The Hangover!

It is Monday morning, the alarm clock is interrupting your slumber with its incessant and irritating chime. As you wake, you quickly discern that not all is well, your head is pounding, your body is feeling rather fragile, and you wonder if you actually slept. “What did I do yesterday?” “Was it something that I ate?” “I didn’t go to bed all that late, why do I feel so drained?” Then it dawns on you, yesterday was Sunday, and suddenly it all makes sense, you are suffering from a preaching hangover!

If you are anything like me a typical Sunday starts before the sun comes up. There we are in our study pleading in earnest prayer that God would in His grace work through the imperfect preachers that we are. We run through our sermon, making any last minute adjustments. A glance at the clock tells us that time is not on our side, no time for breakfast, a quick cup of coffee will have to suffice. We bundle the family into the car and off we go to church. As we drive our minds are a frenzy of activity, what needs to be done before the service, who and what needs to be specifically prayed for in the service? Did the secretary remember to put that important notice in the bulletin, has the music leader chosen appropriate songs and hymns? As we walk in the church door, our eyes focus on the pulpit, a determination, a resolution fills our heart, “By the grace in the strength of God, I will seek to proclaim His Word to His glory. Please Father send Your Spirit, please by Your grace work today.”

We have little chance to sit and quiet ourselves before the service starts, we must seek to greet the visitors and of course, we must greet Mrs. Smith, or else there will be trouble. Numerous questions, requests to see us, advice wanted, all come thick and fast. Before we know it the service is starting, we try as hard as we can to focus on worshipping the Lord, but the whole time our mind is preparing, for we know that in a few minutes time, the moment we have spent our whole week preparing for and praying over will come. All shall then be looking to us as we seek to serve them through the preaching of God’s Word. The weight of responsibility descends, the joy of the task and the high calling fills our heart. We begin the walk to the pulpit as the last verse of the final hymn is sung, perhaps with the words of Spurgeon in our heart, “I believe in the Holy Spirit!” We open our Bible, lay our notes out, pray silently and then proceed to preach, with joy, boldness, and passion, calling people to a decision for Christ, praying the whole way through that God will work. Finally we pronounce the benediction, but even after the “Amen”, there is no time for a breather. Those who didn’t get to us before the service descend upon us, and it is our delight to offer what time and help we can.

Soon the church grows quiet, and there is a tug at our arm, “Daddy, can we go home yet?” We finally sit down in the car, a sense of rest comes upon us, we make our way home looking forward to Sunday lunch, and even more to the Sunday afternoon nap. In the back of our minds, however, we know that we cannot get too comfortable, for the countdown to the evening service has started and the whole process will be repeated.

Is it no wonder then, that on Mondays we feel as though we are running on empty, that our head is pounding and the ability to concentrate is diminished! Do not get me wrong, we would not have it any other way, Sunday is the highlight of our week, and it is the joy and the desire of our hearts to be able to serve in this manner. However, come Monday morning, and well we are spent. We don’t stride into our study or office, so much as stumble, and as we sit down at our desk, we hit the reset button, Sunday is only six days away, and there is so much to do, where will we find the time?

We also know that Monday often sets the tone for the rest of the week, a bad or lazy Monday has a snowball effect upon the reminder of the week. We need to develop a balanced approach to Monday’s, providing our body with the care it needs, but also being productive. Therefore, with this in mind here are a few tips to making the most of Mondays, in no particular order of importance:

1.)   Do that which you enjoy, that which will cause you to look forward to Monday, that which will enable you to get out of bed with a sense of enthusiasm. If I want an incentive to stay in bed on a Monday morning, it is to remind myself of all the admin that is piling up on my desk. If however I write on a Monday, then I find I want to get to work, as I love to write. (I generally put a new article on our church blog and my personal blog on Mondays, or at least write them and then post it later in the week, as well as work on articles for our church newsletter and the such.) Find what you enjoy and if possible keep it for a Monday.

