1. Justification produces praise.
Because salvation rests entirely on God’s grace—not human achievement—believers respond with joy, gratitude, and worship. Understanding our “wretchedness” deepens amazement at God’s mercy and fuels genuine, heart-level praise.

2. Justification brings assurance.
Since righteousness is imputed to us through Christ and not grounded in our works, we may know we have eternal life. This frees us from fear that we have not done “enough,” and roots our confidence in Christ’s finished work. Schreiner recalls Luther, Wesley, and Machen, who found comfort—even in death—in Christ’s righteousness.

3. Justification removes guilt.
Feelings of guilt and shame can paralyze believers, but the gospel declares there is “no condemnation for those in Christ.” Christ’s advocacy and sacrifice silence the accusations of conscience and Satan, restoring peace and stability.

4. Justification makes us realistic.
We are righteous in Christ yet still sinners. This “already/not-yet” tension keeps us humble and dependent on grace while recognizing real, ongoing growth.

5. Justification unleashes love.
Faith works through love. Freed from earning God’s favor, believers express gratitude through obedience, sacrificial love, and transformed living.

Schreiner surveys warnings throughout the New Testament: Jesus warns that only those who endure to the end will be saved; Paul warns the Galatians that receiving circumcision means being “severed from Christ”; Romans 11 warns Gentiles they will be “cut off” if they do not continue in God’s kindness; Hebrews repeatedly warns that falling away leads to judgment. These warnings are real, serious, and addressed to believers about salvation—not merely rewards.

Yet perseverance is not perfection and not works-righteousness. Christians still sin, struggle with desires, and grow gradually. Perseverance flows from faith and is empowered by the Spirit, not by human merit.

Schreiner’s key thesis: God preserves His elect by means of warnings. The warnings do not imply the elect may finally perish; instead, God uses them as instruments to keep His people trusting Christ to the end. The warnings call not to introspection but to ongoing faith and obedience.

Schreiner defends the historic Reformation view: justification is forensic—God’s legal declaration that sinners are righteous because of Christ’s obedience and atoning death, received by faith alone. It is not a process of becoming righteous but an accomplished verdict grounded entirely in Christ, not in anything we contribute.

He critiques both Roman Catholic theology and modern trends such as the New Perspective on Paul (Sanders, Dunn, Wright). These reinterpret “works of the law” as ethnic boundary markers rather than moral requirements and shift justification toward ecclesiology (who belongs to the covenant community) rather than salvation. Schreiner argues instead that Paul’s concern is universal sin, moral failure, and humanity’s inability to keep God’s law.

Biblical evidence—from Deut. 25, Psalms, Job, Romans, and Galatians—shows justification language consistently refers to courtroom declaration. Schreiner affirms imputation: Christ becomes sin for us so that His righteousness becomes ours through union with Him. Good works, while necessary as evidence, never form the basis of justification.

Throughout the dialogues, Job and his friends misinterpret God. The friends assume Job must have sinned; Job assumes God has turned against him. Both are wrong. Unbeknownst to Job, God is actually proud of him and is using this ordeal to deepen Job’s capacity to know Him.

When God finally speaks “from the storm,” He does not humiliate Job but gently shows him two truths:

(1) Job cannot interpret the world rightly based on his limited perspective, and
(2) creation, though containing real chaos and danger, is upheld by God with joy, order, and care.

The climax is God’s description of Leviathan, not as a crocodile but as a symbol of supernatural evil—the true enemy. God reveals that He, not Job, will defeat this cosmic evil. Job realizes God was never his adversary but his defender, and he responds in humble worship: “Now my eye sees you.”

Ortlund concludes that Job points ahead to the cross, where God ultimately defeats the true Leviathan—Satan—on behalf of His suffering people.

Hamilton maintains that the superscriptions are original and reliable, noting that Chronicles treats them as authentic. Books 1–2 focus overwhelmingly on David’s life and kingship. Book 3 reflects the crisis of the monarchy and the devastation of exile, climaxing in Psalm 89’s lament that seems to question God’s promise to David. Book 4 begins with Moses (Psalm 90), intentionally recalling earlier intercession and anchoring hope in God’s character and covenant faithfulness. Book 5 moves toward restoration, climaxing in Psalm 110’s messianic king-priest, followed by hallelujah psalms and the king’s triumphant arrival (Psalm 118), the law shaping God’s people (Psalm 119), and the nations streaming to Zion (Psalms 120–134).

