Truth Applied: Application in Preaching

by Jay E. Adams

Publishers:

Ministry Resources Library; Zondervan

, 1990

Overview

Many a preacher, having been given little or no warning that the way of application runs through rough terrain, has stubbed his toes on the rock of application.

Too often, a sermon founders on a preacher’s failure to make a good connection between a message originally delivered to God’s people millennia ago and the congregation in the here and now. Jay Adams has long been concerned for the art and science and passion of preaching. In this book he offers a cogent, biblical philosophy of application, together with practical suggestions about how the busy preacher can readily implement it. Truth Applied explains what “application” means, why it is necessary, how it is derived from Scripture, and how the Holy Spirit influences it. The book is liberally sprinkled with examples. It is guaranteed to make you reconsider your present theory and practice of application.

Key Features

• Explores the use of application in sermons
• Presents a biblical philosophy of application
• Includes practical suggestions about how the busy preacher can readily implement these ideas

Contents

• What Is Application?
• Is Application Necessary?
• Truth Applied
• Abstracting the Application
• The Holy Spirit and Preaching
• Applicatory Introductions
• Applicatory Format
• Applicatory Examples
• Applicatory Language
• Applicatory Conclusions
• Applicatory Knowledge
• Conclusion

Top Highlights

“So, to sum up, application is the word currently used to denote that process by which preachers make scriptural truths so pertinent to members of their congregations that they not only understand how those truths should effect changes in their lives but also feel obligated and perhaps even eager to implement those changes.” (Page 17)

“To ‘apply’ is to bring one thing into contact with another in such a way that the two adhere, so that what is applied to something affects that to which it is applied.” (Page 15)

“Similarly, the preacher serves God by serving His people. But, like the manager, he has authority in that service and uses it as needed. In declaring and enforcing the Owner’s rules, he serves God, and actually—whether his service is so recognized or not—he serves the church as well. Service and authority are complementary, not contradictory.” (Pages 28–29)

“What you must do is discover the truth taught in any passage, extract from it the general principle of which the preaching portion is an example, then see how God applied it, and do the same. That, in a nutshell, is the preacher’s task.” (Page 55)

“Those preachers who understand that preaching is application organize their points for application.” (Page 85)

Product Details

• Title: Truth Applied: Application in Preaching
• Author: Jay E. Adams
• Series: Jay Adams Library
• Publishers: Ministry Resources Library, Zondervan
• Print Publication Date: 1990
• Logos Release Date: 2020
• Pages: 144
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Preaching
• ISBNs: 0310510317, 9780310510314
• Resource ID: LLS:TRUTHAPPLIED
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T03:31:33Z

About Jay E. Adams

Jay E. Adams A.B., B.D., S.T.M., Ph.D. (1929-2020) served as a pastor, church planter, denominational executive, seminary professor, author, and lecturer. He taught homiletics at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and was the Director of Advanced Studies at Westminster Seminary in California. He was the founder of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF), the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (formerly NANC), and the Institute for Nouthetic Studies (INS). He was the author of over 100 books including the best seller Competent to Counsel which launched the modern biblical counseling movement. He was the recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor awarded by the State of South Carolina.

Sample Pages from Truth Applied: Application in Preaching