Category Archives: preaching

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Edward’s Understanding Of Sin’s Power: What I’m learning from reading Jonathan Edwards’s earliest sermons

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What Sin Does To God’s Creation!

In the third sermon of Edwards recorded by Kimnach (volume 10 in The Works of Jonathan Edwards: Sermons and Discourses 1720-1723), Wicked Men’s Slavery to Sin, Edwards excels in his analysis of the devastating affects of sin. One of the things that keeps me reading Edwards is his theological depth which never drifts away from his listener’s plight.

Edwards wrote: “Query II. In what respects is a wicked man servant to sin? First Ans. The wicked man serves sin with his soul” (p. 343).

I would have said, “with his body” and possibly, “with his mind.” Edwards eventually gets to the body in his second answer, but not until creating a solid foundation.

Edwards knew, just as you do, that the effects of sin go much deeper than your physical body. He stated that,

“sin enslaves the very soul, so that he believes, wills, loves, nor thinks nothing but what sin allows of and commands.” (p. 344).

Sin is in control of it all, even though a non-Christian listener might feel in control.

Sin controls what they believe.

Sin controls what they want to do.

Sin controls what they love.

Sin controls what they think.

Edwards laments: “The eye of his reason must be open only to those things that sin allows him to see; he must keep his eyes fast shut, only when sin gives him leave to open them.” (p. 343)

And imagine, Edwards says, that all this starts from the moment we are able to use our reasoning powers (“as soon as we can speak or go” p. 345). So different from the air that we breathe that believes the human being to be inherently good.

Edwards is now in a great position to say to his listeners:

“Come, be bold and courageous, and don’t be afraid to disobey sin; if you so do, you will not be hurt for it the devil can’t hurt you for rebelling against sin.” (p. 346)

It’s possible that this week your preaching portion or sermon will contain the concept of sin. If so, may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you follow Edwards’s example of clearly stating sin’s effects.

Randal

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Developing Your Rhetorical Strategy or Extra-Exegetical Material: What I’m Learning from Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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How do you determine your next move?

One of the values of reading sermons is that you are able to learn something you can’t from a good commentary: how a pastor/theologian creates their rhetorical strategy.

Along with obvious exegetical/theological developments, sermons contain evidence of rhetorical strategy. Preachers show you how they logically move from minute to minute, major/minor point to point, or move to move.

For instance, in Edwards’s third recorded sermon in Kimnach’s volume 10 (The Works of Jonathan Edwards), Wicked Men’s Slavery To Sin (based on John 8:34), Edwards states the obvious doctrine: “Wicked men are servants and slaves to sin.” The verse says that much. But his opening move is labled:

“[Query] I. How does it appear that wicked men are servants and slaves to sin? Perhaps you may think with yourself, ‘I don’t see but that wicked men are happy, and live as free as the best men in the world.’ Or it may be you may object in your mind that you are very wicked yourself…” (p. 340)

As you can see, Edwards anticipates the response of his listeners, something Buttrick called, a contrapuntal. He expects pushback from his listeners right from the start. So before he does anything, he wants to make sure everyone knows that this verse/doctrine is reality.

You may have also noted that Edwards is acutely aware he is addressing some wicked people and this means anticipating their response.

I am more geared to filling message minutes with exegetical data, but Edwards aims at proving God’s Word to be true. He develops three proofs for this first Query, the last of which is:

“Thus, if sin requires them to steal, swear, defraud, or commit fornication, it is done; if sin command them to do that which tends to their own ruin and destruction, it is done” (p. 342)

In order to preach like this, Edwards must know what God says elsewhere in His Word about this subject matter (i.e., the ability to cross-reference in a way that develops his argument). Even before that, he has been trained to think in the direction of what I’m calling for now, extra-exegetical insights.

Before Sunday, you might explore places in your sermon where your listeners may not all be on board yet and need some coaxing.

And may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) through your efforts.

Randal

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You’ll Probably Want to Slow Down When You Get to Numbers 14: Preaching Through Numbers

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How Many of our Parishioners Would Head in That Direction?!

I suggest you slow down when you get to Numbers 14 because so much of God’s people’s reaction to the report of the spies coming back from Canaan mirrors our own faith-journey in vv. 11-19.

