GUIDANCE THE GREAT ADVENTURE

                                 (>www.howardwilkinsonphotography.co.uk< - Greater Manchester, UK)

SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY/HOUSE GROUPS

1. Each member to have printed copy of the notes - suitable for the first meeting or so

2. Members to be asked for their own thoughts on the subject to be studied, and to read Bible references, and the next part of the notes  

3. Ask for any interesting experiences, which are related to the subject

4. Encourage any quiet participants to take part, if appropriate

5. The Leader should try to retire into the background

6 Announce the title in advance of the meeting, if possible 

7. All to have a Bible - their own, hopefully

8. Each member to take a turn at reading the texts

GUIDANCE - THE GREAT ADVENTURE

                        As for God, his way is perfect;

                        the word of the LORD is flawless.

                        He is a shield

for all who take refuge in him.

                        It is God who arms me with strength

and makes my way perfect.

Psalm 18:30 and 32

Proverbs 15:22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, 

but with many advisers they succeed. 

^{John 15:5} “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

[I cannot even write a shopping list without Jesus’s help!]

A PRAYER

^{Colossians 1:9} For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

A story circulates that a young fellow in the Air Force was asked out for tea and cakes after the evening service at church.   There were numerous eligible young ladies and he wondered about asking one to go out with him.   He noticed that when offered a second cup of tea, and he asked for "only half a cup", it always came back full.   He prayed that God would give him a sign: he would one day be given his “half-cup".  

At one house, this happened, he liked the eligible daughter; asked her out; and eventually married her.   They talked and he explained how their friendship had started .... " Yes, I'm so sorry: there was only a drop left in the teapot!"   Asking for signs and drawing lots are not really on offer today - apart from the selection of Matthias, nothing else appears to be heard in the New Testament of these two means.

Before we can think of serving God, we must be converted.   A young teenager who came for counselling after a Billy Graham film, wanted to be a Methodist Minister - he was at a Methodist boarding school - and I obviously had to explain to him the need for salvation first.

On compulsory Military Service, in the Royal Air Force, communication fascinated me.  There was helping to keep the 24/7 watch on the Mayday Frequency - for pilots flying in distress, and about to crash, or bale out.  At the scene of a crash, I had to fire half a dozen red Very Pistol flares, as a warning to all in the vicinity.  [RT Radio Transmission, Morse Code, Signal Lights, Painted signs and symbols on the Control Tower and runways, Flying past the Control Tower dipping alternate wings indicates RT not working, Mobile Phone, plus any more - even land line telephone .... it did happen once.]

The EIGHT:

            1. The Holy Spirit directly,

            2. The Bible,

            3. Circumstances,

            4. Christian friends,

            5. Common sense/wisdom,

            6. Angels,

            7. Visions and dreams,

            8. God's Peace ruling in our hearts.

The EIGHTEEN:

1.      All guidance is of the Holy Spirit then, but we may like to fit it into pigeonholes.   What He asks us to do as Lord: He will always give us the grace and power to perform.   As Believers, we submit to the lordship of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We may hear Him speak to us personally. Luke 4:1, John 14:26, Acts 8: 29, Acts 8:39, Acts 10:13, Acts 10: 19, Acts 13:2, Acts 15:28, Acts 20:22, Acts 21: 4 with 11, Romans 8:14, Psalm 51:11, Psalm 143:10, Nehemiah 9:30, 1 Corinthians 12:4, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 5:25

2.     The Scriptures, given by the Holy Spirit: unequivocal commands (Standing Orders) - love God with the whole mind, spirit, soul and body, do not kill, do not steal, etc.  In some situations we need the Holy Spirit to interpret Scripture, and apply it for us: at work, at school, in the street - "The fear of man will prove to be a snare."  Proverbs 29:25.   Or, "The wise man sees trouble afar off and takes evasive action."   I saw a group of teenagers hanging about in my street - "Do not fear man," came to mind - they were friendly old scholars, and we had a pleasant chat.  The Book of Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, is rich in teaching on guidance.

