Category Archives: Emotion

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Can you tell the difference between sheep and goats? Does it matter on Sundays?

I trust you experienced a rewarding Easter celebration with your faith-family. I know Michele and I did.

You may recall earlier posts containing excerpts from Marsden’s, An Infinite Fountain of Light: Jonathan Edwards for the Twenty-First Century. It’s amazing how current Edwards’s approach is even though his 18th century context and style of ministry is so different from ours.

One lasting effect of Edwards’s thinking and writing is his well-known, “A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections.” I first read it as part of my required reading in the mid- to late 80’s when I studied the church in America at Dallas Theological Seminary.

Marsden writes, “Edwards spent almost his whole life wrestling with the question of how to tell the difference between authentic Christian experience and its imitations: self-delusion and hypocrisy” (p. 104). He describes Edwards’s understanding of “affections” as,

“the sort of love for a person that brings joy unspeakable. True affections for Edwards include the joy and delight–at the heart of his theology–of experiencing the beauty of perfect love” (p. 106).

Okay, let me stop and say that my ministry for over 30 years has been in the context of two, Bible Church kind of churches. I half-jokingly say to our folks, “We’re a Bible Church which means we don’t feel anything.” It’s true; we don’t feel much and rarely do we let it show on our faces on a given Sunday morning. So, this makes it difficult to know if my listeners are experiencing authentic Christianity.

Edwards asked how we know the sheep from the goats.

He begins with indicators that don’t prove anything:

“high emotional experiences, preoccupation with religious things, readiness to quote Scripture, great self-confidence in one’s own spirituality, and other traits that can be found among hypocrites as well as among some genuine Christians” (p. 107).

As you can see, counterfeit Christianity exists. But Scriptures often provide ample opportunity for us to challenge the kind of faith our listeners have. One way is to continually ask if their faith-journey includes a dose of “joy and delight” and the “beauty of [God’s] perfect love.”

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we address both sheep and goats each Sunday.

Randal

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How the Condition of your Listeners and Christ-Centered Preaching Affect the Mood of Judgment Texts

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The Mood of the Sermon Matches the Mood of the Scripture, except when…

This past Sunday I had the privilege of preaching through Matthew 11:20-24. It is a judgment text with no good news in it. Speaking to two cities that saw Jesus do “mighty works,” He states that

“it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you” (v. 22).

And then Jesus says to the third city: “You will be brought down to Hades” (v. 23) and “I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

A most depressing segment of Matthew’s Gospel, to be sure. The mood of such Scripture is somber to say the least and the mood of the sermon should match this. And it does for much of the exposition.

However, two things alter that mood.

First, the condition of my listeners meant that there is cause for celebration. Many of my listeners could offer thanks to God for the fact that they had done what the three cities and their inhabitants didn’t do. Many of them–probably most of them–had repented at some point when they heard the Gospel.

Second, the fact that Christ is our Judge means that we can be comforted by the thought of the “day of judgment.” I was able to say to our congregants:

“Your Judge was judged for our sin so that He could one day be our Judge at the Judgment. Just think that your Judge will be your Redeemer, the One who gave His life for you! Imagine how He will rule your case!”

Again, what is, by and large, a most somber, judgment text now contains an element of celebration when we consider the results of God judging His Son on the cross for sinners. No more fear of judgment day. Only praise for the righteousness of Christ credited to our account!

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you consider how the Gospel affects the mood of even judgment texts.

Randal

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Preaching For Life-Change: A Guest Post From Dr. Roger Raymer

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Our First Reunion Since The Late 80’s!

I am writing this from Puebla, Mexico. Michele and I have the privilege of visiting with veteran missionaries, Bryan and Lori Smith. Bryan invited us to come and speak to their annual Intermission Conference. What a surprise to hear that a guy named, Roger Raymer, was also here! Roger was part of the Pastoral Ministries department at Dallas Theological Seminary while I was attending in the mid to late 80’s. We had a great reunion together. He graciously agreed to write a guest post for me.

First, a little about Roger. He he earned a ThM degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and a DMin from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. For more than 30 years Roger served as a senior pastor and as an adjunct faculty member at Dallas Theological Seminary. Currently, Roger and his wife Judy serve with Avant Ministries providing pastoral care for missionaries in Mexico and at Rio Grande Bible College in south Texas. Roger also continues to teach in the Doctor of Ministry degree program at Dallas Theological Seminary.