The Psalter ultimately anticipates the Messiah’s victory, the gathering of God’s people, and the praise of all creation (Psalms 146–150). Hamilton concludes that reading the Psalms as a unified book deepens our understanding of Scripture, shapes our worldview, and forms Christlike worshippers.

In preparation, biblical theology acts like “jumper cables.” It helps him quickly locate a passage within the Bible’s storyline, uncover hidden details, find the author’s main point, and build excitement for difficult texts. It also gives him confidence to preach books he once avoided—Song of Songs, Hebrews, and even Leviticus—because he now expects rich connections to Christ. Biblical theology sustains his soul by continually showing him that Scripture is one unified story written by God, always leading him back to the gospel.

In preaching, biblical theology helps his people see Jesus everywhere, follow the author’s true intent, and hear applications with theological depth. It keeps sermons from becoming moralistic and ensures that God—not the preacher—takes center stage. Ultimately, biblical theology empowers both preacher and congregation by magnifying Christ in all of Scripture.

Paul then cites four Old Testament warnings—idolatry (Golden Calf), sexual immorality (Numbers 25), testing the Lord (Numbers 21), and grumbling (Numbers 16). In each case, severe judgment followed. Lohmann emphasizes Paul’s point: learn from Israel’s failures, lest we repeat them. External experiences like baptism, the Lord’s Supper, or past spiritual highs cannot replace present, persevering faith.

Verse 11 becomes Lohmann’s central claim: the Old Testament was written for us, for believers “on whom the end of the ages has come.” He highlights multiple ways OT texts point to Christ—types, contrasts, themes, promises, law, and redemptive-historical progression.

The passage ends with profound encouragement: God is faithful. He sustains His people, provides escape from temptation, and will complete His saving work. Thus Christians both fear self-reliance and rest in God’s preserving grace, persevering in faith until the end.

Psalm 137 is a communal lament from Israel’s exile. The people sit by Babylon’s rivers, weeping for Jerusalem, mocked by captors who demand Zion songs as a taunt. Their pain is real—Jerusalem and the temple lie in ruins—but the psalm calls them not to despair. Instead of silencing their harps, they must remember and sing of Jerusalem, not in nostalgia but in faith: Jerusalem is the city where God dwells, and its ultimate form is the new Jerusalem of Isaiah and Revelation. The psalmist commands his own soul to exalt God’s promised city above all joys.

Verses 7–9, including the imprecation about Babylon’s infants, are not personal vengeance but a plea for God to keep His promises to judge wicked nations. Bass shows how the prophets foretold Babylon’s doom and how judgment is always the pathway to salvation. Ultimately, all divine wrath converges on the cup Jesus drank in Gethsemane. Christ takes judgment on Himself so His people drink the “cup of blessing.”

Thus Christians read Psalm 137 longing for Christ’s return—knowing His coming brings both salvation and judgment. This longing should fuel bold, compassionate evangelism as we live in exile, setting the new Jerusalem above our highest joy.

The serpent first questions, then contradicts God’s word, and the couple sins. Immediately relational and spiritual death appear: shame, hiding from God, hiding from each other. Yet God approaches not with fury but gentle, merciful questions (“Where are you?”), inviting confession.

Hamilton stresses that only the serpent is cursed, linking him with Cain (“cursed are you”), establishing a pattern: liars, murderers, and God-rejecters show themselves to be the serpent’s offspring. God then utters the foundational promise (Gen 3:15): perpetual conflict will mark history, but a singular male offspring of the woman will crush the serpent’s head. This introduces hope of victory, life, and restoration.

Genesis 12 develops the resolution: God will bless Abraham, curse his enemies (the serpent’s seed), and bring blessing to all nations through Abraham’s seed—ultimately Christ. The promise reverberates through Scripture in countless head-crushing images (Jael, David, Romans 16, Revelation 12). Genesis 3 thus sets the stage for the entire biblical story: sin, conflict, curse—and God’s gracious promise of a conquering Redeemer.

In Exodus 4:1–9, Moses fears the people will not believe him. God answers not by boosting Moses’ self-esteem but by giving assurances of His own presence—signs that demonstrate God’s sovereign power over life and death. Likewise, pastors today have a greater assurance: the resurrection of Jesus and the indwelling Holy Spirit, proving that God truly speaks through His servants.

