Category Archives: sermon development

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Preaching the Theology in Judges’ Civil War

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In these posts I am trying to provide strategies for preaching difficult narratives found in the book of Judges. What makes them difficult, you might ask? Well, they’re long Old Testament Narratives. But, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know you can trust the genre. That could be your New Year’s resolution:

In 2017 I will trust the genre.

Trusting the genre in Judges 20:1–21:25 means identifying the major rise in the story’s action. The tribes of Israel send men through all the tribe of Benjamin saying: “…give up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israel” (v. 13a).

You may recall that the worthless fellows performed Sodom-like sins in the previous chapter.

When Benjamin refuses, the civil war begins. The narrative takes it time to describe how the civil war unfolded and how the “good guys” suffered multiple defeats before the victory.

Don’t allow yourself to get bogged down in all the detail. The theology is conveyed by the narrative structure, but not in all the detail. Allow the broad strokes of the narrative to preach to the church:

There is a tragic, but necessary kind of unity as God’s people combine to discipline their brothers (20:1, 8, 11).

There is also a tragic, but necessary kind of discipline (20:12-13, 18, 23, 26-28, 35). When God’s people decide to remain in sin, God instructs His non-sinning-at-the-moment people to act on His behalf. You can make canonical connections to God’s judgment on sinners (such as Matt. 11:20-24 or Romans 1:24, 26, 28) and also to God’s judgment on professing Christians who refuse to stop sinning (such as in 1 Corinthians 5 and Matt. 18).

A welcomed, yet messy expression of compassion occurs in 21:1-23a. The judgment on their brothers did not create ongoing animosity.

Finally, there is hope for future spiritual success in 21:23b-25 when rebuilding takes place and things almost seem to be normal again. The emphasis on “inheritance” points to future spiritual success that we enjoy in Christ.

This section is one of the best places to teach the church about the holiness of God and the need for discipline.

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

Randal

P.S. If you are interested in how Judges is put together, you might like to know that the book is ending where it began. It begins and ends with Israel asking God, “Who will go up” to fight against____? The problem is the first question addresses going up against God’s enemies. By the end of the book the question addresses going up against their own people! An entire tribe has morphed into the morality of the culture.

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How Daniel’s Mission Becomes Our Mission in the World (part 9 of preaching through Daniel)

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One of the most neglected, yet important, facets of the theology of Daniel is how his personal mission in Babylon informs the Church’s mission in the world. One value of preaching through Daniel is that your congregants who work for a living gain insights into their mission.

In Daniel 6:2 we learn Daniel’s job description: “…so that the king might suffer no loss.” That was Daniel’s job as one of the king’s “three high officials.” Verse 3 records that Daniel surpassed them all.

Imagine Daniel reasoning this way: “The king is ungodly, therefore I cannot put my heart into making sure he suffers no loss.” Lots of Christian people feel this kind of tension. I’m not sure I’ve ever met a Christian who said, “My mission for God in this world is to make sure my boss succeeds.” I’ve met tons who said, “My mission for God in this world is the share the gospel.”

Caveat: I am all for evangelism. God, however, was interested in us seeing another kind of evangelism. Let’s call it, evangelism by excellence.

In his commentary, Duguid writes, “[Daniel] had now served the empire faithfully for almost 70 years….Daniel’s life was…completely free from corruption and negligence.” What a great testimony! Imagine helping your parishioners catch a vision for surviving their exile as strangers and aliens by serving the earthly empire in which they find themselves. It’s quite a mission. When the king stated Daniel’s mission, he put it like this: “O Daniel, servant of the living God…whom you serve continually…” I thought Daniel was serving the king?

Of course, Paul wrote, “…all that will live godly…suffer persecution.” In Daniel’s case, he the whole lion’s den scenario didn’t occur because he verbally defended truth. He was about to suffer because he lived a godly life. The whole narrative is about persecution: the persecution we should expect (vv. 1-9, 14-18), the reaction we should exhibit (vv. 10-13) and the power God has to deliver us (vv. 19-28).

While we can’t promise our folks that God will always deliver us from death, we know He will ultimately deliver us through death because His Son, our Savior, didn’t fare so well as Daniel. At least not at first. The lion devoured our Savior, but God raised Him from the den! Those who trust Him embrace their mission.

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

Randal

 

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Is Your Preaching Getting Better?

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A while ago the following sentence caught my eye. It’s from Pandora’s bio on the singing group, Hot Chocolate:

“An interracial English funk and soul group, Hot Chocolate scored a pair of huge hits in the 70’s but were otherwise more enthusiastic than skilled.”

Ouch!

This immediately made me think of what someone could say about me or any other preaching pastor.

I recognize that skill levels vary with individuals. It’s that way with athletes. There is LeBron James and there are other basketball players (older blog readers insert Michael Jordan). And it’s that way with preachers. I’m no Tony Evans or Tim Keller.

This week I begin teaching Advanced Homiletics to a class at LBC’s northern Virginia campus. I’m also in the middle of working with a Baltimore pastor in an independent study in Communicating Biblical Truth. So, I’m thinking a lot these days about how to teach hermeneutical and homiletical skills. As always, it forces me to think about how I’m doing. How skillful am I at…

  • fighting the good fight of faith? At fighting temptation? At displaying the fruit of the Spirit?
  • interpreting how Scripture functions for the Church? At theological exegesis? At understanding the human heart?
  • communicating God’s Word in church? At speaking, pace, movement, energy, urgency? At relating to the learners?

Take a look at those three broad categories. What does it take to become more skillful in these areas. It takes intentional, intense prayer. It takes purposeful reading. It takes consistent pastoral interaction (loving and listening).

God help us preach better so that He gets glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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

 

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How to Sweeten Your Sermons with a Little C.R.E.A.M. (Part 4 alliteration)

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C.R.E.A.M. stands for contrast, rhyme, echo, alliteration, and metaphor. From a human perspective, they represent five ways preachers create words and phrases that are pleasing to the ears of those that have ears to hear. You’re working hard with the Spirit to understand your preaching portion. You’re also working hard with the Spirit to best communicate that meaning. Lord willing, your words will work and worship will occur.

When done subtly, alliteration can help you communicate God’s Word effectively. Alliteration is using the same letter repeatedly. Most preachers are familiar with alliteration as an outlining tool. It can also be used in a sermon manuscript to help listeners hear God’s Word and respond.

So, before Sunday, look at the sermon manuscript you’re building. See if there are strategic places where alliteration could help communication take place. Check your sermon title. How about your main idea? What about in the application?

Classmates have used alliteration effectively. David Deters preached Mark 4:35-41 and talked about Jesus, “the nobody from Nazareth.” Or, in his sermon, Ken Carozza described someone having been “numbed with novocain.”

If you’re so inclined to work with C.R.E.A.M., a thesaurus will help you immensely. It’s especially helpful when creating phrases that use alliteration.

If you read part 1 of this series, then you heard me talk about how paying attention to style (word-choice) was not a strong suit of mine. I have to work at it, but I’m still average at best.

It is my desire to effectively communicate in the power of the Spirit. I am vexed at times not knowing for sure whether working with words crosses the line into human-wisdom territory. That might be a great assignment for my next class (Does working with words violate Paul’s model not preaching with human wisdom? Defend your answer.). Not you, though, because you’ve got a sermon to prepare (*smile*).

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

Randal

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How to Sweeten Your Sermon with a Little C.R.E.A.M. (Part 2 Rhyme)

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One of the ways I work with words during sermon development is by implementing C.R.E.A.M. The letters stand for contrast, rhyme, echo, alliteration, and metaphor.

These five approaches can be applied to the sermon in two ways.

First, you can sprinkle phrases built from these approaches in strategic places throughout a sermon. Work with the key words in your sermon.

Second, you can create a quotable quote surrounding your major theme. If you have that one point that you want to state and restate, that’s a good place to apply C.R.E.A.M.

In both cases and places, listeners’ ears will pick up on these well-crafted phrases and statements.

Last week we began with “C” for contrast. This week it’s the “R” for rhyme.

Before Sunday, see if there are any strategic words with which you can rhyme.

Just this week I responded to an email with: “Christians often experience bouts of doubts.” I could have said it differently, but I felt bouts of doubts sounded better than periods of doubts.

In Romans 8 Paul lists the entities that are groaning as they wait for final redemption. So, in a sermon I went with a synonym to create “a choir of sighers.”

I just watched a creative YouTube ad for Bertolini Sanctuary Seating entitled: Pastor Piper in Great Preaching…Gone Bad. The ad ended with: “The mind can only absorb what the seat can endure.”

While I don’t spend a lot of time on this kind of packaging, I do try to be aware of how the Spirit of God might use my words to help those who have ears to hear hear even better.

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

Randal

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Add Another Facet of Saving Faith

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Throughout the Gospels and, also other Old and New Testament narrative sections, look for phrases that add to your congregants’ understanding of saving faith. These phrases provide an opportunity to explore what saving faith is and what it does. Like a cut diamond, saving faith and genuine Christianity contain many facets.

For instance, in Luke 20:27-40 Sadducees approach Jesus to ask Him about what life is like “in the resurrection” (a concept they don’t believe in). In the middle of Jesus’ answer, He states, “but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead…” (v. 35).

That phrase is one way to describe a genuine Believer or follower of Christ. This is what genuine saving faith creates: a person who is “considered worthy to attain to that age…” Saving faith takes people “of this age” (v. 34) and transforms them into those “considered worthy to attain to that age…”

It is tempting to spend the majority of sermon time on Jesus’ cryptic description of life in the resurrection. It demands much attention because any exposition has to come to grips with the revelation Jesus provides in vv. 35-36. Jesus corrects the Sadducees’ understanding. He wants them to know that “the dead are raised” (v. 37) and that God is “not the God of the dead, but of the living…” (v. 38).

Leave room, though, to answer the question Jesus doesn’t answer: How does a person become “considered worthy to attain to…the resurrection from the dead…”? That question inevitably delves into what saving faith is and does.

Before Sunday, see if your preaching portion contains any phrases that explain a facet of genuine faith and Christianity. Over time, the cumulative effect of this kind of exegesis will help limit the number of surprises at the Judgment.

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

Randal

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Keeping Your Sermon Balanced

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One difficult task we face each week is making sure our sermon does not get out of balance. That happens when we spend more time on an idea in the preaching portion than the preaching portion demands.

For instance, in Luke 20:19-26 we read Jesus’ response to a question posed by insincere religious leaders. Their question was, “Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?”

After asking to see a coin and showing them Caesar’s inscription, Jesus gives His famous instruction: “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Okay, which part of Jesus’ instruction do you think gets the most emphasis in a sermon? Which part of Jesus’ instruction do you think your congregants give the most attention to? Right, the give to Caesar part.

However, you know which one Jesus was emphasizing, especially in light of who He was talking to. The insincere religious leaders were not giving God what was God’s. I want to make sure our faith-family is giving to God the things that belong to Him. I want to make sure my sermon isn’t out of balance by focusing too much, for too long, on the Caesar part.

Before Sunday, see if your preaching portion has places that tempt you to lose your balance, to spend too much space/time on a minor matter. Be sure you spend sufficient time on the more important concepts.

There are exceptions. It’s possible that your congregants may need more help with the minor matter because of their spiritual condition (think about a politically conservative congregation struggling to give proper honor to elected officials of another party). It’s also possible that the time of year or the current circumstances might call for an out of balanced approach (think about Jesus’ teaching during a major election, for instance).

