Familiarity with a preaching portion can sometimes hinder communication. This is especially true with some of Jesus’ famous parables. Luke 10:25-37 records the parable of the Good Samaritan.

You probably already knew this, but near the end of my workweek I realized that the adjective, good, did not occur in this parable. Jesus does say in verse 33, “…when [the Samaritan] saw him, he had compassion.” The lawyer admits in verse 37 that the Samaritan was the “one who showed…mercy.”

So, at the beginning of the teaching time, I gave the faith-family as assignment. I asked them while we were studying the parable to attempt to rename it. I asked them to help me remember this when we concluded the sermon so we could hear their attempts.

In this case, it’s an important assignment. Jesus ends the parable with: “You go, and do likewise.” Go and be good is a bit broad, a bit vague. When we rename the parable from The Good Samaritan to something like The Compassionate Neighbor, we help everyone move a little closer to specific acts of worshipful obedience.

You can think of other familiar sections of Scripture that could use some renaming. Lord willing, we’ll see another example in the months to come when I tackle Luke 15 and the parable of the Prodigal Son. You’ve heard it said that familiarity breeds contempt, but I say to you that familiarity breeds ambiguity.

Any time I’ve tried this renaming exercise, I’ve always found that it enhanced communication. It’s a simple, yet effective way to add to your exegesis and theological analysis.

Preach for the glory of God!

This post was originally published on January 6th, 2014.

If you preach through books of the Old or New Testament, eventually you will preach about money and giving to God. For instance, in the Old Testament, there are approximately 1400 occurrences of the word, “offering,” in about 800 verses.

While preaching on Luke 21:1-4, the narrative of Jesus commenting on the poor widow who put “two small copper coins” in the offering box (v. 2), I learned two things that should make their way in any stewardship sermon.

First, take a moment to remind everyone why Christians give money to God. In the narrative, both “the rich” and “a poor widow” gave their offering to the Lord. Luke doesn’t tell us why. But, it is important when preaching about giving to tell everyone that giving an offering is a way of acknowledging God’s authority. It’s a way of showing that God is greater and I am infinitely lesser.

When faced with this perspective, it is virtually impossible for any professing Christian to refuse to give and still claim to worship God.

Second, when we got to the place in the narrative where Jesus said, “she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on,” I asked, “What must she have believed about God in order to give everything, even what she needed to live on?!” Again, the Scripture doesn’t say. What’s left unsaid is crucial for the faith-family. She was trusting completely in God to take care of her.

The poor widow’s example is an excellent opportunity for us all to evaluate how our giving habits reflect our faith in God to provide. Over the years I’ve heard many parishioners say, “I can’t afford to give more to God.” My reply has been, “You can’t afford not to.”

Before Sunday, if your sermon contains some aspect of giving to God, remind everyone why Christians give and show them how their giving reflects their faith.

Preach well for God’s glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

This post was originally published on March 30, 2015.

Some things just don’t look right in the Bible. Period. And when we come across those things, we do our listeners a favor–especially our relatively un-churched attendees–by pointing it out.

One of my friends at church, Craig, gave me a great example of this a few weeks ago. He was talking about how weird it is for Jesus to be called the good Shepherd, but then for Him to send His sheep out among wolves. What kind of good Shepherd would do that!?!

That’s the kind of stuff that doesn’t look right when you think about it.

Over the years I’ve benefited from James Emery White’s blog, Church & Culture. In Volume 12, No. 53 he imagined what the unchurched would tell us if we listened to them. Number 7 was, “Can we agree that there’s a lot of weird stuff attached to Christianity and the Bible? Okay, it may be true, or real, or whatever, but can we just agree that some of it is a bit…bizarre? For some strange reason, it would make me feel better to hear you acknowledge how it all looks and sounds to someone from the outside.”

Well, one reason it would make them feel better to hear us acknowledge some weirdness in holy Writ is because it’s TRUE. God has recorded some strange stuff in His Word. Another good example is the Judges’ narrative I’ll write about in weeks to come, often labeled, Jephthah’s Tragic Vow. Jephthah promises that if God gives him a strategic victory in battle, he would dedicate the first thing that comes out of his house to greet him. That first thing was only daughter! And what’s totally bizarre is that God allowed Jephthah to carry through with his promise (according to my un-inspired reading of the narrative).

There are a whole lot of well-churched folks who appreciate any time we point out such weirdness. Before Sunday, see if your preaching portion has some bizarre aspects to it. If you bring it out, your listeners will appreciate the honesty and, depending on how you proceed, the mystery that is our God. That assumes you will fight the temptation to explain everything in God’s Word, especially the things that are impossible to explain.

