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Preaching Why It’s Good To Be Godly: What I’m Learning from Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Early Sermons

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The Theology in, “Christian Happiness,” Edwards’s First Sermon

Edwards chose Isaiah 3:10 for his first text to preach on:

“Say unto the righteous, it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.”

As far as I can tell so far, Jonathan Edwards did not preach through books of the Bible. He selected texts very carefully. His texts were short like Isaiah 3:10. But they were theologically significant for providing foundations for Christian living.

Edwards’s sermon on Isaiah 3:10 is titled, Christian Happiness. The sermon shows Edwards’s skill at philosophy and theology. His philosophical side comes out in the first sentence:

“Reasonable beings, while they act as such, naturally choose those things which they are convinced are best for them…” (p. 296).

A large part of Edwards’s ministry is built on the assumption that “God always deals with men as reasonable creatures, and ever [word] in the Scriptures speaks to us as such” (p. 296).

Over and over again you’ll find Edwards reasoning at length with his listeners about every important matter of Christian faith and practice.

Part of Edwards’s genius–his theological side–is that his comprehensive knowledge of Scripture allows him to choose theologically loaded texts that display God’s reasonableness. So, in light of Isaiah 3:10 Edwards writes in the fourth sentence,

“in commanding of us he desires us to do nothing but what will be for our own advantage, our own profit and benefit, and frequently uses this argument with us to persuade us to obey his commands….and God, in our text, gives it as a special charge to assure the godly from Him that his godliness shall be of great advantage to him” (p. 296, emphasis added).

Look at this reasoning and ask yourself how many times it might find its way into other Scriptures and sermons. Before Sunday see if there are any commands. Remember that most of our listeners struggle with the notion that God’s commands are unreasonable. But we keep telling them otherwise!

May our Lord receive glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you apply such beautiful reasoning.

Randal

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Edwards’s Study Method: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Early Sermons

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Apart from reading commentaries, how do you study?

On October 19, 1757 Edwards wrote to the trustees of the College at Princeton:

“My method of study, from my first beginning the work of the ministry, has been very much by writing….penning what appeared to me my best thoughts on innumerable subjects for my own benefit.” (Kimnach, p. 71, emphasis added).

Edwards didn’t say, “for sermon preparation.” He was preparing for sermons, of course, by studying for his own benefit. The sermon material was the result of all Edwards’s explorations of theological subjects.

I believe I’ve written before that many pastors are not reading substantial theological material and, therefore, not advancing their own theological understanding. It’s tempting, of course, to read church growth, leadership material, and other areas of interest.

But Edwards?

He was reading and writing all the time. You might be interested in one of his writing projects he called, “Harmony of the Old and New Testament” (p. 72). It had three parts:

  1. OT prophecies of the Messiah and how they came true.
  2. OT types of Christ and how so many objects, events, and people pointed to the Gospel.
  3. The final and longest portion was a harmony of the Old and New Testaments.

And if you’re wondering how comprehensive this study was and how it connected to preaching, Edwards continued:

“In the course of this work, I find there will be occasion for an explanation of a very great part of the holy Scriptures…to lead the mind to a view of the true spirit, design, life and soul of the Scriptures, as well as their proper use and improvement” (p. 72).

I guess I’ve got some work to do!

And may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) because of the way you study each week, first for your own benefit and then for your listeners.

Randal

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Key Questions Your Sermon Delivery Answer

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There’s nothing wrong, necessarily, with folding your hands like this. Really.

In her book, Preaching That Matters, Carrell has a chapter titled, Delivering Not Decorating. You may recall that what I’m benefiting from most in the book are survey results of hundreds of listeners. For instance, she writes,

“Listeners use elements of the speaker’s delivery to determine the answer to many crucial questions: How much does the speaker care about us? How important is this topic? How sincere and credible is the speaker?” (p. 130)

Usually, discussions about sermon delivery focus on voice and body, things like volume, rate, and movement. All of this is often aimed at helping preachers be more interesting. But look at the questions above. The way we preach affects much more than being interesting:

Sermon delivery communicates relate-ability or pastoral care. This is where the pastor-theologian focuses on the “pastor” part. It’s where we let our folks know we love them dearly, as much, if not more, than preaching itself.

