Category Archives: logical flow

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The Value of Preaching Back To Back Series Through Books of the Bible

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Thanks to some prompting from parishioners, I decided to preach back to back through Judges and Ruth without a break in between. Usually, I would have preached through Judges, then spend four to six weeks in a mini-series pertaining to church life or some aspect of the Christian life.

But Judges had so many depressing stories and Ruth is such a great story that I listened to their suggestions. I’m glad I did.

Ruth begins by telling us that Elimelech and Naomi are operating during the times when the judges ruled and when there was no king in Israel (cf. 1:1). What a breath of fresh air to watch people not do what was right in their own eyes. A large portion of the rhetorical effect of Ruth occurs through this context with the characters in Judges doing what was right in their eyes.

Or, you might note that Judges ends with Israel having no king and the disastrous results, while Ruth ends with the mention of Israel’s greatest king, David.

This raises some interesting theology. Evidently, having a king in Israel wasn’t necessary for Boaz to function like a godly man (like a law-abiding citizen in Bethlehem). Boaz leads the way for citizens obeying the law of God without the presence of a godly king.

Anyway, you might consider a time when your church would benefit from a lengthy back to back series through more than one book of the Bible. Look for other books that contain strong verbal links and keep on preaching away so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Preaching the Two Kinds of Stubbornness in Judges

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First, let me say that preaching through Judges has been one of the toughest series I’ve attempted. It has also been very rewarding for our faith-family and for me.

As I am preaching through the book of Judges, I am noticing two kinds of stubbornness. This becomes evident when you enter the Book of Deliverers (chapters 3-16). In this section God teaches us through a series of narratives involving His people’s stubborn rebellion into idolatry and His own stubborn refusal to leave them in their rebellion.

I recommend taking the first four stories of God raising up deliverers for His people as one preaching unit (vv. 3:7–4:24). In those narratives, you can:

  1. Highlight our tendency to worship idols. You may be familiar with Keller’s explanation of idolatry: “What, if you lost it, would make life not worth living….What makes us uncontrollably angry, anxious or despondent?” Someone said that our hearts are an idol factory. I prefer to think in terms of our hearts being a worship factory. We have an insatiable desire for false gods. Consider spending time explaining the connection between the sins we consistently struggle with and an idol or idols. Often, a sermon in Judges contains a first move focused on our evil idolatry, followed by God’s anger, followed by, His grace that saves.
  2. Highlight God’s stubborn, repeated rescue attempts. Throughout the Judges, God’s grace is shown through His…
  • tremendous patience with us
  • use of raw power to defeat temptation and sin (He delivers!)
  • ability to honor weak faith (like Barak’s)
  • ability to save us in a morally messy world where there are not always good options (there’s no WWJD approaches in some of these horrible scenes!)
  • provision of spiritual rest when temptation is defeated.

And, God can does all that for Believers because He disciplined His Son and broke Satan’s power. As someone said, unlike the Judges, Jesus has the ability to rip the idols out of our hearts.

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

Randal

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Evaluate Your Critical First Hour Of Study Each Monday Morning

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Last week I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon conducting a preaching workshop at Lancaster Bible College. I am also currently teaching some keen students at LBC/Capital Seminary and Graduate School in Lancaster, PA and Greenbelt, MD. My interaction confirmed that one Bible study exercise is critical: tracing the argument or flow of thought of the author.

I explained that this is how I spend my first hour of study every Monday morning. Before I try to figure out what a preaching portion means, I want to know how it means what it means. In other words, I spend the first hour show how the author makes meaning through the argument or flow of thought. I begin by asking the Lord, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law,” (Psalms 119:18) and then I dive into the text’s structure. I consider this to be the foundation for exposition.

This involves dividing the preaching portion into its smaller thought blocks, summarizing the meaning of the blocks, and writing out the logical transitions that the author uses to move from one block to the next.

(By the way, if you try this with Luke 15, you will discover that it would be impossible to end the sermon focusing on the younger brother and those prodigals which are usually encouraged to “come home.”)

It is impossible for me to overstate the importance of this first hour for understanding how meaning is made.

Below I’ve included an example of my mornings first hour.

Calvary Bible Church

May 8, 2016 AM

Judges 10:1-16

This is God’s Word.

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10 After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he lived at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried at Shamir. Post-Abimelech judge #1 is Tola. In matter of fact fashion God records, “…there arose to save Israel…” It is a subtle reminder of our plight as Christians in this world.

3 After him arose Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years. 4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities, called Havvoth-jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead. 5 And Jair died and was buried in Kamon. PA judge #2 is Jair. We learn some nice facts about him (“…30…30…30…”).