An example of the Spirit and the Word: Acts 16:6-10; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15

The importance of Scripture: Psalm 138:2 b

The Commands of God in the Bible – an Internet page suggests there are 1050, 613 in the Five Books of Moses – Genesis to Deuteronomy, 613, but not all Old Testament Laws are binding on Believers.

Proverbs 16:1, 3, 9, 25

Proverbs 3:5-6

Proverbs 6:23

Implied Unity John 17:23

Love GOD, and one another, Luke 10:27 and John 15:12      ”Love won another”

John 16:24 Prayer

Attitudes to Old Age - Chronologically Threatened - Numbers 8:25-26 is interesting.   About the Levites: "...but at the age of 50, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer.   They may assist their brothers in performing their duties." 

Have a Bible that you can mark.

Learn passages by heart.

Remember the story of Balaam in Numbers 22:15-35 He did not like the first guidance so he asked for a second – this was sinful of him, and he was punished with the Angel blocking his way, and the miraculous sensible donkey.  He heard God’s message, but also dealt in the occult and evil ways; do you know anyone like that in the Church?  God took his life.

Asking for clarification is not necessarily wrong.

Guidance is only a small part of the Church’s teaching.

Example of a typical passage from the end of a NT letter: Hebrews 13:1-6  

Keep on loving each other as brothers. 

2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 

3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. 

4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 

5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 

“Never will I leave you; 

never will I forsake you.” 

6 So we say with confidence, 

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. 

What can man do to me?”

3. Circumstances/Miraculous Intervention/God Overruling: during a talk at Allerton Grange School Christian Union the next classroom caught fire, and we had to evacuate; we picked up on the theme of guidance at the following meeting, a week later.   Paul came to Galatia to preach the Gospel, through illness.   A whale shipped Jonah!  !  Paul’s arrest took him to witness before rulers and the ship’s crew and passengers, to Malta, and Rome.  Martin Luther’s arrest by his friends, fearing for his safety, gave him time to make a German translation of the Bible, which helped to create the German language.

4. Common Sense, Duty: jumping out of the path of an on-coming lorry!   Joseph’s visited to Bethlehem for the Ruler’s Census.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

CONSIDERATION ORDER   APPEARANCE IN THE LISTS

1 Corinthians 12, 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4

[N] Word of Knowledge

[M] Word of Wisdom

[Q] Faith

[R] Gifts of Healing

[S] Working Miracles

[J] Prophecy

[O] Discerning of Spirits

[K] Various Tongues

[L] Interpretation

[I] Apostles

[P] Teachers

[E] Helpers

[C] Administrators

[H] Contributing

[D] Leadership Aid

[G] Mercy Acts

[T] Encouraging

[F] Service

[A] Evangelists

[B] Teachers

There are more detailed notes, and a Chart of the Gifts, among my Blogs.

There are two ways some of the gifts may help with Guidance: our own possession of a gift, and someone else’s, on whom we depend.  (Acts 21:10-11)

5. A word of wisdom - knowing what to do with the knowledge.

6. A word of knowledge - information.   [When introduced to a Christian leader, with whom I was going to work - a fact about his character clearly came to mind, and was invaluable in the greatly blessed, but difficult years ahead.] Knowledge tells us that tomato is a fruit; wisdom tells you not to put it in a fruit salad.

7. Discernment: insight into deeper, spiritual realities.

8. Prophecy.   Some people are paranoid about prophecy in the Church today: thinking it is going to mean the re-writing of the Scriptures; but in the OT prophecy often concerned everyday events, like finding your lost donkeys.   King Saul and three groups of his soldiers prophesied, when they came to capture David at Naioth (1Samuel 19).  Only a few OT prophets wrote Scripture: there were whole Schools [thousands] of Prophets, Elijah and Elisha wrote little more than a letter between them.   Agabus is the NT example of guidance through  prophecy: to a Church, and to Paul.   Paul went to Jerusalem "in response to a revelation" [apokalypsis].

1 Thessalonians 5:20 and 21: "Do not treat prophecies with contempt.   Test everything.   Hold on to the good."

9. The gift of glossalalia and its interpretation amounts to the same as prophecy (1 Corinthians 14:5).

10. Pastoral care - personal friends; not necessarily a person with the title.
 .

11. The gift of administration in the Church - organiser, leading.   Barnabas and Titus going to Jerusalem with Paul, was on the basis of God guiding him.

