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Randal Pelton, Ph.D., D.Min., Th.M.

Senior Pastor, Professor

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“most powerful arguments”: What I’m Learning from Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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Edwards’s, The Value of Salvation

The second sermon recorded by Kimnach in his tenth volume of The Works of Jonathan Edwards is, “The Value Of Salvation.” The text is Matthew 16:26

“…what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul…?”

It is clear that Edwards followed God’s lead in creating a sermon full of “most powerful arguments” for making one’s soul utmost priority.

I learned from the way Edwards described our tendency to get earthly things: “If he hugs them [bags of gold and silver] ever so close, he must leave them forever and ever when once he leaves the world” (p. 313, emphasis added).

Then, as I’m seeing so many times in his sermons, Edwards is a master at creating powerful images to illustrate truth. Speaking of Alexander Magnus [The Great] when he was dying:

“he whom the whole could not contain must at last be confined to only a narrow grave. A few square feet of ground is large enough for him now, whom the earth was not broad enough for before” (p. 314)

Ouch!

When he turns to the inestimable worth of salvation, among several statements he wrote,

“They shall be perfectly delivered from sin and temptation. The saved soul leaves all its sin with the body; when it puts off the body of the man, it puts off the body of sin with it. When the body is buried, all sin is buried forever, and though the soul shall be joined to the body again, yet sin shall never return…” (p. 323)

Anyone in the house that realizes their sinfulness will surely smile at the thought of our bright, sinless future.

Edwards begins to wrap up the sermon with these these exhortations:

“We have now heard the most powerful arguments in the world to persuade us [to] take care of our souls….let us take no thought for this present any otherwise than as the means of the good of our souls.” (pp. 329, 330).

Finally, speaking of the Christian life in terms of a race or fight, “men don’t use [to] stop sometime and run sometime when they were upon a race; men, when they are engaged…in a battle, don’t use to stand still now and then to rest when their enemies are about them, for if they so do they are in danger every minute of being killed” (p. 333).

I hope that these excerpts from Edwards will fuel your desire to preach and teach God’s Word so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Getting Excited About the Emotional Component in Preaching

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My pastoral history now spanning just shy of three full decades has been in the context of what I will call the typical Bible Church. Which being interpreted means we don’t get too excited about the Bible.

I joke with our folks about this because it’s important for us to know who we are and how we’re wired. But, I have to admit that this does at times make me question my effectiveness as a communicator.

Think with me about this. If I am preaching God’s Word with faithful exposition—we’re a Bible Church, remember?—what does it mean if my listeners don’t get excited about God?

You could come to my defense and say, “Well, that shows what kind of spiritual mettle they are made of.” I appreciate your support. I, of course, could come to their defense and say, “Well, that shows what kind of preacher I am.”

In her book, Preaching That Matters, Carrell’s chapter on delivery includes a section, Embracing Emotion. In my limited experience, that subject matter leads to citing reasons why emotionalism is dangerous. That discussion may have it’s place, but in Bible churches like mine the more important discussion is what it says about my preaching if preaching the Word doesn’t create an emotional response.

Carrell writes,

“the thirty thousand-plus listeners responding to sermons in this study constantly report low levels of emotional response to preaching, even though they long to be inspired. ‘I was moved emotionally’ is consistently one of the two sermon response survey options that receive significantly lower scores than the others” (p. 135).

That could be as much my problem as theirs.

I had a rare victory last Sunday evening preaching Psalm 15. It begins with a question: “O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? While explaining what the question means I asked,

“Have you ever thought about whether God would enjoy a visit with you in His home?”

We almost got excited (*smile*).

Before Sunday, is there anything in your preaching portion to get excited about? I mean, don’t go overboard or anything, but may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we aim at both an intellectual and emotional worship response.

Randal

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Just How Straightforward Is Numbers 11? Preaching Through Numbers

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Numbers 11 Is Pretty Straightforward, Don’t You Think?

In my previous post I made the comment that Numbers 11 was pretty straightforward. A few days later it occurred to me that I should test that theory. Thirty years of teaching preaching to undergrads, masters, and doctoral students has taught me that preaching OT narratives is not easy for most of us.

So, how straightforward is Numbers 11? Could you find your way to its theology?

First, did you notice that the first major point about “a strong craving” comes directly from the narrator’s assessment of “the rabble” in 11:4 “Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving.” That’s pretty straightforward. Everything in vv. 4-10a deals with their strong craving, including the description of the manna.

Second, the narrator also lets us know what they were crying about: “…for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord saying… ‘For it was better for us in Egypt.’” (v. 18). It’s hard to imagine strong cravings for food being so strong as to cause God’s people to want to go back into slavery in Egypt.

Finally, the Lord’s reaction is clear in this narrative. He’s angry in v. 10b and in His anger it hails quail and they suffer a terrible plague while chewing.

So, can you see what God means by this narrative? It’s pretty straightforward, one of those “go and do otherwise” narratives: By faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, yield to the Holy Spirit, not to our strong cravings. Or, something like that.

