But there is a more fundamental purpose for Scripture reading in worship, and that is to hear God speaking directly to the congregation (162). There is a great deal of biblical warrant for the practice of reading the Word of God publicly (Neh. 8:1–8; Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:27; Rev. 1:3).2 As Kuyper suggests, the pronouncement of the Scriptures in the assembly of believers involves a dynamic that transcends the personal devotional experience of reading the Bible at home. When the Scriptures are read aloud in worship, God speaks to his gathered people, directly and audibly. If this is the case, Scripture reading is a liturgical activity that commands our utmost attention and diligence.
The passages to be read at each service should be chosen carefully for their spiritual weight and applicability. Kuyper flirts briefly with the idea of a coordinated schedule of weekly readings for the churches, like the lectionary. Ultimately he dismisses this practice, fearing that it assigns an unduly mystical significance to the Scriptures (163).Reading the Scriptures in worship also helps to counter an exclusive focus on the minister as the leader of the assembly and the sermon as the only important part of the service (103–6). For this reason, Kuyper encourages churches to assign the task of Scripture reading to an elder rather than to the minister. Such an elder must possess gifts of understanding and oral delivery, and he should prepare the passage to be read ahead of time so as not to be surprised by the emphasis of the sentences or the pronunciation of foreign names (164). The reading should always be conducted by a member of the consistory, lest it communicate the idea that Scripture reading is inferior to the other activities of worship (165).3
Preaching to Proclaim the Gospel
Kuyper’s discussion of Scripture reading, a frequently overlooked part of worship, prepares us to consider the far more familiar activity of preaching without losing the idea of liturgical awareness. For the preacher who recognizes his liturgical responsibility, “his text will not be the hook on which he hangs some interesting ideas, but he has to give the congregation something from God and in his name” (189). The notion of the assembly of believers transforms the activity of preaching from a mere lecture in an auditorium to a segment of a divinely initiated conversation in which both God and the congregation possess essential roles.
Kuyper stresses that preaching is not merely instruction, and the minister is not merely what some denominations call a “teaching elder” (190–92).4
In its fullest sense, preaching is proclamation. In every sermon there resides one fundamental message which presses the congregation beyond an interesting collection of facts to hear the clear call of the Spirit on their lives individually and together (193). The goal of preaching is to move the congregation—not to arouse mere sentimentality, but to accomplish “the stirring of our whole person” (194). Preaching must move the congregation further down the path of holiness and devotion to God in every aspect of their lives. For this motion to occur, the preacher must remember two things: his obligation to bear one particular instruction from God to his congregation each week, and his own need to be stirred by what he preaches (195).
As we have seen in earlier installments, the minister bears a complex role in the service. To be sure, he is a brother among brothers, and his relationship to his congregation should always remain intimate and friendly (200). But when he preaches, the minister also steps into a role that mirrors the position of God toward the assembly (196). His task is not to fulfill the congregation’s stylistic preferences but to maintain a simple, direct, and personable tone that strikes the spiritual imagination of the hearers (197). The preacher should not direct his sermon primarily to unbelievers or hypocrites who may lurk within the ranks of the visible church, but he should speak to the congregation as an assembly of presumed believers. At the same time, this gospel proclamation to the assembled saints will also “unmask the hypocrite and either move him to repentance or put the fear of God in him” (199).Preaching as a Liturgical Act
It would be easy to classify Kuyper’s treatment of preaching as a foray into hermeneutics or homiletics—the arts of preparing and expositing a passage. But Kuyper never loses sight of his primary goal, which is to explore the liturgical dimensions of the activity of preaching. As a result, his discussion is relevant not just for preachers but also for those who sit under the ministry of the Word each week. Understanding the liturgical dimensions of preaching is a prerequisite for maximizing the benefits of hearing it.
