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“I do not think it means what you think it means”: Carefully Defining Your Definitions

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First, I hope you’ve seen the Princess Bride. But, that’s not important right now.

If you’re an expositor, you spend a lot of sermon time defining key terms in your preaching portion. For instance, how many times over the years have you explained that grace is God’s unmerited favor? That is a good starter-definition, but it needs some fleshing out.

For instance, what is the “favor” part? We probably do a better job explaining the “unmerited” part. But the “favor” part is very important. Especially since the word, “grace,” to most of our listeners doesn’t do anything to them. Grace does something for them (even though they might not know exactly what that is).

So, I try to be careful to define my definitions as much as possible/needed. In the case of grace, for instance, I want to make sure everyone in the house knows that the unmerited “favor includes things like God’s forgiveness and cleansing and supernatural assistance to live for Him. Stuff like that.

Carefully defining our definitions is especially helpful with very familiar Christian terms like grace, mercy,  and salvation.

Before Sunday, see if your sermon contains key terms that needed extra special attention. Look for those terms that you keep using in the sermon and make sure your definitions are defined. This will add another layer of theological depth and clarity to your preaching. Plus, you may find there are some well-known definitions that could use a makeover.

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

Randal

 

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When God Repeats Himself: Discovering the Meaning of Luke’s Record of Post-Resurrection Appearances of Jesus

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Often, repetition is a key to the meaning of Gospel narratives. Meaning the main idea of my sermon needs to match the meaning conveyed through repetition. That’s important to remember in long narratives like Luke 24 where Jesus approaches two men who were walking toward Emmaus.

Among so many promising ideas, is the repeated idea of recognizing or not recognizing Jesus.

V. 16 “But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.”

V. 31 “And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.”

V. 35 “…and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

So, the sermon centers on this idea of being able to see Jesus. There was a reason why they couldn’t see Him. They didn’t believe in His resurrection from the dead. More importantly for us is why we can’t see Him at times. We live in a time when we follow Jesus without seeing Him. That means we have to believe in Him as recorded in Scripture. We know we’re on track because Jesus “interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (v. 27).

Read to see Jesus; read to believe in Jesus.

Also important for us is noting that they finally did see Jesus during a Communion service. God opened their eyes while they were eating with Him. Every Sunday, the Word and the Lord’s Table (if you’re fortunate enough to celebrate it each Sunday) provide opportunities to see Jesus.

Whatever else you feel you need to say about these scenes, the repetition guides our exposition.

Before Sunday, see if there are repeated concepts in your preaching portion that are significant enough to yield dominant meaning. In the case of narratives, significant repetition is repetition that is connected to the storyline.

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

Randal

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Surprising Help from a Critical and Historical Commentary!

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It is not often that a critical and historical commentary delivers consistent help to preachers beyond technical, exegetical fragments. That’s why I was surprised to see the Daniel commentary in the Hermeneia Series contain a segment called, Structure and Unity.

As Collins goes through each large segment in Daniel’s gospel, along with the brilliant technical stuff, he includes a brief treatment of the segment’s structure and unity:

Major points are listed (I, II, III, etc.)

Verse parameters (I. 3:1-7, for instance)

Summary statement (I. 3:1-7. Introduction)

Summary of the section (two or three sentences describing the content of the section)

For the past few years, I’ve been assigning a similar assignment to my students. I call it, Major Thought Blocks. I believe it to be the most important aspect of developing genuine expository sermons. It’s the first phase of my own study every Monday morning. Here’s why…

Theology is conveyed through the structure of your preaching portion. Unity of thought is also conveyed through the structure. Disregard or break from the structure and, chances are good (within the realm of the sovereignty of God, of course!), that you will stray from the theology and unity of the preaching portion.

So, I add only one more thing to the list above. Along with major points, verse parameters, summary statement, and summary of the section’s content, add logical transitions between the major points. That allows you to track the Author’s/author’s flow of thought. It’s that flow that communicates the theology (whether narrative or epistle).

Before Sunday, see if you have identified these components in your preaching portion. See if your sermon idea matches what is being communicated. If your sermon’s structure and unity is different from the preaching portion’s, check to see how different your message is from the message of the Text.

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

Randal

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Preaching the Theology of the Crucifixion Narrative

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Confession: the crucifixion narratives have proven to be my most difficult preaching portions in the New Testament.

