Category Archives: worship

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Does Your Exegetical Method Help You Do These Two Things?

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Make Sure Your Exegesis Allows You To Do Two Things

As I was preparing to preach this past Sunday, I reminded myself again that my job was fairly straightforward. Not necessarily easy, but uncomplicated. If I remember correctly, I even mentioned these two things to our faith-family at the start of the message.

Two things seemed most important if the sermon was going to be a vital part of the worship service. If I could accomplish those two things, then I would have been faithful to my calling as a soul-watcher.

[I realize there’s much more to preaching than these two things, but not less!]

First, it is important for our exegetical method to trace the flow of thought or argument of a preaching portion, regardless of genre (type of literature). Since God decided to write down His revelation to us, He determined to convey theology through literary structure. Tamper with the structure and we may run the risk of tampering with the theology. That’s how His communication works. So, you might consider analyzing the flow of thought or logical structure of a text to be exegesis’s first task. It is always the first thing I do every Monday morning.

Some of my students will recall this being the “A” in ABIT.

Second, it is important for our exegetical method to discover the worship response God is aiming at in His Word. Tracing the flow of thought will reveal how the ideas fit together to form meaning. You and I will have to infer, however, how God intends that meaning to move His listeners to some worship response. You might be more familiar with thinking about the application and that’s fine. I prefer to think of how God intends for the Believer to respond to His revelation as an act of worship. Our exegetical method should allow us to arrive in the pulpit each Sunday ready to announce what God intends for His Word to do to the church.

Again, students may remember this as the “I” in ABIT.

Is this really that important? Sermons on Luke 15 that primarily call all prodigals to come home have missed the flow of thought arising out of vv. 1-2. Missing the argument automatically skews the intention. Tracing the argument leads to a sermon that primarily calls all Pharisee-like listeners to come home.

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you use your exegetical method each weekend.

Randal

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An Example of the Second Reason We Might Put our Listeners to Sleep (the Beatitudes)

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We Could Be Losing our Listeners with our Well-crafted (yawn) Outlines.

A couple of weeks ago I suggest that we contribute to that glazed look (the Steve Carrel pic) by (1) allowing gaps in the emotional connection between our sermon data and our listener’s response and (2) allowing gaps in the logical connection between our sermon data–even main points–and our listener’s response.

In both cases I am talking about responses in terms of worship responses: what God intends for Scripture to do to the Christian.

An example of the second phenomenon is a sermon on the Beatitudes in Matthew 5.

There are nine “Blessed are’s…” in the section (vv. 1-12). I chose to spend two sermons on all nine (I covered the first three and then the final six).

This type of list can easily cause slumber in the seats because of how easy it is to allow gaps in the logical connection between the individual Beatitude and a worship response.

That means we have to work hard at each Beatitude, each main point if you will, to keep the worship response intact.

I did not do a very good job at this because I chose to cover the final six together: how the blessed ones are described.

Then, it was time to play catch up and connect the dots between Beatitude and God’s intention for announcing such blessings: Kingdom-Made Christians…

  • believe the blessing
  • stabilize their hope in this upside down world
  • assess the degree that they mirror these characteristics

I hope you can see that too many minutes between those bullet points and each Beatitude can create the yawns or blank stares.

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as work hard to keep strong emotional and logical connections with our listeners who have ears to hear.

Randal

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Two Reasons We Might Lose Our Listeners

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At times, we might contribute to this classic parishioner, blank stare.

One advantage of experiencing a couple of surgeries to extract a 6mm kidney stone from my right kidney was the opportunity to listen to a couple of sermons.

Preachers can relate to this. I was sincerely wanting to worship, not critique the sermon. But while I was worshiping, the homiletician in me thought, “Try to figure out the cause of the blank stare syndrome.”

I came up with two things over the past few weeks. They may help you as you prepare to preach.

First, I help create the blank stare when there is a lull in the emotional connection. There are sermon minutes filled with minutia that do not engage the listener. The data is not connected to any worship response. Many listeners who take God’s Word seriously will endure these minutes until the impact returns. But it’s painful for them and I don’t wan to cause this.

Second, I also help create the blank stare when there is a break in the logical flow of the subject matter. Too many minutes elapse as too many details are disconnected to the main worship response. And this can all happen within a well-crafted outline. Listeners easily lose their place in a sermon. Sometimes we lead them down this path of inactive learning by not connecting the individual concepts to their worship.

The two reasons I’ve listed cover the emotional and logical components of listening. Both are equally important for communication.

When you’re on vacation this summer and you’re a worshiper, play the reason-for-the-blank-stare game. God knows why you’re doing it. You want to be a better preacher. See if you experience what I did and for similar reasons.

And He will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) because of His gift and your extra effort to improve.

Randal

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What Kind Of Meaning Do You Preach?

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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!

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Passion and Compassion’s Affect on Sermon Delivery

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Two Keys To Effective Sermon Delivery

In her book, Preaching That Matters, Carrell’s chapter, “Delivering, Not Decorating,” includes the following powerful quote:

“If passion and compassion are not emotions you feel for your content, your listeners, or the hurting world, then you may need to attend your spiritual journey. If you feel these emotions but are not showing them in your sermons as fully as you feel them, you need to work on your delivery.” (p. 132)

I’m writing this on Saturday evening which means many of us are preaching tomorrow morning. Which scenario do you anticipate being your biggest struggle? You’re not feeling it or you’re not showing it?