First, notice that the grumbling is labeled despising God. In v. 11 the Lord says, “How long will this people despise me?” I wonder how many of us equate complaining about our circumstances as despising God? Right. Probably none. That reaction is labeled unbelief in v. 11 (“how long will they not believe in me?”).

What’s frightening is the Lord’s gut reaction in v. 12: He’s had it with His people and ready to start over. Almost as frightening is the thought of trying to preach this. Have fun trying to explain how our God can be like this. It’s a great time to flex your exegetical/theological muscles and help your listeners see why God is portrayed like this in this narrative.

Thank the Lord Moses doesn’t like His idea. Moses’s reasoning is credited with moving the Lord to pardon His people (vv. 19-20 “Please pardon…I have pardoned according to your word.”). It’s a great time for everyone to hear that the Lord’s reputation is at stake in His world with respect to how His people fare (vv. 13-16).

As Moses pleads with the Lord our listeners are reminded about the promises the Lord made to them. Verse 18 may be one of the most important verses in Scripture about the character of God,

“The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

This is why the Lord does not give up on His people. According to v. 17 this is the Lord letting his power “be great as [He] promised.”

Anyone interested in a Christ-centered reading of the narrative can focus on God’s ability and method of pardoning sin (vv. 18, 19, 20).

And remember, our task is not to preach to them about the Bible, but to preach to them about them from the Bible. Or, if your prefer God-centered wording, we’re preaching to them about God and their relationship with Him from the Bible. This is not ancient history but a Word from God to us.

Anyway, I think you can see how God will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) from such a preaching event.

Randal

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Add “powerful arguments” to Your Exegesis: What I’m learning from reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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The Part We Play in Persuading our Listeners to Worship Each Sunday

Some of you may recall that my first observation about Edwards’s preaching was that his sermons lacked the kind of exegesis I was used to. I was trained and practice exegesis that is heavy on word studies. To my surprise, Edwards’s early sermons so far show little lexical work.

The second recorded sermon in Kimnach’s book is, The Value of Salvation, based on Matthew 16:26 “For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

When Edwards arrived at his Exhortation, he states an obvious implication/application: “Let us take utmost care that we don’t lose our souls” (p. 329). He then restates Matthew 16:26 and writes,

“We have now heard the most powerful arguments in the world to persuade us [to] take care of our souls [emphasis added]” (p. 329).

Edwards was right: everyone in the house had heard the most powerful arguments in the world to persuade them to take care of their souls. How did he do it?

Glancing back into the sermon I picked up on two things.

  • Edwards had a comprehensive knowledge of Scripture so he could pull together key texts that spoke to his subject matter. In this case, Edwards relied on verses that spoke of the end of all earthly things.
  • Edwards was a careful observer of life with all its realities. For instance, Edwards reminded his audience that “Worldly good things are very uncertain” (p. 314). Speaking of our best earthly loves, “How uncertain are friends and relatives; their being dear to us won’t keep them from being take from us” (p. 316). So true. The same with, “And what rich man has there ever been whom riches have made happy?” (p. 318).

Page after page exhibits this foray into the minds of his listeners. And all for the purpose of getting them to this place:

“…let us take no thought for this present any otherwise than as the means of the good of our souls…” (p. 330).

There’s still a place in sermons for dictionary definitions of key terms. But I am learning from Edwards that lots of sermon space is needed for logical, theological, philosophical arguments that urge our listeners to their proper worship response to God’s revelation. It’s almost as if Edwards were saying, “Only a fool would not value the salvation of their soul!”

May we also be so forthright with our faith-families so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

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Our Salvation Is That Good! What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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Edwards makes our salvation look so good!

The second recorded sermon recorded in Kimnach’s volume 10 of The Works of Jonathan Edwards is, The Value of Salvation. It’s based on Matthew 16:26 “…what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Of course, you’d make sure your listeners answered, “Nothing!”

And Edwards makes sure they see the “inestimable worth” of salvation (p. 322). He does this by focusing our attention on what it means to be delivered from all evil.

He writes, “There shall be nothing to interrupt the happiness of believers: there shall be no evil approach the gates of heaven” (p. 322). Edwards is teaching me that that’s not specific enough as he continues with…

“They shall be perfectly delivered from sin and temptation. The saved soul leaves all its sin with the body; when it puts off the body of the man, it puts off the body of sin with it. When the body is buried, all sin is buried forever, and though the soul shall be joined to the body again, yet sin shall never return…” (p. 323).

