are unfamiliar with its contents. Remedying this will require not only encouragement from the pulpit, but personal encouragement. I know a Methodist pastor who encouraged his congregation to read through the Bible every year, using a public domain Bible reading calendar which he had reprinted (and the text of which is available on the CDLF website). After a decade, he had FULLY HALF the congregation, including youth, actually reading through the Bible every year. I know of another church which downloaded the etext of this schedule from the CDLF site, and each month published the OT & NT readings in their multi-paged church bulletin, encouraging everybody to READ THE BIBLE TOGETHER AS A CHURCH. This one thing could be more important than many other means of "spoon feeding" spiritual babies: Believers MUST learn to feed themselves!

Since Torrey published HTWFC, the number of English Bible translations has multiplied confusingly. He often notes differences between the Authorized ("King James") Version, "AV", and the (English) Revised Version of 1885, "RV". The American Standard Version of 1901 (ASV) was a further revision of the RV, all of these being very literal. In English in the early 21st century, our bookshelf of available versions gives much more opportunity for comparison. Comparison of a "standard" or more literal (more "formal equivalence") version with a less literal (more "dynamic equivalence") version can be very profitable. Most people, including some ministers, NEED an explanation of the varied approaches to Bible translation and the uses and limits of various types of translations. A personal word to workers: If you have opportunity to study Biblical Greek and Hebrew, DO IT. The Bible was not written in English, and the Body of Christ needs to be peppered with folks who have access to the "real" Bible.

This book is NOT "inspired", but it IS "inspiring" and challenging. Take this material from Torrey in the spirit in which Paul wrote, "...but I give you my opinion, and it is that of a man who, through the Lord's mercy, is deserving of your confidence." (1 Corinthians 7:25 Montgomery). Torrey was a man whose mind was saturated with the Scriptures and who had spent his life applying God's Word in practical pointed ways to his hearers, and in bringing MANY people to personal faith in Christ. His words are WORTHY of study! All of HTWFC should be handled and used "thoughtfully", with continual review of our own "cultural context" and that of our "target audience" and --most importantly-- of the Scriptures themselves. Perhaps if this THOUGHTFUL use is emphasized strongly enough, this great old book would not need to be "updated" at all.

God bless you richly as you seek to know Christ and to make Him known as the Way, the Truth and the Life.-- Clyde Price June 2001 Alpharetta, Georgia, USA

Chapter 1: How to Prepare a Sermon

Chapter 2: Preparation and Delivery of Bible Readings

Chapter 3: Illustrations and Their Use

Chapter 4: Teaching the Bible

Chapter 5: Textual Sermons in Outline

Chapter 6: Topical Sermons in Outline

Chapter 7: Expository Sermons and Bible Readings in Outline
 
 

There is no intention in this chapter of presenting an elaborate treatise on homiletics. It simply aims to give practical suggestions for the preparation of sermons that will win souls for Christ and edify believers.

A great many neglect to do that, and when they get through preaching they do not know what they have been talking about, neither does the audience. Never get up to speak without having something definite in your mind to speak about. There may be exceptions to that rule. There are times when one is called on suddenly to speak, and one has a right then to look to God for subject matter and manner of address. There are other times when one has made full preparation, but it becomes evident when he is about to speak that he must take up some other line of truth. In such a case also, one must depend upon God. But under ordinary circumstances, one should either have something definite in his mind that he is to speak about, or else keep silent. It is true God has said in His Word, "Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it" (Psalm 81:10), but this promise, as the context clearly shows, has nothing whatever to do with our opening our mouth in speaking. Most people who take this promise as applying to their preaching, and who make their boast that they never prepare beforehand what they are going to say, when they open their mouths have them filled with anything but the wisdom of God. Christ did say to His disciples,"Take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be give you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you" (Matthew 10:19-20); but this promise did not have to do with preaching, but with witnessing for Christ in circumstances of emergency and peril. In all cases of similar emergency, we have a right to rest in the same promise, and we have a right also to take the spirit of it as applying to our preaching. But if one has an opportunity to prepare for the services before him, and neglects that opportunity, God will not set a premium upon his laziness and neglect, by giving him a sermon in his time of need.

How shall we select our text or subject?

1. ASK GOD FOR IT. The best texts and topics are those which a man gets on his knees. No one should ever prepare a sermon without first going alone with God, and there definitely seeking His wisdom in the choice of a text or topic.

2. KEEP A TEXT BOOK. I do not mean the kind that you buy, but the kind that you make for yourself. Have a small book that you can carry in your vest pocket, and as subjects or texts occur to you in your regular study of the Word, or in hearing others preach, or in conversation with people, jot them down in your book. Oftentimes texts will come to you when you are traveling somewhere or going about your regular work. If so, put them down at once. It is said that Ralph Waldo Emerson would sometimes be heard at night stumbling around his room in the dark. When his wife would ask him what he was doing he would reply that he had a thought and he wanted to pin it. Oftentimes when you are reading a book, a text will come to you that is not mentioned in the book at all. Indeed, one of the best ways to get to thinking is to take up some book that stimulates thought. It will set your own mental machinery in operation. Not that you are going to speak on anything in that particular book, but it sets you to thinking, and your thought goes out along the line on which you are going to speak. Very often while listening to a sermon, texts or subjects or sermon points will come to your mind. I do not mean that you will take the points of the preacher, though you may sometimes do that if you will thoroughly digest them and make them your own, but something that he says will awaken a train of thought in your own mind. I rarely hear a man preach but his sermon suggests many sermons to me.

Put but one text or subject on a page of your text book. Then when points or outlines come to you jot them down under the proper text or subject. In this way you will be accumulating material for future use. After a while texts and topics and outlines will multiply so rapidly that you will never be able to catch up with them, and will never be at a loss for something to preach about.

3. EXPOUND A BOOK IN ORDER. Take a book of the Bible and expound it. You should be very careful about this however, or you will be insufferably dry. One of the best preachers in an eastern State undertook to expound one of the long books of the Bible. He made it so dry that some of his congregation said they were going to stay away from church until he got through that book, they were thoroughly tired of it. Study the masters in this line of work, men like Alexander Maclaren, William H. Taylor, and Horatius Bonar. F.B. Meyer's expositions on Abraham, Jacob, Elijah, Moses, etc. are very suggestive.

