Category Archives: pastoral preaching

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One Goal of Sermon Application: What I’m Learning from Reading Jonathan Edwards’ Earliest Sermons

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“And in a word, the Application will be found to be the Best part of the Sermon.” (J.E.)

When you read Edwards’s sermons, you soon realize that sermon application can also be called “Improvement or Use” (p. 38, Kimnach). It took me a while to get use to “improving” on a doctrine, but now I get what Edwards is trying to do.

Kimnach describes the approach:

“Application is concerning with experience and practice.” (p. 39)

Most of us think of sermon application in terms of transformation of attitude or action dictated by the Scriptures. But Kimnach writes,

“But as employed by Edwards, the Application also has a subtler use, as is indicated by his own statement in this transitional passage between Doctrine and Application of Gen. 19:14.

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

So how does Edwards do that? Here’s an example from the sermon, God’s Excellencies:

APPLICATION.

We are now come to make some improvement of this glorious truth….

How dreadful must his wrath be! If God [is] infinitely great and powerful, how terrible must his wrath and anger be; what a miserable creature–how inexpressibly miserable–must a poor, weak, sinner be in the hands of an angry and enraged God, who can shake the whole earth in pieces in a moment, and can annihilate the whole universe in the twinkling of an eye. (p. 426, emphasis added)

All of this is built off from the doctrine of the excellency of God. The logic is that sin against such an excellent Being must be extremely dreadful.

Edwards improves the doctrine by moving from the truth to an implication of that truth, an implication that his hearers must experience as real.

One more example:

“O what is a worm, to bear the weight of the anger of so great a being?” (p. 427)

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we explain the Doctrine and then spend time on its Improvement, doing our best to help our listeners experience it as real.

Randal

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Why You Should Consider Preaching/Teaching Through Entire Books of the Bible

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I wonder if this is the way our congregants read their Bibles?

Last week I posted my final reading of the book of Numbers and today I wanted to review why I am such a fan of preaching through books of the Bible in church.

When I am asked in class why I preach through books of the Bible in church, my first answer is:

“Because preaching through books of the Bible helps our listeners see the meaning of every preaching portion within the broader context of the book.”

But let me back up for a moment and answer the question from my experience of 30 years of preaching through books of the Bible. If I counted correctly, so far the Lord has graciously allowed me to preach through 16 complete books of the Old Testament and 17 complete books of the New Testament.

[I am praying hard that Jesus will return before I have to preach either Ezekiel or Job!]

Why preach through books of the Bible?

First, the practice of preaching through books of the Bible like the book of Numbers, for instance on display in recent posts, has increased my faith in the relevance of Scripture. I can’t tell you the number of weeks when I know what section awaits me and think: “I have no idea what I am going to do to that text so it will preach.”

Second, the practice of preaching through books of the Bible has forced me to become a better student of the Scriptures. Similar to the reaction above, some sections of some books, especially OT ones, are extremely difficult to preach. That’s because they are difficult to interpret so they function for the church. Preaching through books of the Bible in both Testaments Sunday after Sunday has made me better at doing theological interpretation like no other exercise can.

Third, the practice of preaching through books of the Bible gives me the awesome privilege of being a reading guide for our faith-family. Let me connect this to my first answer above.

One huge problem I see in topical preaching is that it teaches parishioners to read their Bible wrongly. They learn to read the Bible as if it contains isolated, contextless, fragments of meaning that are designed to be applied to life that way.

In addition to that, what an honor to attempt to help them understand what God is saying in some sections of Scripture that they would never stop and consider on their own [you know, those sections that we all speed-read to get through our daily Bible reading?].

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you guide the Bible reading of your own faith-families.

Randal

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Two Implications of “God’s Excellencies”: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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“For who in haven can be compared unto the Lord…” (Psalm 89:6)

One of the benefits of reading Jonathan Edwards’s early sermons is the opportunity to learn from his way of thinking.

Here are two quotes from his sermon, God’s Excellencies, based on Psalm 89:6. Notice that these are two implications of God’s perfection.

“[God] has made all things that are excellent, and therefore must have given them their excellency, and so must have all that excellency in himself, or else could not have given it. He must have all the glories, perfections, and beauties of the whole creation in himself in an infinite degree, for they all proceed from him, as beams do from the sun…” (p. 420, Kimnach).

Think of everything we admire in this created world and then think about our God who created them! It’s impossible not to praise Him.

Then, something that’s not so much fun to think about, but critical for walking with God:

“If he be such an excellent being, how dreadful is sin against [him]. There are very few that conceived what a dreadful thing it is to sin against the infinitely excellent, great, and glorious Jehovah. The aggravations of sin are really infinite, infinite in greatness and almost infinite in number, for it is committed against an infinitely great and powerful God…” (p. 426)

Think of all our temptations and spiritual struggles and tell me if this kind of thinking doesn’t keep us tethered to faithfulness!

So, it never fails: whenever I read Edwards I am caught up into his most excellent mind. And what’s refreshing to me is that all that brilliance is organically connected to soul-watching, a most practical theology indeed.

May Edwards spur you on to preach and teach well this week so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Could You Still Preach Your Sermon If…?

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Would it matter to your sermon if no one was listening?

One of my mentors, the late, Dr. Haddon Robinson, taught me about the difference between preaching and lecturing. He put it this way:

“We don’t talk to our listeners about the Bible; we talk to them about them from the Bible.”

My wife, Michele, recently had an opportunity to listen to another preacher from a local church. I don’t blame her. To quote my mentor again, she’s heard enough poor sermons in her lifetime–bless her heart–it’s no wonder she’s still a Christian. [I’ve preached over 2,000 sermons and she’s heard most of them!]

So, I asked her the question that ranks second in my order of importance:

“Was the preacher talking to you about the Bible or talking to you about you from the Bible?”

Without hesitation she replied: “The first one.”

The first scenario, the lecturer’s stance, does not require listeners. Take a look at last week’s sermon or what you have developed so far this week and ask yourself whether or not the way it sounds requires listeners.

Michele followed that up with this insight:

“But if you believe your assignment is to teach the people [insert a book of the Bible or theological concept], then it makes sense to preach like that.”

But if our responsibility is to watch over souls (Hebrews 13:17), then we approach the sermon differently. We talk to them about them from the Bible because we are shepherding them in the moment, urging them to worship our Lord during the teaching.

As you continue to prepare for this weekend’s assignment, as yourself whether you are taking the lecturer’s stance or the preacher’s.

While I am convinced our Lord can receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) either way, I am also convinced you and I are being more responsible soul-watchers to the degree that we continue to talk to them about them from the Bible.

Randal

P.S. By the way, in case you’re interested, the first question of importance is, “Did the preacher preach with accuracy, faithfully saying what God is saying?”

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Original Exegesis Required: What I’m Learning From Co-Authoring A Commentary on the Book of Genesis

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Nothing Beats The Results Of Your Own Exegesis

Thanks to Dr. John Soden’s kind offer, for the past year or so we’ve been working together on Kregel Publishing’s soon to be released, Kerux Commentary series, designed especially for preachers. Kerux features a tag-team approach to writing that links an Old or New Testament biblical scholar with a homiletician (preaching scholar/practitioner).

John is a fine Old Testament professor at Lancaster Bible College|Capital Seminary & Graduate School. He has the lion’s share of the work: presenting his exegesis and theological findings for each section. I contribute the Homiletical Author section that helps preachers navigate the journey from text to sermon.

A couple of months ago while writing my HA section it hit me:

I am struggling to move from John’s excellent analysis to the homiletical material because he’s done the spade-work, not me.

I realized that this was the first time in my life I was using someone’s else’s material to prepare a sermon.

To his credit, John is one of those rare exegetes that consistently moves from exegetical findings to theological expressions that are preacher-friendly. That means that he has made my job very easy.

Except for one thing…

In my shepherding ministry in the local church, the Lord has given me the responsibility of doing original study in the text and presenting my findings to my listeners. It’s not that I don’t use commentaries and other sources; it’s just that those supplement my own exegesis and theological and homiletical thinking.

God has gifted me and you to do this.

God intends to guide our exegetical/theological/homiletical process.

God holds us accountable for preaching and teaching truth.

And maybe most important…

God wants to speak to you and me directly during the whole process so we respond in the study before we ask others to do so in the sermon.

May you be encouraged tomorrow (or Tuesday?) as you begin your own original sermon preparation. Lord willing, in the foreseeable future I will write about my Monday morning routine. In the meantime, may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as work your own method.

Randal

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Preaching “the Lord’s vengeance”: Preaching Through Numbers

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God says, “Trust Me. Leave the vengeance to Me!”

When you decide to preach through Numbers, your listeners will learn a great deal of theology.

For instance, when you arrive at Numbers 31:1-54 you encounter a huge narrative that I titled:

“He will bring us into this land”: And That Includes One Day Avenging His People

God’s final assignment for Moses is in v. 2 “Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”) In v. 3 Moses says to the people that they are “to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian (emphasis added).”

Verses 1-6 help us come to grips with “the Lord’s vengeance.” As I’ve reminded our faith-family several times over the years, non-Christians will not tolerate a God of judgment. These narratives, like many in the Old Testament, force God’s people to consider the ramifications of God’s holiness–His judgment on all who oppose Him.

Verses 13-20 describe what’s at stake and provides a reason for such commands of God. Verse 16 says, “Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Poor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord.”

If there is any way we can understand these actions, we must at least attempt to explain how devastating it is to the Lord for His people to act treacherously against Him. All of this is the stuff of robust theologian/pastors.

Finally, verses 7-12 and 21-54 provide an opportunity to place ourselves in the camp of God’s people and relish in our resounding victory. Over and over again God defeats His enemies, including the final battle.

If someone were to ask about the relevance of all this I might talk about things like:

  1. Even though God’s people don’t carry out this instruction to Moses, God will one day, once again, judge all those who oppose Him.
  2. That should encourage us since God’s people have always faced the same thing our Lord faced when He was on earth. The world hated Him, remember (think John 17 stuff).
  3. This kind of God–our God–should scare us to death. We’ve seen throughout Numbers how God judged His own people. It’s no wonder a NT writer talked about judgment beginning in God’s house. I continue to define the fear of the Lord in the OT as our glad submission to the God who is not safe.

May you continue to mine the theological depths of Numbers and He will continue to receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Preaching the Goodness of God: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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Edwards says, “If you find God…you will find all good.”

In Kimnach’s volume 10, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, he includes, “Fragment: On Seeking” (p. 377). It contains a helpful theological insight on the character of God.

The second thing he lists when considering what a person finds when they find God is:

“beside [finding a Savior, and an everlasting sure defense from all evil] you will find all good; you will not only be freed from all evil, but be brought to the possession of all good” (p. 383).

As I’ve noted before in Edwards’s writings, he often motivates from a positive perspective. The negative side of things, we’re all too familiar with and often use in our preaching and teaching. It’s the positive that Edwards continues to teach me.

For instance, as I urge myself and my faith-family to fight hard against temptation, it’s good to remind ourselves that temptation is strong because what it offers sounds so good.

How good it is to know that having God means having all that is ultimately good! Edwards calls this kind of good: “real, solid good” (p. 383).

Then, Edwards describes God as the Source of all good:

“God is an infinite, self-sufficient, all-sufficient, essential, overflowing good: he is the source of all good.” (p. 383)

I found it interesting that Edwards combined familiar attributes with God to define His goodness.

I am picking up from Edwards that the more I can help people realize just how good God is, the more they are apt to trust Him and not trust other charlatan peddlers of good.

So, as you head into Holy Week, may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we remind our listeners that finding God, they have not only been freed from all evil, but brought into the possession of all good. What more could we ask for?!

Randal

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Preaching “God’s Excellencies”: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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Psalm 89:6 “For who in the heaven can be compared not the Lord…?”

I don’t read Edwards’s sermons because of his exegesis. I read him because of his theology. And the depth of his thinking. And his ability to relate theology to his hearers.

But back to his theology.

In his sermon, God’s Excellencies, Edwards’s theological thinking takes center stage.

First, Edwards spends minutes on how God is infinitely greater than all His creatures. In the middle of many, “…he is’s” he writes,

“he is infinitely happy and he will be infinitely happy.” (p. 419)

Edwards links this to God’s ability to do what he pleases. That includes, of course, that

“Poor nothing creature(s) can do nothing towards controlling of [Him]; they, with all their power conjoined…can’t deprive Jehovah of any of these things….as he was…so he is now and so he will be…happiness uninterrupted…” (p. 419)

And the heart of the discussion about God’s excellencies occurs in the sermon in his third point where Edwards reasons from God creating all excellent things:

“he has made all things that are excellent, and therefore must have given them their excellency, and so must have all that excellency in himself, or else could not have given it.” (p. 420)

Edwards tells his listeners to look at everything that is considered beautiful in creation and it finds its origin in the excellencies of God.

And Edwards understands that he is just scratching the surface in his attempt to capture God’s excellencies:

“All that we can say is but clouds and darkness to the reality….[and all preachers will love this next part] How much too little is the space of one sermon…” (p. 424)

For sure. But with what little space we have on a given Sunday morning, whenever we preach about God, Edwards’s keen insights will help us continue our privileged work so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

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Practical Theology Indeed! What I’m Learning from Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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“…we are not made for an earthly happiness” (J. Edwards)
Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash

I am reading Jonathan Edwards’s earliest sermons so I can hear someone else preach to me. He is also the consummate pastor-theologian so he’s a great role model for me in that area. He has the God-given ability to analyze Scripture to death while still remaining intensely practical for his 18th century New England congregants.

There. That should be enough rationale for why I choose to read Edwards.

The quote underneath the picture is from Edwards’s sermon, Nakedness of Job. His application falls under the heading, Improvement. I. Use of Infor….Second.

“Hence we learn that we are not made for an earthly happiness. God certainly never made man for that sort of happiness which he cannot hold; he was never made for that happiness which, almost as soon as enjoyed, flies from us and leaves us disappointed.”

And I would add, “…or grieving.”

Think about your preaching and teaching and look at how often such insight comes into play. Think about all the times when we are urging our listeners to love God supremely on the one hand, or warning them about certain temptations on the other hand. In either case the reminder that God did not make us for earthly happiness alone, apart from being happy in Him, can be extremely helpful.

As we move through Scripture, we and our listeners need constant reminders that the things that make us happy on earth are not ultimate things. Exceptions might be serving and worshiping God including all kinds of disciple-making.

This is great incentive for me not to hold too tightly to the things that bring me great joy on earth.

As you share this kind of practical theology with your listeners, may God receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

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Preaching Reality: What I’m Learning from Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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Read to Sharpen Your Theological Thinking
and Add Depth to Your Preaching

Every so often these blog posts dip back into the early preaching of Jonathan Edwards. My purpose for reading Edwards is twofold:

(1) Rarely do I get to have someone preach to me and I benefit from hearing God’s Word from the outside.

(2) Rarely am I disappointed by the depth of Edwards’s theological thinking that always lands at detailed application.

Today’s insights come from Edwards’s sermon, The Nakedness of God, from Job 1:21.

In the introduction to the sermon, Kimnach writes,

“…an even more urgent matter for him here and in later sermons is the…issue of human reality….the problem for men is not one of coming to terms with truth, but rather with reality” (p. 400).

In the sermon Edwards states,

“All the world knows the truth of this doctrine perfectly well [that when a person dies they lose all earthly treasures], but though they know, yet it don’t seem at all real to them; for certainly, if it seemed a real thing to them that, in a little time, they must certainly have no more to do with the world, they would act wholly otherwise than they do [emphasis added]” (p. 406).

The difference is subtle–the difference between talking truth and talking reality. But I find that it is a helpful distinction. My experience is that listeners have to think differently about accepting truth versus accepting reality.

Tomorrow as you begin praying and prepping for preaching, remember Edwards’s observation: your listeners probably believe the doctrine is true. Challenge them with respect to whether they think God’s Word is real. And, of course, we work hard all week with God’s help to develop a sermon that urges them to act as if they believe God’s Word to be real.

And may our Lord continue to receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).