Stephen Davey is an outstanding speaker and thorough in his biblical preparation and study of the Scriptures.  You will always pick up some great ideas about a particular passage, as well as different methods to communicate truths and principles.*

In this message — “Sola Fide Justification By Faith Alone – Romans 3:21-31″ — Davey illustrates several rhetorical techniques** worthy of  examination and quantification.  One important technique involves bringing the audience into the message and thereby gaining attention and interest.

One of the responsibilities of a speaker is to know and to identify the truths of Scripture with your audience.

 

As Haddon Robinson states . . . .

The preacher must study his audience as well as his Bible.

Help communicate ideas by:

delivering them as memorable phrases

by making them personal

 

Stephen Davey seeks to identify with his audience when he runs through a catalog of varied and personal circumstances of life.

 

(Stephen Davey – Link To Full Message – “But . . . Now”)

 

What a difference that little contrastive conjunction “but,” makes in life. What a difference it reveals in communication. For example:

• How many parents have heard their children say, “I was planning on doing my homework, but . . .”?

• How many husbands have heard their wives say, “I was really driving very carefully, but . . .”?

• How many guys have heard a girl say, “I like you a lot and you’re really nice, but . . .”?

• How many have heard their boss say, “I really like that idea, but . . .”?

• Have many have heard a prospective employer say, “I liked everything about your resume, but . . .”?

 

“But” is a conjunction that can make all the difference in the world! I just gave a number of examples of bad differences. What about the good differences? Let me give some examples:

• When the doctor says, “I was afraid at first, when you described your symptoms, that this was a serious problem, but . . .”.

• When the coach says, “Listen, I didn’t think we had room on the team for you, but . . .”.

• When you hear this good one, “When I first met you, I didn’t think you were all that special, but . . .”.

• When you can say, “We’ve been struggling without a job for nearly a year, but . . .”.

• When you can say, “We were told we could never have children, but . . .”.

• When you can say, “The doctors said we shouldn’t expect our child to live, but . . .”.

• When you can say, “My parents have always resisted the gospel message, but . . .”.

• When you can say, “Most of my life I ran from God, but . . .”.

• When you hear this really wonderful, insightful, spiritually mature one, “It makes me really mad when you forget our anniversary, and Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day, but . . . I love you anyway!”

 

 

His “applicational catalog” runs through various areas of life.

• school / parenting
• driving / accidents
• heartache / love
• career / discouragements
• job interview / frustration

THEN . . . .

• health / medical
• competition / sports
• romantic / relationships
• career / employment
• hopes / family
• Gospel / witnessing
• spiritual / waywardness
• love / romance

If you plan on spending much more time engaged in the art of public speaking, it is worth your time to develop a “journal” (on paper, electronically, or mentally) of the various categories of life, as well as statements which speak to real-life situations!

Begin with these and/or add these to your “applicational catalog” and as you run them through your mind, you will discover how useful the various categories and statements are when it comes to identifying with the audience.

 

 

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* Tomorrow we will look at another message by Stephen Davey  — “Going To Heaven . . . . Old Testament Style” — which illustrates yet another way to structure a speech/message.

 

**Also Note:

He connects them all by the repeated word which he is highlighting — “but.”

His phraseology sets up a pattern which verbally keeps the individual statements together and flowing with each other — “How many” & “When.”

 

Here is a list from Chuck Swindol.

• Now, I realize you might be divorced, and I also realize there are a few good reasons. Maybe that’s your story.
• Or maybe you got tired or left for another.
• Maybe death separated you.
• Maybe you’re happily married . . .
• or just going through the motions.
• Maybe you’re single and waiting . . .
• or single and satisfied.