Preach well for God’s glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Ask Penetrating Questions Demanded By The Text (part 10 of what preachers do to the Bible to create sermons)

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One of the things that effective preachers do is ask penetrating questions. Studies have shown that one element that contributes to a sermon’s effectiveness is the number of questions asked. But the questions have to be good ones. They have to be questions that get to the heart of interpretation and application.

Over the years I’ve been trying to be on the lookout for those places in preaching portions that demand me to ask a question. Take, for instance, Luke 14:26 where Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”

This statement screams at us to ask: “Why does being Jesus’ disciple demand the rejection of our closest earthly ties?” I argue that it is nearly impossible to teach this section well without raising and answering that question. Jesus doesn’t tell us why in the section (three other examples are given in the section). It’s one of those unasked questions that I’ve written about in an earlier post. I don’t think it’s a matter of exegesis; more a matter of theological thinking (again, something I’ve written about earlier).

Also, I think you’re further ahead if you ask your congregants such a question and ask it in a way that shows them you want them to answer. You might not actually want them to verbalize their answer, but you should ask the question in a way that shows you’re serious about the dialogue. Asking questions is a great way to…

  • interact with your listeners, more so than simply stating answers.
  • keep them thinking along with you throughout the teaching time.

Before Sunday, see if your preaching portion demands that you ask penetrating questions. See if it adds effectiveness to your communication.

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

Randal

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Anticipate Push Back (part 8 of What We Do to the Bible to Create Sermons)

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Our preaching portions routinely contain truth that causes an allergic reaction in some of our listeners. So preachers will spend some time during sermon preparation anticipating push back. During delivery of the sermon we will actually talk to our listeners who have this reaction.

For instance, in Luke 13:34 Jesus says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

Jesus is describing how He feels when we don’t let Him save/sanctify us. But, it’s extremely difficult for us to think that we are as bad as the inhabitants of Jerusalem. In order for this teaching to have full impact, it’s important to anticipate and address this push back: “Surely, we’re not as evil as those people were!”

Another example of the same concept is in Luke 19:14 “But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.'” It’s tough to think that such an extreme emotion is a part of our carnality. Our blatant disobedience and, seemingly less offensive, delayed obedience is equal to the hatred that ultimately crucified our Savior.

If you read Buttrick’s massive, Homiletic, he refers to this as a contrapuntal. It describes those minutes in the sermon when we talk to our listeners about their disagreement with what God is saying. He argues that if we do not address the possible push back, those listeners stop listening. Talking to them about their thoughts is one way to keep them listening to God’s Word.

Before Sunday, see if you can anticipate potential push back that will occur as your congregants hear God’s Word.

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

Randal

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Communicating Through Contrasts: Part 6 of What We Do to the Bible to Create Sermons

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This series of posts explores what preachers do to the Bible to create sermons. It’s my attempt to expand my own understanding of rhetorical analysis (what preachers do during the sermon to affect those that have ears to hear). If you read the initial post in this series you may recall my confession that this area is probably the weakest area of my teaching. So, I’m committed this year to getting better at helping preachers craft the guts of the sermon.

One thing preachers do is explain through the use of contrast. (You can see the overlap with the first blog post in the series: preachers explain Scripture). Take for instance, 2 Timothy 2:23 “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies…” After spending a minute making sure everyone’s clear on “have nothing to do with…”, try spending another minute or so talking about the opposite approach.

God knew that it would be very tempting for pastors to have a lot to do with these kinds of destructive conversations. God knew that our flesh would want to engage, that our sense of mission would push us to jump in. The next verses will teach us an appropriate response, but for a moment it’s important to note that we are being baited by our flesh, by our sense of mission, and by our opponent (see v. 25’s description, “correcting his opponents…”). So, it’s possible that, with good motives, we jump into the destructive debate and violate God’s will.

Before Sunday, see if segments of your preaching portion can be explored through contrasting or opposite attitudes or actions.

Preach well for the sake of God’s reputation.

Randal