When Moses protests his lack of eloquence (4:10–12), God reminds him that He made the human mouth and will supply the words. McKay urges pastors to rely on God’s sufficient help, not their own abilities. Even when Moses finally pleads, “Send someone else,” God shows patience but exposes the unbelief behind such excuses.

The takeaway: ministry confidence does not flow from skill, personality, or results, but from God’s power, God’s promises, and God’s presence through Jesus—the greater Moses—who equips His servants by the Spirit to speak His Word with boldness.

Jesus then gives a two-hour Bible study, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, showing that the Messiah had to suffer and then enter His glory. Lohmann emphasizes that Jesus expects His followers to read the Old Testament as a single story centered on Christ, not merely as isolated texts. True understanding and lasting joy come not from seeing Jesus physically but from seeing Him in Scripture. Their hearts “burned” before their eyes were opened.

When they finally recognize Jesus in the breaking of bread, He vanishes—yet they are overflowing with joy because the Scriptures now make sense. Lohmann concludes that Christians must read, teach, and preach the Old Testament confidently to show God’s unified, sovereign plan and to anchor believers in deep, resilient joy.

1. Idolatry as a replay of the golden calf.
Hosea describes Israel’s contemporary sin in the vocabulary of Exodus 32 and Deuteronomy 9, showing that his generation is committing the same covenant-breaking idolatries as the exodus generation. Hosea weaves Torah language—Baal Peor, the calf, Sinai warnings—to reveal an unbroken line of rebellion.

2. Judgment as a reversal of the exodus.
Through symbolic names (“No Mercy,” “Not My People”) and allusions to Deut. 28:68, Hosea depicts exile as a backwards exodus—a return to slavery. “Egypt” becomes a type, fulfilled historically in Assyria.

3. Restoration as a new exodus.
Hosea 1–2 and 11 promise a future exodus, with a new wilderness, a new covenant, a new conquest, and even new-creation imagery. This restoration is led by a Davidic king, hinted at in Hosea’s allusions to the Balaam oracle and Genesis 49’s lion of Judah.

Bass concludes that Matthew reads Hosea correctly: Jesus recapitulates Israel’s story, embodies the new exodus, and fulfills Hosea’s typological pattern—not by prediction alone, but by promise-shaped patterns inherent in the Old Testament.

Hamilton argues that the flood, the Red Sea crossing, and Christ’s death all function as escalating expressions of God’s wrath symbolized by water. Jesus himself refers to His death as a “baptism” (Mark 10), showing He will enter the floodwaters of divine judgment. To demonstrate that Moses intended these connections, Hamilton walks through Exodus 15, showing repeated vocabulary, duplicated lines, chiastic structure, and thematic parallels to Genesis 6–9. Moses shapes the Red Sea narrative in conscious continuity with the flood and with earlier deliverances in Genesis.

These patterns continue through the Psalms and Prophets, building anticipation for a new exodus, ultimately fulfilled in Christ’s death and resurrection. Baptism unites believers to Christ in this fulfillment. Revelation 15 confirms the continuity: the redeemed sing both the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb, because the same salvation story reaches its climax in Jesus.

1. Hosea’s use of Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy shapes Hosea’s diagnosis of Israel’s problem and hope. Both books insist that the heart is the issue: Israel is bent on turning away, unable and unwilling to return. Yet Deuteronomy also promises salvation through judgment and future restoration. Hosea quotes and adapts Deuteronomy—especially chapters 4 and 30—showing that exile is certain but so is God’s compassion, heart-renewal, and return. In passages like Hosea 3:5 and chapter 14, Hosea fuses human responsibility (“Return!”) with divine sovereignty (“I will heal their apostasy”).

2. Hosea’s typological reading.
Hosea interprets his generation through earlier patterns: they are Gibeah, Sodom, Canaan, and Adam—repeating the worst sins in Scripture. He also presents Jacob and the Exodus as typological models for both judgment and future salvation.

3. Hosea and the covenants.
Hosea sees the Mosaic covenant broken, but grounds hope in the Abrahamic and Davidic promises, anticipating a new covenant and new creation centered on a future Davidic king.

Bass concludes that Hosea reads Scripture covenantally, seeing God sovereignly guiding history toward eschatological restoration through judgment, renewal, and Messiah.

Hamilton structures his talk chiastically and contrasts the Bible’s story with the modern self, shaped by psychologized feelings, sexualized identity, and politicized desires (as described by Carl Trueman). These cultural narratives function like alternative “scriptures,” giving people identity, ethics, meaning, and community—yet they ultimately damage and deceive, as illustrated through a woman whose life was shaped and ruined by Sex and the City.