12. Leadership-aid - helping individuals or a group, through a difficult time

13. Mercy Acts: Practical Aid from another Believer can indicate what God wants you to do - the gift of finance to Paul at Corinth, meant he could give up working, and spend all his time in Christian service.  As I arrived at Dawlish Train Station, without enough money for a ticket, a most kind fellow-student handed me the money, I needed.

14. Teaching formulates our attitudes within the Christian Culture of the Kingdom.

ETC [In your own study, consider the full list of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit]

All these are gifts of the Spirit: either personal gifts, or charisms in other Christians.   God will guide through our fellow Christians, sometimes - this requires humility in us, and courage in them!

15. The Church Elders/Leaders.  Paul’s initial guidance put him in prison.  “In everything give thanks” 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

Two unusual ways:

16. An angel.   In the NT: Philip, Joseph, Peter and Paul on numerous occasions.   Balaam's ass and the angel are a sad example. Usually in important concerns, or because someone is slow on the uptake.  See my Blog on Angels, for more information.

17. Visions and dreams.   Joseph had guidance through three angels [two in dreams] and a dream by itself (Matthew 1 and 2).   In Acts 10, Peter had a most significant vision in triplicate, which changed the course of World History: the Gospel taken to Gentiles.  Acts 16 begins with a brilliant picture of guidance - notice the "we" passage here, as the wonderfully pedantic Luke, joined the party.  Shariah Law teaches Muslims that they may ask Allah to speak to them through visions.

Finally:

18. The peace of God ruling (umpiring) in our heart (Colossians 3:15).   For everyday personal decisions: what to buy for dinner etc.   Yes or no answers - like the Urim and Thummim of the OT (over the heart of the priest).  Exodus 28:30; Numbers 27:21; 1 Samuel 28:6; Nehemiah 7:65 in contexts.  I was introduced to this teaching by Wing Commander Anderson (Ret), at the Wimbledon YMCA Bible Studies.  He was the Assistant Secretary of The Officers Christian Union, and arranged for Billy Graham to address the top brass of the British Armed Forces.  Our Senior Officer was a member of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club, and she played in the first round of the famous championship.  All this meant that Line Judges and Umpires were very much in my thinking at the time.

You will often hear people say that something is too small to trouble God: like which biscuit should I choose, or which of several routes should I take to a destination.  I disagree; small things give us practice; King David had learned his fighting skills with a lion and a bear – before the duel with Goliath the giant warrior.

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

*Some of the Blogs are rather long.   It is possible to go through EDIT, to SELECT ALL, EDIT again: COPY; and then create your own WORD/MY DOCUMENTS file, PASTE, and SAVE: so you can read the longer items at leisure.

I believe an important aspect of guidance is connected with the Greek word "doulos", and I need to prove to you, beyond doubt, that the word means, "SLAVE".   In the New Testament, there is no concept of the "Upstairs Downstairs" kind of service - which many of the ladies in our families entered into on leaving school in the 1930's and earlier....   The only meaning in the Bible is of an owned slave.   The early congregations of Christians would be made up of freemen, freedmen and slaves - possibly almost half would be slaves, outside Israel.   You can see this in the following verse:

"Were you a slave when you were called?   Don't let it trouble you - although if you can gain your freedom, do so.   For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave."   That is from the NIV, and you will notice clearly there are three types of people: free men, slaves and freedmen (slaves released by their masters - the technical word is "manumission").   Senior slaves of leading men obviously held high positions themselves, and if freedom came, at the death of their master - this was promising indeed.

Islamic forces in Sudan are still taking Christians and other non-Muslims into slavery: a US State Department Representative, Frank Wolf, confirms independent reports - the Sudanese government is rounding up non-Muslims and enslaving them in northern Sudan, Libya and other Arabic Islamic countries - massive numbers of Nubian and other African non-Muslim women and children have been forcibly removed from their homes in southern Kordofan Province.

Seven ways of obtaining slaves are associated with the days of the Roman Empire; only one is by abduction - which was the evil of the Western slave trade, and in the Old Testament carried the death penalty.

There is that moving ceremony in the OT of the willing slave, who has his ear pierced through into his master's doorpost.   (Deuteronomy 15:16 and 17.)

The standard ten-volume NT wordbook, Kittel, leaves us in no doubt of the implications of the word.   An owner would, in most cases, value his own property, and see a slave as an investment.  

Of the 151 uses of the words "servant" and "servants" in the AV, 123 are actually "doulos", according to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance.   So we need to accept the much deeper meaning of "doulos".

Paul uses the word in passages which explain the social status and duties of Christian slaves, today we apply this teaching to the work place: Colossians 3:22 ff, Ephesians 6:8-9, 1Tim 6:1, and Titus 2:9.

There is the wonderful story of the runaway slave Onesimus, behind Paul's letter to Philemon.

The apostles of the NT often started their letters with an acknowledgement of their position as slaves of Christ: Paul in Romans, Galatians, Philippians - in which he includes Timothy as a slave of Christ - and Titus; in Philemon he calls himself a prisoner of Christ, which is much worse!

In one letter Paul calls himself, a slave of the Church: "For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves your slaves for the sake of Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:5)   Do we see ourselves in this light?

James, Peter and Jude all call themselves slaves of Christ.   John, in Revelation 1:1: "A revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show to His slaves ... by sending His angel to His slave John."  Revelation 22:9, the angel is called a fellow-slave.

Moses is called a slave of God - Revelation 15:3.

Paul is obviously thinking of the brand marks of slaves in this passage: "Finally let no-one cause me trouble, for I bear in my body the brand marks of Jesus."  (Galatians 6:11)   He looked at his scars, and thought of them as his branding for Jesus.

Jesus also calls us his "friends": as apposed to slaves; and we are God's children with an inheritance in Christ.   Nevertheless, being God's slave is one diamond-like facet of our relationship to God. (Galatians 4:7)

Twice in one letter we are reminded, "You are not your own; you were bought with a price." (1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23.)   In times of great depression this is often a great comfort, and can save your life - and the lives of others.

The simplest argument is that Jesus became a slave of God for our sakes, and for our example.

"For let this mind be in you which also was in Christ Jesus, who subsisting in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of A SLAVE..."   I am using the "A Literal Translation of the Bible", by Jay P. Green.

His act of washing the apostles' feet was the act of a slave: our example (John 13:4-17).

A slave should be well prepared and available for service.   He has no rights.   The responsibility of giving orders, which are clearly understood, rests with the Master!   If there is no guidance, you probably do not need any in the present - simply wait on your Master.   Worrying about understanding His will - as if it were cracking the Enigma Code - is quite out of the question.

Our duty is beautifully summed up in Psalm 123

                           ¹ I lift up my eyes to you,

to you whose throne is in heaven.

                           ² As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,

                         as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,

                         so our eyes look to the LORD our God,

                         till he shows us his mercy.

Talking of submarines: two commanders of midget submarines, towards the end of the Second World War, sailed with sealed orders, which told them simply to anchor off the Normandy coast near Arromaches - surface under cover of darkness - place two lights on their short masts: not exactly exciting.   They were the marking lights for the great Mulberry Harbour - built off the coast, for the Normandy Invasion, which marked the final phase of the War.

It is always sensible to ask about the alternative: in this case to being a slave of Christ - it is to be a slave of sin (John 8:34, Romans 6:17.)

An important issue: Should we seek guidance in the minute choices of everyday life, such as: which tie, shirt, dress, one of two similar routes, cheese or beans on toast?  It could perhaps become ridiculous; but notice King David's experience as a shepherd:

But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.  The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:34-37)

The insignificant occasions can be preparation and practice for the immense.

A published article I wrote: 

Thank you for the very fine discussion on home, work and church – one of many key subjects explored these days.   Obviously, we need to seek guidance, and list sensible priorities.   For me, Proverbs 24 verse 27 was a prime director: “Sort out your means of earning a livelihood first; after that look into accommodation.” (Paraphrased.)   That is finding work, and trying to live nearby (not too near, if you are a schoolteacher!).