That is going to be a great day for anyone who is plagued by temptation in this life. The more godly your listeners, the more their ungodliness bothers them. Any of your sermons/lessons aimed at defeating temptation in this life are enhanced by thoughts of how happy the next life will be when evil is erased.

For instance, “there shall [be] no more assaults of lusts to be resisted….They shall no more be tempted by the shining vanities” (p. 323).

What a day that will be!

Edwards was a master at showing all the reasons why the salvation of the soul is of inestimable worth. And he was a master at using the rewards of the gospel to motivate his listeners to godliness.

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we follow his example.

Randal

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How Much of Your Sermon Is Original?

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I believe that but also know of other preachers who have preached this text better!

In the middle of the week I began thinking about how much of my sermon-in-the-making is the result of my own thinking. I know about the debate surrounding whether or not anyone can ever have a truly original idea. And I’m not talking about plagiarizing either.

I guess I’m asking you to think about what parts of your sermon development and delivery are your work.

Let’s begin with some thoughts about using someone else’s material:

On one side of the spectrum, think about those times when you rely on an English dictionary, thesaurus, or original language lexicons and theological dictionaries. Now go all the way to the other side of the line and think about borrowing someone else’s sermon title and structure.

In the middle I put quotes or paraphrases from our favorite authors, like Jonathan Edwards, Augustine, or William Goldman (author and screenplay writer of The Princess Bride).

So, what do I bring to the equation? Every week by the grace of God I…

  • trace the argument of my preaching portion and discover how meaning is made before I know what that meaning is.
  • determine how this text intends to elicit worship (I complete the sentence: “We worship the Lord this morning by…”).
  • know enough about my congregants to know this text is relevant.
  • create a structure that leads to the theological meaning of the text.
  • talk to my listeners about their Christian experience from the text while I write out my sermon manuscript.
  • make critical word-choices that affect how the sermon sounds (an ora-script within the manuscript).
  • smile at them to let them know I love them.
  • show them how the Christ-event makes this text come true for those who believe.

What did I miss?

May our Sunday “originals” continue to give God glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

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The Consummate Persuader: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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Three things you can do to an idea: explain it, prove it, or apply it.
John 8:34 needs a strong dose of the second one.

In Edwards’s sermon, Wicked Men’s Slavery To Sin, his title comes directly from his text, John 8:34 “…Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” Pretty straightforward.

And his first statement of doctrine is also straightforward: Wicked men are servants and slaves to sin (p. 340, Kimnach).

In my previous post I pointed out how Edwards anticipates push-back from his listeners. He instinctively knows that some will not agree with this portrayal of reality. So, Edwards goes to work convincing his audience that God’s statement is true.

What I find fascinating about Edwards’s preaching–and I feel the same when I listen to Tim Keller–is that he knows the ways of the wicked so well. For instance, he writes,

“Wicked men generally think that the way of holiness and religion is much the hardest, and theirs to be much the easiest” (p. 341).

And the wickedness inside all of us thinks the same way. Is it because of our default setting? Or because our appetite for sin is stronger than our appetite for God? Or is it because of deception? Or all of the above? It’s the kind of theological thinking Edwards is very fond of.

Edwards goes on to show that serving God is far easier than serving sin. He quotes from the NT and Jesus’s yoke being easy, for instance. Then he shows the opposite by quoting from OT wisdom literature that lists “The leech” and “Three things [that] are never satisfied” (Proverbs 30:15-16). Obviously, whatever you have is never enough (think of lust and covetousness).

The second thing Edwards says is that “Wicked men are very obedient servants to sin” (p. 342). Whatever sin requires them to do, they do it, even if it means their destruction.

This kind of argument leads to genuine pity and compassion for those that are enslaved to sin. It also leads to the desire to serve God, not sin.

I hope that as you preach and teach you will follow Edwards’s example of reasoning with your listeners so that God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus as they believe God’s reality to be true (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Why Looking At Them Really Matters

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The kind of response we’re missing these days, right?!

I’m reading Carrell’s chapter, Delivering, Not Decorating, and it’s no surprise that eye contact during sermon delivery would be mentioned.

If you’re wondering why eye contact is critical for our preaching and teaching it’s because: “Sustained eye contact communicates relationship.” (p. 148)

If you’ve studied preaching or worshiped with me, you know how I feel about the effect that relationships have on communication and pastoral ministry. It’s impossible to overestimate its importance.

