My people come to you in crowds, sit in front of you, and hear your words, but they don’t obey them. . . . Yes, to them you are like a singer of love songs who has a beautiful voice and plays skillfully on an instrument. They hear your words, but they do not obey them.    (Ezekiel 33: 31,32; HCSB)

There was nothing wrong with the prophet’s preaching—the problem lay solely in his listeners! They were interested in how he preached—not in what he preached.

Today, people flock to popular preachers, some of whom preach well, and truthfully, but the listeners fail to live changed lives. The reason might be the same as it was in Ezekiel’s day.

If all those who attend popular preaching were to go out and live as they are told in the preachers’ messages—even for one week—what a difference it would make!

Truth must be mixed with faith, and faith with obedience.

Obedience is a lost concept today in some circles. All one must do to grow by grace is to listen to and contemplate the Gospel. This quasi-mystical and quazi-monastic viewpoint is dangerous. It also leads to listening to preachers “sing!”

Think about why you go to hear preaching. It may be because the preaching you hear doesn’t demand much of you. But even if it does—as in Ezekiel’s case—you must come in the right attitude. Listening to love songs won’t cut it.

Books dealing with Preaching:

1.  Preaching with Purpose by Jay Adams
2.  A Consumer’s Guide to Preaching by Jay Adams
3. Authority in the Church by Jay Adams

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

Follow INS on Social Media:
– Facebook: noutheticstudies
– Twitter: @noutheticstud
– Instagram: @noutheticstudies

The post People Listened! appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

Speak My words to them whether they listen or refuse to listen . . .   (Ezekiel 2:7)

The Word of God must be proclaimed, and refusal to hear it is no excuse from preaching it. You may become discouraged, ready to throw in the towel and about to turn from the pulpit, but those are not excuses from preaching the message. Count on it—less and less people are going to listen to you. Our society has changed. You will be laughed at, ignored, or even outcast from your present post–but the Word must be preached regardless. Indeed, there will be less and less who will listen to the pure words of God (they’ll run to other venues where it is preached in conjunction with untruth or watered down teaching), but small though your church may become, hang in there and preach all the harder, clearer and more powerfully. God will bless—in one way or another.

Books dealing with Preaching:

1.  Preaching with Purpose by Jay Adams
2.  A Consumer’s Guide to Preaching by Jay Adams
3. Whole Counsel by Donn R. Arms, et. al.

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

Follow INS on Social Media:
– Facebook: noutheticstudies
– Twitter: @noutheticstud
– Instagram: @noutheticstudies

The post It Makes No Difference appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

There is just so much a man can preach about in a lifetime—or, for that matter, in a given pastoral charge. He has to choose. Now which ought to be more important for his people to hear—preaching from Old Testament narratives, or preaching from the material that belongs to our new age? Jesus told us to teach our people to “observe,” to use His exact words, “whatsoever I have commanded you.” How will you fulfill that requirement if yours is not largely a New Testament preaching ministry?

New Testament preaching itself could not be exhausted in a lifetime of preaching. How much of it, then, will be neglected even if a preacher largely chooses to preach from New Testament passages? It seems to me, therefore, that New Testament preaching ought to be every preacher’s priority.

“Do you advocate preaching from the Old Testament at all?”

Of course. I’m speaking about what you ought to emphasize. But, when I say “of course,” I mean two things. First, you ought to preach some from pivotal OT texts, but even more, perhaps, from OT texts as a backup to those NT passages that you preach. The OT exposition, in such cases, will grow out of the NT passages, often as background information that helps understand the NT text. Since many things in the NT can be explained only by reference to OT teachings, and many times when preaching from NT passages, you will find it necessary to mention OT Scripture portions, in this way you will preach from many OT portions.

Whether you agree with me or not, think about the matter, preacher. You will—you do—you must choose. What will be your choice?

Books dealing with Preaching:

1.  Preaching with Purpose by Jay Adams
2.  A Consumer’s Guide to Preaching by Jay Adams
3. Whole Counsel by Donn R. Arms, et. al.

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

Follow INS on Social Media:
– Facebook: noutheticstudies
– Twitter: @noutheticstud
– Instagram: @noutheticstudies

The post Preaching from the OT appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

Books dealing with Preaching:

1.  Preaching with Purpose by Jay Adams
2.  A Consumer’s Guide to Preaching by Jay Adams
3. Whole Counsel by Donn R. Arms, et. al.

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

Follow INS on Social Media:
– Facebook: noutheticstudies
– Twitter: @noutheticstud
– Instagram: @noutheticstudies

The post Preaching and Counseling appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

For our classic lecture this week we go back, for the final time, to Southeastern Baptist Seminary in 1998. This is the third of three lectures Jay gave for the Theodore F. Adams Lectureship (no relation beyond the original Adam).

Also, check out the first two lectures:

1. Preaching with Purpose, Part 1
2. Preaching with Purpose, Part 2

Books dealing with Preaching:

1.  Preaching with Purpose by Jay Adams
2.  A Consumer’s Guide to Preaching by Jay Adams
3. Whole Counsel by Donn R. Arms, et. al.

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

Follow INS on Social Media:
– Facebook: noutheticstudies
– Twitter: @noutheticstud
– Instagram: @noutheticstudies

The post Preaching with Purpose, Part 3 appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

For our classic lecture this month we go back, again, to Southeastern Baptist Seminary in 1998. This is the second of three lectures Jay gave for the Theodore F. Adams Lectureship (no relation beyond the original Adam).

Also, check out the first of the three lectures here: Preaching with Purpose, Part 1

Books dealing with Preaching:

1.  Preaching with Purpose by Jay Adams
2.  A Consumer’s Guide to Preaching by Jay Adams
3. Whole Counsel by Donn R. Arms, et. al.

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

Follow INS on Social Media:
– Facebook: noutheticstudies
– Twitter: @noutheticstud
– Instagram: @noutheticstudies

The post Preaching with Purpose, Part 2 appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

For our classic lecture this month we go back to Southeastern Baptist Seminary in 1998. This is the first of three lectures Jay gave for the Theodore F. Adams Lectureship (no relation beyond the original Adam).

Books dealing with Preaching:

1.  Preaching with Purpose by Jay Adams
2.  A Consumer’s Guide to Preaching by Jay Adams
3. Whole Counsel by Donn R. Arms, et. al.

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

Follow INS on Social Media:
– Facebook: noutheticstudies
– Twitter: @noutheticstud
– Instagram: @noutheticstudies

The post Preaching With Purpose, Part 1 appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.