Sermon delivery communicates the life-and-death nature of God’s Word to us. I’ve said before, that one of my most common comments on sermon evaluation forms is, “I don’t sense that what you’re saying is important.”

Sermon delivery communicates our own interest in God and shepherding God’s flock. We can preach in a way that shows we’re in this with them, that we’re hearing God speak to us too.

For the sake of God’s glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) we don’t want to preach and have one of our listeners say,

“When he preaches, it sounds like he doesn’t care–about what he is saying or about us. If he doesn’t care, why should I?” (p. 130).

Randal

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You’ve Always Wanted To Preach To The Complainers, Right?! (Preaching Through the Book of Numbers)

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Here’s Your Chance!

One of the benefits of preaching through the book of Numbers is being able to address the congregation’s attitude. I’ve found it easier to do while preaching through a book of the Bible than having to address this in a topical sermon selected for that purpose.

When you arrive at Numbers 11 you have your opportunity to address your faith-family about fighting hard against a complaining spirit. When I got to this section I titled it:

“He will bring us into this land”: And We Will Fight the Urge to Complain Along the Way

You’ll recall that the first part of the title is my take on the theology of the book. The second part reflects the application of Numbers 11:1-3.

First, it’s rare to get such a small preaching portion in Numbers. They’re usually much larger, so enjoy that luxury.

Second, the narrative functions by presenting the people’s complaining as a “go and do otherwise” lesson.

You might consider presenting it something like this:

  1. Address our tendency to complain in v. 1a: why was this the default setting of God’s people?
  2. How our Lord reacts to our complaining spirit in v. 1b. It seems over the top. Very extreme judgment. There must be a reason for such drastic action on the part of our Lord.
  3. Finally, there is our hope for healing in vv. 2-3.

If you’re interested in a Christological reading of Numbers 11, you certainly can move from Moses’s intercession to our Savior. And, also, there’s no comparison between our “misfortunes” (v. 1) and the Lord’s misfortune of crucifixion! Yet, He endured all that without any complaining. His example is stellar, to be sure, but it’s not His example that saves us. His sacrifice saves us by faith and that faith is the key to responding unlike God’s OT complainers.

Anyway, I hope that helps you navigate what seems to be one of the easier Numbers narratives. May you preach it with confidence so the Lord receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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What Do You Pray Before You Begin To Study For Preaching?

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And I thought I was praying effectively before I begin studying!

So, usually every morning before I begin to study for a sermon, I pray Psalm 119:18

“Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”

I know God translates that whenever I’m preaching out of the prophets or the writings (*smile*) but that’s not important right now.

What is important is that one of my colleagues shared a prayer that Thomas Aquinas prayed before studying:

“Ineffable Creator,
You are proclaimed the true font of light and wisdom, and the primal origin raised high beyond all things.
Pour forth a ray of Your brightness into the darkened places of my mind; disperse from my soul the twofold darkness into which I was born: sin and ignorance.
You make eloquent the tongues of infants. Refine my speech and pour forth upon my lips the goodness of Your blessing.
Grant to me keenness of mind, capacity to remember, skill in learning, subtlety to interpret, and eloquence in speech.
May You guide the beginning of my work, direct its progress, and bring it to completion.
You Who are true God and true Man, who live and reign, world without end.
Amen.” (emphasis added)

I will give myself credit for praying Scripture (Psalm 119:18), but I must admit that Aquinas’s prayer put me to shame. I’ve printed his prayer out and have it on my workspace. I am trying to memorize at least the bold section above.

It’s another example of how I continue to benefit from reading ancient interpreters like Augustine, Calvin, and Edwards.

I’m sure you ask God for help before you begin studying for a sermon or teaching time. May you enjoy and benefit from Aquinas’s expression of need and reliance on God so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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What If You Were Being Charged $0.65 Per Word?

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How much would your sermon manuscript cost?

This past week I had the unfortunate privilege of helping to write my Dad’s obituary. The fine folks at the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, Maine informed me that each word would cost $0.65 and each picture an additional $15.