If you preach through books of the Bible, let’s say Numbers, for instance. I can guarantee you will struggle feeling passion for every preaching portion in that book (“Sorry, Lord, but You know how hard that is!”). But even in a series through the beloved Psalms, we’ll have our moments.

Then, there is this thing about passion and compassion for our listeners. That’s what pastoring is all about, isn’t it? Tomorrow morning we get to love our people through the exposition of Sacred Scripture.

There’s still time tonight and tomorrow morning to ask God for a level of passion for Him and compassion for them that honors Him.

Finally, let’s ask the Lord to help us convey that passion and compassion appropriately, in a way that represents Him well and is true to the way He’s made us. And may He receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) through it all.

Randal

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Preaching on Giving from an OT Perspective: Preaching Through Numbers

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Everybody Loves Sermons On Giving!

One of the toughest and most rewarding sermons in Numbers came in chapters 7:1–9:14 (“He will bring us into this land”: Which Calls For Continual Celebration!)

Except for familiarity with the concept of tithing, most people know little else of an OT perspective on giving. Preaching through Numbers is a great way to inform your congregation.

Plan on taking huge chunks of material. My breakdown was:

  1. We bring our gifts and offerings (vv. 7:1-88)
  2. We bring our best, separated selves (vv. 8:5-26)
  3. And we celebrate our redemption (vv. 9:1-14)

You’ll give your folks an opportunity to worship God by participating in worship just like Israel did when the tabernacle was dedicated/consecrated.

In the first section what stands out is that all tribes participated and tons of stuff was sacrificed. I strongly suggest resisting any urge to cover the details of what was given and how much. The sermon can easily bog down here due to so much information.

The second section focuses on God’s people being clean enough to worship God. This is shown through the Lord’s instruction about the Levites. They had to be clean in order to do their job well. None of the sacrifices would mean anything without ceremonial cleanliness at this level. Atonement has to be made for them in order for ministry to occur.

The final section of the sermon sets all this celebration in the context of Passover and the Lord’s redemption of His people from Egypt. So important is this celebration that the death penalty was incurred by anyone who was clean and in town, but not present for the celebration.

Finally, anyone wanting to interpret Numbers for the Church through the lens of Christ-crucified will find ample opportunity through the Passover Lamb connection. You might also choose to highlight Christ through John’s language (“tabernacled among us” in John 1:14). We worship God by faith in the One God sent to save us. We gladly give because of what God has graciously given to us. We give as an act of worship just like they did.

And just like back then, God continues to receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as His people follow the patterns set in Numbers 7-9.

Randal

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Preaching An OT Worship Service (Preaching Through Chronicles)

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One of my favorite places in 2 Chronicles is from 2:1–6:2 and 7:1-3. This lengthy Scripture records the building of God’s house. In the middle of all the details about materials and furnishing you will find a description of an OT worship service.

Consider structuring your sermon around the following (providing you have already taught a theology of the temple in previous sermons as I had):

  1. The character of our God (vv. 5:13b; 7:3b). It should go without saying that our worship centers on our God. In this section we find repeated, “For he is good…” Think about how we use this word in daily life–“that was a good meal, movie, book, or day”–and you quickly realize we’ve got some work to do explaining the goodness of our God. The other character trait of our God is his loyal love (the important Hebrew word, hesed). Nothing sets off a worship celebration like focusing on the goodness of our God.
  2. The glory of our God (vv. 5:13c-6:1; 7:1-2). In this section “the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” 6:1 describes “thick darkness.” There’s a mysteriousness about our God’s presence. Even in Exodus 24:9-11, for instance, when we read, “they beheld God,” we learn that, “There was under his feet…” So, we don’t really see God, but only what He was “standing on.” It’s good for us to remember that our glorious God who matters most, is present with His people. We’re never alone in this world. God is with us.
  3. Finally, our response to His goodness and glory is seen in 7:3. We read, “they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord…” Our worship always includes this same humble attitude, if not the same humble posture.

And if you’re wanting to read Chronicles Christologically, you certainly can remind your faith-family from John 1:14 that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory…” That vision of our glorious Christ continues to drive our worship services.

May we preach about worship in our worship services so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Preaching My Toughest Section (so far!): Preaching Through Chronicles

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When you reach 1 Chronicles 23:1 through 27:34 you encounter my toughest section to date. King David gives instructions to prepare for the building of the house of the Lord. What makes this section so difficult is, (1) it’s sheer size and detail and (2) needing to decide what temple details correspond to our worship and service.

McConville says that these five chapters provide “a picture of the people of God organized for the life of service” (p. 91). So, we urge our faith-families to worship by following the patterns presented by their temple service.

Here’s how I approached the section:

Title: “Direct our hearts toward you, O Lord” to do your work in the church and in the world.

  1. There is work to be done (23:4, 24, 28, 32;24:3, 19; 25:1; 26:12, 30). Nine times you’ll read, “work and duties.” The NT is not the only place to find the subject of spiritual gifts.
  2. There is praise and blessing to offer (23:5, 13). A neglected discussion pertaining to worship services is the pronouncement of blessings (cf. 23:13). It’s a time to announce: “You are the recipient of God’s special powers.”
  3. We’re characterized by humble service (24:5, 31; 25:8; 26:13). This is fascinating: everyone submits to casting lots to receive their ministry description. Social standing had nothing to do with the ministry you got.
  4. There’s lots of singing and instrumentals to offer (25:1, 6-7). This is a great time to rally your faith-family around the importance of music within the context of a worship service. I hope your church is fortunate to have people who use their musical talents. For some reason God has always appreciated music as an integral part of worshiping Him.
  5. There’s skill involved (26:6-9, 30-31). Evidently, non-skill would not honor the glory of God. God is worthy of our best talent and skill.
  6. Finally–everyone’s favorite–there’s money management (26:20, 22, 26-27). There’s hardly ever a bad time to talk to your faith-family about their financial habits. There’s so much disciple-making work to be done across the street or across the seas. And it takes a ton of money.

Finally, if you are interested in a Christological reading of this section of Chronicles, you can refer to the construction language in Ephesians 2:19-22, “…members of the household of God…Christ himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure…grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”

Preach that tough section well so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

P.S. Unless you divide this message into two or three parts, you will need to cover these sections quickly. Due to my earlier teaching through Exodus, in this Chronicles section I decided not to go into details about the significance of the temple furniture and procedures.

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Why Gaining Attention and Interest Isn’t Enough in Our Introductions

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I just completed a very satisfying week of teaching Doctor of Ministry students at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. That’s my excuse for not creating a blog post last week. The track is called, Preaching the Literary Forms of the Bible. Pastors and professors from all over the world made up the class and, as always, the final day or so is devoted to hearing them preach.

I was amazed at how many, regardless of where they were from or who trained them, chose to begin their sermon with some kind of attention-getting device. And in all cases, their opening stories or illustrations were effective in gaining attention and initial interest. But that’s not enough.

Over and over throughout the day I repeated and restated the same thing:

“Try telling us why we need to hear your sermon. How does this Scripture function for the Church?”

Homileticians sometimes refer to this as surfacing need in the introduction and I believe in the practice for the following reasons:

  • it shows our listeners in the opening minutes that the exposition of Scripture is relevant. This is critical because there are expositors who will begin their sermon and preach several minutes without ever telling their listeners that this affects their lives.
  • it’s an opportunity to clearly state how we will worship God as a result of hearing the exposition of Scripture. This keeps expository preaching from being a history lesson about the Text. This reminds us that preaching is an act of worship when we respond to the revelation of God.
  • it allows us to begin the process of application in the introduction instead of waiting till the end of the sermon or near the end of major points in our outline.

So, before Sunday, start with the “why?”, and not just the “what?” of your sermon so our Lord receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

P.S. Some of you might be thinking that starting with “why” is giving too much information in the introduction. Some practice a much more inductive approach. My answer is that I want my listeners to know why this information/exhortation is being given from the start so that they can remember the purpose for our being together throughout the sermon.

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Keeping the Sunday Goal in Mind on Monday Mornings

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Years ago The Mammas and the Papas sang,

“Monday, Monday….Every other day of the week is fine, yeah. But whenever Monday comes…you can find me crying all of the time….Monday, Monday, can’t trust that day….Monday, Monday…it’s here to stay.”

If you preach each Sunday, you can relate to the song. You know that Monday means starting all over again (or, Tuesday, if you take Monday’s off). I find it helpful to keep Sunday’s goal in mind each Monday morning. Since that goal is   corporate worship during the teaching time (Believers responding to the revelation of God), my goal for Monday morning’s study time is always more than initial exegesis.

I recently began rereading Kugel’s, How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now. In explaining the method of ancient interpreters, He writes, “Reading Scripture, and doing what it said, was now the very essence of Judaism–and in it’s wake, Christianity. But what did Scripture mean, and what was it telling people to do?” (p. xii).

How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now

That’s my Monday morning study goal: Reading Scripture–in my case, I’m currently preaching through Luke’s Gospel–praying and studying to learn what it means and what it is telling God’s people to do.

So, on a Monday morning when I’m studying Luke 16:1-9 (Jesus’ parable of the dishonest manager), I want my initial exegesis to yield something like this:

“Lord willing, we will worship on Sunday morning by being as shrewd with God’s money as that dishonest manager was with his master’s accounts.” (cf. vv. 8-9 “…make friends…by means of…wealth, so that…”)

Long before Sunday, look at your preaching portion with the goal towards understanding what it means and what it is telling God’s people to do.

Preach well for the sake of God’s glory in the church and in Christ Jesus,

Randal

P.S. If you’re interested in reading and preaching in the Old Testament, you will find Kugel’s insights helpful (that’s an understatement). I find myself saying, Why didn’t I see that?!, more often than I like to admit.