4. READ THE BIBLE IN COURSE, AND READ UNTIL YOU COME TO A TEXT THAT YOU WISH TO USE. This was George Muller's plan, and he is a safe man to follow. He was wonderfully used of God. When the time drew near to preach a sermon, he would take up the Bible and open it to the place where he was reading at that time, first going down upon his knees and asking God to give him a text, and then he would read on and on until he came to the desired text.

I do not say make your points, -- find them, find them in your text, or if you are preaching on a topic, find them in the various texts in the Bible that bear upon that topic. It is desirable often to preach on a topic instead of on a single text. Never write a sermon and then hunt up a text for it. That is one of the most wretched and outrageous things that a man who believes that the Bible is the Word of God can do. It is simply using the Word of God as a label or endorsement for your idea. We are ambassadors for Christ, with a message. Our message is in the Word of God, and we have no right to prepare our own message, and then go to the Word of God merely to get a label for it.

How shall we find our points?

1. BY A CAREFUL ANALYSIS OF THE TEXT. Write down one by one the points contained in the text. Suppose for example your text is Acts 13:38-39:

"Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sin, And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses."

By an analysis of the text, you will find the following points taught in it:

(1) Forgiveness is preached unto us.

(2) This may be KNOWN (not merely surmised, or guessed, or hoped, or believed).

(3) It is known by the resurrection of Christ (this comes out in the "therefore" and the context). Forgiveness is not a mere hope, but a certainty resting upon a solid and uncontrovertible fact. The one who here speaks had seen the risen Christ.

(4) This forgiveness is through Jesus Christ. In developing this point, the question will arise and should be answered, How is forgiveness through Jesus Christ?

(5) Every one who believeth is forgiven. Under this point there will be four special points:

(a) He IS forgiven (not SHALL be).

(b) EVERY ONE that believeth is forgiven (RV).

(c) He is forgiven ALL things.

(d) The meaning of justified.

2. ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TEXT. For example, suppose you take Matthew 11:28 as a text:

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

You might ask questions on that text as follows:

(1) Who are invited?

(2) What is the invitation?

(3) What will be the result of accepting the invitation?

(4) What will be the result of rejecting the invitation?

One of the easiest and simplest ways of preaching is to take a text and ask questions about it that you know will be in the minds of your hearers, and then answer these questions. If you are preaching upon a subject, you can ask and answer questions regarding the subject. Suppose, for example, that you are to preach upon the subject of the new birth; you could ask the following questions and give Bible answers to them, and thus prepare an excellent sermon:

(1) What is to be born again?

(2) Is the new birth necessary?

(3) Why is it necessary?

(4) What are the results of being born again?

(5) How can one be born again?

If you answer the questions that suggest themselves to your own mind, you will probably answer the questions that suggest themselves to the minds of others. Imagine your congregation to be a lot of interrogation points. Take up their questions and answer them, and you will interest them.

3. IF YOU ARE GOING TO PREACH UPON A TOPIC, GO THROUGH THE BIBLE ON THAT TOPIC AND WRITE DOWN THE VARIOUS TEXTS THAT BEAR UPON IT. As you look these texts over, they will naturally fall under different subdivisions. These subdivisions will be your principal points. For example, suppose you are going to preach on "Prayer." Some of the passages on prayer will come under the head of "The Power of Prayer"; that can be your first main point. Others will come under the head of "How to Pray"; that will be your second main point, with doubtless many subordinate points. Other passages will come under the head of "Hindrances to Prayer," and this will make your third main point.

After finding your points, the next thing is to select them. You will seldom be able to take up all the points that you find in a text, or upon a topic, unless you preach much longer than the average congregation will stand. Few ministers can wisely preach longer than thirty or forty minutes. To a person just beginning to preach, twenty minutes is often long enough and sometimes too long. At a cottage meeting fifteen minutes is certainly long enough, and usually too long. The more you study a subject the more points you will get, and it is a great temptation to give the people all these points. They have all been helpful to you, and you wish to give them all out to them, but you must bear in mind that the great majority of your congregation will not be so interested in truth as you are. You must strenuously resist the temptation to tell people everything you know. You will have other opportunities to give the rest of the points if you give well the few that you now select; but if you attempt to tell all that you know in a single sermon, you will never have another chance. In selecting your points, the question is not which points are the best in the abstract, but which are best to give to your particular congregation, at this particular time. In preaching on a given text it will be wise to use certain points at one time and certain other points at another time. The question is, which are the points that will do the most good and be the most helpful to your congregation ON THIS SPECIAL OCCASION.

There is a great deal in the arrangement of your points. There are many preachers who have good points in their sermons, but they do not make them in a good order. They begin where they ought to end, and end where they ought to begin. What may be the right order at one time may not be the right way at another time. There are, however, a few suggestions that may prove helpful:

1. MAKE YOUR POINTS IN LOGICAL ORDER. Put those first that come first in thought. There are many exceptions to this rule. If our purpose in preaching is not to preach a good sermon but to win souls, a point will oftentimes be more startling and produce more effect out of its logical order than in it.

2. DO NOT MAKE YOUR STRONGEST POINTS FIRST AND THEN TAPER DOWN TO THE WEAKEST. If some points are weaker than others, it is best to lead along up to a climax. If a point is really weak, it is best to leave it out altogether.

3. PUT THAT POINT LAST THAT LEADS TO THE IMPORTANT DECISION THAT YOU HAVE IN VIEW IN YOUR SERMON. It may not in itself be the strongest point, but it is the one that leads to action; therefore put it last in order that it may not be forgotten before the congregation are called upon to take the action that you have in mind.

4. "Give your points in such a way that the first leads naturally to the second, and the second to the third, and the third to the fourth, etc." This is of great importance in speaking without notes. It is quite possible to so construct a sermon that when one has once gotten well under way everything that follows comes so naturally out of what precedes it that one may deliver the whole sermon without any conscious effort of memory. When you have selected your points and written them down, look at them attentively and see which point would naturally come first, and then ask yourself which one of the remaining points this would naturally suggest. When you have chosen the two, in the same way select the third, and so on.