Secondly, to join the nearest “reasonable” church; which means becoming a geographical Methodist or Anglican etc, and living in the neighbourhood of the fellowship – incarnationally?   I can assure you, that there is something very special about this.

  

“I prayed for: more chances to witness, to save money, and to lose weight; I think God led me to sell my car and use public transport.   I am learning trust, patience, and the value of a sense of humour.”

 I like the maturity shown in Abraham’s behaviour, in this passage:

^{Genesis 13:7-9} And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.  ⁸ So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers.  ⁹ “Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.”

As a man of faith, Abraham trusted God to overrule and guide his paths - a challenge to us today.

Here is a challenge:

^{Ephesians 5:15-17} Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of your time, because the days are evil.  ¹⁷ So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and  understanding.  ^{Colossians 1:9}    Cf                        

In the multitude of counsellors there is wisdom. AV

but many advisers make victory sure. NIV

Proverbs 11:14 b  

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

The LORD says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.

I will advise you and watch over you.  Psalm 32:8

THINGS WE WILL NOT BE LED TO DO, OR BE

Backslide, forsake Christian Fellowship, forsake the moral Law of the Old Testament, teach and approve of evils, have other gods (idolatry), worship images, use GOD’S Name in vain, decline Sabbath rests, show disrespect to parents, murder, adultery, steal, lie about others, covet, fail to seek nearness to GOD, drunkenness, jealousy, judgmental, treat with contempt, cause divisions, associate or eat with evil Christians (immoral, covetous, idolatrous, revilers, drunkards, swindlers, slanderers), judge non-Christians (leave it to GOD), take fellow Christians to civil court, cowards, charge interest on personal loans, give in to Satan, fail to testify for Christ, love the World (lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, pride of life), lose first love for GOD, forsake the Apostolics’ teaching (Scripture), unsanctified, blame GOD, show partiality in judgments, eschew suffering for Christ, walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the place frequented by sinners, sit in the place of the scornful, tax evasion, lukewarm ...Plus many finer points in context.

A selection of references related to the above list:

Exodus 20:1-17; 22:25; Leviticus 18:22-29;

Psalms 1:1-2; 133; 139 (GOD’S great occupation with us)

Proverbs generally

Matthew 5:17-19; 5:32; 28:18-20; John 17:23

Romans 1:21-32; 13:13; 14:10; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 6:11-8;  2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Galatians 3:11; 5:19-21; Colossians 3:5-10; 2 Thessalonians 3:10-15;  1 Timothy 1:9-11, 20; Titus 2:2; James 1:13; 1 Peter 2:2-3; 1 John 2:15-17; 3:4; 3 John v 9;

Revelation 2:4-5; 3:16 21:8, 27

ILLUSTRATIONS

All my major decisions have been confirmed by visions during prayer, or remembered dreams.

Many of the 8 or 18 avenues listed above have been experienced.

I have been thinking recently about God’s guidance, and my reasons for giving praise.

1. My mother prayed that I would become a Methodist Minister.  Fortunately, my Art and RE training took me into teaching, and the need for RE staff – following the 1944 Education Act, UK – gave an open door to reach thousands of teenagers with the Gospel.  (E.g. 15 hours reading the whole of Mark’s Gospel, with open-ended discussion, with groups of approximately 25.  A typical day: 9.15 am to 3.15 pm for 40 weeks of the year.)
2. For fifty years, I preached on Sundays in many denominations, and led numerous Bible Studies.  My status as a Schoolteacher gave some openings, here.
3. When this was brought to a halt by two Methodist Ministers: because I did not have a car, and then because I was not Denominationally Trained; this brought an end to preaching in this locality - and in any case I am ancient.  But now the Blogging opportunity is quite remarkable.  Recently this led to an invitation to preach in Indian churches – but I am too ancient.  Individuals from 140 nations have viewed pages - mainly USA, UK, Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.

    PREACHING 

The Holy Spirit must always lead and take pride of place in our ministry! 

All must be of GRACE.

It is important to know which Gifts He has given to us: and what gifts He has not!  Perhaps the laying on of hands, the desire, the openings, the successes, the encouragement of others, will act as signposts, and confirmation.  Are you a Bible Teacher, or an Evangelist, or both, or neither?  Today God may bestow a new gift!