Now, Roger’s guest post:

Preaching is daunting. We stand before our congregations preaching the Word of God by the power of the Spirit to change lives. I know that I cannot do that through imparting biblical facts alone. It is helpful to remind myself of the principles of persuasive rhetoric. Aristotle’s “pathos, logos and ethos” are truly “old school” but essential to communicate persuasively. The more modern terms are emotional, intellectual and ethical proof.

We use intellectual proof to convince our listeners of the accuracy of our interpretation through exegetical evidence and the logical argument of the text. Our congregations buy what we are saying intellectually.

Pastors have a high degree of credibility or ethical proof. Our personal integrity, education, and pastoral care cause our congregations to trust us and believe us.  

Where we often fall short is in the crucial area of emotional proof. Pastors in the non-charismatic, evangelical tradition have tended to avoid almost any form of emotion in worship and preaching.  However, emotion is not foreign to the biblical text. The Old Testament prophets voiced powerful emotions to touch hearts. We should touch the hearts of our congregations as well.

Emotional proof is more than tears and laughter. “Pathos” appeals to one’s hopes and aspirations through vivid word pictures of the positive consequences of obeying God’s Word. We touch hearts when we relive real emotion as we share a personal experience or illustration that affects us emotionally. If we tell a story with real emotion in our voice our listeners will be moved emotionally as well.

Why is this important? Usually, individuals will not base a life changing decision on information or logical facts alone. Intellectual understanding will move someone toward a decision but it often takes emotional proof for life change to take place.

Clearly, spiritual growth is the work of the Spirit. Our responsibility is to provide the rhetorical elements that the Spirit can use to change lives. After all, that is our goal – to change lives.

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“Beyond Words to the Heart”: Guest Post by Dr. Ron Gannett

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A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of meeting up with Dr. Ron Gannett. I met him back in the early 90’s when I was pastoring in New Brunswick, Canada. Ron was our keynote speaker for a special conference. Back then he was the Senior Pastor of Park Bible Church in Burlington, ON, Canada. As I young pastor, I remember learning so much from him. So, I was delighted when he contacted me about being in the area (we’re both DTS alumni).

I asked Ron if he would write a guest post for me and here it is. Enjoy!

“Beyond Words to the Heart

I recently attended a funeral where most of the family members, as expected, read their prepared memories about their lost loved one. But, when the pastor did the same by reading his sermon from a manuscript, it communicated to us that it was more about what he was saying than what we were feeling or needing at that moment. As he missed this strategic opportunity to speak from the heart, it reminded me that it is not about what I am saying, but what they are hearing.

Of course, manuscripts are helpful, and I often use bullet points written in my Bible to keep me focused. The issue I am addressing is whether we are too concerned about our presentation at the expense of the listener. Am I trying to give them the whole wheelbarrow of information I learned or equipping them to respond to God’s Word?

When I first started teaching at a Bible College just out of seminary, my dean required that I write my course objectives around three simple directives: what do I want my students to know, feel and do after taking this course. That stretching exercise has shaped my teaching and preaching to this day. It structured the course around the student’s needs, not me.

I have discovered through the years that these three objectives add fulness to the sermon. Sadly, content alone may glorify the preacher or make the listener feel inadequate. But truth that is clear and memorable, encouraging and motives the heart and provides tools and resources for the listener to practice will help produce the spiritual formation we crave for our people.

If you think about it, all three are essential since the emphasis on one without the others will only lead to unhealthy spirituality. So, lets proclaim the glory and grace of God to help hearts know, love and follow Him.”

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Are You Achieving this Balance in Your Preaching?

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How to challenge hypocrites without unduly stressing out the saints!

I’m not quite finished with Bavinck’s one volume theology, but couldn’t help starting to read, Theoretical-Practical Theology, written by Petrus Van Mastricht in the late 17th century. I was excited to read it because he wrote the theology book to train pastors. For instance, it contains a wonderful first section, The Best Method of Preaching. What a way to begin a systematic theology book!

In it, Mastricht speaks to a subject matter that may be difficult to do in some churches because of their goals. However, it is impossible to avoid if a pastor is committed to preaching through books of the Bible.

That subject matter is challenging the saints to make sure their lifestyle matches their profession of faith. In other words, the Scriptures regularly urge the saints in church to a faith that expresses itself in required virtues.

Of course, this kind of preaching will create some angst in those who know they are saved. So Mastricht writes,

“…from one perspective, we would not without cause lead the consciences of the pious into doubts and anxieties from which afterward we could not so easily lead them out; from another perspective, so that we would not also strengthen hypocrites and harden them in their carnal security” (vol. 1, p. 23).