One of the most important parts of the sermon is the introduction. The two most important parts are the introduction and conclusion. The middle is of course important; do not understand me that you should have a strong introduction and conclusion and disregard all that lies between, but it is of the very first importance that you begin well and end well. In the introduction you get the attention of the people; in the conclusion you get the decisive results; so you should be especially careful about these. You must catch the attention of people first of all. This you should do by your first few sentences, by the very first sentence you utter if possible. How shall we do this? Sometimes by a graphic description of the circumstances of the text. Mr. Moody was peculiarly gifted along this line. He would take a Bible story and make it live right before you. Sometimes it is well to introduce a sermon by speaking of some interesting thing which you have just heard or seen -- some incident that you have read in the paper, some notable picture that you have seen in a gallery, some recent discovery of science. In one sermon that I often preach, and that has been used of God to the conversion of many, I usually begin by referring to a remarkable picture I once saw in Europe. I start out by saying, "I once saw a picture that made an impression upon my mind that I have never forgotten." Of course everybody wants to know about that picture. I do not care anything about the picture; I only use it to secure the attention of people and thus lead directly up to the subject. If you have several good stories in your sermon, it is wise to tell one of the very best at the start. Sometimes a terse and striking statement of the truth which you are going to preach will startle people and awaken their attention at the very outset. Sometimes it is well to jump right into the heart of your text or subject, making some crisp and striking statements, thus causing everybody to prick up his ears and think, "Well, I wonder what is coming next."

Illustrate every point in the sermon. It will clinch the matter, and fasten it in a person's mind. Think up good illustrations, but do not over-illustrate. One striking and impressive illustration will fasten the point. More will be said about illustrations in a future chapter.

How shall we conclude a sermon? The way to conclude a sermon is to sum up and apply what you have been saying. One can usually learn more as to how to close a sermon by listening to a lawyer in court than he can by listening to the average preacher in a pulpit. Preachers aim too much at delivering a perfect discourse, while a lawyer aims at carrying his case. The sermon should close with application and personal appeal. It is a good thing to close a gospel sermon with some striking incident, an incident that touches men's hearts and makes them ready for action. I have often heard men preach a sermon, and right in the middle they would tell some striking story that melted and moved people, then they would go on to the close without any incident whatever. If they had only told the story at the close, the sermon would have been much more effective. It would have been better still if they had had that moving story in the middle, and another just as good or better at the close.

A true sermon does not exist for itself. This, as has already been hinted, is the great fault with many of our modern sermonizers. The sermon exists for itself as a work of art, but it is not worth anything in the line of doing good. As a work of rhetorical art it is perfect, but as a real sermon it is a total failure. What did it accomplish? A true sermon exists for the purpose of leading some one to Christ or building some one up in Christ. I have heard people criticize some preachers, and say that they broke nearly all the rules of rhetoric and homiletics, and that the sermon was a failure, when the sermon had accomplished its purpose and brought many to the acceptance of Christ. Again, I have heard people say, "What a magnificent sermon we have just heard!" and I have asked, "What good did it do you?" and they would say, "I do not know that it did me any good." I have further asked what good it did any one else, what there was in it that would particularly benefit any one. It was a beautiful sermon, but it was a beautiful fraud. A few years ago a well known professor of homiletics went to hear Mr. Moody preach. He afterwards told his class that Mr. Moody violated every law of homiletics. Perhaps he did, but he won souls to Christ by the thousands and tens of thousands, more souls, probably, in one year than that professor of homiletics ever won to Christ in his whole lifetime. A scientific angler will get a fishing rod of remarkable lightness and elasticity, a reel of the latest pattern, a silk line of the finest texture, flies of the choicest assortment, and he will go to the brook and throw out his line with the most wonderful precision. The fly falls where he planned that it should, but he does not catch anything. A little boy comes along with a freshly cut willow stick for a rod, a piece of tow string for a line, a bent pin for a hook, and angle worms for bait. He throws out his line without any theoretic knowledge of the art and pulls in a speckled trout. The boy is the better fisher. The man has a perfect outfit, and is wonderfully expert in throwing his line, but he does not catch anything. A good deal of our pretended fishing for men is of the same character. Let us never forget that we are fishers for men, and our business is to catch men alive for Christ. Let us not try to save our sermons, but to save men's souls.

I would not advise you to write your sermons out, because what you have written might afterwards enslave you, but I would advise you to do a great deal of writing, not for the sake of preaching what you have written, but for the sake of improving your style. Most emphatically would I advise you never to read a sermon. The more preachers I listen to, the more firmly convinced do I become that a sermon ought never to be read. Of course, there are advantages in writing the sermon out and reading it, but they are counterbalanced many times over by the disadvantages. I once heard a man deliver an address, who said before beginning, that as he wished to say a great deal in a very short time, he had written his address. It was a magnificent address, but he had no freedom of delivery, and the audience did not get it at all. So far as practical results were concerned, it would have been a great deal better if he had said less and spoken without his manuscript. Furthermore, it is not true that a man can say more without a manuscript than he can with it. Any one who really has a call to preach can train himself to speak just as freely as he writes. He can be just as logical. He can pack his sermon as full of matter and argument. His style can be just as faultless. It will be necessary, however, that he should think out closely beforehand just what he is going to say. After thinking your sermon all out carefully, when you come to preach, your mind will naturally follow the lines along which you have been thinking. You set the mental machinery going, and it will go of itself. The mind is just as much a creature of habit as any part of our body, and after one has thought consecutively and thoroughly along a certain line, when he takes up that thought again his mind naturally runs in the grooves that have been cut out.

There are many different kinds of Bible readings, and it is well to bear in mind the distinctions between them.

1. THE WHOLE BIBLE TOPICAL BIBLE READING. By this we mean the Bible reading that takes up some topic and goes through the whole Bible to find its texts for the study of the topic. For example, if the Bible reading is on the subject, "The Power of Prayer," passages for the illustration and exposition of the subject are taken from any book in the Bible where they are found.

2. THE BOOK TOPICAL BIBLE READING. By this we mean the taking up of a topic as it is treated in a single book in the Bible; for example, the Holy Spirit in John's Gospel, or the Believer's Certainties in the First Epistle of John. These subjects are handled simply as they are treated in these individual books.

3. THE CHAPTER TOPICAL BIBLE READING. In this the subject is handled simply as it is found in a single chapter in the Bible; for example, the Freedom of the Believer in Romans 8; or, the Priceless Possessions of the Believer in Philippians 4; or, the Glory of the Believer in 1 John 5; or, Christ as seen in 1 John 2.

4. THE GENERAL SURVEY OF A BOOK BIBLE READING. In this form of Bible reading there is a rapid survey of the salient facts or great truths of some book in the Bible.

5. THE GENERAL SURVEY OF A CHAPTER BIBLE READING. This varies from the preceding one, in that a single chapter is considered instead of an entire book.

