Author Archives

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

Senior Pastor, Professor

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Experimenting With Sermon Design: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Early Sermons

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Kimnach’s general introduction to Jonathan Edwards’s preaching in volume 10, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, contains fascinating information about Edwards’s sermon manuscripts. He summarizes:

“Edwards became a master of his inherited sermon form…” (p. 41, emphasis added).

This made me think about the sermon form that I “inherited” from those who modeled preaching for me and those who taught preaching to me. Take a moment to think about how you were formed into the kind of preacher you are. Who influenced the way you preach and the forms your sermons take?

Then, Kimnach writes, “…but in the 1730s, at the zenith of his mastery, he began experimenting artistically with the sermon. He apparently did everything he could do without actually abandoning the old form entirely, and the only possible conclusion one can draw from the manuscript evidence of his experiments is that he was searching, consciously or unconsciously, for a formal alternative to the sermon itself.” (p. 41, emphasis added).

I can relate to that.

From the early days of my training I have not been a fan of sermons. And now, closing in on having preached almost 2000 sermons, I am still not a fan of the traditional sermon form.

Through the years the form of my sermons have changed with the goal of trying to find out what works best for me with the gifts God has given me, including the people God has given to me.

How about you? Do you ever think about experimenting with some “formal alternative to the sermon itself”? If so, what might it be.

Of course, this kind of analysis begins with thinking about what aspects of the sermon might not be working as well as it could be. And, then, how might you change it? Is anything keeping you locked into your current form?

I am hoping that our Lord will continue to receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we continue to tinker with the task of communicating God’s on Sunday mornings in the most effective way possible.

Randal

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Edwards’s Unique Angle On Application: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Early Sermons

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I’ve learned that Edwards referred to the application of a sermon as “improvement or use” (Kimnach, p. 38). The improvement section of the sermon was usually the longest of the three that we explored in previous posts (text, doctrine, application).

Listen to how Edwards transitions to the application section of Genesis 19:14 defines application:

“The Improvement we shall make of this doctrine shall be to offer some considerations to make future punishment seem real to you” (p. 39).

What we normally think of as application–putting Scripture into practice or applying life to the Bible–includes helping our listeners experience the reality of a Scripture. In the case of Genesis 19:14 the Lord was about to bring judgment down on the city, but Lot’s son-in-laws didn’t take the warning seriously. Edwards feared some of his listeners would not be able to experience the reality of God’s judgment.

So, Edwards will create hypothetical situations that help his listeners imagine what it’s like to enter God’s story. He calls this the

“willing suspension of disbelief” (p. 39).

Edwards reminds us that, deep down, we struggle believing God’s reality as described/prescribed in Scripture. So the improvement of a biblical text involves helping our listeners suspend their disbelief so they will believe and obey God’s Word.

[Remember, every act of disobedience is first and foremost an act of unbelief. So we attack disobedience by attacking unbelief.]

Edwards shined at creating these hypothetical situations through analogy. In his first sermon, Christian Happiness, he helps us experience not being “afraid of any temporal afflictions whatsoever” (p. 301) with this analogy:

“the pain of the prick of a pin” (p. 302).

Edwards reasons that the prick lasts a minute but yields seventy years of prosperity. The prick of a pin is nothing to fear in this case. The same goes for seventy years of trouble in this world compared to “an eternity of the highest happiness” (p. 302).

Trust me. That section will have you feeling differently about temporal troubles!

So, before Sunday, look at your sermon application and see if you are helping your listeners suspend their unbelief for a moment so they embrace God’s world as their own. And He will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Our Spiritual Warfare and Worship: Preaching Through the Book of Numbers

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When you start Numbers you encounter numbers in great numbers. Thankfully, there are some theological clues such as the repetition of the phrase, “able to go to war.” That is repeated over and over again in vv. 1-46. As Robert Alter points out in his new translation and commentary on the Hebrew Bible, it is clear from the repetition that Israel’s journey involves an extended military campaign.