That information changed the way I wrote the final draft. [Just to let you know, our family agreed that the cost was not a factor in what we decided to include or exclude. However, knowing the cost per word did affect my editing.]

So, what if you wrote out your sermon, word-for-word and then edited it knowing you would be charged $0.65 per word and money was tight? Do you think that final draft would be better or worse because of it?

I think you know what I think. Your sermon would become more concise. You would find that lots of the words in the first draft were unnecessary and unhelpful. The discarded words and phrases would gain you valuable pulpit time, especially those precious minutes near the end.

Some of you know I’m a big fan of manuscripting-with-a-view-toward-preaching-without-notes for lots of reasons. Manuscripting provides an opportunity for me to be more concise. Editing as if I were being charged $0.65 per word gives me a final draft I can confidently “take” to the pulpit.

Most of my students don’t believe me when I extol the virtues of manuscripting. They confess that they usually write out an outline and some key thoughts. Then I usually protest in my evaluations of their final sermons that they could have been more concise! (*smile*)

Before Sunday edit your manuscript as if I were charging you $0.65 per word and may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) in part because of your concise communication of His Word.

Randal

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Try Giving Jesus’ Parable A New Name

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Familiarity with a preaching portion can sometimes hinder communication. This is especially true with some of Jesus’ famous parables. Luke 10:25-37 records the parable of the Good Samaritan.

You probably already knew this, but near the end of my workweek I realized that the adjective, good, did not occur in this parable. Jesus does say in verse 33, “…when [the Samaritan] saw him, he had compassion.” The lawyer admits in verse 37 that the Samaritan was the “one who showed…mercy.”

So, at the beginning of the teaching time, I gave the faith-family as assignment. I asked them while we were studying the parable to attempt to rename it. I asked them to help me remember this when we concluded the sermon so we could hear their attempts.

In this case, it’s an important assignment. Jesus ends the parable with: “You go, and do likewise.” Go and be good is a bit broad, a bit vague. When we rename the parable from The Good Samaritan to something like The Compassionate Neighbor, we help everyone move a little closer to specific acts of worshipful obedience.

You can think of other familiar sections of Scripture that could use some renaming. Lord willing, we’ll see another example in the months to come when I tackle Luke 15 and the parable of the Prodigal Son. You’ve heard it said that familiarity breeds contempt, but I say to you that familiarity breeds ambiguity.

Any time I’ve tried this renaming exercise, I’ve always found that it enhanced communication. It’s a simple, yet effective way to add to your exegesis and theological analysis.

Preach for the glory of God!

This post was originally published on January 6th, 2014.

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Two Things to Remember When Preaching on Money

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Photo of a Collection Plate

If you preach through books of the Old or New Testament, eventually you will preach about money and giving to God. For instance, in the Old Testament, there are approximately 1400 occurrences of the word, “offering,” in about 800 verses.

While preaching on Luke 21:1-4, the narrative of Jesus commenting on the poor widow who put “two small copper coins” in the offering box (v. 2), I learned two things that should make their way in any stewardship sermon.

First, take a moment to remind everyone why Christians give money to God. In the narrative, both “the rich” and “a poor widow” gave their offering to the Lord. Luke doesn’t tell us why. But, it is important when preaching about giving to tell everyone that giving an offering is a way of acknowledging God’s authority. It’s a way of showing that God is greater and I am infinitely lesser.

When faced with this perspective, it is virtually impossible for any professing Christian to refuse to give and still claim to worship God.

Second, when we got to the place in the narrative where Jesus said, “she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on,” I asked, “What must she have believed about God in order to give everything, even what she needed to live on?!” Again, the Scripture doesn’t say. What’s left unsaid is crucial for the faith-family. She was trusting completely in God to take care of her.

The poor widow’s example is an excellent opportunity for us all to evaluate how our giving habits reflect our faith in God to provide. Over the years I’ve heard many parishioners say, “I can’t afford to give more to God.” My reply has been, “You can’t afford not to.”

Before Sunday, if your sermon contains some aspect of giving to God, remind everyone why Christians give and show them how their giving reflects their faith.

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

Randal

This post was originally published on March 30, 2015.