6. THE RUNNING COMMENTARY BIBLE READING.

7. THE MUTUAL HELP BIBLE READING.

The first matter of importance in the construction of Bible readings is the choice of subjects. The following suggestions will help in this choice of subjects:

1. There are some great subjects that every pastor and teacher and evangelist should take up, such as the following:

(1) The Power of the Blood of Christ.

(2) The Power of the Word of God.

(3) The Power of the Holy Spirit.

(4) The Power of Prayer.

(5) How to Pray Effectually.

(6) Justification.

(7) The New Birth.

(8) Sanctification.

(9) God's Plan for Every Believer's Life.

(10) Assurance.

(11) Faith.

(12) Repentance.

(13) Love.

(14) Thanksgiving.

(15) Worship.

(16) Future Destiny of Believers.

(17) Future Destiny of Impenitent Sinners.

(18) The Second Coming of Christ.

(19) Fulfilled Prophecies.

2. Go through Bible Text Books and Concordances, noting subjects for Bible Readings.

3. GET SUGGESTIONS FROM SUGGESTIVE BOOKS OF BIBLE READINGS. For example, Inglis' "Pegs for Preachers and Points for Christian Workers." Do not adopt these plans outright, but simply get suggestions.

4. Keep a blank book and note down such subjects as occur to you from time to time.

5. Get your subject for the meeting immediately in hand by prayer.

Having chosen your subject, the next thing to do is to get your material. This can be done in the following way:

1. LOOK UP IN THE CONCORDANCE THE PASSAGES HAVING THE WORD OR SYNONYMOUS WORDS IN IT. Suppose, for example, that the subject is "The Power of Prayer"; look up passages in the concordance under the words pray, prayer, intercession, supplication, ask, cry, call, and synonymous words. Some of these passages you will reject at once; many will not relate to prayer at all; others will relate to prayer, but not to the power of prayer; other passages you will note, to be used or rejected later. It will save time, if, instead of writing the passages down on first going through the concordance, you mark them by some sign on the margin of the concordance.

2. LOOK UP THE SUBJECT AND RELATED SUBJECTS IN YOUR TOPICAL TEXT BOOK. Suppose, for example, the subject in hand is "The Power of the Blood"; look up passages under the following subjects: Reconciliation, Atonement, Redemption, Death of Christ.

3. Look up the subject and related subjects in the book, "What the Bible Teaches."

4. "In your general Bible study be always on the watch for passages bearing on the subjects upon which you intend to teach." There are many passages which bear upon a subject which you will find neither in a concordance nor a text book; but if you study your Bible with an alert mind, these passages will be noticed by you and can be jotted down as you come to them.

5. PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAP AND SEE IF YOU CANNOT CALL TO MIND PASSAGES ON THE SUBJECT IN HAND. Sometimes it is well to construct a Bible reading absolutely without reference to concordance or text book. Of course this will be impossible for one who has not a good general knowledge of the Bible, but a Christian worker should always be growing into a walking concordance and Bible text book.

1. "Having gotten your material together, see what you can dispense with, and strike it out at once." The following four points will be helpful in the exclusion of material:

(1) Substantially the same material in different forms.

(2) Comparatively unimportant material.

(3) Material not adapted to the needs of the congregation for which you are preparing.

(4) Material about which you are uncertain.

2. FORM YOUR PRINCIPAL DIVISIONS AND ARRANGE YOUR REMAINING MATERIAL UNDER THEM. When you have excluded all the material that you can dispense with, look carefully at the material remaining. As you look at it, it will begin to classify itself. Some of it will fall under one division and some under another. When you have obtained your main divisions, look at the material in each division, and this oftentimes will begin to arrange itself in subdivisions.

3. "Get your divisions in the best possible order, and the subdivisions under them also in the best order." The following suggestions will help in this:

(1) Bring together points that naturally go together.

(2) As far as possible have each point lead naturally up to the next point.

(3) When possible, have a climax of thought with the strongest point last.

(4) Put the points that lead naturally to decision and action last.

1. SOMETIMES GIVE THE PASSAGES OUT TO OTHERS TO READ.

(1) Write them out on slips of paper and hand them out. In such a case, be sure that those who take the passages will really find them and read them in a clear tone. Have them stand up to do it unless the audience is very small.

(2) OFTENTIMES READ THE PASSAGES YOURSELF. In order to do this you will have to acquire facility in the use of your Bible, but this comes readily with practice. Some find it helpful to write in red ink in their Bible at the close of the first passage where the next one is to be found, and at the close of the second where the third is to be found, etc. If this is done, an index should be made on the fly-leaf of the Bible of subjects, and of the first text under a subject. When the same text comes in a number of Bible readings, use various colored inks, or number the marginal text that follows it, so that you will know which applies to the particular subject in hand.

Nothing goes further toward making an interesting and effective speaker than the power of illustration. All preachers who have been successful in reaching men have been especially gifted in their power of illustration. Much of the power of Spurgeon, Moody, and Guthrie lay in their power of apt and impressive illustration.

1. TO MAKE TRUTH CLEAR. No matter how clearly an abstract truth is stated, many minds fail to grasp it unless it is put in concrete form. Ministers are probably better able to grasp abstract truth than any other class of people, and yet I have noticed that even they, in order to understand truth, need to have it illustrated in concrete form. It was once said of a certain minister by one of his parishioners, "He is a remarkable man: he is so profound that I cannot understand him." This was said in honest admiration and not as a criticism, but obscurity is not a mark of profundity. It is possible to take the profoundest truth and make it so plain and simple that a child can understand it. Obscurity is rather a mark of intellectual weakness than of intellectual power, for it requires brains to make a profound truth clear and simple. But nothing will go further to make clear a truth which is of difficult statement and profound, than the skillful use of illustrations.

2. TO IMPRESS THE TRUTH. It is necessary in a public speaker that he not only make the truth clear, but that he impress it upon his hearers. A truth may be so stated as to be clearly understood, and yet make but little impression on the mind. There is perhaps nothing that will do more to impress the truth upon the mind, than the wise use of illustrations. Take for example Romans 1:16:

"For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

This verse may be clearly understood and yet make little impression upon the mind of the hearer, until you tell the story of some poor degraded wretch who has been wonderfully saved by the Gospel. Then the truth is not only understood but impressed upon the mind.

3. TO FASTEN THE TRUTH. How often you have heard a sermon, and the only thing that fastened itself in your memory was the illustration. You cannot forget an illustration, and with the illustration you remember the truth which it was used to illustrate.

4. TO ATTRACT AND HOLD ATTENTION. There is little use in talking to people unless you have their attention. Nothing is more effective in accomplishing this object than the apt use of illustrations.