2.)   Listen/ watch/ read a sermon. We have so much available to us now by way of the Internet. Take time on a Monday to have some spiritual input, allow the Word of God to be preached to you. I will often listen to some of my favourite hymns prior to listening to the sermon I have selected, and I will spend time in prayer after listening to it. I find this time to be most encouraging and look forward to it. (I am currently working my way through the conference sermons from the 2011 Gospel Coalition conference, here is the link to their website: http://thegospelcoalition.org/videos/)

3.)   Get some exercise. For some of us that word alone is depressing, but exercise is one of the most effective ways of kick starting the system and aids your body to rejuvenate. Whatever it may be, a brisk walk, or a vigorous gym session, set some time aside to exercise. (Calculate how many hours you will spend behind your desk in the week. Do you see now why your body needs the physical stimulation of exercise? Most of the time exercise has a positive spin off, as if you are anything like me, I often do my best thinking while taking a brisk walk.)

4.)   Make encouraging phone calls, or write encouraging letters. Speak to and encourage members you saw at church. Thank them for their service; encourage them for their spiritual progress. It is not amazing how through encouraging others and looking for evidence of works of grace in our members and then encouraging them in that regard, we ourselves are encouraged.

5.)   Clean, Plan and Prioritise. Spend time on a Monday morning cleaning and clearing your desk, it is always much easier to work in a neat and ordered office, than in one where you have to sift through a pile of papers, or books to find what you were looking for. Valuable time is wasted and it is a frustrating process to search for something amongst disorganised piles of papers and books. Map out and plan the rest of your week, with all the various meetings, visitations, Bible studies, prayer meeting in their slots, then you can immediately see how much time you have for sermon preparation. If you see on Monday that your week is already full, you can develop a strategy of craving out time during the week that can then be given to sermon preparation. We all dread those weeks when we arrive at Friday and we have not even begun to prepare for Sunday. Most often those weeks can be avoided by good planning and prioritising done at the beginning of the week. (As pastors, we must seek to push aside the notion that we have to say yes to every request, and not even consider cancelling or moving appointments and meetings when a week is too full. Our desire to serve one member of the congregation must not come at the cost of the entire congregation on a Sunday when we deliver a poorly prepared sermon, nor should it come at the cost of our family because we are never home.)

6.)   Have coffee with your wife. You already know how many nights you are going to be out for in the coming week (because you have done point 5!). Carve out time on a Monday to spend with your wife. It is good for your marriage, for your family and for your soul.

Well, that is my penny’s worth of advice and I trust that they will be of help to you. I welcome any further suggestions and tips you may have on how to make the most of Mondays.

The Urgency of the Task.

The small town of Tzaneen, in which I am currently living and ministering in has been over the past two weeks, shocked and saddened by two very tragic events. Two weeks ago, a pair of dogs mauled a five-year old boy to death, his father only metres away, but was completely unaware of what was taking place outside. Then just this Sunday morning, whilst we gathered for worship, two aircraft, that had been involved the previous day in the Tzaneen Air show, crashed into the side of a mountain whilst on route to Johannesburg. All 13 people on board the two aircraft died upon impact.

When the first reports of these events came through, many in our community found them hard to believe, myself included. Children in my son’s preschool class had days earlier played with this young boy; they even played together with the pair of dogs that would days later end his life. I had taken my son to the Air show that very Saturday, we watched those two aircraft perform a faultless display of formation flying, we had seen the pilots, and the other people that were on board those fatal flights! A sense of disbelief, sorrow, grief and deep sympathy with those who have suffered these losses to their families, now hangs over our town like a dark cloud.

As I have been trying to process these tragic deaths, and have been thinking of how to respond to it pastorally, I have found myself increasingly sobered by the truth of Scripture.

“Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man! What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?” Psalm 89:47-48

“As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.” Psalm 103:15-16.

“When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.” Psalm 104:29-30

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…” Hebrews 9:27

It has been a sharp, but necessary reminder that the only day we know we have is today and even then, we do not know if we shall live to see the end of today. I find these tragedies have not only reminded me of the brevity of life, they have also further reminded me of the urgency of the task that we as ministers of the Gospel have.

We so often, foolishly and naively, take for granted and assume that the people we preach to this week, will still be here next week. When we interact with people in the course of the week, whether they are believers or unbelievers, it seldom, if ever, enters into our minds that these words may be our last words to them. We forget that death is cruel, it seldom gives warning, it gives no second chances and it never gives back those it has taken!

Gentlemen, our task is urgent, therefore let us not wait until tragedy strikes before we remember this reality. We always, always must have a sense of urgency in our preaching, seeking to quicken our hearers to action, constantly holding out Christ and the salvation that He freely offers. Let us make it the abiding mark not just of our ministries, but also of our lives.

