Lawson - Famine in the land: a passionate call for expository preaching

2003 by
STEVEN J. LAWSON

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor: Jim Vincent

Interior Design: Ragont Design

Cover Design: Barb Fisher, LeVan Fisher Design

Cover Photos: Lorentz Gullachsen/Getty Images and Ryan-Beyer/Getty Images

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lawson, Steven J.

Famine in the land : a passionate call for expository preaching / by Steve Lawson.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8024-1121-1

1. Preaching. 2. BibleHomiletical use. I. Title.

BV4211.3.L39 2003

251dc21

2003005531

ISBN: 978-0-8024-1818-0

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to

James Montgomery Boice

A masterful preacher of Scripture, a gifted author and teacher of highest order, and a gracious man who accepted my invitations to preach when I was a young pastor and in those visits greatly impacted my life and ministry.

May the Reformation for which he called come.

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

2 TIMOTHY 4:15

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SOME OBSERVERS MIGHT THINK the evangelical movement is larger and healthier today than it has ever been. After all, there are more megachurches than ever, some boasting attendance figures exceeding 20,000 people per week. Massive pep rallies, enormous songfests, and stadium-sized mens meetings have become fairly commonplace in the modern evangelical culture. Contemporary Christian music is the fastest-growing segment of the recording and broadcast industries. Christian publishing has become a major business. A few evangelical novels have even made it to the top of the New York Times best-seller lists. Evangelicals as a group would seem to have more clout and more visibility than ever.

Nonetheless, Steve Lawson says, there is a spiritual famine in the land. A dearth of biblical preaching has left the evangelical movement weak, starving for spiritual truth, and susceptible to the ravages of the enemy.

Is he right? I am convinced he is. The evidence seems overwhelming. Preaching itself is on the decline in a major way. Numerous churchesincluding some of the largest and best-known oneshave relegated the pulpit ministry to second-class status. The highlight of the worship service in many evangelical churches today is the music, the skits, multimedia, or a variety of other entertainments.

Where preaching is still featured, it is rarely biblical preaching. The trend today is toward topical messages focused on timely issues, human relationships, success and self-help, recovery from addictions, or similar themes. The typical preacher today aspires to be a motivational speaker rather than an exegete.

Steve Lawson is one of the rare and precious exceptions. He is passionate about biblical preaching, and he understands that careful biblical exposition from the pulpit is the great need of the church today. Steves own preaching ministry is exemplary. As a faithful preacher for many years, he has been widely appreciated for the boldness, clarity, and care with which he handles Scripture. Even his writing models an exegetical approach. Famine in the Land is a thoroughly biblical treatment of the subject of preaching. It is a splendid digest of some of the Bibles most important and most basic instructions for preachers.

Here is a wonderful antidote for young preachers confused by all the modern emphasis on style over substance. Lawson takes us back to the Scriptures to show how biblical preaching is mandated and exemplified by the Bible itself. Famine in the Land is refreshingly straightforward and thorough. It is both challenging and encouraging.

Best of all, Steves passion for biblical exposition is infectious. He demonstrates definitely that expository preaching is the biblical pattern for ministry. He also draws from the biblical text much practical advice about how to preach biblically.

This is a rich and invaluable resource for pastors wishing to feed their flocks as the Great Shepherd has commissioned us to do. Im very thankful to see this book in print, and I pray that it will have a widespread impact on pastors, Bible-study leaders, evangelical ministries, and the famished members of our flocks.

John MacArthur

IF YOU WERE TO ASK ME, How long has it taken to write this book? my answer would not be measured in terms of the recent months, but in the many years spent grasping, compiling, and living these truths on preaching. Such preparation has required timea lifetime. In the truest sense, the writing of this book,