● Preach Like the Greats · 02 of 87
Preach Like Polycarp
of Smyrna.
Hand on what you received, say the gospel early, and speak to every group in the room.
- ✓6 of his sermons, studied start to finish
- ✓Ten steps to preach the way he did
- ✓A fill-in outline in his shape, 9 pages
Where should we send it?
Fill this in and the PDF is yours on the next screen.
— Why he’s one of the greats
Hand on what you received, say the gospel early, and speak to every group in the room.
The generation after the apostles. Polycarp was bishop of Smyrna in Asia Minor and a living link to the apostle John. No sermon of his survives. What survives is one letter, written to be read aloud to the church at Philippi, the account of his death written by his own church, and Irenaeus’s memory of “the discourses which he made to people,” so this sheet studies those. His secret: he did not try to be original. He wove the words of the apostles and of Jesus into almost every sentence and handed them on as received, not invented. He named the gospel in his first lines, then spoke to each group in the church in turn: wives, widows, deacons, young men, virgins and elders. He drove each duty home with the cross and the coming judgment. Under pressure he said very little, and every word was plain.
- 86Years he said he had served Christ
- 1Surviving work: his Letter to the Philippians
- 12thMartyr of Smyrna, per the Martyrdom
What makes his style unique
“the place in which the blessed Polycarp sat and disputed… the discourses which he made to people”
— Who wrote this
We’re pastors. We’ve had your Monday.
Pastor Center is built and written by pastors — a lead pastor who planted churches, and a church planter who grew one to 4,000 in four years. The same team teaches 9 free courses and 164 lessons. This guide is the short version.
- 9free courses
- 164lessons, all free
- ARCChurches partner
— What you get
What’s inside
Preach Like Polycarp — Hand on what you received, say the gospel early, and speak to every group in the room..
- 01Why he’s one of the greatsThe story, the numbers and what made his style his own.
- 02What he does6 of his sermons, studied start to finish, and the shape they share.
- 03How he does itTen steps to preach the way he did.
- 04His outlineWhere the time goes, movement by movement.
- 05Write one like PolycarpA fill-in outline in his shape, ready for your own text.
- 06SourcesEvery quote and number, cited.
— The plan
Three steps. Starting today.
Tell us where to send it
One short form. The PDF is on the very next screen — no trial, no card, nothing to wait for.
Study him in one sitting
9 pages: 6 of his sermons studied, ten steps, and an outline you fill in with your own text.
Preach it Sunday
Fill in the outline with your own text and preach your next sermon the way Polycarp would.
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