Because preaching is liturgical, it is inadequate to describe the gatherings of the church merely as “preaching services” while minimizing or neglecting the other essential activities of worship (166). In fact, Kuyper identifies four sections in the historic Reformed liturgy: the service of confession and absolution, the service of the Word, the service of prayer, and the service of the sacraments (171). The liturgical nature of preaching mandates that the church establish markers in space and time to set the sermon apart as a distinct entity within the order of worship. One such marker is Kuyper’s recommendation that “the minister ought not to enter the pulpit until it is time for the sermon” (170). The pulpit is an architectural feature of the sanctuary—often quite prominent in Reformed churches— designed specifically for preaching, and ministers should not generate liturgical confusion by using it for other purposes. By extension, Kuyper also implies that the pulpit should not be used by other participants in the worship service for activities such as leading singing or making announcements. Another recommendation is to pay attention to the specific liturgical function of the prayer before the sermon (172). This ought to be a particular and brief prayer for the Spirit to illuminate the Scriptures and to speak through the sermon the minister is about to deliver. The prayer should not grow to encroach upon the general prayer for the needs of Christendom or to repeat the themes of the prayer of confession. A proper pre-sermon prayer simply invokes God’s blessing on the preaching, and as an additional benefit it awakens the congregation’s interest in the message it is about to hear (173).The Preacher’s Liturgical Responsibility
Although Kuyper’s most detailed recommendations in this section bear primarily upon ministers, all church members stand to benefit from examining the purpose and process of preparing to preach. Perhaps Kuyper possessed firsthand experience as an overscrutinized dominie, for he repeatedly stresses the need for ministers to maintain the freedom to develop their own preaching styles and hone their particular talents (167). The preacher’s task is not to emulate the most famous orators of the Christian church, but rather to exercise the humble talent of preaching, “as an earnest and loving response to God, by constant and faithful effort week after week to penetrate the meaning of Scripture as deeply as he can” (168). This involves the dual activity of careful preparation and patient waiting upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The liturgically aware preacher will give careful thought to the process by which he chooses each week’s sermon text. Kuyper outlines three possible methods: relying on the prompting of the Spirit week by week, preaching through a prearranged liturgical calendar of texts, or preaching through entire books or sections of the Bible in order (178–81). He favors leaving the choice of the sermon text to the discretion of the individual minister.5 But here, too, the minister bears a liturgical responsibility.
Preaching involves both short-term and long-term goals (181–85). In the short term, the preacher must craft an effective sermon on a particular topic each week. In the long term, the minister must pursue a plan for building up the spiritual knowledge and maturity of his congregation over the course of months and years. When a pastorate becomes unfruitful, Kuyper suggests that the pastor may be continuing to meet his short-term goals of preparing individual sermons while leaving the congregation’s long-term needs for growth and nourishment unfilled. An effective long-term ministry will involve “a steady enrichment of spiritual life through increased faith and grace resulting from Christ’s work” (184). The liturgically aware preacher should “preach for change” (185). The minister who understands weekly worship as the gradual formation of Christian attitudes and behavior among the assembly of believers will not be surprised or frustrated if this change takes years or even decades.
Moreover, the congregants who possess this formative understanding of weekly worship will come to the service of the Word each Lord’s Day ready to be edified and built up. In the reading and preaching of Scripture, the congregation is “built in such a way that the walls of salvation and spiritual life rise higher in their midst” (201). A holy and transformative event takes place in the ministry of the Word each week. This is why the minister ends the sermon with the solemn pronouncement of the “Amen,” invoking the blessing of God on what has been heard (205). The structure and pattern of this weekly liturgy of reading and preaching bring about a gradual but enduring transformation of the church into the image and likeness of Christ.
Questions for Reflection and Discussion
1. What are some benefits of reading the Bible out loud as opposed to silently?
2. What details of your church’s order of worship indicate that the ministry of the Word is about to begin?
3. What are some remarkable sermons you have heard over the course of your Christian walk? What made them so memorable?
4. How can we prepare for preaching each week with our own spiritual transformation in mind?
1. Today we might consider whether biblical literacy has now declined to a point where this function of public Scripture reading might once again be useful. See Barna Group, “The Bible in America: Six-Year Trends,” June 15, 2016, https://www.barna.com/research/the-bible-in-america-6-year-trends/.
2. Scholars of communication point out that almost all reading, even reading by oneself, was done out loud until at least the fourth or fifth century AD. See Alberto Manguel, A History of Reading, 2nd ed. (New York: Penguin, 2014).
3. The editor of Our Worship infers that Kuyper would have placed the weekly Scripture reading after the recitation of the Apostles’ Creed and accompanying psalm and prior to the prayer before the sermon (xl).
4. Of course, all preaching contains an element of explanation and instruction, and instruction is the main purpose of catechetical preaching (190).
5. Note that this discussion applies primarily to the morning worship service in the Dutch Reformed liturgy. The afternoon or evening sermon has traditionally been devoted to an exposition of a section of the Heidelberg Catechism, a practice still recommended in the Church Order of the United Reformed Churches in North America (Article 40).
Michael R. Kearney is a graduate student and research assistant in the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He is a member of Covenant Fellowship Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCNA) in Wilkinsburg, PA.