And may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we teach and preach through Numbers.

Randal

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Preaching for Victory Over Strong Cravings: Preaching Through Numbers

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Numbers teaches us about our deadly cravings!

I know the book of Numbers presents major challenges to preachers and teachers who intend to interpret meaning so it functions for the church. But Numbers 11 is pretty straightforward.

The reason is because Numbers 11:4-35 describes how God’s people experience strong cravings on their journey from redemption to new creation (v. 4 “Now the rabble…had a strong craving…”).

Meaning develops along these lines:

Verses 4-10a describe our strong cravings. You’ll quickly see that all the cravings came from their time in slavery in Egypt. Talk about selective memory: God’s people remember all the good food, but forget the whole slavery deal!

Then, you might skip down to vv. 18-20 and see the terrible potential of these strong cravings. It’s hard to imagine a Christian saying they wanted to go back to pre-converted days. Think about what that says about their relationship with the Lord!! Some of you will remember the old Keith Green song about wanting to go back to Egypt (cf. v. 18 “…For it was better for us in Egypt”).

You’ll want to highlight the prophecy about what will happen when the Lord decides to give His people the meat they strongly desire (v. 20 “…and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord…”)

Finally, verses 10b and 31-34 describe the terrible punishment of our Lord. It’s one of the many places in Numbers where we read about the Lord’s anger being kindled against His people. A healthy dose of this kind of theology certainly helps convince the faithful to remain so!

However, you won’t want to leave your people in the judgement-only Numbers 11. Consider taking your listeners to v. 6 and remind them that as our Savior approached the cross we read, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death…” (Matt. 26:38). His death was effective to save because of His strong craving: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” (John 4:34). Anyone who trusts Him is able to battle the strong cravings that threaten the soul.

I hope this summary will encourage you to consider reading the book of Numbers with your faith-family and may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus through your efforts (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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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 Why It’s Good To Be Godly: What I’m Learning from Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Early Sermons

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The Theology in, “Christian Happiness,” Edwards’s First Sermon

Edwards chose Isaiah 3:10 for his first text to preach on:

“Say unto the righteous, it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.”

As far as I can tell so far, Jonathan Edwards did not preach through books of the Bible. He selected texts very carefully. His texts were short like Isaiah 3:10. But they were theologically significant for providing foundations for Christian living.

Edwards’s sermon on Isaiah 3:10 is titled, Christian Happiness. The sermon shows Edwards’s skill at philosophy and theology. His philosophical side comes out in the first sentence:

“Reasonable beings, while they act as such, naturally choose those things which they are convinced are best for them…” (p. 296).

A large part of Edwards’s ministry is built on the assumption that “God always deals with men as reasonable creatures, and ever [word] in the Scriptures speaks to us as such” (p. 296).

Over and over again you’ll find Edwards reasoning at length with his listeners about every important matter of Christian faith and practice.

Part of Edwards’s genius–his theological side–is that his comprehensive knowledge of Scripture allows him to choose theologically loaded texts that display God’s reasonableness. So, in light of Isaiah 3:10 Edwards writes in the fourth sentence,

“in commanding of us he desires us to do nothing but what will be for our own advantage, our own profit and benefit, and frequently uses this argument with us to persuade us to obey his commands….and God, in our text, gives it as a special charge to assure the godly from Him that his godliness shall be of great advantage to him” (p. 296, emphasis added).

Look at this reasoning and ask yourself how many times it might find its way into other Scriptures and sermons. Before Sunday see if there are any commands. Remember that most of our listeners struggle with the notion that God’s commands are unreasonable. But we keep telling them otherwise!

May our Lord receive glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you apply such beautiful reasoning.

Randal

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Edwards’s Study Method: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Early Sermons

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Apart from reading commentaries, how do you study?

On October 19, 1757 Edwards wrote to the trustees of the College at Princeton:

“My method of study, from my first beginning the work of the ministry, has been very much by writing….penning what appeared to me my best thoughts on innumerable subjects for my own benefit.” (Kimnach, p. 71, emphasis added).

Edwards didn’t say, “for sermon preparation.” He was preparing for sermons, of course, by studying for his own benefit. The sermon material was the result of all Edwards’s explorations of theological subjects.

I believe I’ve written before that many pastors are not reading substantial theological material and, therefore, not advancing their own theological understanding. It’s tempting, of course, to read church growth, leadership material, and other areas of interest.

But Edwards?

He was reading and writing all the time. You might be interested in one of his writing projects he called, “Harmony of the Old and New Testament” (p. 72). It had three parts:

  1. OT prophecies of the Messiah and how they came true.
  2. OT types of Christ and how so many objects, events, and people pointed to the Gospel.
  3. The final and longest portion was a harmony of the Old and New Testaments.