May God in His grace and mercy, help us once again to understand the urgency of the task, the finality of death, the reality of hell, the grace of salvation, the power of Christ over death and hell and, the glory of heaven.

“As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5

Does Your Conversion Fuel Your Preaching?

It is Friday morning, and pretty much all of us find ourselves in the heat of sermon preparation. In the midst of this frenzy to complete a sermon that is accurate to the text, theologically sound and relevant, we are constantly praying for God through His Spirit to grant us passion and boldness when we preach it on Sunday. We do not desire to deliver dry head knowledge. No, we want the hearts of our hearers to be grabbed by the Word of God, for it to bring deep conviction, to produce change, to provide encouragement, a passion for holiness and most of all a greater love for Christ.

How is it possible to preach God’s Word in such a manner? Most certainly, through a dependence upon power of the Holy Spirit, He is the only one that can produce change. Definitely through time spent in prayer and the Word, studying the text and preparing to the best of our ability. Allow me to now, suggest a third “tool” that lies in the toolbox, at the bottom and most often is neglected, seldom is it taken up and used. It is the tool of our very own conversion and calling!

How is our conversion, our coming to Christ a tool in sermon preparation? Brothers, let us not forget that there was a time when we could not call upon God as Father, in fact, we had no desire to call Him Father, never mind submit to His authority. There was a time that God’s Word seemed foreign to us, made little sense and held no interest for us. In those dark days, if we entered into a church, we could not understand what all the fuss was about, why people felt compelled to sing songs of love, adoration and worship to this “Jesus” who they believed in. No, we were our own gods, we ran after the idols of this world, we were on the path to destruction, unaware of what lay ahead of us if we continued in our rebellion.

Then that glorious, sweet day came, when the in words of Charles Wesley, “Thine eye diffused a quickening ray – I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; my chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed thee.” God by His grace and through His power broke through the sin and darkness, shone the Gospel of Jesus Christ into our hearts, removed the veil and brought us into the light. On that day, He clothed us with the perfect righteousness of His Son, adopted us as His very own children and filled us with His Spirit. Do you remember how the Word of God gripped your heart on that day? Can you recall how joy filled your soul as you sang those hymns of worship with all your heart in those early days of your Christian life? How you were amazed by the grace you had received and the new hope that now lived within you, the hope of heaven?

To then think that not only has God taken us as His enemies and made us His own, He has also then given us His Word and called us to spend our lives proclaiming it. Oh, what privilege and joy is ours every Sunday, as we declare the wonders of God’s Word! As we take to the pulpit on Sunday, as we preach God’s Word, let us look upon the people who sit before us. Know that among them are those who are still on the path to destruction, there are believers living in sin, believers shattered by hurt and suffering, and we can proclaim to them; “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1-3)

Let us remind ourselves of how God’s Word has changed our very own hearts, in fact how God’s Word continues to change our hearts. Let us remind ourselves of the hope that lives within us, the eternal joy and peace that is ours both today and forevermore. Remembering that there was a time when we knew none of this, we were lost, hopeless and helpless. Until that God appointed day, when God transformed our hearts through His powerful Word, when He said to us “Look unto Jesus and be saved!”

Our conversion, the continual work of God’s Spirit within us, and our calling, should fuel our preaching, and make our preparation a delight and joy. Why? Because as we proclaim God’s Word we can do so with confidence knowing it has the power to change, to convict, convert, comfort, build up and encourage. This confidence comes to us because not only does God’s Word promise it, but also because we know it is true, for it brought salvation to us, the worst of sinners!

 “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:12-17)

A Dying Breed.

Is Theological Excellence Dying a Premature Death?

This week the evangelical Christian world experienced a conflict of emotions, sadness and sorrow at the passing of John Stott, but also joy in knowing that he has now seen the God and Saviour he spent his life serving. Indeed the Church, owes much to John Stott, his contribution has been invaluable, and many of us have benefited from his work. Sure John Stott, like all of us, was not perfect, his theology had its faults; but he had a sharp mind, an ability to express himself with clarity and was able to communicate great and deep truths with simplicity.

We live in a time when the world is rich with great theological minds, Packer, Mohler, Carson, Grudem, Horton, Wells, to name a few. The problem is, if you look at this list, these men are not young, in fact most of them are approaching retirement age, that is if they retire! Which has made me think, were is the next wave of sharp, acute, clear minded, Biblically grounded theologians coming from, is there another wave, or are we about to enter into a time of drought?