The heart of the message is a call to live out of and into the true story of Scripture. The world is a cosmic temple, created for God’s presence and glory. Humanity’s fall corrupted this temple, but God’s promises—from Genesis to Isaiah—point to renewal through the promised seed. Biblical symbols, patterns, and typology teach believers how to interpret the world.

Hamilton warns against the false gospels of wokeness and sexual fulfillment, which try to replace creation, fall, redemption, and restoration with counterfeit versions. He closes by urging Christians to let the Bible’s story reshape identity and hope—like showing a bullied young Kate Middleton a picture of her royal wedding—so believers endure trials in light of their future glory with Christ.

The problem is not the harvest but the lack of laborers, largely because Christians have grown defeatist. When we believe Jesus, we begin to pray earnestly for workers—and often discover that we ourselves become the answer to our own prayers.

Jesus sends His workers out as lambs among wolves, meaning gospel mission is costly and cannot rely on worldly props, methods, or self-confidence. Laborers depend entirely on God. They go with undistracted focus and a simple message: “Peace to this house… The kingdom of God has come near to you.” Everyone ultimately needs God, and only Jesus can bring them to Him.

Rejection will happen, but believers respond not with contempt but with tears, like Jesus weeping over Jerusalem. We are Christ’s voice: “Whoever hears you hears Me.”

Savage ends with a personal story of his parents praying for laborers and becoming laborers themselves, sparking revival in their town. His father’s final words capture the call: “All for Jesus, till the whole world hears.”

Part 1: What Christ does to us.

Paul describes Jesus as the image of the invisible God, the One in whom the fullness of God dwells. Through Christ all things were created and stamped with God’s self-giving nature, yet humanity became alienated, hostile, and self-centered. In astonishing love, God reconciles sinners through the blood of Christ’s cross, presenting them holy and blameless. This is the spectacular good news of forgiveness and justification.

Part 2: What Christ does in us.

The “mystery hidden for ages” is now revealed: Christ in you, the hope of glory. Not only are believers forgiven; Christ Himself dwells within them, reproducing His resurrection life and self-emptying love. Being “in Christ” means being filled with His fullness—compassion, humility, patience, forgiveness, and above all love, which binds everything together and restores God’s design for relationships, families, and communities.

Savage concludes with Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3: that believers would grasp the immeasurable love of Christ within them, so that God may work through them far more abundantly than they can imagine, for His glory.

Jesus, however, forms a community that no natural grouping can explain. Hansen highlights the original disciples: Matthew the tax collector and Simon the zealot—men who should have hated each other—united only because of Christ. True Christian community welcomes sinners, the broken, and the socially marginalized. Such churches risk being used or hurt, yet they embody the mercy of Christ, who sought the sick, not the self-righteous.

A church that gathers people who would never normally associate—across class, ethnicity, politics, age, and background—displays the power of the gospel and grabs the world’s attention. Though slower and less efficient than consumer-driven models, this Spirit-formed unity is durable, beautiful, and faithful. The world doesn’t need churches that mirror its tribes; it needs churches that look like the world to come—one body, one Spirit, one Lord.

Hansen shows how contextualization can go wrong in two ways: over-contextualizing, which compromises doctrine, or under-contextualizing, which confuses Christianity with a particular culture. The biggest barrier is our own blind spots, often revealed only when we encounter other cultures. Using American examples—church fights over masks, vaccinations, gun control—he illustrates how cultural preferences can be elevated above biblical authority.

He proposes the tool of theological vision (developed by Richard Lints and Tim Keller), a “middleware” between doctrine and ministry practice. Theological vision helps churches apply Scripture faithfully while understanding their own history, cultural assumptions, and context. Hansen urges Christians to value diverse strengths—courage, compassion, and a commission-driven spirit—while avoiding the demagoguery of cultural extremes. True contextualization, grounded in Scripture and informed by global and historical wisdom, enables the church to proclaim Christ clearly to every people and place.

Expository preaching explains what the biblical authors intended—because Scripture, not the preacher, carries divine authority. Preachers must show their listeners the meaning from the text itself, not merely assert it. But explanation alone is not preaching. If the preacher’s heart shows no joy, wonder, or seriousness that matches the worth of the truth, he is “lying” about its value. Conversely, emotional display without biblical truth is mere performance.