I don’t like admitting that because so much of our Christian faith rests on the crucifixion of Christ. But, for as long as I have been preaching and teaching preaching, these lengthy narratives have plagued me.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

1. The emphasis is on Jesus’ identity. Luke 22 and 23 contain Jesus’ Passion. A fast reading of those chapters will show that Jesus’ identity is always in focus (e.g., “If you are the Christ, tell us” in 22:67 or, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” in 23:37). Evidently, God knew the Church needed to be absolutely sure of who Jesus was/is. There can be no doubts about His identity if He is going to be able to deliver us from our sins.

Also note that in Luke’s gospel, for instance, the crucifixion narrative confirms what began in the pre-birth and birth narratives. Only after His identity is settled does the next focus of the Passion narratives mean anything…

2. Then, Luke emphasizes Jesus’ ability to “save.” Luke 23:35, 37, and 39 three different sets of people–people, soldiers, and a criminal–tell Him and taunt Him to save himself. And, in v. 43 we see Jesus saving one: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Sounds like a good evangelistic message, except for the fact that it’s written to the saints. And our responsibility is to make sure professing Christians know Jesus’ identity and are placing their trust in Him. We help them assess whether or not they’re experiencing a bit of Paradise now through the Spirit’s renovating work. We help them worship the gracious God who crucified His own Son so we could live LifePlus.

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

Randal

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Why Your Imagination Should Supplement Your Exegesis

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Einstein said, “Imagination is the highest form of research.” A bit of an overstatement, I guess. But if you do a google search on the word, imagination,  you’ll quickly see how important imagination is to our world.

But our question is, Is imagination important to our sermons and communicating God’s Word? As you can see from the title of this blog, my answer is a resounding, “Yes.” Let me give you an example.

In Luke 22:39-62 Jesus tells His disciples, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” (v. 40).

Our exegesis might delve into the meaning of prayer. You might say something like: “Prayer is asking God for something you desperately need, but can’t get for yourself.” Exegesis might also explain the way prayer protects the Believer from temptation.

Enter imagination.

“Imagine all the temptations you did not face because you prayed to God.”

Or…

“Imagine how the details of your day changed because you prayed to God for protection.” (the assumption, of course, is that God might not only protect you through temptation, but also cause circumstances to occur in such a way that you avoid a temptation)

Now, let me ask you, what does this exercise in imagination do for our listeners? What does imagination do that exegesis doesn’t do? In this case, imagination moves me to wonder and praise and thanksgiving. Watch the expression on your congregants’ faces when you include imagination. The exegetical facts don’t do that. They’re necessary, but not enough.

Before Sunday, see if there is a place where you can let your imagination take the sermon places where exegesis can’t. Imagine that your imaginative exegesis moves them to worship.

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

Randal

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Challenging Conventional Thinking

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You may have discovered that your sermon content often challenges the thinking of your congregants. That’s a good sign. It’s very difficult–maybe impossible–for anyone to grow spiritually if they continue to think the same things.

For instance, how do you think your congregation would answer this question, “Does God need your money?”?

I can tell you how mine did a couple of Sunday’s ago. The majority answered a confident, emphatic, “No!”

We were worshiping by responding to Philippians 4:14-20. Paul says, “Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.” The work of God through Paul needed the Thessalonians Christians. If they hadn’t given to Paul, what would have happened to the work? Someone quickly answered, “Someone else would have stepped in.”

Right, God would have used someone else’s generosity to fund His work. It’s true, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. But it’s also true that some other farmers also own them! Chuck Swindoll wrote, “Let’s face it, money and ministry often flow together” (Laugh Again). One of our missionaries serves under TEAM and I learned that donors provided the agency over 27 million dollars to operate last year!

Before Sunday, see if your preaching portion contains concepts which will challenge the conventional thinking of your congregants. Watch the reaction in the pews. Since we function as theologians for the flock, it is important that we spur them on to new ways of thinking about their God and their relationship to Him. I hope you’re sensing that God sent you to your post in order to stretch His people with the Word.

It’s not about inventing novel theology. It’s not about creating new doctrine. It’s about digging deep and thinking deeply about His Word and comparing that to the conventional thinking of the church.

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

Randal

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Is Your Sermon Outline Doing One of These Two Things?

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If you create an outline for your sermons, check to see if they do one of these two things.

First, do the major points in your outline urge your listeners to explore the preaching portion with you? Look at what the following outlines on Luke 22:19-30 (the dispute among Jesus’ disciples concerning which one of them would be considered the greatest):

1. The status we want (v. 24)

2. The status we need (vv. 25-27)

3. The status we’ll enjoy (vv. 28-30)

Notice that the main points are worded to lead us all to discovery. What is the status we want? Well, let’s look at v. 24. What is the status we need? That’s in vv. 25-27, etc. The points are worded in such a way that the sermon is needed to flesh out the answers.

This is my favorite form of outline point: “Find the answer with me.”

Second, do your major points teach all by themselves? Those that practice writing full-sentence outline points know this approach well. Look at an outline on Luke 22:31-38 (Jesus warning Simon Peter about Satan’s attack and His dangerous mission):

1. Satan’s attack (v. 31)

2. Jesus’ protection (v. 32)

3. Our naive overconfidence (vv. 33-34)

4. Our dangerous mission (vv. 35-38)

These main points teach us a vital truth contained within those verses. I find that many outline points are too brief to teach anything. The one above is the shortest I’ve ever used that I still felt accomplished the teaching goal I was looking for. The points are worded in such a way that the sermon is needed to expand their meaning.

This is my second favorite form of outline point: “Flesh out the meaning with me.”

Before Sunday, check to see if your outline is doing either of these two things. If not, you might want to rethink your reason for using an outline. Maybe you only want to create interest or make the points easy to remember (alliteration?). Besides order, unity, and progress, make your major points serve your goal of communicating God’s Word.

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

Randal

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You Need To Read: Reading Backwards

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I’m always looking for books that help me preach Christ while maintaining the integrity of the meaning of the preaching portion. I’m also always looking for books that help me understand how the New Testament human authors reread the Old Testament and how their rereading affects the meaning of the Old Testament.

Richard Hays’ book, Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness, helped me do both (Hays did not intend for his book to do the latter).

You’ll enjoy and profit from the book if you do much preaching in the Gospels. Hays does a superb job showing how the four Evangelists used the Old Testament Scriptures to show the divinity of Jesus. And his commentary various passages in all four Gospels is extremely insightful.

For instance, there is much talk today about Jesus being the kinder, gentler God who is much more palatable to post-moderns. Hays writes, “The OT focuses our understanding of Jesus’ role as an eschatological prophet of God’s judgment. The sweet, infinitely inclusive Jesus meek and mild, so beloved by modern Protestantism, is a Jesus cut loose from his OT roots” (p. 12). So, while a particular Gospel scene might show Jesus being kind to sinners like the woman “caught” in adultery, that doesn’t mean that’s the only reaction He has to sinners, especially in the eschaton.

Anyway, I highly recommend the book. If you are as serious as I am about hermeneutics and homiletics, this is a good read. And, as I said at the beginning of the post, an important, probably unbeknownst-to-Hays benefit of the book is how his analysis leads to fresh insights about how to interpret the OT Christologically.

Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness

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

Randal

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How to Sweeten Your Sermons with a Little C.R.E.A.M. (Part 5 Metaphor)

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For the past few weeks I’ve been encouraging us to think carefully about the words we use when we preach. C.R.E.A.M. is a good way to think about crafting phrases that are enjoyable to hear and that communicate effectively. The concept comes from Humes (The Sir Winston Method) and stands for: contrast, rhyme, echo, alliteration, and, finally…

Metaphor. You could also use similes in this category. The Bible is full of metaphor: Isaiah 40:6 says, “All flesh is grass…” or Psalm 110:3 “we are…the sheep of His pasture.”

We are also very familiar with the use of similes. We say things like: “He as slow as cold molasses” or “She ran like a greyhound.”

Before Sunday, look for places in your manuscript where you can use metaphors or similes to communicate vital pieces of information in your sermon. Of course, that presupposes that you are working on your manuscript as you study each day. Can you use metaphor in your sermon title (“Torn by God’s Thorn in the Flesh” from 2 Cor. 12:1-10; notice this also uses rhyming)? Check also for the key statements in your sermon. Maybe your main idea.

The pictures will help your congregants understand God’s Word better. Your listeners will appreciate the style of communication and the content.

Because of this series of blogs, I was reminded again of how much C.R.E.A.M. can be applied to preaching. Looking back over the last few sermons, I found that each manuscript included at least one of the elements of style. It’s my opinion that you can put too much CREAM in the sermon (unlike in real life on dessert!). Too much of it and you end up inadvertently drawing attention to the style and not the substance of the sermon. A little bit of CREAM, however, does sweeten the sermon for the listeners without sacrificing content.

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 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