Has the cry of our generation, “The Church must be relevant to the post-modern age”, led us into the trap of spending more time debating and studying culture, and people, to the point that we have neglected Theology? Have the subjects of relevance, pop-culture, psychology and management, become more important and of greater benefit to the church than studies in theology? Surely, we know that even if you understand the times, culture, post-modernism and people, but are lacking in theological knowledge that you will not be able to minister and teach the Gospel effectively? Would not the continued practise of this produce churches that are a mile wide, but an inch deep? Is this not already the case in so many churches, happy with superficial truths, that keep the numbers up, and steering clear of the deep, profound and the difficult truths of Bible, so as not to bore people, or risk being irrelevant? Is not the writing on the wall already, by virtue of the fact that “Church Growth”, “Effective Leadership, and “Purpose Driven….” books out sell, the latest theological works by some of the sharpest minds of our time?  Does that not then reveal that our desire for numerical growth, and personal success, is more important than the maturity, spiritual growth and nourishment of our congregations?

Are Packer, Mohler, Carson, Grudem, Horton and Wells part of a dying breed? Has the office of theologian ceased, come to a disturbing and premature end?

Troubling questions, mean troubling times!

Let Spurgeon’s word instruct us here, this quotation comes out of chapter 15, The Necessity of Ministerial Progress, of Lectures to My Students. Spurgeon states that the base, the starting point to growing and going forward in our progress as ministers is theology.

“Study the Bible, dear brethren, through and through, with all the helps that you can possibly obtain: remember that the appliances now within the reach of ordinary Christians are much more extensive than they were in our fathers’ days, and therefore you must be greater biblical scholars if you would keep in front of your hearers. Intermeddle with all knowledge, but above all things meditate day and night in the law of the Lord.

Be well instructed in theology, and do not regard the sneers of those who rail at it because they are ignorant of it. Many preachers are not theologians, and hence the mistakes which they make. It cannot do any hurt to the most lively evangelist to be also a sound theologian, and it may often be the means of saving him from gross blunders. Nowadays we hear men tear a single sentence of Scripture from its connection, and cry ‘Eureka! Eureka!’ as if they had found a new truth; and yet they have not discovered a diamond, but a piece of broken glass. Had they been able to compare spiritual things with spiritual, had they understood the analogy of the faith, and had they been acquainted with the holy learning of the great Bible students of ages past, they would not have been quite so fast in vaunting their marvellous knowledge. Let us be thoroughly well acquainted with the great doctrines of the Word of God, and let us be mighty in expounding Scripture.

I am sure that no preaching will last so long, or build up a church so well, as the expository. To renounce altogether the hortatory discourse for the expository would be running to a preposterous extreme; but I cannot too earnestly assure you that if your ministries are to be lastingly useful you must be expositors. For this you must understand the Word yourselves, and be able so to comment upon it that the people may be built up by the Word. Be masters of your Bibles, brethren: whatever other works you have not searched, be at home with the writings of the prophets and apostles. ‘Let the Word of God dwell in you richly’”

“For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.” Ezra 7:10

Time, Do You Have Time, Time To Pray?

Time, I need more time, I never seem to have enough of it. Too many things to do, and too little time to do them. So what we do? Well we set up our schedule, we draw up how we will manage our time, we plan our day, each task having its appointed slot and time. When we do this we are typically asking ourselves what is the most important task I have to do today, is it my sermon prep, visiting the sick, Bible Study prep or having a elders meeting? That which is most important to us, to our job and our day gets the prime slot and the largest amount of time, the rest is placed here and there around that which we perceive to be the most important.

I believe, sadly because I know it is true of myself, that we often neglect the most important disciplines and tasks of our calling as pastors, and that is the reading of the Scriptures and prayer. It is this second discipline that I wish to discuss with you today.


When we plan our week and our day, are we planning and putting time aside for prayer? How do we regard that time, as a time and practice that can be moved around, possibly neglected for a day or two due to other pressing demands. Where does prayer rank on our list of pastoral priorities?

It appears that we don't hold prayer in very high regard, due to the fact that many of us are so ill-disciplined in regards to prayer. We seldom feel guilty for neglecting it, and few us regard it as a task of primary importance, occupying the best time of the day, and giving it more than just 5 to 10 minutes of our time.