5. TO REST THE MIND. If you talk continually for twenty minutes without an illustration, people begin to get very tired. Most people are not used to thinking consecutively for twenty minutes, and when you require them to do so without giving an illustration to rest and refresh the mind, they become very weary; but if here and there you drop in a good illustration it serves to rest the mind. A two-hour sermon by a man successful in illustration will tire you less than a ten-minute sermon by others. I once heard a man talk two hours to children. He held their attention spell-bound from beginning to end, and they did not seem to be tired at the end, but would have liked to have him go on. The whole secret of it seemed to be that he had marvelous power of illustration. When you find that your audience is growing tired or listless, drop in an illustration. This was Mr. Moody's constant practice. When he found his audience was heavy or getting restless, he would bring in one of his best stories out of his inexhaustible fund of anecdotes.

1. BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. That is, incidents from the Bible and pictures of Bible scenes. Christ made much use of this kind of illustration. There is reason to believe that it is the very best method of illustrating a sermon. One of Mr. Moody's greatest gifts was his power to make a Bible incident live before you; Zacchaeus, the woman who was a sinner, the woman with an issue of blood, and many other Bible persons, became living, breathing beings in whom your deepest interest was aroused. In order to acquire this gift, study Bible incidents carefully, then write them out; study them over and over again and rewrite them; tell these incidents to others, especially to children; endeavor to make them as living and interesting as you possibly can. The power to do this will grow rapidly. About the only genius there is in it is the genius of hard work. This is true of almost any form of genius. There is scarcely anything that a man cannot accomplish if only he puts his mind to it. Hard work will accomplish almost anything. If you are going to gain this power of Biblical illustration you must try and try and try again. Never be discouraged. You can certainly cultivate this faculty if only you work hard enough.

2. INCIDENTS FROM YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE. There is power in an incident that happened in your own experience that there is not in an incident which you have taken from somebody else. There is also great danger in the use of this class of illustrations; the danger is that you will make yourself too prominent. One has to be on constant guard against that. Unless one is very careful, he will soon find himself parading himself, his excellences and wisdom and achievements. It is a very subtle snare. In using these incidents from your own experience, you must put yourself in the background just as far as possible. Cases are not rare where the imagination, in use of incidents, has grown to such an extent that workers have been found borrowing incidents from the experiences and lives of others, and transferring them to their own experience. Within the past month I have received information of one who is going up and down the country telling of things which are known to have happened in the life of Mr. Moody as though they had happened in his own life. There is danger too that as you repeat a story again and again it will grow in its proportions, and at last there will be little likeness between the incident as you tell it and the event as it really occurred. And yet you will yourself get to believe, unless you are scrupulously truthful, that it actually happened that way. It may not be that "all men are liars," but most storytellers get to be liars unless they are on their guard. When it is once found out that a man is given to exaggeration (lying), and it will always be found out sooner or later, his usefulness is at an end.

3. ANECDOTES. Almost every one is interested in a story. The great power of one of the best-known after-dinner speakers in our country lies in his power to tell a good story. Lawyers and politicians and platform speakers generally make a large use of the anecdote in their speeches. Preachers of the Gospel do well to make use of the same form of illustration. Anecdotes may not be as dignified as illustrations from science and poetry, but they are more effective, and effectiveness is what the true preacher is aiming at. There is, however, great danger that the matter of storytelling be much overdone. One hears sermons which are simply a string of anecdotes, and after a while this becomes disgusting to an intelligent hearer.

4. HISTORY. Illustrations from history have the advantage of dignity as well as forcefulness. The question is often asked me by young men preparing for the ministry and evangelistic work, "What do you think a man ought to study outside the Bible?" and I always advise them, whatever else they study, to study history. It is a most useful branch of knowledge in itself, but is of special value to the public speaker. Very few people know much about history, and if you can bring forward from history well-chosen incidents, both the truth and the illustration will be interesting, instructive and effective. It serves furthermore to awaken the confidence of the people in the speaker. An argument from authentic history is one of the most unanswerable of arguments.

5. ILLUSTRATIONS FROM SCIENCE. The natural sciences afford many beautiful and suggestive illustrations. Striking and impressive illustrations of Bible truth can be found in astronomy, botany, chemistry, geology, physics, and other natural sciences. But this is a form of illustration in the use of which one needs to exercise great care. Be very careful that your illustration illustrates. I have heard scientific illustrations used when the illustration needed more explanation than the truth it was intended to illustrate. Be very careful that your science is correct. What is considered scientific knowledge today is likely to be found to be scientific error tomorrow. I have heard much scientific falsehood used in illustrating sermons. Do not use exploded science to illustrate Gospel truth. One great fault with the use of scientific illustrations is that the average preacher is likely to accept a scientific doctrine just about the time the scientific world gives it up.

6. ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE POETS. An apt quotation from the poets often serves to illuminate and fix the truth. These are very easy to get, for there are excellent collections of classified quotations from the poets.

7. ILLUSTRATIONS BY VISIBLE OBJECTS. It is sometimes well to use objects, not only in talking to children, but to grown-up people as well. For example, Rev. E. P. Hammond makes a very successful use of the magnet and different kinds of nails; small nails, large nails, straight nails, and crooked nails, in illustrating the doctrine, "I if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me."

1. BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THEM. Cultivate the habit of watching for thoughts, watching for texts, watching for points, and watching for illustrations; in other words, go through the world with your eyes and ears open. One of the greatest faults in the training of children in the past has been that we have not trained the child's faculty of observation. Cultivate your own power of observation. Henry Ward Beecher was a striking example along this line. He was one of the most gifted men in the power of illustration. Wherever he went, he was always on the lookout for something with which to illustrate the truth. He would talk with all classes of men and try to get from them illustrations for his sermons. James A Garfield was another example of the same thing. One day he was walking down a street in Cleveland, Ohio. He heard a strange noise coming out of the basement of a building he was passing. He said to the friend who was with him, "I believe that man is filing a saw. I never saw a saw filed, I am going down to see how he does it." Spurgeon was a most illustrious example. He not only went through the world with his own eyes open, but it is said that he kept three or four men in the British Museum all the time looking for illustrations for him. The one who would be a mighty preacher to men must associate much with men.