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Never Study Without Typing Out Your Sermon. Ever. Period.

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That’s you writing out your sermon from minute one of your study!

This was supposed to be another, What I’m learning from reading Jonathan Edwards’s early sermons post. It still is in a way.

Kimnach’s general introduction to volume 10 (The Works of Jonathan Edwards) includes a section called, The Making of Sermons. It’s a gold mine for anyone interested in Edwards’s homiletical method. For instance, Edwards changed the way he took notes as he gained preaching experience.

In the early years Edwards’s sermon notebook contained Scripture that might be preach-able. Later “the notebook becomes a workbook, perhaps indicating an increasing devotion to the art of making sermons, but more likely indicating an effort to eliminate the need for a full first draft, separate from the pulpit draft of the sermon” (p. 67).

That means Edwards began writing out his sermons much earlier.

I can’t remember when I started the practice of writing the sermon from the moment I begin my studying on Monday mornings. But it’s one of the best practices I’ve learned over the years.

It means not separating studying for a sermon from the actual writing of the sermon. Sermon studying = sermon scripting.

Try this: copy and paste your preaching portion for Sunday onto a Pages or Word document (for me it’s Psalm 3 in the morning and Psalm 4 in the evening), begin at verse 1 (or whatever your first verse is; of course you’ve confessed your sin if you have wormed your way into the middle of a pericope!), and begin preaching to your congregants.

You don’t need to select one or two; preach to them all just like you’ll be doing on Sunday, Lord willing. You’ll find that you’ll preach some, study some, then preach some more, then study some more, etc. That is, you’ll write down what you’ll say to your folks, visit your favorite helps in Logos or commentary, and write out what you found and want to convey. That rhythm occurs repeatedly for the duration of your sermon preparation.

If you combine this practice of writing your sermon while you study with my ABIT approach to your first hour or two of study, you’ll find your sermon comes together quite nicely.

May our Lord be glorified in the church and in Christ Jesus as you work hard for Him and your flock this week (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Let’s Be Honest. That’s Bizarre!”

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Some things just don’t look right in the Bible. Period. And when we come across those things, we do our listeners a favor–especially our relatively un-churched attendees–by pointing it out.

One of my friends at church, Craig, gave me a great example of this a few weeks ago. He was talking about how weird it is for Jesus to be called the good Shepherd, but then for Him to send His sheep out among wolves. What kind of good Shepherd would do that!?!

That’s the kind of stuff that doesn’t look right when you think about it.

Over the years I’ve benefited from James Emery White’s blog, Church & Culture. In Volume 12, No. 53 he imagined what the unchurched would tell us if we listened to them. Number 7 was, “Can we agree that there’s a lot of weird stuff attached to Christianity and the Bible? Okay, it may be true, or real, or whatever, but can we just agree that some of it is a bit…bizarre? For some strange reason, it would make me feel better to hear you acknowledge how it all looks and sounds to someone from the outside.”

Well, one reason it would make them feel better to hear us acknowledge some weirdness in holy Writ is because it’s TRUE. God has recorded some strange stuff in His Word. Another good example is the Judges’ narrative I’ll write about in weeks to come, often labeled, Jephthah’s Tragic Vow. Jephthah promises that if God gives him a strategic victory in battle, he would dedicate the first thing that comes out of his house to greet him. That first thing was only daughter! And what’s totally bizarre is that God allowed Jephthah to carry through with his promise (according to my un-inspired reading of the narrative).

There are a whole lot of well-churched folks who appreciate any time we point out such weirdness. Before Sunday, see if your preaching portion has some bizarre aspects to it. If you bring it out, your listeners will appreciate the honesty and, depending on how you proceed, the mystery that is our God. That assumes you will fight the temptation to explain everything in God’s Word, especially the things that are impossible to explain.

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

Randal

P.S. I usually don’t ask for feedback because I know pastors are busy. However, I am curious to hear your thoughts on why the generation of preachers before us were very hesitant to bring out the bizarre aspects of God’s revelation. Are there any dangers to this approach to interpretation and preaching? Thanks for chiming in.

This post was originally published on August 17, 2016.