I. Course Description
This course offers students the opportunity to hear one of the greatest preachers of the twentieth century share his vision of preaching. It provides an in depth, guided study through the book and audio lectures of Preaching and Preachers by Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
II. Course Mentor
If you are taking this course as directed studies, you must have a mentor to successfully complete the course requirements. A list of available mentors for this course and their contact information is posted in the Student Area. If you have any difficulty arranging for a mentor, please contact the Study Center Director.
III. Attendance and Participation
This course meets for 16 sessions. Students will have 20 weeks to complete all the sessions (from September 8, 2009 to January 29, 2010).
Your participation in the course will be determined largely by your contact time with your mentor. You may work through the course material online at your own pace, but to fulfill the attendance requirement for the course, you must stay in contact with your mentor and log at least 16 meetings with your mentor (one for each session of the course). If you meet long enough to sufficiently cover two sessions, your mentor may give you credit for two meetings. It will be up to your mentor to determine at the end of the course if you have fulfilled the attendance requirement and sufficiently covered the course material.
If extenuating circumstances arise and you will not be able to complete the course in the allotted time, please contact the Study Center Director.
IV. Required Texts
Three texts are required for this course:
• Preaching and Preachers by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
• Between Two Worlds by John Stott
• The Supremacy of God in Preaching by John Piper
V. Outline of Sessions
The 16 sessions of this course follow the chapter headings in Preaching and Preachers by Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
1. The Primacy of Preaching
2. No Substitute
3. The Sermon and Preaching
4. The Form of the Sermon
5. The Act of Preaching
6. The Preacher
7. The Congregation
8. The Character of the Message
9. The Preparation of the Preacher
10. The Preparation of the Sermon
11. The Shape of the Sermon
12. Illustrations, Eloquence, Humor
13. What to Avoid
14. Calling for Decisions
15. The Pitfalls and the Romance
16. "Demonstration of the Spirit and of the Power"
VI. Method of Instruction
Teaching methods will include:
VII. Course Assignments
All assignments for the course are outlined on the session pages and in the study guides.
Benchmark Sermon:
Your first assignment will be to provide your mentor with a "benchmark" sermon.
If you are serving in a place where you are responsible for or at least participate in the preaching and teaching ministry of the church, please make a recording of one of your sermons (video if possible, but audio will be sufficient). Please send a copy of the recording, along with a copy of your notes or manuscript used to preach the sermon, to your mentor. This sample of your preaching will be helpful to your mentor as he determines how best to help you in the course. If you regularly record your messages, please send a message that you consider one of your better efforts or one that God has used to especially bless your church.
If you have never preached before or are serving in a place where you are not participating in the preaching and teaching ministry of the church, please share this with your mentor. You mentor may give you other instructions or another assignment to substitute for this first assignment. Please realize that to complete the course you will need to preach at least one sermon. (See Major Projects below.)
If you are taking this course in a church where you participate in the preaching and teaching ministry, and your mentor is the pastor of your church (and already familiar with your preaching), your mentor may choose to wave this assignment.
Weekly Assignments:
Each session will include the following:
1) Reading Assignment: chapter in Preaching and Preachers
2) Discussion Questions over chapter
3) Supplementary Reading Assignment
Most of the sessions include additional discussion questions. Please check with your mentor to find out what questions he wants you to complete.
Please complete all the readings for the session and print out a hard copy of your answers to the discussion questions so you are prepared for your meetings with your mentor. You will receive credit for doing your weekly assignments once you have met and covered the material with your mentor.
Major Projects:
Your course work will also include three major projects. You will write two sermons (following the form outlined by Lloyd-Jones in Preaching and Preachers) and evaluate your sermons with your mentor. You will also preach at least one of your sermons and evaluate your delivery of the sermon with your mentor. Details on these three assignments will be covered in the session material in the course.
Your mentor will assign specific due dates for your projects. All course work must be complete to the satisfaction of your mentor by January 29, 2010.