5 Questions on Preaching with Nathan Rose

Nathan Rose is the senior pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in Liberty, Missouri. In addition to serving his own congregation, he also serves the North American Mission Board and the Clay-Platte Baptist Association by helping to revitalize and assist struggling churches.

He is also a regular contributor to For the Church, a gospel-centered ministry of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he is also pursuing a Ph.D. in Historical Theology and teaching adjunctively. 

He and his wife, Rachel, have three young and every energetic children. You can connect with him on Twitter at @nathanrose33.

Q1: How long does it typically take you to prepare a sermon?

A. As long as it takes. But seriously, there’s a lot of truth to that. Some sermons take longer than others because they’re more difficult to study and preach. On those weeks, I put in more time so that God’s people can be fed God’s Word. In general, though, I put in about 15-20 hours a week studying and crafting my message.

Q2: What do you ultimately want a sermon to accomplish?

A. I want my sermon to accomplish what the text was meant to accomplish. If the passage was written for encouragement, I want my sermon to encourage. If the passage was meant to convict and challenge, I want my sermon to do the same. But in every sermon, I want to showcase the glory of Christ and highlight the goodness of the good news.

Q3: What are one or two big mistakes people often make in preaching?

A. The biggest (and most heinous) mistake is to not preach what the passage is actually teaching. The main point of the sermon ought to be the main point of the text. Another mistake is not being clear. Clarity is a vital attribute to any effective sermon.

Q4: How do you handle the gospel invitation and preach toward it?

A. The gospel is always articulated in every one of my sermons, and not merely as an add-on at the end. I’m always looking for ways to weave the gospel in throughout the sermon. I’m also encouraging people who have yet to trust in Jesus to “repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15).

Q5: What advice would you give to preachers doing pulpit supply?

A. One of our pastors, Sam Bierig, wrote an excellent article on this very subject. Sam’s a gifted preacher and regularly does pulpit supply. His article is entitled, “14 Words of Advice for Guest Preachers,” and I don’t think I could improve upon it.