And if you’re wondering how comprehensive this study was and how it connected to preaching, Edwards continued:

“In the course of this work, I find there will be occasion for an explanation of a very great part of the holy Scriptures…to lead the mind to a view of the true spirit, design, life and soul of the Scriptures, as well as their proper use and improvement” (p. 72).

I guess I’ve got some work to do!

And may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) because of the way you study each week, first for your own benefit and then for your listeners.

Randal

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Key Questions Your Sermon Delivery Answer

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There’s nothing wrong, necessarily, with folding your hands like this. Really.

In her book, Preaching That Matters, Carrell has a chapter titled, Delivering Not Decorating. You may recall that what I’m benefiting from most in the book are survey results of hundreds of listeners. For instance, she writes,

“Listeners use elements of the speaker’s delivery to determine the answer to many crucial questions: How much does the speaker care about us? How important is this topic? How sincere and credible is the speaker?” (p. 130)

Usually, discussions about sermon delivery focus on voice and body, things like volume, rate, and movement. All of this is often aimed at helping preachers be more interesting. But look at the questions above. The way we preach affects much more than being interesting:

Sermon delivery communicates relate-ability or pastoral care. This is where the pastor-theologian focuses on the “pastor” part. It’s where we let our folks know we love them dearly, as much, if not more, than preaching itself.

Sermon delivery communicates the life-and-death nature of God’s Word to us. I’ve said before, that one of my most common comments on sermon evaluation forms is, “I don’t sense that what you’re saying is important.”

Sermon delivery communicates our own interest in God and shepherding God’s flock. We can preach in a way that shows we’re in this with them, that we’re hearing God speak to us too.

For the sake of God’s glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) we don’t want to preach and have one of our listeners say,

“When he preaches, it sounds like he doesn’t care–about what he is saying or about us. If he doesn’t care, why should I?” (p. 130).

Randal

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You’ve Always Wanted To Preach To The Complainers, Right?! (Preaching Through the Book of Numbers)

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Here’s Your Chance!

One of the benefits of preaching through the book of Numbers is being able to address the congregation’s attitude. I’ve found it easier to do while preaching through a book of the Bible than having to address this in a topical sermon selected for that purpose.

When you arrive at Numbers 11 you have your opportunity to address your faith-family about fighting hard against a complaining spirit. When I got to this section I titled it:

“He will bring us into this land”: And We Will Fight the Urge to Complain Along the Way

You’ll recall that the first part of the title is my take on the theology of the book. The second part reflects the application of Numbers 11:1-3.

First, it’s rare to get such a small preaching portion in Numbers. They’re usually much larger, so enjoy that luxury.

Second, the narrative functions by presenting the people’s complaining as a “go and do otherwise” lesson.

You might consider presenting it something like this:

  1. Address our tendency to complain in v. 1a: why was this the default setting of God’s people?
  2. How our Lord reacts to our complaining spirit in v. 1b. It seems over the top. Very extreme judgment. There must be a reason for such drastic action on the part of our Lord.
  3. Finally, there is our hope for healing in vv. 2-3.

If you’re interested in a Christological reading of Numbers 11, you certainly can move from Moses’s intercession to our Savior. And, also, there’s no comparison between our “misfortunes” (v. 1) and the Lord’s misfortune of crucifixion! Yet, He endured all that without any complaining. His example is stellar, to be sure, but it’s not His example that saves us. His sacrifice saves us by faith and that faith is the key to responding unlike God’s OT complainers.

Anyway, I hope that helps you navigate what seems to be one of the easier Numbers narratives. May you preach it with confidence so the Lord receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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What Do You Pray Before You Begin To Study For Preaching?

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And I thought I was praying effectively before I begin studying!

So, usually every morning before I begin to study for a sermon, I pray Psalm 119:18

“Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”

I know God translates that whenever I’m preaching out of the prophets or the writings (*smile*) but that’s not important right now.

What is important is that one of my colleagues shared a prayer that Thomas Aquinas prayed before studying:

“Ineffable Creator,
You are proclaimed the true font of light and wisdom, and the primal origin raised high beyond all things.
Pour forth a ray of Your brightness into the darkened places of my mind; disperse from my soul the twofold darkness into which I was born: sin and ignorance.
You make eloquent the tongues of infants. Refine my speech and pour forth upon my lips the goodness of Your blessing.
Grant to me keenness of mind, capacity to remember, skill in learning, subtlety to interpret, and eloquence in speech.
May You guide the beginning of my work, direct its progress, and bring it to completion.
You Who are true God and true Man, who live and reign, world without end.
Amen.” (emphasis added)

I will give myself credit for praying Scripture (Psalm 119:18), but I must admit that Aquinas’s prayer put me to shame. I’ve printed his prayer out and have it on my workspace. I am trying to memorize at least the bold section above.

It’s another example of how I continue to benefit from reading ancient interpreters like Augustine, Calvin, and Edwards.

I’m sure you ask God for help before you begin studying for a sermon or teaching time. May you enjoy and benefit from Aquinas’s expression of need and reliance on God so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal