Category Archives: purpose

Posted on

At the Start of a New Homiletics Class I Am Reminded That…

by

There’s nothing better than studying preaching together!

I am extremely fortunate for another opportunity to meet a class of preaching students at LBC|Capital. We are just completing week #2 and are headed into residency week. It will be great to see everyone face-to-face.

Gearing up for the course and evaluating the work being turned in provides a chance for me to review some of the more important aspects of preaching. So, at the beginning of this new Advanced Homiletics class I am reminded that…

  1. it’s extremely helpful to think about intention as a part of your exegesis. That way you don’t separate your exegesis from your application and application doesn’t have to come last in the process.
  2. the amount of verses you select for preaching can either help or hinder your ability to identify the theology of a preaching portion. Cutting the text too short or too long can create problems.
  3. your method of sermon preparation should include a way for you to distinguish between big and little ideas in your text. And, then, of course, you need to be able to show how all sized ideas interrelate to make meaning.
  4. finding the meaning of a passage begins, not by searching for what the meaning is, but how the meaning is made (how the structure of the particular genre of your preaching portion communicates).
  5. when Christ-centered preaching is done well, your listeners will never leave church as good moralists.

That’s probably enough for now, but I do love thinking about some of the key elements to developing a sermon that represents God well.

And may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus as a result of the way in which you read and communicate the sacred Scriptures (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

P.S. If you’re free this coming Friday or Saturday, whether for the day, half-day, or even an hour or so, find PAS 513 Advanced Homiletics in LBC|Capital’s Lancaster campus (2nd floor of the academic building).

Posted on

Revisiting that First Reason We Might Lose our Listeners

by

He couldn’t take any more of my fascinating biblical history lesson! Go figure.

In the previous post I talked about how the loss of emotional and logical connections can contribute to listener fallout. This weekend I want to elaborate on the first one.

My main preaching mentor, the late Haddon Robinson, taught us a major difference between preaching and lecturing. My own students each year are reminded of the difference between two stances: historical lecturer vs. theological preacher.

Haddon’s words were: the lecturer talks to people about the Bible, while the preacher talks to people about people from the Bible.

It is difficult to find balance, but ideally we want the sermon to sound like we’re talking to our listeners about them throughout the message. In the sermon, the Lord is addressing them and expecting them to respond to His Word.

That means that even those minutes devoted to explaining historical background, for instance, must quickly be reeled back into the preacher’s stance. The historical data, or exegetical data for that matter serves the purpose of theology–Scripture functioning for the Church.

Too many minutes of the lecturer’s stance–talking to them about the Bible–creates a lull in our emotional connection with our listeners.

If you had the courage to listen to a recent sermon, listen to which stance you’re in most of the time. You might find that you’re conditioned to be a lecturer. And you might try to reframe your delivery so that you talk to your listeners about them from the Bible. It will be more difficult for them to fall asleep on you if you’re talking to them about them and, as always, our Lord will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

Posted on

What Kind Of Meaning Do You Preach?

by

The statement means much more than is being said!
Introducing Illocutionary Intent-Informed Meaning (II-M) and Why it Matters

This past Monday I was privileged to present some of my more important Ph.D. dissertation findings to the Alcuin Society of Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary & Graduate School. Many thanks to faculty and guests who were extremely gracious.

Here are a few things that are pertinent to preachers:

  1. Learn to think about application early in the sermon development process. The old school approach was to wait on application because if entertained too early, the process had the potential to skew exegesis.
  2. In order to think about application earlier, the search for application must be a part of the search for exegetical/theological meaning.
  3. In order for that to happen your exegetical method must include the search for what I call, Illocutionary Intent. This involves looking for clues as to what the biblical author wants to do to the readers.

If you like, try to create a meaning summary, II-M, for Luke 15. In other words, your one-sentence meaning summary must include an element of what the author intends to do to the reader. Or, to put it another way, make sure your meaning summary includes the intended application or response of the church to Luke 15.

Try it and see how you do.

Also, if, like me, you’re already looking at a Text for this coming Sunday, see if you can detect the illocutionary intent of the author. This will give you a sneak peak at your primary sermon application and worship response of your congregants.

And may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

P.S. I trust you enjoyed a wonderful Easter celebration!

Posted on

Me and God in the Study (part 2)

by

If you’re hungry, go to moonpie.com!

This morning I had the privilege of reading 1 Thessalonians 5:14 with our faith-family. It is an excellent test case to continue our discussion in the previous post about how much original material we put into our sermons.

The reason is because it is a short verse that needs a heavy dose of explaining:

“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”

This means that much of the sermon contains the most precise, effective definitions we can get our hands on from Greek lexicons. Nothing original there.

So, what exactly do I bring to the equation with a text like this?

