The best part of his sermons are his silences

August 15, 2011  David Murray   3 comments

Yesterday I was privileged to hear my pastor, Foppe VanderZwaag, preaching on Job 1. It was a captivating and enthralling sermon with fascinating insights throughout, especially his positive (and persuasive) take on Job’s wife and children. 

One of the things I love about Pastor VanderZwaag’s preaching is his pace. Maybe it’s his teaching background, but he has a great sense of how to pace his sermons. He has substantial content but also gets the right balance between information overload and laborious lumbering. 

And perhaps the best parts of his sermons are his silences! What I mean is that he regularly pauses and allows the truth to sink in and be savored before moving on. That’s so vital for reflection, mediation and assimilation of the Word. I believe it’s often in these brief silences that the Holy Spirit does His saving and sanctifying work. Sometimes we can so overwhelm our hearers with information that the Holy Spirit can hardly get a word in!

You can listen to or watch his sermon here.

  • Peter Ratcliff

    O I am so convicted of preaching too fast and not giving the time for people to think.

  • gayla.templeton

    Thanks for the confirmation. I just keep getting, “be still and know that I am God.”

  • http://nwbingham.com Nathan W. Bingham

    It’s a hard lesson to learn, so thanks for the reminder. 3 seconds of silence can feel like 30 minutes to the preacher. I’ve got to keep telling myself, “slow down.”