Piper roots preaching in God’s overarching purpose: all things exist for God’s glory, and God loves us by giving us Himself for our everlasting joy. Preaching uniquely serves this aim, because through exposition God’s people see His truth, and through exaltation they taste His worth. True preaching helps the church think rightly and feel rightly about God—so that He is honored as supremely valuable.

Piper explained how he sustains daily delight in Christ. Despite seasons of spiritual dullness, he anchors his life in Scripture, using the acronym I.O.U.S. from the Psalms to pray that God would incline his heart, open his eyes, unite his heart, and satisfy him with steadfast love. He and his wife Noel maintain long-standing rhythms of shared Bible reading, prayer, and singing. With children, they practiced simple daily family devotions centered on Scripture and prayer.

In discussing sanctification, Piper admitted that spiritual vulnerability does not disappear with age; Christians must fight the good fight to the end. He also offered pastoral counsel on marriage to unbelieving spouses, discerning when to leave a church, and how churches should evaluate worship music written by groups with questionable theology. The session closed with prayer for 20Schemes and for those struggling to come to Christ.

He outlines three essential practices for soul care. First, walk with Jesus: pastors must feed on God’s Word for their own souls, not only for sermon preparation. Intimacy with Christ fuels authentic ministry. Second, embrace your weakness. Croft explains that Christ’s strength is displayed in our weakness, not despite it. Pastors must reject the pressure to appear perfect, admit their sins and limits, and allow their humanity to be seen in wise and appropriate ways.

Third, care for yourself practically. He gives six areas crucial to soul health: eating patterns, adequate sleep, exercise, life-giving friendships, real rest, and regular silence. Croft shares from his own experience of near-collapse and urges pastors to seek help, accept their limitations, and remember that even pastors need shepherds.

He emphasizes that the Holy Spirit alone raises the spiritually dead, removes hearts of stone, reveals the truth of Christ, and transforms believers. Therefore, preaching is not merely communication; it is a miracle.

To preach in the power of the Spirit, Piper describes a lifelong approach summarized by the acronym APTAT:

A – Admit your helplessness.
P – Pray for God’s help.
T – Trust specific promises of God.
A – Act in faith.
T – Thank God afterward.

He highlights trusting promises as central, since the Spirit is supplied “by hearing with faith” (Gal. 3:5). Piper explains how he prepares moments before preaching: confessing weakness, praying for humility, clarity, and compassion, and clinging to concrete biblical promises that empower him as he steps into the pulpit.

He concludes by urging preachers to embrace preaching as a supernatural work—done in God’s strength so that God alone receives the glory.

He shares his personal story: growing up in church music, discovering a calling to write hymns that teach Scripture, and ultimately co-writing “In Christ Alone.” Getty explains that Christians sing for three reasons: we are commanded to sing, we are created to sing, and the gospel compels us to sing. He emphasizes that singing is not a warm-up for preaching but a central expression of Christian faith.

Getty shows how singing shapes individuals, families, congregations, and communities. He urges churches to choose songs that present a full, biblical picture of God; express the whole spectrum of human emotion; clearly proclaim the gospel; and point believers toward eternity. He highlights the importance of robust congregational singing—led thoughtfully, rooted in Scripture, and aimed at building deep believers. Ultimately, singing is both spiritual formation and powerful witness, drawing unbelievers and strengthening the church in its mission.

Focusing on Ephesians 3:10, McConnell examines Paul’s repeated mention of the “mystery”—the once-hidden truth now revealed through the gospel: that Jews and Gentiles alike are united in one body, the church. This church, made of imperfect, diverse, often messy people, is God’s chosen means for displaying His “manifold” (multi-layered, colorful) wisdom. McConnell urges believers to lift their eyes beyond their small problems and see the grand plan God is unfolding.

Surprisingly, Paul says God reveals His wisdom not only to the world but to the “rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms”—both angels and demonic powers. The existence and perseverance of the church, despite weakness and sin, proclaims Christ’s victory and Satan’s defeat. Every faithful congregation, however ordinary, is a jewel in Christ’s crown and a testimony to God’s eternal wisdom. McConnell concludes by calling believers to love Christ’s church deeply and recognize its cosmic significance.

He argues that the ministries represented – such as 20Schemes and the Gettys’ work – embody a Christianity defined by two core convictions.

