Category Archives: interpretation

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What Our Applications Say About Our Interpretations

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I just finished reading, Whose Community? Which Interpretation?, a brief discussion of how philosophical hermeneutics affects the church. On page 110 the author writes, “To understand is to apply; to apply differently is to understand differently.”

Probably the best example of this is how sermons on the Prodigal Son are usually applied. The most common application of Luke 15 is to call all prodigals to come home to Christ. We understand the parable to revolve around the prodigal who left his father’s house. To understand is to apply. You probably know that the parable is designed to focus attention on the attitude of the religious leaders (cf. Luke 15:1-2). To understand the parable that way means applying it differently: focusing on the older brother (the only one who does not rejoice when the lost is found). This requires a different kind of altar call.

Whenever you’re preaching on a narrative, check to see if your application (often some form of exemplar: “go and do likewise” or “go and do otherwise”) points to a different understanding than the preaching portion is intended to communicate.

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“My Preaching Portion Was Difficult to Preach Because…”

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Definition:

Preaching Portion: The amount of Scripture you choose to interpret and apply for a given sermon.

The past couple of weeks I’ve been conscious of how much easier post-Isaiah preaching is. In a prayer I worded for our congregation one recent Sunday morning I said to God that we needed His help even though the preaching portion wasn’t as difficult as Isaiah. I was feeling a bit of relief now that we had completed our study of Isaiah. But I was also feeling the need for Divine assistance because the act of preaching in general and, specifically, preaching any given preaching portion is beyond me and my abilities.

Would you be willing to share briefly with me why a particular preaching portion was difficult to preach and why? I want to begin to catalogue these issues for my learning, but also for future interaction with students and colleagues. How about your preaching portion for last Sunday? What made that Text difficult to preach? Thank you for sharing your insights with me. Here’s mine from Sunday…

1 Thessalonians 5:14 contains four Christian responses to four kinds of Christians. The instructions weren’t hard to preach. What made this sermon difficult was explaining why these instructions were vital for faith and the faith-family. As I’ve mentioned in earlier blogs, it’s easy at the end of an epistle to forget the Gospel foundation that appears at the beginning (in this case, places like 1 Thessalonians 1:3 and 1 Thessalonians 1:5).

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Preaching on Fathers’ Day Can Be Hazardous!

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Thankfully, I was on vacation on Fathers’ Day Sunday.  Not that I especially like being on vacation, but because I didn’t have to twist a text to apply it to fathers.  How did you manage that Sunday?  I worshiped in a church in Maine.  The pastor selected Luke 15’s parable of the Prodigal Son.  I appreciated his emphasis on the father portrayed in the parable, though some of the principles he developed for us to follow may have been stretching the truth.  It shows how difficult it is to preach with greater accuracy if we are too focused on being relevant.  Often the occasion of the sermon takes precedence over the occasion of the Scripture.  Or, our purpose for choosing a sermon on Luke 15 for Fathers’ Day overrides the purpose for which that Scripture was given by God.  God help us for the sake of your reputation!