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

Randal

P.S. I usually don’t ask for feedback because I know pastors are busy. However, I am curious to hear your thoughts on why the generation of preachers before us were very hesitant to bring out the bizarre aspects of God’s revelation. Are there any dangers to this approach to interpretation and preaching? Thanks for chiming in.

This post was originally published on August 17, 2016.

If you’ve preached in church for a while and watched your listeners, you’ve probably noticed that some don’t listen. I realize some may be faking it; they may actually be listening even though they look like they’ve checked out. However, it is a reality of pastoral preaching that some parishioners don’t listen. Some do not hear God’s Word, don’t receive God’s Word, and are not changed by it. It’s very easy to get upset with them.

In Luke 9:54, Jesus’ disciples, James and John (a.k.a., sons of thunder!) ask Him, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” What a way to react to those who don’t listen! Yikes! Jesus’ abridged answer: “But he turned and rebuked them” (v. 55). That’s it. Ryken says, “it was still time for mercy.”

What were they thinking? Well, they were protecting Jesus; their Lord was being insulted. They were extremely zealous for God and for souls (OK, at least they were extremely zealous for God). It’s easy for us pastors to harbor ill-will towards those who don’t listen. It’s extremely difficult for us to shepherd people we wished weren’t there! However, Jesus made it very clear that His disciples’ plan of attack was inappropriate. Later on in Luke 23:34 we read our Lord saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” May our Lord extend grace to help us love those who don’t listen.

This post was originally published on November 4, 2013.

Throughout the Gospels and, also other Old and New Testament narrative sections, look for phrases that add to your congregants’ understanding of saving faith. These phrases provide an opportunity to explore what saving faith is and what it does. Like a cut diamond, saving faith and genuine Christianity contain many facets.

For instance, in Luke 20:27-40 Sadducees approach Jesus to ask Him about what life is like “in the resurrection” (a concept they don’t believe in). In the middle of Jesus’ answer, He states, “but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead…” (v. 35).

That phrase is one way to describe a genuine Believer or follower of Christ. This is what genuine saving faith creates: a person who is “considered worthy to attain to that age…” Saving faith takes people “of this age” (v. 34) and transforms them into those “considered worthy to attain to that age…”

It is tempting to spend the majority of sermon time on Jesus’ cryptic description of life in the resurrection. It demands much attention because any exposition has to come to grips with the revelation Jesus provides in vv. 35-36. Jesus corrects the Sadducees’ understanding. He wants them to know that “the dead are raised” (v. 37) and that God is “not the God of the dead, but of the living…” (v. 38).

Leave room, though, to answer the question Jesus doesn’t answer: How does a person become “considered worthy to attain to…the resurrection from the dead…”? That question inevitably delves into what saving faith is and does.

Before Sunday, see if your preaching portion contains any phrases that explain a facet of genuine faith and Christianity. Over time, the cumulative effect of this kind of exegesis will help limit the number of surprises at the Judgment.

Preach well so God receives glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

This post was originally published on March 23, 2015.

Luke 6:20-26 presents Luke’s balanced version of Jesus’ Beatitudes. There are four “blessed” and four “woes.” Jesus is speaking to His disciples in both cases: “Blessed are you….woe to you…” (cf. Luke 6:20 “And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said…”). Throughout Jesus’ sermon on the level place, He forces His listeners to examine themselves. So, in the balanced beatitudes, we ask ourselves and our listeners which four-fold condition best describes their current condition. Are we blessed or cursed? The one that really struck home to me as a preacher was v. 26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you…” As much as I want to be liked, I do not want to find myself in the “Woe to you” camp. That means preaching and teaching theology that may not be popular among our parishioners (not to mention among the outsiders). Part of our privilege is to help them make the right choice each Sunday. In order to do that, we must present the options clearly. You might be interested in considering the Gospel in the Beatitudes. Jesus experienced the “woe” in death even though His condition in life matched the “blessed.” Jesus’ followers are blessed because He wasn’t (until after the cross, that is!).

This post was originally published on May 29, 2013.

If you could divide your congregants into only two categories, sinners or Pharisees, which do you think would be the larger group? I’m guessing most of us would say, “Pharisees.” That means preaching in the Gospels is very relevant, especially those narratives when Jesus experiences sharp conflict with the religious leaders of His day. Brace yourself for some tense sermons. Like Jesus, you can expect to get opposition from parishioners who know their Bibles best. Bible churches or Bible Church-like churches struggle with self-righteousness and superiority complexes due to their extensive Bible knowledge and morality. That means we are often very critical and judgmental of others. Religion seems to always lead to this. But, if you will preach to the Pharisees in your faith-family, God may just soften their hearts. My history has shown that some Pharisees sincerely want to be in the sinners category. Those are the ones who hear Jesus’ teaching and alter their hearts and lives accordingly.

Be courageous my friend.

This post was originally published on May 7, 2013.