  1. I selected the text because of our current mini-series on our faith-family’s core values.
  2. That means I bring congregational purpose to this sermon, a purpose that, I hope, matches God’s purpose for this verse.
  3. Part of my job is to convince our listeners that this is critical (“…we urge you…”) and that they all have this responsibility (“…brothers…”), not just the leadership. These are implications of the explanations of meaning. Definitions alone won’t go there, but we need to.
  4. Then, I needed to help everyone see how important it is for us to care for each other like this. God decided to give us these four instructions at the end of the little letter. They must help a faith-family flourish spiritually. I helped them see the importance of these instructions by asking them what a local church would look like that didn’t treat each other like this.
  5. I wanted to make sure everyone realized that there are times when they might find themselves in one of the categories and in need of someone else’s assistance. Otherwise, we need to be ready to add real ministry to our small talk because it’s possible that whoever we’re fellowshipping with is in one of the categories and needs the appropriate response.
  6. Finally, I wanted to connect v. 14 with the the early part of the letter where the gospel and its transforming power is mentioned. This helps us see that God’s salvation in Christ creates the desire and capacity for us to respond well to each other. That way applying these instructions is a matter of genuine faith-at-work in a faith-family.

There may have been more, but this is a good amount of material that is more or less my doings. Before this coming Sunday, consider what kinds of things you contribute to your sermon and may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) through your efforts.

Randal

Posted on

Me and God in the Study

by

Thinking about what I actually bring to the equation for a given Sunday Sermon

This weekend I am thinking about what I actually bring to the equation with respect to sermon development. I had the privilege to preach Luke 14:25-35 this morning where Jesus explains the high cost of following Him.

Sometimes I feel that I contribute very little except for the ability to read the best material that other scholars have provided. It is an important part of preaching, but I thought we might give this some thought.

First, is this feeling true? To what degree do I add original material to my sermons? Second, if it were true, is that okay?

So, first, it is not true. Each week I select my preaching portion, trace the argument of that Scripture, and begin my analysis without consulting any of the best exegetes and theologians I can access. Being able to read Hebrew and Greek help me use excellent lexicons to get to critical definitions-in-context. Oh, and God’s Spirit operates in answer to my prayers for insight: “Lord, grant to me keenness of mind, capacity to remember, skill in learning, subtlety to interpret…”

But, more than that, each Monday provides an opportunity to also identify the big idea and intention of that passage. I now know what God intends to do to those in our faith-family that have ears to hear. And I know enough of the flock to know this is going to be a very important act of watching over souls.

Second, if it were true that I brought very little to the sermon equation, it would not be okay. God has called me and is equipping me to help shepherd a little flock. Not someone else. So, while I might benefit from Marshall’s fine treatment of Luke 14, it can’t be Marshall’s sermon.

As we head back to work tomorrow morning and begin preparing for our next sermon, let’s enjoy our time with God and His Word so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

Posted on

The Critical Move from Meaning to Application

by

Okay, maybe not “Good Results,” but, certainly, “Good Intentions.”

Not good results because we can’t guarantee “ears to hear.” We can’t guarantee that our listeners will respond to God. But we can guarantee that each Sunday we will supply God’s intention for the preaching portion.

Tomorrow, as you begin working on your Sunday sermon, be prepared to complete the following sentence:

“This morning, we worship our Lord by _______________________________.”

You and I fill in the blank with God’s intention for the passage of Scripture. This is the foundation for all expressions of application.

So, as you begin to practice your exegetical method this week, include the search for the intention of the passage. You will have to look for clues provided by the biblical author. It’s easiest usually in the epistles; toughest usually in OT narratives.

The main thing is to ask yourself what God intends to do in what He has written. Or, you might ask it this way: “How does God intend for this Scripture to function for the church?”

If done correctly, the way you fill in the blank above will be determined by the big idea of your preaching portion. The meaning and application are organically related through God’s intention.

So, while you can’t guarantee good results (actual worship), you can guarantee you will communicate good intentions, God’s intentions for the passage.

And He will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

P.S. I practice trying to complete the worship response as early as possible in my work week. That way, I do not have to wonder how the exegesis is functioning all week long. I am thinking about application early on in the process. And since God’s intention is the focus, I don’t have to worry about the search for application tainting the exegetical process (kind of an ole school approach!).

Posted on

Defining Sermon Application

by

Think of Application in Terms of Being a Subject in God’s Kingdom.

As you develop your sermon or lesson this week, here are a couple of ways to think about application.

N. T. Wright provides a very broad understanding of biblical application. He believes that we are inviting our listeners into a different world.

That’s a good start. Our preaching and teaching invites them to move from their world to God’s world.

I like to be a bit more specific with respect to the nature of sermon application. I define application as:

“The process by which expository preachers and teachers urge their listeners to inhabit an area of the Kingdom of God.”

One way to assess the meaning of your preaching portion for this Sunday is to ask what particular area of the Kingdom of God is being highlighted.