One of Carrell’s respondents wrote to her:

“Some weeks it’s just too much work to try to pay attention and connect when he doesn’t even make an attempt to look up to acknowledge we’re all out here [emphasis added]” (p. 148).

Yikes!

The pulpit or positioning of preachers and teachers usually already creates some distance. We can’t afford to add to it by poor eye contact.

It’s true that visuals such as slides can hurt if constructed and used poorly. However, here are two things to consider:

(1) Know your material so well that you rarely have to look at it, except for maybe a few quotes, stats, or references. I suggest you manuscript/orascript your sermons each week and read them over a few times to absorb the essential concepts, flow, and key words. When Sunday comes you won’t need many notes at all. Trust me on that one.

(2) Remind yourself that you will be talking to them about them throughout the sermon/lesson. Limit, if not eliminate, the number of minutes you talk to them about the Bible. You should not let them stray from you for long. That means you will continue to direct your communication “at” them. Not that you’re necessarily preaching at them–remember that your relationship with them is key. But you are always engaging them and looking at some of them in the process.

Let’s do the hard work of preparation in the power of God’s Spirit so they don’t have to work so hard to pay attention. And may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Preaching As Reminding: A Guest Post From my Friend and Homiletics Colleague

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Dr. Jeffrey Arthurs is one of my favorite people. Michele and I have known Jeff since the early days of the Evangelical Homiletics Society. He is a brilliant homiletician, professor, and extremely capable preacher. Along with his professorial duties at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, he’s also a long-term interim pastor so he’s preaching every weekend. Enjoy his contribution and may our Lord continue to receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) because of our thoughts about what preachers do. Here’s Jeffrey:

“You know how pastors say the same things again and again? For example, God loves sinners; we are a family; and Jesus is coming back? In my 2017 book, Preaching As Reminding (IVP), I argue that this is not only inevitable for expository preachers, it is also beneficial for the listeners. Why? Because we need reminders. We forget. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it! C. S. Lewis put it this way:

We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief [in Christian doctrine] nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed. And as a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?

Mere Christianity, 123-124.

So, preachers take their stance not only as teachers of new concepts, persuaders, and exhorters, but also as “the Lord’s remembrancers” That is a phrase from the court of Great Britain—the Queen’s (or King’s) remembrancer was a record keeper of official business who reminded noblemen of their duties. We are the “Lord’s remembrancers” who remind believers of God’s great covenant of grace and our duties to love and fear him in return.

So, the next time your text gives you a well-trodden truth, don’t be afraid to tell the old, old story one more time. Let fidelity, not novelty, be your motto.

 

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More Theology, Less Exegesis: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’ Sermons

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A few weeks ago I began this series of posts on my rhetorical analysis of Jonathan Edwards’s early sermon. I want to continue this series with a look at two general foci that directed Edwards’s research and writing: theology and expression (the latter meaning expressing theology through language).

In his, Note to the Reader, Kimnach writes, “After theology, Edwards thought most about expression” (p. xiii).

This is insightful for most of us who preach and teach Scripture.

First, I am assuming that most everyone reading this blog has been trained in exegetical practices (such as the well-known historical, grammatical, literary method). That means that most of us think more about exegesis than we do theology.

I am well aware of the interrelationship between the two, between exegesis and theology. After almost thirty years of teaching preaching to all levels of students, I am also well aware of an overemphasis on exegetical analysis in expository sermons. The results are sermons that are exegetically heavy and theologically light.

Lord willing, next time I will flesh this out a bit more with examples from Edwards. For now, let me ask you to think about whether or not you think about theology this week as you prepare to preach and teach God’s Word. Are you moving beyond exegesis to theology? Asking that question forces us to become clearer in our understanding of what theology is.

Second, It is clear from reading Edwards’s early sermons that he spent much time thinking about how to express the theology contained in his selected passages of Scripture. He was a master of the English language of his day. He mastered language in order to get a response from his hearers.

Of course that meant for Edwards and means for us that we save sermon preparation time for crafting the message. This means being “done with” exegesis (see, I couldn’t help myself!)–I mean, theology–and devoting hours to thinking about the best way to use language to be used by the Holy Spirit to move people into an act of worship.

Before Sunday, devote sermon prep time to thinking about the theology of your passage and the best way to communicate it.

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

Randal