First, Christians care about all suffering, following Jesus’ compassion toward physical and emotional pain, but they care especially about eternal suffering. Piper challenges modern disbelief in hell, insisting that Jesus taught its reality and that genuine love requires warning others.

Second, Christians care about all injustice, but especially injustice against God. He defines injustice as treating someone worse than they deserve, and since God deserves infinite honor, humanity’s failure to worship Him is the greatest injustice. The gospel announces that Jesus bore the penalty for this injustice—justice denied to Him so it could be granted to sinners.

Piper concludes that true Christians will embrace these two sentences as life-shaping commitments, bringing hope to both Scotland’s schemes and every community.

Preaching from 2 Samuel 23 and Acts 6, McKay shows that biblical leadership is defined not by charisma, strategic skill, or innovation, but by faithfulness to the ministry of the Word and prayer, and by service for the good of Christ’s people. In Acts 6 the apostles refuse to fix the church’s problems by themselves; instead they preserve their primary calling—Word and prayer—and raise up deacons to meet physical needs. This protects unity and enables gospel growth.

McKay then outlines the work of elders:

1. Gathering the flock—knowing every member and actively guarding them.
2. Word ministry—feeding the church through faithful preaching and teaching.
3. Equipping—training others for ministry so that the whole body grows.

Plurality is essential: multiple elders strengthen the church, share burdens, and safeguard discipline.

Deacons, meanwhile, serve practical needs, protect unity, and support the elders’ ministry.

Biblical leadership, rightly exercised, gives the church a foretaste of God’s good and life-giving authority—and enables God’s people to flourish under Christ, the Chief Shepherd.

Pastors & Leaders Conference 2019

First, Peter recalls the transfiguration—an overwhelming divine experience where Peter saw Christ’s glory and heard the Father’s voice. Yet Peter’s response on the mountain (“Let’s build tents!”) shows that experience alone can confuse without God’s interpretation. Even after such a vision, Peter does not urge Christians to pursue similar experiences. Instead, he points to something more sure: the prophetic Word.

Second, Lohmann explains that Scripture is a lamp shining in a dark place. Only through God’s Word do we understand creation, sin, salvation, and the way to live. The Bible gives light for every part of life—not quick signs or subjective impressions, but steady illumination for decisions, convictions, and hope. Christians drift into darkness when they neglect this lamp.

Finally, Lohmann stresses why the Word is trustworthy: Scripture is God speaking. Though written by humans, the authors were “carried along by the Holy Spirit,” ensuring every word is God’s Word. Therefore Christians—and especially pastors—must read with reverence, teachability, and obedience. True divine experience happens whenever God speaks through Scripture.

Pastors & Leaders Conference 2019

Helm warns against blind contextualization—using the Bible like an impressionistic painter, glancing briefly at the text and producing ten ideas for modern life. When “today” drives the sermon, we lose truth, distort the passage, and ultimately lose Christ. This kind of preaching treats the Bible like a lamp post for support rather than illumination.

Instead, Helm lays out a sequential pathway for sermon preparation:

1. Text → Them: Begin with exegesis—literary, historical, and biblical context; grammar; and structure.
2. Them → Then → Christ: Understand the text in its place within redemptive history, asking how it relates to Christ without bypassing the original meaning.
3. Christ → Today: Only after exegesis and theological reflection should the preacher turn to application, argument, audience, and arrangement.

This disciplined, “long way around” prepares the preacher to speak God’s Word with integrity, clarity, and power—avoiding moralism, spiritualization, and manipulation, and enabling true gospel proclamation.

Pastors & Leaders Conference 2019

Helm explains that every audience is persuaded by certain authorities, and effective preaching appeals to these. Four main sources shape persuasion:

1. Proclamation (declaring what God has said),
2. Reason (logical argument),
3. Experience (either the preacher’s or the listener’s), and
4. Expertise (respected external authorities).

Paul uses all four in Acts 17 as he reasons, explains, proves, and proclaims from Scripture. Preachers, however, tend to rely on only one or two, attracting people like themselves while missing others. To reach the whole church, sermons must incorporate all four modes of appeal.

Helm concludes with two guiding questions: Does the biblical author use any of these appeals? and How can I faithfully mirror that appeal for my audience? By doing so, the preacher presents not only the truth of the text but its persuasive force, making the gospel’s claims compelling to every kind of listener.