2. KEEP A BOOK OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Take this book with you wherever you go. Whatever you see on your travels that seems to afford likely matter for an illustration, jot it down. Whenever you hear a good illustration in a sermon or address, jot it down. The book of illustrations that you make for yourself is far better than the book of illustrations that you purchase; too many others have that book, and sometimes when you are telling some of the stories in it you will see a smile pass over the faces of your congregation at the familiarity of the story. And some one may come up to you at the close of the sermon and say, "I always liked that story."

3. STUDY THE MASTERS OF ILLUSTRATION; Such men as Moody, Spurgeon, Guthrie. Do not adopt their illustrations too extensively, but see how they do it.

4. CULTIVATE THE HABIT OF TALKING TO CHILDREN. I do not know of anything that will make a man more gifted in the power of illustration than talking to children. You are simply obliged to use illustrations when you talk to children, and thus you acquire the power to do it. By talking to children you will not only cultivate the gift of using illustrations, but also a pure Anglo- Saxon style.

1. BE SURE YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ILLUSTRATE. Do not preach a sermon for the sake of the illustrations. One hears many sermons where it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the sermon was gotten up for the sake of the stories that are told in it rather than for the sake of the truth it professes to teach. Indeed, it is sometimes hard to tell what the truth is that the man is trying to illustrate. A literary friend once come to me in great disgust after a service he had attended. I asked him how he enjoyed the service. "It was all bosh. The man preached his whole sermon to work up to the point of getting off a quotation from Scott's 'Marmion' at the end. He did that well, but the whole performance was disgusting." Yet this preacher was considered by some a great pulpit orator.

2. "Be sure that your illustrations illustrate."

3. AVOID THREADBARE STORIES. But it is well to bear in mind that a story that is threadbare in one place may be perfectly new in another. It is well, however, to be overcautious rather than under cautious in the matter of threadbare stories.

4. DO NOT MAKE UP STORIES. If you make up a story and tell it as if it were true, it is a lie. There are religious adventurers in our country, sometimes calling themselves by the noble name of evangelists, who go here and there making up the stories that they tell. It is time this sort of thing was stamped out. True evangelists are suffering much injury from this class of men.

5. WHEN YOU TELL A TRUE STORY, TELL IT EXACTLY AS IT IS, OR DO NOT TELL IT AT ALL. There are some who exaggerate their stories because they think in this way they will be more impressive. Perhaps they call this a pious fraud, but pious frauds are the most impious and blasphemous on earth.

6. "Do not take a story that some one else told of his friend, and say, "A friend of mine" did so and so."

7. OFTEN BEGIN YOUR SERMON WITH AN ILLUSTRATION. In this way you get the attention and gain the interest of your audience at the very outset.

8. OFTEN CLOSE YOUR SERMON WITH AN ILLUSTRATION. This, if wisely done, will serve not only to fix the truth, but to touch the heart.

1. THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD. The man who is really teaching the Bible may be confident that he is doing a good work, for beyond a doubt he is teaching the truth of God.

2. THERE IS A GREAT DEMAND IN OUR DAY FOR BIBLE TEACHERS. The man who takes up the teaching of the Bible, and does it in an interesting way and in the power of the Spirit, is bound to get a hearing and to do great good. In the city of Chicago popular evening Bible classes have been in operation for four years. The first year there was one class, the second year four classes, the third year five classes, and the fourth year it was necessary to reduce the number of classes in order that the teacher might go two evenings in the week to Detroit and St. Louis. In the five classes there was a weekly average attendance of about six thousand. The great interest people have today in studying the Bible is illustrated by the Saturday evening class at the Chicago Avenue Church. People come out at five o'clock and remain until nine. From five until six there are about seven hundred in attendance, from seven until nine between twenty and twenty-five hundred. Similar interest in Bible study has been shown in other cities. In every city and village there should be systematic Bible teaching; nothing else will draw and hold such large and interested audiences.

1. EXPOUNDING THE SCRIPTURES.

This consists in the simple reading of a passage of Scripture with such comments as illuminate its meaning and enforce its teaching. Mr. Spurgeon had a great gift in this direction. Mr. Moody used to say, "I would rather hear Mr. Spurgeon expound the Scripture than preach, I get more out of it." The following suggestions are offered to aid in expounding the Scripture to edification:

(1) MAKE THOROUGH PREPARATION.

There are those who think that it takes no preparation to expound the Scripture, that all that is necessary is to go into the pulpit and read a chapter and make such desultory comments as come to mind. There may be some profit even in that slipshod way of expounding the Scripture, but it has done much to bring Bible exposition into disrepute.

(2) AVOID RAMBLING.

There is a great temptation to the expositor, when he has started out upon one line of thought, to branch from that on to another and from that still on to another, until it is almost impossible to get back to the chapter.

(3) AVOID TEDIOUSNESS.

(4) SEEK FOR CONNECTED LINES OF THOUGHT.

Suppose, for example, you are expounding the fourth chapter of Philippians; instead of reading through with disconnected comments, go through the chapter with this line of thought: Seven Present Privileges of the Believer:

(a) Constant joy (v.4). (b) Absolute freedom from care (v.6). (c) Abounding peace (v.7). (d) An ever-present friend (v.9). (e) Never-failing contentment (v.11). (f) All-prevailing strength (v.13). (g) Inexhaustible supplies for every need (v.19).

Or take for example the 23rd Psalm; it can be divided as follows:

(a) Every need met (vs.1-3). (b) Every fear banished (v.4). (c) Every longing satisfied (vs.5-6).

Or take Psalm 1:1-3. Entitle your exposition, "God's Picture of a Happy Man." Three leading features of this picture will be, in the first verse, the happy man's separation from the world, the second verse, the happy man's occupation in the world, and the third verse, the happy man's fruitfulness before the world. A still different division would be, the first verse, the happy man's separation unto God; the second verse, the happy man's communion with God, and the third verse, the happy man's fruitfulness in God.

Or suppose you are expounding the second chapter of 1 John. Your exposition might begin with the introduction, "This chapter presents to us seven comforting views of Jesus":

(a) Jesus as an advocate with the Father (v.1).

(b) Jesus as a propitiation for our sins (v.2).

(c) Jesus as our light (v.8).

(d) Jesus as the anointer with the Holy Ghost (vs.20-27).

(e) Jesus as the Christ and Son of God (vs.22-23).

(f) Jesus as the great promiser (v.25).

(g) Jesus as the Coming One (v.28).

If you are using 1 John 3, you could begin with an introduction like this, "This chapter brings to us seven great facts about believers":

(a) Believers in Jesus are now children of God (vs. 1-2 RV).

(b) Believers shall be like Jesus when He comes (second part v.2).