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you put your exegetical skills to good use with the goal of inviting your listeners to inhabit God’s Kingdom.

Randal

Posted on

Thinking of Application in Terms of Intentionality

by

The Text Signals It’s Intention By It’s Shape

Even if you were not familiar with the three tools shown above, you could probably figure out what they were intended to do. Just look at their shape. Also, think about what would happen if you tried to make their functionality interchangeable. Imagine using the saw in the middle for a hammer!

Biblical texts–our preaching portions–signal their intention by their shape. Theology is conveyed through literary structure, things like grammar and syntax, and the type of literature. That’s why I live and die by this method:

After I pray Aquinas’s famous prayer, “Grant to me keenness of mind…”, my first study minutes are devoted to tracing the argument of the passage.

Pauline epistles convey their theology through logical argumentation. Old and New Testament narratives communicate through their storyline. Old Testament poetry preaches through parallelism.

That’s all simplistic, I know, but true enough to make the point.

Our search for applications begins with a search for intentionality. Here’s the key question:

What does God intend to do to His readers in this preaching portion?

Answer that and you’ve got the foundation for any form of application from that pericope.

In order to answer that question, you have to know what to look for. The epistles or other didactic genres (types of literature) are easiest, I think. Follow the imperatives and the logical flow. Doctrinal sections intend for readers to affirm them as real, real enough to elicit praise and corresponding lifestyle.

Narratives are the worst. We can talk about that next time, Lord willing.

For now, as you head into another work week, be thinking in your first hours of study what God intends to do to His readers, your congregants so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

Posted on

Adding an Angle on Application

by

If your spouse said this to you, what would they “mean”?

I am in the privileged position to be about 100 pages into my Ph.D. dissertation, writing on a topic that I am extremely interested in:

exploring whether or not an aspect of speech act theory, illocutionary action, provides a welcomed link between meaning and application.

If you’ve been preaching or teaching Scripture for any length of time, you are probably aware of how difficult it is at times–apart from the practical sections of most NT epistles–to move from meaning to application. We were taught detailed methods for doing exegesis; we were not given much help, if any, for doing theological exegesis that highlights Scripture’s function for the church.

Enter pragmatics, speech act theory, and, especially, this thing called illocution.

Using the image above, illocution, analyzes what the person means when they say to someone else, “The dog needs to go out.”

If Michele said that to me and I responded with, “That’s a nice fact, Dear,” she would quickly say, “What I meant was, please take the dog out.”

This morning I had the privilege of preaching Matthew 5:1-12, commonly known as the Beatitudes.

There are two prominent illocutionary acts in these verses. The easiest one to locate is in v. 12. The verse contains the command: “Rejoice and be glad…” The command itself equals the illocutionary intent of Matthew.

The tougher illocutionary act/intent is not so easy, but you will encounter it over and over again in both Testaments. All of vv. 3-11 begin with, “Blessed are…”

Jesus teaches His listeners a statement of reality: these kinds of people are blessed. In order for anyone to put v. 12 into practice, they must first believe that Jesus’s stated reality is true of their situation. The stated reality is intended to elicit an act of faith.

Watch for various statements of reality in either Testament God will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you encourage your listeners to respond in the way God intended.

Randal

Posted on

Do You Tend Toward “You” Or “We” Applications?: What I’m Learning from Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Early Sermons

by

For years I’ve practiced listening to or reading sermons, beginning with the concluding applications/exhortations and then going back to the beginning of the sermon. That’s because there is an organic connection between sermon application and meaning. Actually, during the application segment of a sermon you are finally telling your listeners what a pericope means as a whole.

Edwards’s earliest recorded sermons have a final section called, Use. The Use includes numbered Inferences and Exhortations.

When Edwards gets to his first exhortation he begins to lead them off with “You…” No listener could miss that Edwards was preaching directly to them. One of the helpful elements of Edwards’s preaching is how he clearly addresses various kinds of listeners in his church.

So, it made me wonder whether you consider yourself to be a “you” or a “we” kind of preacher/teacher.

I prefer to balance the “you’s” with the “we’s” for pastoral reasons that Edwards did not take into consideration: I want my faith-family to know that I am with them in their worship-response to God’s Word.

(Maybe that’s our biggest problem with “preaching at people”: we sound like we’re placing ourselves above the Word and, therefore, above them with respect to our need to submit to God’s Word too.)

However, like Edwards, I also want them to know God has called me to shepherd them. That’s where the “you’s” come in. Both the ungodly and the godly knew exactly what God was saying to them by the time Edwards was done! For instance, Edwards aims at the ungodly: “you have taken up, contented hitherto, with such a sort of pleasure as the beast enjoy as well as you.” (p. 305) Yikes!

And, even if you prefer the “you” version of applications, your non-verbal communication can continue to let everyone in the house know that you are with them in their response to God’s Word.

May our applications contribute to God’s glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal