"I Am Going To Proclaim To You”: Learning Strategies For "For You" Preaching From The Book of Acts

Abstract

Christian preaching hinges on the specificity of both law and gospel. “This is for you.” This is not only a dogmatic conclusion, but an exegetical one. Both law and gospel, as they are proclaimed in Scripture, necessitate the use of specific, “for-you” language in our own preaching. “For-you” language is language which uses the grammatical second person and which may be reinforced by the use of familiar cues.

Christian preachers must not be content to speak about law or gospel from the pulpit. By closely reading the preaching recorded for us in Scripture, we learn how to proclaim these truths in a way that clearly shows their relevance for and application to our hearers. This paper focuses on the preaching recorded for us in the book of Acts, which demonstrates how Christocentric, “for-you” proclamation can be done in varied contexts before diverse audiences.