(c) The believer does not make a practice of sin (vs. 5-6, 9-10).

(d) The believer knows that he has passed out of death into life (v.14).

(e) The believer has boldness before God (vs. 19-21).

(f) The believer may have power to obtain from God by prayer whatsoever he asks (v.22).

(g) Believers is Jesus have the gift of the Holy Spirit (v. 24).

Of course these are only outlines, and the points made are the headings for different divisions of our exposition.

(5) "A Bible with a wide margin, or an interleaved Bible is very useful in expository work."

(6) The "Synthetic Bible Study Course" (from Genesis to Revelation), by James M. Gray, D.D., LL.D., is replete with sermonic suggestion for one who would know how to expound the Scriptures interestingly and profitably. (Send for literature.)

(7) "The Book of Psalms is a good book with which to begin your expository work."

Of course we do not intend by this that every Psalm should be expounded.

2. THE CONVERSATIONAL BIBLE CLASS.

This is a very interesting method of teaching the Bible.

(1) "Have the class meet in a very informal way, if possible around a long table."

(2) "Take some book in the Bible and assign a portion for careful study."

(3) "Read verse by verse and give each one an opportunity to state what he has gotten out of the verse, or ask questions upon the verse."

(4) "Hold your class to the passage and subject in hand."

(5) "Avoid trifles."

In almost every class there is likely to be some empty-headed member who will want to spend all the time in discussing some trifle.

(6) "It is often well to assign questions before hand to be looked up by individual members of the class."

3. THE TOPICAL OR DOCTRINAL BIBLE CLASS.

Such a class is of immense importance in a church. Very few people in our day are being carefully indoctrinated in the great fundamental truths of the Bible. In consequence of this they are likely to be led off by any errorist that comes along, provided he is a bright talker, or skillful in producing the impression that he has an unusual amount of Bible knowledge. The following are suggestions as to how to conduct these classes:

(1) "Make a careful list beforehand of the great doctrines that you wish to teach."

Take these doctrines up in systematic order.

(2) "Arrange all the Scriptures that bear upon these doctrines in an orderly and logical way.

(3) "In the class you can either read from the Bible and expound what the Scripture says on these doctrines, or you can have the different passages of Scripture read by members of the class, and let the class put the contents of the Scripture into systematic form for themselves."

The latter is the better way provided your class is of sufficient intelligence to do the work well. Sometimes it is better yet to give out the Scripture beforehand, and have the class bring in the results of their own study and thought in systematic shape. Three important points must be borne in mind in all this work:

(1) Be systematic. (2) Be thorough. (3) Be exact.

The book, "What the Bible Teaches" is the outcome of a topical doctrinal Bible class conducted through two years, and may be suggestive to others as to how to do this work.

4. STUDY OF INDIVIDUAL BOOKS.

This is the best and most important of all methods for continuous work. By this method of study a class can be continued from five to ten years, or indefinitely.

(1) INTRODUCTORY WORK.

Assign the lessons to the class beforehand; have them find and bring in answers to the following questions:

(a) Who wrote the book?

(b) To whom was it written?

(c) Where written?

(d) When written?

(e) Occasion of writing?

(f) Purpose for which written?

(g) Circumstances of the author when he wrote?

(h) What were the circumstances of those to whom he wrote?

(i) What glimpses does the book give us of the life and character of the author?

(j) What are the leading ideas of the book?

(k) What is the central truth of the book?

(l) What are the characteristics of the book?

(2) "Have the class divide the book into its principal sections.

(3) Take it up verse by verse and study.

At each lesson have the class bring in an analysis of a certain number of verses. Insist:

(a) That nothing shall be in the analysis that is not in the verse.

(b) That as far as possible everything that is in the verse shall be in the analysis.

To accomplish this, when any member of the class gives an inadequate analysis, ask him if that is all there is in the verse, and keep on asking him questions until he has brought out all that you see in the verse.

(c) Let what is found be stated as accurately and concisely as possible.

Do not be content when a member of the class puts something into his analysis somewhat like what is in the verse, but demand that it be a precise statement of what is in the verse.

(4) "Have the class bring together all the teachings on the various subjects scattered through the book."

(a) To this end, have them first make a list of subjects treated in the book.

(b) Arrange these subjects in their principal subdivisions.

(c) Go through the analysis already made, and bring the points in the analysis under the proper headings in the classification of teaching.

5. CLASSES FOR THE RAPID SURVEY OF ALL THE BOOKS IN THE BIBLE.

This is sometimes called "the Synthetic Method of Bible Study." Assign the class a certain number of chapters, wherever possible an entire book, to read over and over again, and then when they come together, go over the book rapidly, bringing out the salient points about it and its teaching. Dr. James M. Gray's book, "The Synthetic Study of the Bible," will be suggestive for this work.

6. CLASSES FOR THE STUDY OF THE BIBLE BY CHAPTERS.

(1) These classes can be conducted in a variety of ways. Perhaps the simplest method is to give out four questions for the class to be prepared upon, writing answers to these questions for each chapter. The Bible can be covered in about two years in this way if two chapters are prepared each day. The questions are:

(a) The subject of the chapter. (State principal contents of the chapter in a single phrase or sentence.)

(b) The principal persons of the chapter.

(c) The truth most emphasized in the chapter.

(d) The best lesson in the chapter.

(e) The best verse of the chapter (memorized).

(2) A somewhat more elaborate, and much more valuable method is to give out eight questions:

(a) The leading facts of the chapter and the lessons they teach. These facts with the corresponding lessons should be given one by one and written out.

(b) Wrong things done and mistakes made. That does not mean mistakes made by the author of the Bible, for there are none, but the mistakes which are recorded in the chapter as made by various persons.

(c) Things to be imitated. That is, things different persons have done as recorded in the chapter that are worthy of our imitation.

(d) Most important lessons in the chapter. It is best to restrict the number of lessons to not more than five (or not more than ten) or such number as you deem best.

(e) The most important lesson in the chapter.

(f) The great texts in the chapter (written out in full).

(g) The truth most emphasized in the chapter.

(h) The personal blessing received from the study of the chapter.

This is an especially helpful way to study the Acts of the Apostles. The author has obtained one of the greatest blessings that he has ever received from Bible study in the study of the Acts of the Apostles in this way.

(3) A still more elaborate method for the study of the Bible by chapters is to give the class the following twenty questions and suggestions:

(a) Read chapter five times.

(b) Note any important changes in RV from AV.

(c) Discover and study parallel passages and note variations.

(d) Date of events in chapter?

(e) Name of chapter?

(f) Outline of chapter?

(g) Best verse? Mark and commit to memory.

(h) Verses for meditation; note and mark.

(i) Verses for thorough study; note and mark.

(j) Texts for sermons; note, mark and outline the sermons.

(k) Characteristic, striking and suggestive words and phrases; mark and study.

(l) Leading incidents?

(m) Persons; what light upon their character and lessons from their lives?

(n) The most important lessons in chapter?

(o) The most important lesson in chapter?

(p) Central truth?

(q) Places; locate and look up their character and history.

(r) Subjects for further study suggested?

(s) Difficulties an chapter?

(t) Personal blessings received from the study of the chapter.

First. What new truth learned?

Second. What old truth brought home with new power?

Third. What new course of action decided upon?

Fourth. Any other blessing received from the study of the chapter?

Of course these suggestions and questions can be varied to suit the class and the judgment of the teacher.

7. CLASSES FOR THE STUDY OF THE BIBLE FOR USE IN PERSONAL WORK.

Such a class should exist in every church and mission. Book I of this volume will give hints for the conduct of such a class.

8. TEACHING THE INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.

Whatever other lines of Bible teaching we may take up, we cannot afford to exclude the International Lessons. Whatever imperfection there may be in the lessons assigned by the international committee, they have one advantage which cannot be overlooked; they are studied by the great mass of evangelical church members throughout this country and Great Britain. The minister or Christian worker who is not studying these lessons and teaching them will be out of line with the Bible thinking of the great mass of the church of Jesus Christ. Helps for the study and teaching of these lessons are so abundant and so excellent that there is no need that anything be added in this book. The author's own method of teaching the lessons is sufficiently indicated in his book, "The Gist of the Lesson."* {Now edited by Ralph G. Turnbull. Fleming H. Revell Company, publishers.} It might be added, however, that he teaches the lessons, not by lecturing to his class, but by asking them questions. It is far better to get people to see the truth by asking them questions, than it is to tell them the truth. We give for illustration his questions as prepared beforehand on the following lesson:

I. Peter Warming Himself At The Enemies' Fire, 57-58.

57. What did they do with Jesus when they had arrested Him? Did they lead him first to Caiaphas? To whom? Why not to Caiaphas first?

Who were assembled with Caiaphas? What was the name of this body? What was there illegal about their assembling?

58. What are we told about Peter that sounds well? What two words are added that make it sound badly?

If we follow Jesus, how should we follow Him? How are many professed Christians today following Jesus? Did Peter really follow Jesus at all? What followed Him? What did not follow Him? (cf. Matthew 16:24). How far did Peter follow? What led Peter to follow Him? What foolish thing did Peter do? (cf. Ps.1:1; Ps.26:4-10; 2 Cor. 6:14-17). Into what trouble did Peter's following Jesus get him? What will be the usual result of following Jesus without following Him with the whole heart? What ought to have kept Peter from following at this time? (John 13:38; John 18;8; John 13:36).

What had Peter done with all the warnings of Christ? What question had he asked of Christ when He said, "Thou canst not follow me now"? (John 13:37). What boast had Peter made? What is he now undertaking to do? Which knew Peter better, the Lord or Peter himself? Why did not Peter sit by himself instead of with the enemies of the Lord? What arguments are produced today for conformity to the world? How much value is there in them? How much of the peril that he feared did Peter escape? How alone did he escape finally? What is the only way that any one can escape who seeks to make friends with the world? (James 4:4; 1 Cor. 15:33 RV; Prov. 13:20; Eph. 5:11-12). When, alone, should we associate with bad company? If we do not go with them for the definite purpose of leading them to Christ, how will our association with them result? Did Peter have such a purpose in associating with these servants? (John 18:18). When a follower of the Lord Jesus seeks to warm himself by the enemies' fire, what will you soon hear about his doing?

II. The Son Of God Slandered And Silent, 59-63a.

59. What was the one fixed purpose of Jesus' judges? In order to carry out this purpose, what did they not hesitate to do? Were these judges respectable men as the world goes? Were they religious men? Of what have we an example here? (Jeremiah 17:8; Romans 8:7).

60. With what success did they meet in their attempt to find false witnesses against Jesus? Were there any who were willing to curry favor with the authorities by swearing falsely? What was the trouble with their testimony? (Mark 14:56). What conclusive proof have we here of the spotlessness of Jesus' character and life? How did Jesus feel about these false testimonies against Himself? (Psalm 35:11-12 RV). What is there today that parallels the utter unfairness of these judges? When all the other false witnesses failed, who came?

61. To what did they swear? Was there any truth in that to which they took oath? (v.61, cf. John 2:19). What is the most dangerous of all lies?

62-63a. What reply did Jesus make to these false charges? Why did not Jesus reply? What prophecy did He fulfill? (Isaiah 53:7). To whom did He commit His case? (1 Peter 2:23). What example is there in all this for us? (1 Peter 2:21; Psalm 37:5-6). How was the high priest affected by Jesus' silence?

III. The Son Of God Revealed And Rejected, 63b-68.

63b. What did the high priest finally say to Jesus? What was the intention of the question? Did it result in entrapping Jesus?

64. In what did it result? What was Jesus' answer? If Jesus is not divine, what is He?

How did Caiaphas feel when he heard Jesus' unequivocal assertion of His Deity? Why was Caiaphas glad? What did Jesus add that changed the gladness of Caiaphas into fear? In that coming judgment day, who will be the judge, Caiaphas or Jesus? What position will Caiaphas occupy? What should all who are now sitting in judgment on Christ remember? (Acts 17:31; John 5:22-23). What is meant by saying that He is coming "on the clouds of Heaven"?

65. How did the High Priest treat this claim of Jesus? Upon what charge was Jesus sentenced to death? Who today practically assent to the justice of this charge?

66. What was the sentence pronounced?

67-68. What did they do with Jesus after pronouncing this sentence? (cf. Luke 23:11; Mark 15:16-20). For whom was it He suffered so? (Isaiah 53:6). What was fulfilled in all this? (Isaiah 50:6; 53:3). What is revealed about the human heart in its treatment of the Son of God?

General Questions

What lessons do we learn from Peter's action? What proofs have we in the lesson of the Deity of Christ? What proofs of the desperate wickedness of the human heart? In what points does Jesus set us an example in this lesson? In what points did the Jewish rulers do wrong? What is the most important lesson of the passage?