We need the Spirit of Jesus to guide us in preparation, in prayer, in delivery, and in the time following.  In 1954 I was at Harringay Arena to hear Billy Graham; as he rose to preach, a Salvation Army Officer stood to his feet, just below where I was sitting, and shouted: “Preach on the Prodigal Son, Billy!”  Dr Graham took this as a word from the Lord, and did.

Florence and I both preached in our twenties, to the 500 strong evening services, from the pulpit where presumably Principle George Jeffries, Smith Wigglesworth, and many well-known preachers had addressed the church.  I was nervous, and preached far too long – not having given any serious thought to the length of time for my sermon ....  You worry about how to start; the Congregation about how you will stop.

BY WAY OF PREPARATION

We must always be collecting illustrations - even developing our original Parables, following the technique of our Master.  I spent some time with Professor Verna Wright, and out would come his little black book, if you mentioned a good illustration, and you had lost it for your own preaching!

I worked closely with the Superintendent Minister, Rev Dr Daniel Mwailu: he expected his preachers to give evidence of serious research, and arranged to record their sermons, if he was not present.  Incidentally, it is a good idea to hear yourself preaching – on a recording.  I heard of one fellow who fainted – so be prepared.  There is another who fell asleep listening to his sermon.

A good aim is to try to read the Bible through each year, to learn key passages by heart, learn from good sound preachers who are used by God – both by listening, or reading good study books.  I am fortunate in having a CD-ROM called “Bible Study Library”, published by Zondervan; which contains eight translations of the text, and 38 study-helps (some shortened).  As an artist, I tried to learn from the Masters, and avoid looking at poor work!

Preaching through books of the Bible is a good discipline for speaker and congregation - it brings us to subjects not natural for either of us.  For instance, I mentioned subjects that some in the congregation did not believe in: a fellow preacher who did not believe in the Virgin Birth, a heckler who claimed "they" did not believe in exorcism here. 

A good friend may be asked to critique.

1. Sometimes we have to preach without notes – say in the open air, or taken by surprise.

2. A basic aid is to use short prompts of main points, or texts to be explained.

3. Detailed sermon notes – I find that an A4 sheet takes four minutes to deliver.

4. Extensive notes on a subject to be selected from.  We must learn to always be listening for the Holy Spirit’s directing.  We may need to respond to interruptions or heckling.

5. I have turned-up at college debates with copious notes and a pile of large reference books – much to peoples’ amusement: Strong’s “Exhaustive Concordance”, “Nave’s Topical Bible”, etc.  Today’s preacher will have a Laptop or Tablet, Power Point, and so on.

Avoid evil influences: but keep communication links by personal conversations, and reading newspapers.

 1 Peter 4:11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

A good exercise, if you cannot sleep at night, is to remember which sermons you have learned from, and why.

Strength will always go from you - take time to recover!

TIPS

I am not the most able to give advice, but here are some ideas.

Voice Training

Take in a deep breath whilst mentally counting 10 seconds; hold it for 10 seconds, breath out slowly taking ten seconds.  This kind of regular practice helps breathing, and use of the diaphragm (just below the belt).

Hum a scale or hymn tunes: low notes should form below the lower teeth, higher notes move up the mouth cavity, really high notes – back into the top of the throat.  The loudest sound is made from the top of the mouth cavity.  Practice before attending a service will help you enjoy the singing of hymns.

Learn from the best speakers and readers – but avoid exaggeration, and over acting.  James Mason and Charles Laughton were film actors I took note of in their day.  David Suchet (see the Bible Society) is one of the best currently – his reading of Psalm 22 is moving and impressive.  His Jewish background proved most valuable.  “d’s and t’s at the end of words give clarity of diction.  Always be clear about how much time you are allowed.  Know how you are going to begin, and how you intend to finish.  You worry about the starting comments, the congregation worry about the finishing.

Always have any detailed notes you may need - do not rely on memory.

I liked to watch the faces of the congregation.  To stop talking - draws attention.  Canon David White often gives a long pause, after making a really important point.