That’s the tension that can be created in preaching the Word of God to both kinds of listeners. It’s the kind of preaching that some preaching portions demand.

When the Text demands it, may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) because of your faithfulness in not strengthening the hypocrites without pricking the consciences of the saints without cause.

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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Preaching With A Kidney Stone

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Preaching While Dealing With A Kidney Stone! Yikes!

First, I have been out of commission for a couple of weeks due to fighting a kidney stone. To make a long story short, the first surgery was unsuccessful and the second surgery is scheduled for tomorrow.

The first surgery left me with a temporary stent in my right kidney. That stent prevented me from having another painful attack, but left me with nasty UTI-like symptoms. My main concern, apart from the occasional pain and discomfort, was whether or not I could preach yesterday without feeling like I had to go to the bathroom. And, trust me, with a stent in the ole saying, “When you gotta go, you gotta go,” is reality.

All that to say, this was one of those rare times in my 30 plus years of preaching that I had to preach not knowing whether I was up to the task physically.

If you’ve experienced something similar, then you know what that meant: I had to trust God more than normal.

I don’t like admitting that, but it’s true. I would rather write that I always trust God to the same degree for every sermon. But there is something about suffering for a couple of weeks that elevates the need for God’s help.

[I am keeping the past two weeks in perspective because I have parishioners who have been battling far greater suffering for much longer.]

Yesterday was a good reminder that God is merciful and I need His mercy, sometimes to a greater degree. The great thing about preaching is that it is God’s work. We do have a part to play in it, but I know He knows how much we need Him, especially when we’re struggling.

God was very gracious to me yesterday. I was able to preach a full-length message without having to run to the bathroom mid-sentence.

I hope you never have to preach with a kidney stone, but if you do our Lord will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you entrust the sermon to His care.

Randal

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Edwards On Grace: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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So many images of God’s grace reflect a worship posture.

Reading Jonathan Edwards’s earliest sermons yields some quotes that may serve you well as you prepare to preach and teach this week.

In his sermon, Glorious Grace, based on Zechariah 4:7 (“…Grace, grace to it!”), Edwards urges his congregants:

“When you praise him in prayer, let it not be with coldness and indifferency; when you praise him in your closet, let your whole soul be active therein; when you praise him in singing, don’t barely make a noise, without any stirring of affection in the heart, without any internal melody [sic].” (p. 399)

What a tragic thought: someone in church singing without any internal melody!

I often half joke to our faith-family that we’re Bible Church people so we know a great deal about God but don’t feel much. Edwards would say to me,

“Consider that great part of your happiness in heaven, to all eternity, will consist in this: in praising of God, for his free and glorious grace in redeeming you; and if you would spend more time about it on earth, you would find this world would be much more of a heaven to you than it is.” (p. 399).

One of the things Edwards helps me do is try to find ways to help my congregants celebrate the grace of God with their whole being.

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you urge the same, maybe with a little help from JE.

Randal

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How Reading the Wall Street Journal Can Help Your Preaching. Honest.

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The Opinion section seems fair and the writing is superb.
Photo by Allie on Unsplash

Several months ago I decided to go back to getting a newspaper again. I was close to getting a subscription to digital curated news, such as Apple News, but the reviews were not great. I chose the Wall Street Journal thanks to a generous discount for educators. Or, was it students? That’s not important right now.

What is important is how the quality of WSJ’s writers is helping me be a better communicator of God’s Word.

Here are some lines from this weekend’s WSJ from one of my favorite writers, Peggy Noonan’s, Declarations: The GOP Tries to Make Its Case…

“If you weren’t moved by [Jon Ponder’s speech] you don’t do moved.”

Or, the reporting of Sen. Tim Scott’s speech which included the phrase,

“Because of the evolution of the Southern heart.” (explaining how “a black man who started with nothing [ended up in “Congress in an overwhelmingly white district in Charleston and beat the field, including the son of former-Sen. Strom Thurmond.”].

Or…

“[Republicans] hit on the one fear shared equally now by the rich, the poor and the middle: that when you call 911 you’ll go to voicemail.”

Or, my new favorite word I read several days ago: humblebrag.

So, in Psalm 18:23 David commits humblebrag when he claims: “I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt.” Much different than David’s confession in Psalm 38:18 “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.”

There are several times in the earlier Psalms when David voices humblebrag. It’s a great word to describe how David can crow even though there were many times he had to eat crow.

I just wished I had remembered to say it in the sermon. Oh well.

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) because of our attempts to become better wordsmiths.

Randal