Pastors & Leaders Conference 2019

To find structure, a preacher must know what kind of literature he is handling—narrative, poetry, or discourse—as each uses different organizational strategies. Narrative often follows plot, character shifts, or geographical markers. Poetry uses imagery tied to ideas. Discourse relies on logic, grammar, and repeated patterns. Helm demonstrates this through examples: Psalm 1 (tree vs. chaff), Psalm 23 (shepherd vs. host), 1 Samuel 21 (two scenes in two houses), Acts 5 (repeated conflicts leading to judgment), and Acts 11–12 (a “sandwich” structure contrasting Peter and Herod).

Structure reveals a text’s main emphasis, which then shapes the sermon’s movements. The preacher’s task is to identify the bones, understand how they carry meaning, and then “dress” them for preaching—clarifying, arranging, and communicating God’s intended message with simplicity and power.

Pastors & Leaders Conference 2019

McKay then grounds this vision in Scripture. A biblical theology of the church shows God’s purpose from creation to new creation: to fill the world with His image through a redeemed people. Though Adam, Israel, and humanity failed, Christ perfectly reflects God, and through His saving work the church is formed as a new creation. Ephesians highlights that the church—united sinners transformed by Christ—displays God’s manifold wisdom even to the heavenly realms (Eph. 3:10).

From this vision flow practical implications. The church’s distinctiveness is essential for evangelism and missions. Pastors must center their ministries on God’s Word, not programs or pragmatism. True success is defined by faithfulness, not numerical growth. Church membership expresses committed love, and simplifying ministry around the Word fosters deep discipleship. McKay concludes that healthy, Word-centered churches are God’s chosen means for fulfilling the Great Commission and displaying His glory.

Pastors & Leaders Conference 2019

While growth is God’s work, every Christian bears responsibility for pursuing maturity, not blaming others for lack of growth. Scripture repeatedly commands believers to grow, warning against spiritual stagnation. Still, discipleship happens best in the local church, where God’s Word is preached and believers can instruct, encourage, and admonish one another.

For pastors, Lohmann highlights two major duties: feed the sheep by faithfully preaching Christ from all Scripture, and protect time to disciple others, especially future leaders. He outlines practical principles: choose teachable and committed people, model godliness, admit weakness, encourage and correct, be patient, ask good questions, set goals, give real responsibility, cultivate love, and above all pray, remembering that only God gives growth.

Pastors & Leaders Conference 2019

Helm then introduces practical strategies for preaching Christ from any passage. Three main tools guide this movement: themes (such as covenant, kingdom, temple), typology/analogy (persons, events, and objects intentionally prefiguring Christ), and textual promises and fulfillments. Using the book of Acts, he illustrates how Paul functions as a mirror of Christ, paralleling Jesus’ miracles, journey to Jerusalem, trials, and suffering—patterns Paul expects believers to imitate.

Helm further emphasizes preaching with specificity, using a simple diagram of Christ’s life—from eternal preexistence to incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension, reign, and return. Each passage highlights a particular aspect rather than a generic “Jesus point.” Effective preaching, he concludes, unites rigorous exegesis with gospel-centered theological reflection, enabling the church to see Christ’s multifaceted glory.

Pastors & Leaders Conference 2019

He stresses that Christians need the local church for teaching, assurance of salvation, protection, accountability, and evangelistic witness. Membership helps elders know whom they must shepherd and guard from spiritual danger. It also enables the church to display a supernatural unity that testifies to the power of the gospel. The speaker argues that proper teaching, clear expectations, and strong church structure prepare a congregation to practice corrective church discipline when necessary. Discipline, he says, is loving: it warns the sinner, protects the church, preserves its witness, and brings glory to God. He concludes by urging believers to embrace membership and discipline as essential expressions of love for Christ and His church.

Pastors & Leaders Conference 2019

Because of this calling, Paul urges Christians to “walk worthy” by practicing humility, gentleness, patience, and loving forbearance—virtues that preserve unity. Unity is fragile and constantly threatened by pride, selfishness, and spiritual attack; therefore believers must make every effort to maintain it. The church’s unity serves as a visible picture of the gospel, proving to the world that Jesus was sent by God.

Ephesians 4:4–6 grounds this unity in seven unchanging truths: one body, Spirit, hope, Lord, faith, baptism, and God the Father. A church faithful to these essentials avoids dividing over secondary matters and displays a supernatural community unlike anything in the world. Ultimately, the church’s loving unity reflects the unity of the Triune God and brings praise to His glorious grace.

Pastors & Leaders Conference 2019