Category Archives: soul-watching

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The One Sermon We Should Preach To Ourselves Every Day

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Or, at least, I think I’m preaching to the choir about preaching the Gospel to ourselves.

Two things contributed to this post about preaching the Gospel to ourselves.

First, after taking a 4-plus year writing rest due to research for a Ph.D. degree, I am back to putting some finishing touches on a writing project that is several years in the making. The working title is,

Preacher as Soul-Watcher: Why You and Your Parishioners Need Your Sermons.

One key Scripture that presents a theology of preaching in the local church is 1 Timothy 4:16 which instructs us:

Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (emphasis added)

Second, a couple of times within the past two weeks I have quoted Jerry Bridges who taught that we should preach the gospel to ourselves every day. I recently learned that Bridges was quoting former professor, Dr. Jack Miller.

Bridges had a profound influence on pastor Milton Vincent who wrote a little paperback, A Gospel Primer for Christians: Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love.

Milton writes:

“Over the course of time, preaching the gospel to myself every day has made more of a difference in my life than any other discipline I have ever practiced.” (p. 6, where he also cites Bridges’ book, The Discipline of Grace, as the source of the concept)

That’s saying something.

In part 1 of the book, Vincent lists 31 reasons why we should preach the Gospel to ourselves every day. Thirty-one!

How about #9 for a sample:

9. Resting in Christ’s Righteousness

“On my worsts days of sin and failure, the gospel encourages me with God’s unrelenting grace toward me. On my best days of victory and usefulness, the gospel keeps me relating to God solely on the basis of Jesus’ righteousness and not mine.” (p. 20)

I’m thinking we can relate to both, can’t we?

One way we can keep a close watch on ourselves is to preach the Gospel to ourselves every day. I have no doubt that that spiritual discipline will help ensure that our Lord receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Me and God in the Study

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Thinking about what I actually bring to the equation for a given Sunday Sermon

This weekend I am thinking about what I actually bring to the equation with respect to sermon development. I had the privilege to preach Luke 14:25-35 this morning where Jesus explains the high cost of following Him.

Sometimes I feel that I contribute very little except for the ability to read the best material that other scholars have provided. It is an important part of preaching, but I thought we might give this some thought.

First, is this feeling true? To what degree do I add original material to my sermons? Second, if it were true, is that okay?

So, first, it is not true. Each week I select my preaching portion, trace the argument of that Scripture, and begin my analysis without consulting any of the best exegetes and theologians I can access. Being able to read Hebrew and Greek help me use excellent lexicons to get to critical definitions-in-context. Oh, and God’s Spirit operates in answer to my prayers for insight: “Lord, grant to me keenness of mind, capacity to remember, skill in learning, subtlety to interpret…”

But, more than that, each Monday provides an opportunity to also identify the big idea and intention of that passage. I now know what God intends to do to those in our faith-family that have ears to hear. And I know enough of the flock to know this is going to be a very important act of watching over souls.

Second, if it were true that I brought very little to the sermon equation, it would not be okay. God has called me and is equipping me to help shepherd a little flock. Not someone else. So, while I might benefit from Marshall’s fine treatment of Luke 14, it can’t be Marshall’s sermon.

As we head back to work tomorrow morning and begin preparing for our next sermon, let’s enjoy our time with God and His Word so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

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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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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COVID-19 Preaching: What I’m Learning

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My Title Slide for the Past Few Weeks (built from an ABC image and
using a quote from the Psalms)

A few weeks ago I asked how the virus and lockdown were affecting your preaching and teaching. This week I wanted to take a moment and reflect on what the whole scenario is teaching me about preaching and pastoral ministry.

First, in case I had forgotten, preaching functions under the umbrella of soul-watching (cf. Hebrews 13:17). That means preaching is all about shepherding and caring for the souls entrusted to our care. No wonder it’s been so weird preaching to an empty house–no live souls!

Second, this has reaffirmed for me that I love people more than preaching. I really miss seeing the faith-family in person. The technology has been extremely helpful, but Zoom isn’t quite the same as hugs and holy kisses on Sunday.

Third, I am learning that there is something special about corporate worship. Something special happens when God’s people congregate to praise Him in song, Scripture, and sacraments. And, of course, important for us is the fact that something special happens when a soul-watcher speaks for God to them about them and their relationship with Him.

Finally–and I know you could add many more–I still have to be spiritually moved by the Scriptures before I try to move them with the Scriptures. In other words, preaching through technology has made me even more aware of my need for the Spirit’s transformation before I rely on Him to work on them. It’s been hard not to feel flat leading up to the recording sessions.

Yet, I am confident our Lord continues to receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) through your efforts.

Randal

P.S. Does any of this ring true in your situation? I love to hear your thoughts on this too.