6 The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the Lord and did not serve him. In v. 6 we learn how many false gods there are to worship! Each region had their own deity. Each deity had the ability to lure God’s people away from God. As a whole God’s people took their affections away from God and they stopped serving Him.

 7 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, 8 and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 And the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed. In vv. 7-9 we read of the repeated experience of God’s people. Throughout the book of Judges we’ve seen this happen: God’s people commit idolatry, in anger God sells them into the hands of fierce enemies who oppress them, and “Israel was severely distressed.” It teaches us the devastating effect of worshiping false gods.

10 And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.” 11 And the Lord said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines? 12 The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand. 13 Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. 14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” We’ve also seen God’s people yell out to their real God to save them again and again. Like before, they make a clean confession: “We have sinned against you…” Let’s make sure we understand this confession. Why do they say they have sinned against the Lord? Where does this understanding come from? Look back at the OT…

But this time our God seems to have lost His patience! Look at vv. 11-14. He sounds very irritated with them! “Did I not save you from….I saved you….I will save you no more. God and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” Wow! We have sayings like: “You made your bed, now go lie in it.” If God sticks to His guns, then His people are doomed. The false gods have enslaved them; they cannot save them.

Has the Lord’s patience run out?!

 15 And the people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” 16 So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel. In v. 15 God’s people repeat their confession: “We have sinned…” Then they add, “do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” God’s people would rather face the judgment of God than face more oppression from their enemies.

Then, in v. 16 there is an act of genuine repentance: “So they put away the foreign gods…and served the Lord…” Repentance is a critical part of the Christian life…

Then, we learn that the Lord “became impatient over the misery of Israel.” A moment ago I mentioned that it seemed the Lord was becoming impatient with His people. Now we learn that the Lord has had enough of His people suffering at the hand of their enemies. This impatience, however, strikes the Lord after genuine repentance has taken place. If the Lord acts on His impatience over Israel’s misery, that can mean only good things for Israel!

Gospel:

Response:

This helps me see how the author presents theology for the Church. Since theology is conveyed through this narrative, I do not want to break the narrative flow in creating this sermon. Consider making this action in the first hour of study your foundation for Sunday’s exposition.

Preach well.

Randal

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Preach the Plot (part 3 of preaching through books of the Bible)

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If you ever try preaching through a long, Old Testament book of the Bible, I hope this series of posts will help. So far we’ve discussed

(1) selecting a theme to carry continuity throughout the sermon series;

(2) being prepared to go easy on the details so you can cover large portions of material.

In this post I want to remind you of how important the storyline is in a book like Judges (my current series). If you decide to preach through an  OT book that’s mostly narrative, it’s important to identify how the plot develops early on in the book. Because of the way stories work, the plot development most likely begins early in the book and is completed near the end of the book. All preaching portions in the middle somehow connect to this storyline.

For instance, the book of Judges opens with a command to go to war. Theological interpretation–how Judges functions for the Church–hinges on understanding our current battle to prevent the “Canaanization” of the Church (we could say, the Americanization of the Church: Christians adopting the thinking and practices of our culture).

God’s people have the stubborn tendency to worship idols. Someone has said that our hearts are an idol factory. I tend to think of our hearts as a worship factory–we will worship something.

However, seven times in chapter 1 we read, “…did not drive out…” Even though we learn that Israel “grew strong…” Davis described them as “a people clearly successful though certainly disobedient. Pragmatic success and spiritual failure.”

The sermon series will relate to this action of God’s people making sure they remain separate from the world (in a true, biblical sense of separation). Story after story show God’s people failing and God graciously intervening to keep them from becoming destroyed. He remains faithful to His covenant for the sake of His reputation.

So, be prepared to communicate the theology that runs through the storyline of your narrative for God’s glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

P.S. Before Sunday, if you are planning on preaching a narrative text, check to be sure you have traced the storyline.

P.P.S. The image above is a slide that shows how the big idea is found in narratives. If you want more detail on finding the big ideas in narratives and other genres, check out my book, Preaching With Accuracy.

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Bookend Theology: The Key to Handling Daniel 4:1-37 (part 7)

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I’ll get right to the point: the bookends of Daniel 4:1-3 and 34-35 lead the way to showing how a large chapter functions for the church. Those bookends anchor meaning.

Daniel 4 begins and ends with the king’s confession of the sovereignty of God. The king’s dream (vv. 4-18), Daniel’s interpretation of the dream (vv. 19-27), and God’s fulfillment of the dream (vv. 28-33) all contribute to explaining how the king got to the point of repentance and confession of the sovereignty of God.

Such a large chapter requires this kind of analysis. Unless you want to spend three or four sermons on this chapter, knowing how the parts fit together is critical.

And the bookends? Well, they show the king displaying the kind of attitude towards “the Most High” (cf. vv. 2, 34) that every true Christian displays.

In the middle is our nemesis: arrogance that thinks we’re god and God is not and all the sins that accompany such pride.

I title this message: Embracing the Humble Faith “that heaven rules”: Remaining Godly in an Ungodly World.

In his book, Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis has a chapter called, “The Great Sin.” On page 114 he wrote, “The first step [to becoming humble] is to realize that one is proud.” The king in Daniel 4 shows us how proud we are. Actually the king’s pride expresses human pride: our naive thinking that we can ascend God’s heaven and overtake His rule (cf. v. 11 “The tree grew large and became strong, and its height reached to the sky, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth”).

God graciously forced the king to recognize his pride. The bookends of the chapter show a humbled king and his stance is shared by every genuine Christian. That’s because our Savior humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Cf. Philippians 2:1ff.).

I hope this helps you see how such a long apocalyptic chapter can function for the church for His glory (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Preaching Through Daniel (part 5): Let the Rising Action Carry the Story that Carries the Theology

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Earlier I pointed out that in narratives, such as the opening chapters of Daniel, the story carries the theology. Let’s add to that: the plot or rising action carries the story that carries the theology. Here’s an example from Daniel chapter 2.

The theology is carried by a king’s dilemma: he doesn’t understand his dreams. He has limited wisdom and so do his so-called wise men (2:14, 18). Daniel, however, is confident that he is able to interpret the king’s dream because Daniel’s God possesses wisdom (v. 20), He also “gives wisdom to the wise” (v. 21), including Daniel (v. 23).

That’s all historical data provided in the narrative. But a sermon is created when we understand that Daniel represents all God’s people. Through faith in Christ–more on that in another post–all God’s people obtain wisdom. Daniel closes with: “And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above…” These wise men and women will be the ones who inhabit God’s “kingdom that shall never be destroyed” (v. 44).

This explains how the plot fits in with Daniel’s interpretation of the king’s dream (vv. 31-45). Without this move, the content of the king’s dream is disconnected from the plot. Throughout history God gives kingdoms to rulers, but one day, He will give His eternal kingdom to all the wise. Before then, however, the wise in the book of Daniel are the ones God uses to represent Him in a kingdom ruled by the ungodly. That’s us in our world.

But all of this starts by allowing the rising action of the plot to carry the story that carries the theology. Lots of sermons are created apart from the storyline. That happens when major points and/or principles are disconnected from the plot. In other words, preachers are tempted to focus on isolated data within the story rather than the story itself.

Before Sunday, if you’re preaching a narrative Text, see if the subject of your sermon matches the subject of the rising action within the plot.

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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How to Avoid “Coruscating” Communication

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Somewhere in my readings last year, I learned a new word. “Coruscating” means the fragmentation of light. It means to give forth flashes of light (as opposed to one beam).

Take another look at the image above. What happens to your eyes when you look at it? I found my eyes quickly moving to each individual light. I wasn’t focusing on any one light.

Think about this in  light of our sermons and what our sermons do to our listeners. If our sermons engage in coruscating communication, our listeners’ attention will be easily diverted to all those individual flashes of concepts or ideas. Throughout the sermon we shine a bright light on various exegetical fragments and draw listener attention there for a few minutes before moving on to the next one. We are not communicating the cohesiveness that’s built into the structure of the preaching portion.

I am entering my second week of teaching Advanced Homiletics for Lancaster Bible College’s Graduate School. Soon I will be listening to student sermons. If history repeats itself, one comment I will make repeatedly in my evaluations is:

“The sermon contained too many unconnected ideas.”

Before Sunday, check to see if you are doing the following to help your parishioners focus on God’s Word:

1. Use your outline to display conceptual unity. Check your major points to see if they communicate the unity of the passage.

2. Use the intention of the passage to display unity. Throughout the sermon, keep everyone focused on how your preaching portion functions for the Church (what listeners are to do as a result of hearing God’s Word).

3. Finally, keep everything connected to the big idea of the preaching portion so that all those individual beams of light point back to their source.

All three demand the use of clear, logical transitions, every step of the way. I suggest that you write your sermon manuscript with these transitions in mind so that your listeners always see how the ideas in the passage combine to create meaning and intention.

And all for the sake of God’s reputation in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

P.S. Preach a good sermon, will ya!?!

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Is Your Sermon Outline Doing One of These Two Things?

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If you create an outline for your sermons, check to see if they do one of these two things.