The reality should be that we have such a high regard and desire for prayer that we count it not only as of primary importance, but should ensure that every day we engage in prayer, at an appointed time which is never moved, shortened, or neglected.

You reaction may be, your being legalistic, why must it be so strict, so black and white?
Surely prayer should be something prompted by the Holy Spirit, spontaneous, never fixed?

Yes prayer should be prompted by the Holy Spirit, but the truth of the matter is that the Holy Spirit is prompting us to pray throughout the day, every waking moment. But we have become experts at neglecting, turning a deaf ear and ignoring that prompting.

The reason why we need to be so strict on ourselves, why we should not allow ourselves any room for leniency in area is for the following reason. If up until now we have been simply saying to ourselves, I will pray later, I am busy now, or I will wake up early tomorrow and start then, I haven't time to pray, so I will pray double tomorrow. If all these false promises, and in some cases good intentions have failed to motivate us to pray, then we mustn't fool ourselves into thinking that in a sudden moment one day the discipline and desire for prayer will come and we shall struggle no more. No, prayer is a discipline that needs to practiced and nurtured until it becomes a natural part of our day, as natural and necessary to us as breathing.

The only way we shall become men that pray is if we start to discipline ourselves now, and so I challenge both you and myself to make every concerted effort to have a scheduled time for prayer every day, that is not moved or shortened under any circumstances. Surely if we plan our time well and wisely, we shall know when the best slot for that time in our day is. But let us no longer allow ourselves to make pithy and pathetic excuses.

Prayer is the lifeline and lifeblood of our calling, to neglect it will leave us in poor spiritual health and our hearers in worse health. Let us become men of prayer, men who love prayer, who live by prayer, and who are able to stand in the pulpit knowing we have spent much time on our knees before God, pleading with Him to grant us the salvation of souls and the sanctifying of believers.

May the Lord be gracious to us for have neglected prayer for so long, and may He, through the divine assistance of the Holy Spirit, grant us the resolve, determination, desire and strength to make prayer a priority and a passion for us all.


I have been reading through Charles Spurgeon's "Lectures to My Students", and in his chapter on prayer I was particularly convicted, below are some quotes from that chapter, and I would whole-heartedly recommend the book, a must read for every pastor in the ministry.


"Prayer will singularly assist you in the delivery of your sermon: in fact nothing can so gloriously fit you to preach as descending fresh from the mount of communion with God to speak with men. None are so able to plead with men as those who have been wrestling with God on their behalf." Pg 50

"But how dare we pray in the battle if we never cried to the Lord while buckling on the harness! The remembrance of his wrestlings at home comforts the fettered preacher when in the pulpit: God will not desert us unless we have deserted him. You, brethren, will find that prayer will ensure you strength equal to your day." Pg 51

"My brethren, let me beseech you to be men of prayer. Great talents you may never have, but you will do well enough without them if you abound in intercession. If you do not pray over what you have sown, God's sovereignty may possibly determine to give a blessing, but you have no right to expect it, and if it comes it will bring no comfort to your own heart." Pg 52

"The minister who does not earnestly pray over his work must surely be a vain and conceited man. He acts as if he thought himself sufficient of himself, and therefore needed not to appeal to God. Yet what baseless pride to conceive that our preaching can ever be in itself so powerful that it can turn men from their sins, and bring them to God without the working of the Holy Ghost. If we are truly humble-minded we shall not venture down to the fight until the Lord of hosts has clothed us with all power, and said to us, 'Go in this thy might.' The preacher who neglects to pray much must be very careless about his ministry. He cannot have comprehended his calling. He cannot have computed the value of a soul, or estimated the meaning of eternity. He must be a mere official, tempted into the pulpit because of the piece of bread which belongs to the priest's office is very necessary to him, or a detestable hypocrite who loves the praise of men, and cares not for the praise of God. He will surely become a mere superficial talker, best approved where grace is least valued and a vain show most admired. He cannot be one of those who plough deep and reap abundant harvets. He is a mere loiterer, not a labourer. As a preacher he has a name to live and is dead. He limps in his life like the lame man the Proverbs, whose legs were not, for his praying is shorter than his preaching." Pg 54

(All quotes taken from Lectures to My Students, by Charles Spurgeon. Pbulished by Christian Focus Publications. 2008)

Please feel free to share ways and means that you have of ensuring that you remain disciplined in your prayer life.