So, my first major segment in the sermon or first main point was the presence of our enemies (vv. 1-46). I did give our folks a sneak peek at what the battle will look like in chapter 14:40-45. It’s a great way to remind us all of the spiritual battle we face each day. The brief glimpse forward teaches us that the battle is won or loss depending on whether God is among us in an active sense fighting for and with us (v. 42 “for the Lord is not among you…” and disastrous results!).

The second segment begins in v. 47 where we’re told: “But the Levites were not listed along with them…” Their duties are explained in terms of the tabernacle in vv. 47-51a. That holy place and space would house the visible, tangible presence of God. The defeat of chapter 14 already teaches us how important God’s presence is for our spiritual life.

But in point three we learn that God’s presence is also very dangerous. The threat of God’s presence is in vv. 51b-54. The approach of an outsider brought death (v. 51b) and the Levites guarded the tabernacle “so that there may be no wrath on the congregation…” (v. 53). What a great time to talk about what one author refers to as “the fatal holiness of God.”

And all of this is the start of preparing Israel and us for our journey from redemption to the Promised Land (for them) and new creation (for us).

Help your listeners journey successfully with this wonderful opening chapter about the fight we’re in and the assurance of victory through God’s powerful presence with a holy people.

He will receive glory–as a result–in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Preaching Through the Book of Numbers! I Know, Right?!?

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Along with posts devoted to gleaning insights from the preaching of Jonathan Edwards and from key homiletics authors, I will be suggesting a preaching strategy through the book of Numbers (see a similar approach through Chronicles).

Yup. That’s what I thought too.

But I love showing our faith-family how to read a book like Numbers so it functions for us as God intended.

When you select a title for the series, consider

Numbers 14:8 “…He will bring us into this land…”

That kind of title connects the Story to the saints. In many ways their journey from redemption from Egypt to the Promised Land mirrors our journey from our initial redemption to the new creation. And that’s why God can speak through Numbers to the Church.

The title also provides hope for our journey: we are going to make it because God is going to fulfill His promises to us. The examples, both bad (mainly the first generation of Israelites) and good (mainly the second generation), will teach us along the way.

As always, we will only go and do otherwise (bad examples) or go and do likewise (good examples) after an affirmation of faith in Christ who either was or did what God intended His people in the wilderness to either be or do. That’s faith-first or faith-driven application.

Then, notice in the image above that a sub-title is provided along with the Scripture. The one shown is from the famous Aaronic Blessing paragraph at the end of chapter 6. I’m only a few weeks into the series, but anticipate that each subtitle developed from each preaching portion will provide an angle that explains how we make our journey from redemption to new creation.

I realize you may not be in a series on Numbers, but I hope that these posts will show you a hermeneutical/homiletical strategy to handle such OT narratives…

So God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

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Building Your Sermon (part 3): What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Early Sermons

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My mentor, Haddon Robinson, used to say there were three things you could do to an idea: you could explain it, prove it, or apply it.

[Look at the manuscript you’re creating for your next preaching/teaching assignment and locate these segments.]

That rhetorical strategy has been around for a while. Jonathan Edwards didn’t invent it, but used it in his day (early 18th century). His words were explication, confirmation, and now application.

Now, I know you’re familiar with application, but Edwards might help you; it has helped me and continues to do so. Here’s how.

First, before Sunday, check to see if your Scripture is either doctrinal or practical.

If it’s doctrinal, plan on showing the effects that believing this doctrine has on the Christian life (thinking and acting). It’s tempting to only explain or prove a doctrine, but Edwards moved from those two to application. “Since I believe in God’s sovereignty as expressed in this Scripture, it affects me by…”

Last evening while teaching through An Orthodox Catechism Q&A on the providence of God, I asked the folks what our day would be like if we began with affirmation about this wonderful ability of our God to uphold every facet of our lives.

If your Scripture is practical, does it provide reproof, or consolation, or exhortation? Edwards was a master at providing motives either from “Profit” or “Danger” that would “excite the affections”  He was meticulous in providing the “Meanes to direct the actions” (p. 31 in Kimnach).

I quickly realized that I do not spend near enough time providing motives to move the affections. I am too quick to direct the actions from the text without explaining and proving why such application is the right thing to do. That was new to me: combining all three in the application of the sermon.

May our Lord help you build your sermon/lesson so He continues to receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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How To Structure Your Sermon (part 2): What I’m Learning From the Early Sermons of Jonathan Edwards

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These posts are designed to give us a look at how Jonathan Edwards crafted his sermons. You can compare this to the way you do it.

Last week I began with Edwards first major sermon section, explication. This week we move to his second section, confirmation. Edwards confirmed the truths he explicated by:

positive proofs from Scripture or reason and also by providing solutions to some major doubts and questions that arise from the text. (cf. Kimnach, p. 30 for more details, including the weird spelling below).

Edwards divides his time between what he called “notionall”, “doctrinall” and “practicall” truths. His powerful logic works thr0ughout the sermon to convince his listeners that what God says is true. And since his third major sermon section is application, you can see that the “practicall” truths he presents already bleeds into the application section.

Edwards is relentless in his attack of the mind of his listeners to grasp the meaning, proof, and implications of Scripture. He literally argues with his audience and their thought-patterns along the way in his second major section of the sermon.

So, before Sunday, see if you have some places in your message where you can confirm the faith and challenge to the doubts and questions of your listeners. See if you are taking them on a logical journey that is impossible to deny (provided they start with your presuppositions about Scripture, God, and the plight of sinful man, of course).

My mentor, Haddon Robinson, used to say that there were only three things you could do with an idea: explain, prove, or apply. These three certainly piggyback onto Edwards distinct Puritan sermon form of explication, confirmation, application.

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) due to the way you structure your sermons.

Randal

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How You Structure Your Sermon: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Early Sermons

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I didn’t know Cox’s book existed, but virtually everyone has heard about sermons crafted with three points and a poem. It’s almost always said in jest (and that’s no slam on Cox).

One of the things I’m learning from reading Jonathan Edwards’s early sermons is what Kimnach refers to as “the seventeenth-century Puritan sermon” (p. 27). Edwards loosely followed a three-point structure of explication, confirmation, and application, borrowed from a seventeenth-century author, Wilkins (Ecclesiaastes, Or, A Discourse Concerning the Gift of Preaching as it falls under the Rules of Art (London, 1646)).

Kimnach provides a detailed look at each of the three and I will summarize the first one, explication, in this post (p. 29). He writes,

“Explication is either of the text…or of the doctrines deduced from it.”

If you decided to develop your sermon from the text, then that would include three things:

First, an “Unfolding [of the] difficulties” of that text. This involved unraveling the difficulties of a phrase, the circumstances surrounding that text (to whom it was written), and the Analogy of Faith (other similar Scriptures).

Second, “Distinguishing ambiguous…words [and/or] phrases.”

Third, “dividing of the Text, which must not be…Needlesse [sic.] [or] Obscure.”

If you decided to develop your sermon from the doctrines within your text, then you would:

One, Clearing their inference (meaning, I think, that you make a clear connection between your text and the doctrine you are expounding).

Two, “Showing the latitude of every…Truth [or] Duty…According to their severall [sic.]…Branches [or] Degrees.”

Let me quickly say two things that might help our own sermon development.

First, Edwards (through Wilkens) did not divide the Text needlessly. That means he only showed divisions that were important for establishing meaning and application. Before Sunday, check how you’ve divided the text and eliminate any unnecessary divisions (those that do not highlight critical flow of thought/argument).

Second, from the second, Two, above, Edwards has made me realize I need to spend more time meditating on the range that a particular doctrine has in life, both truth and duty. Before Sunday, see if you have explored the far-reaching effects of your doctrine.

And may God be glorified in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

P.S. Next time, Lord willing, we’ll explore the confirmation and, then, application sections.

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Sovereignty And Election Are Extremely Relevant: My Only Post On Preaching Through Romans 1-11

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I never thought I would write that the sovereignty of God and His election described in Romans 9-11 are easy to apply to the church! But they are. And I’m getting ahead of myself.

First, when I began preaching through Romans 1-11 a year ago Easter, I determined not to write posts from that series. The reason was simple: I do not consider preaching epistles like Romans to be difficult.

[I realize some of my friends and colleagues just ran to get their EpiPens!]

What I mean is that, although there are difficult theological concepts to explain, the structure and applicability of most epistles most of the time are not too difficult. In the case of Romans 9-11 one of my favorite commentators, Douglas Moo puts it this way:

“…while certain points remain hard to understand, Paul is claiming to be transmitting truth to which his readers are to respond” (p. 740).

Here’s how to locate the intended response for Romans 9-11 and all the heavy discussion of unconditional election:

First, when you begin working through chapter 9 you will need to point congregants forward to 11:17-22. This is Paul’s first indication of how the section functions for the church. There you find instruction for us not to be arrogant toward unbelieving Jews (v. 18), to stand fast through faith (v. 20), not become proud (v. 20), and to live as God-fearers (v. 20). The reason: “for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you” (v. 21) and the warning in v. 22, “Otherwise you too will be cut off.”

It is easy to get lost in election in chapter 9 and forget what the section is intended to do to the faith-family.

Two other connections can and should be made. First, the entire section ends with a marvelous doxology in 11:33-36. Everything ends with praise to God. Second, the more practical section that begins in 12:1 stems from all the mercies of God highlighted in 9-11 (“…by the mercies of God”). Unconditional election magnifies the mercy of God which provides motivation for all the instruction in chapters 12-16.

I hope you have had or will have an opportunity to preach through Romans with your faith-family and God will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Securely Fasten Your Congregants To Scripture

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Along with passing along insights I’m learning from reading Jonathan Edwards’s early sermons, I’m also highlighting Carrell’s findings from surveying hundreds of sermon-hearers. Her book, Preaching That Matters: Reflexive Practices for Transforming Sermons, has helped me think about churchgoers hear sermons.

For instance, chapter 4 (Exegeting, then Organizing) listed poor sermon organization as the number one “listener-identified characteristic” (p. 72). I discussed our tendency to ramble several posts ago.

In light of my experience listening to masters and doctoral student sermons, Carrell’s next observation didn’t surprise me. When you hear it, hopefully you will think: “Well, duh!”

She writes, “Listeners also describe disorganized sermons as those without clear connections to Scripture, even though preachers who are perceived as disorganized often claim to be structuring content in a way that is especially biblical” (p. 73, emphasis added).

And, as noted above, my experience listening confirms this. I am often reminding preachers-in-training to keep us connected to the text during their sermons. Several minutes go by without directing our attention to verse ___.

You and I can help our listeners by keeping them connected to the Scripture being expounded. And, according to Carrell’s findings, our listeners will consider this a part of effective organization.

You might think that simply doing good exegesis will alleviate the problem of losing connection with Scripture. But, think for a moment about how many minutes can go by in a sermon while you explain the finer points of exegesis. The sheer volume of words contained in those minutes can create a disconnect from the very Text you’re explaining.

So, before Sunday, as you’re preparing your notes–you are manuscripting, right?–keep reminding yourself of the need to remind your listeners where you are in the Text.

And may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) because of your efforts to exegete and organize.

Randal

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Preaching Two Kinds of Faith

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Recently, I was preaching on Psalm 112 and emphasizing the aspect of fearlessness in verses 7-8, “He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid.” In my search for images for that Sunday’s slides, I came across this saying:

 

“Let your faith be bigger than your fear.”

 

After thinking about this for a moment or two, I realized that this kind of thinking betrays a lack of understanding of biblical faith. What struck me harder was the fact that the saying seemed to preach so well. I could hear myself saying something like this in an attempt to apply our lives to this Psalm.

At the risk of nit-picking, let me suggest that genuine faith in Christ is, by nature, stronger than fear. To tell someone to let their faith be bigger than their fear is actually telling them to exchange less-than-saving/sanctifying faith for genuine faith. So, it’s actually not about letting faith be bigger; it’s about explaining how faith in Christ conquers fear. That exercise in theological exegesis will help our congregants be the kind of person described in Psalm 112, which is what the Psalm is intended to do.

This post was originally published on July 29, 2013.