First, do the major points in your outline urge your listeners to explore the preaching portion with you? Look at what the following outlines on Luke 22:19-30 (the dispute among Jesus’ disciples concerning which one of them would be considered the greatest):

1. The status we want (v. 24)

2. The status we need (vv. 25-27)

3. The status we’ll enjoy (vv. 28-30)

Notice that the main points are worded to lead us all to discovery. What is the status we want? Well, let’s look at v. 24. What is the status we need? That’s in vv. 25-27, etc. The points are worded in such a way that the sermon is needed to flesh out the answers.

This is my favorite form of outline point: “Find the answer with me.”

Second, do your major points teach all by themselves? Those that practice writing full-sentence outline points know this approach well. Look at an outline on Luke 22:31-38 (Jesus warning Simon Peter about Satan’s attack and His dangerous mission):

1. Satan’s attack (v. 31)

2. Jesus’ protection (v. 32)

3. Our naive overconfidence (vv. 33-34)

4. Our dangerous mission (vv. 35-38)

These main points teach us a vital truth contained within those verses. I find that many outline points are too brief to teach anything. The one above is the shortest I’ve ever used that I still felt accomplished the teaching goal I was looking for. The points are worded in such a way that the sermon is needed to expand their meaning.

This is my second favorite form of outline point: “Flesh out the meaning with me.”

Before Sunday, check to see if your outline is doing either of these two things. If not, you might want to rethink your reason for using an outline. Maybe you only want to create interest or make the points easy to remember (alliteration?). Besides order, unity, and progress, make your major points serve your goal of communicating God’s Word.

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

Randal

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What Do You Do to the Bible to Create a Sermon (part 3)? Tracing the Flow of Thought

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My premise for this series is that we perform a series of operations on the Bible to create sermons. In its worst form, we may be committing malpractice through what Vanhoozer calls impository preaching. In its best form, we do things to the Bible to help communicate God’s truth in a way that facilitates worship during the teaching time.

So far we’ve briefly looked at (1) explaining the Text and (2) identifying and announcing the Text’s purpose. In this post we’re focusing on tracing the flow of the author’s thought. It’s a way of connecting the dots for our listeners.

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Our preaching portions look like this connect-the-dot picture. Or, we might say that the meaning of a preaching portion looks like this picture. Some of the connections are readily seen simply by reading the Text. However, some connections are not obvious.

Expository preachers consistently connect the dots for their listeners by displaying the flow of thought the author employs to make meaning. That’s an important realization: biblical authors make meaning through the way in which they logically convey their thoughts.

So, for instance, in Luke’s record of Jesus’ story about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 19:19-31), verses 19-21 describe two different souls in life. Verses 22-31, however, describe two different souls in the afterlife. Of course, Jesus tells this story because He doesn’t want any of us to end up like that rich man (the purpose of the parable).

The first hour or so in my study each Monday morning is devoted to tracing the flow of thought of the biblical author. I want to know how meaning is made. That discover puts me on the path of discovering what meaning is being made in the preaching portion.

Before Sunday, see if you have traced the flow of thought in your preaching portion. Identify the major thought blocks in the Text and then write out the logical transition between those thought blocks. Watch how meaning unfolds as you connect the dots.

Preaching well for the sake of God’s reputation in the Church and in the world.

Randal

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What do you do in the first hour of sermon preparation?

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One of the many pluses of attending the annual meetings of the Evangelical Homiletics Society meetings is the opportunity in between meetings to sit with excellent pastor/homileticians. One of them is Lee Eclov, author of Pastoral Graces. We were talking about the importance of answering this question: What do you do in the first hour of sermon preparation? We both felt that question revealed much about a pastor’s method.

I’ve provided a screenshot of what I do every Monday morning. I begin by getting the big picture of the preaching portion’s logic (how the author has chosen to communicate theology). In the example above, I’ve identified 10 thought-blocks that will be explored in the sermon, plus the final “gospel” section with which I close out every sermon (how Christ-crucified creates the desire and capacity for the Believer to do what God is commanding).

I believe this may be one of the most important actions of an expositor. I call it pre-exegesis, but that might not be accurate. Before doing any real study of the passage, I want to capture the logic or structure of the theology. It helps me see early on how sermon time on Sunday might be divided (will I divide the time evenly among the ten or eleven thought-blocks or give more time to some?).

While conducting a preaching workshop a few weeks ago, I realized again how often pastors begin their sermon preparation by straying from the logic of the Text. When that occurs, it’s difficult to relay God’s message from the passage. It’s not that you won’t be biblical, but, rather, you won’t be biblical enough.

I realize you’re busy, but I wouldn’t mind reading a brief summary of what you do in your first hour of study (I’m assuming that you are praying some kind of, “Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law” type prayer).

Preach well for the sake of God’s reputation in the Church/world.