Final Blogger Blog Post

Earlier I wrote about an upcoming change of blog address. That time has officially arrived. From now on I'll continue to write about preaching at http://peltononpreaching.wordpress.com/. Thank you for studying with me. Preach well...

Three Ways Preaching Can Be Improved

This is a guest post written by Dr. Jeffrey Arthurs. Jeff is Professor of Preaching and Communication at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. We team up together each year to instruct Doctor of Ministry students in Preaching the Literary Forms of the Bible. He is the author of Preaching with Variety and Devote Yourself to the Public Reading of Scripture. I hope your enjoy and profit from his insights. I always do.

As a teacher of preaching for more than twenty years, I have listened to thousands of student sermons. Most of those sermons were biblically accurate, and most were theologically grounded. (I’m glad to see a growing trend toward Christ-Centered preaching). About half were interesting; about a third were clear; and about a quarter were applied with insight and specificity.

Here are my top three observations on how to improve:

(1) Think yourself clear. Our job is to “package” in 30 minutes what it took us 10+ hours to prepare. This demands ruthless simplicity. I’m not talking about dumbing it down. I’m talking about having your idea(s) so well in hand that you could deliver the gist of your sermon in 60 seconds or less.

(2) Be concrete in application. Come down the “ladder of abstraction” with real life examples. Show what the truth of the text looks like in actual situations for the actual people who sit before you. If the text urges us to be patient, ask yourself: when, where, with whom, how, and what hinders our patience? Read the Sermon on the Mount and notice how much time our Lord spends at the bottom of the “ladder of abstraction” with concrete application.

(3) Model. Be an example of speech, life, love, faith, and purity. Don’t be afraid to illustrate the text from your own life, either “positively” or “negatively.” To be sure, there are risks with each, but when done with humility, and when done in the context of pastoral ministry where you are more than just a talking head on Sunday morning, God’s truth through your personality is powerful. This is part of the way you can watch over their souls—by pointing out how you yourself are being saved through preaching.

Changing Blog Address Soon!

I wanted to alert you that this blog will soon be shifting over to http://peltononpreaching.wordpress.com/. Lord willing, all the old material will transfer over. I'm looking forward to enhancing the blog in this new year.

Thank you for reading my material.

Preach well...

Sincerely, (Your Name)

I was recently listening to an old broadcast of the radio show, This American Life. During the broadcast, Joe Franklin, the host of the longest running talk show in television history was quoted saying,

"The main ingredient to longevity is sincerity. Once you've learned to fake that, you've got it made."

Last evening I spent a delightful ninety minutes with the lead worshiper (a.k.a. worship leader) at our church. We talked together about how to create singing and teaching times that best facilitate worship. The first thing we talked about was our own sincerity.

When I listened to the Franklin quote, it helped me think again of the importance of responding to our own sermons in the study, long before we ask others to respond in the service. I pray that you sincerely love God, love His people, and love to teach His Word.

Sincerely,
Randal Pelton

Do You Sound Like A Contemporary Preacher?

I am enjoying reading Barth's, Homiletics. In the preface, Bromiley previews Barth's "belief that closeness to life, important though it is in the sermon, must not be at the cost of closeness to the text" (p. 14). That got me thinking about whether or not we preachers sound like our world with respect to our voice and delivery. Closeness to life is another way to speak of relevance; closeness to the text, of course, speaks of preaching with accuracy.

Lately, I have wondered if all TV news anchors and field reporters take a course in how to speak or how to sound while they're reporting the news. Listen to them and you'll discover that they all sound the same. At the risk of overgeneralizing, I'm suggesting that there are two dominant preaching styles, the traditional preacher and the conversational preacher. The conversational preacher includes the real relevant, seeker-sensitive approach.

What do you sound like when you preach? Would our listeners say that we sound like a preacher (with respect to how we say what we say)? When we report on what God has said, do we sound like all the other contemporary, seeker-sensitive preachers who evidently took the same class on how to speak or how to sound? We must be constantly aware of the tension between closeness to life (relevance, or, in this case, sounding relevant) and closeness to the text (accurate reporting). I loved Barth's advice: "For in preaching it is always better to be too close to the text than to be too thematic or too much in keeping with the times" (p. 117).

Sometimes I wished just one TV news reporter would break from that mold, be real, and talk to me about what happened.

Creating Creative Christological Connections

Say that the title of this blog five times fast!

One of the more difficult interpretive moves I attempt is connecting the Gospel to practical instructions such as James 5:16. The book of James is difficult in this regard because the letter/sermon doesn't begin like other NT letters. James doesn't give a clear statement of the Gospel at the beginning. The first I encounter is James 1:18 and James 1:21. Another one is in James 2:1. So, in many of my teaching times, before I urge the faith-family to implement James 1:16, for instance, I try to take a moment to explain who faith in the Gospel creates the desire and capacity to obey the instruction. There are times when I can make a creative connection. For instance, our healing began when Jesus died on the cross. He was the only Person who did not have sins of His own to confess. When Jesus died He took our sins on Himself so we could be healed and forgiven. Wording it like that allows me to make a connection to the Gospel directly from the wording of my preaching portion. Now I can urge Gospel-driven obedience or what I've referred to elsewhere as faith-first application.

"My Preaching Portion Was Difficult to Preach Because..."

Definition:

Preaching Portion: The amount of Scripture you choose to interpret and apply for a given sermon.

The past couple of weeks I've been conscious of how much easier post-Isaiah preaching is. In a prayer I worded for our congregation one recent Sunday morning I said to God that we needed His help even though the preaching portion wasn't as difficult as Isaiah. I was feeling a bit of relief now that we had completed our study of Isaiah. But I was also feeling the need for Divine assistance because the act of preaching in general and, specifically, preaching any given preaching portion is beyond me and my abilities.

Would you be willing to share briefly with me why a particular preaching portion was difficult to preach and why? I want to begin to catalogue these issues for my learning, but also for future interaction with students and colleagues. How about your preaching portion for last Sunday? What made that Text difficult to preach? Thank you for sharing your insights with me. Here's mine from Sunday...

1 Thessalonians 5:14 contains four Christian responses to four kinds of Christians. The instructions weren't hard to preach. What made this sermon difficult was explaining why these instructions were vital for faith and the faith-family. As I've mentioned in earlier blogs, it's easy at the end of an epistle to forget the Gospel foundation that appears at the beginning (in this case, places like 1 Thessalonians 1:3 and 1 Thessalonians 1:5).

Do you learn during the preaching event?

I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist. That usually means agonizing over my studies so that I have everything "figured out" by Sunday morning. It didn't take me long to realize that I never have the preaching portion all figured out. In more recent years I'm becoming more comfortable with the reality that all my interpretations are partial at best. I've also been able to look forward to what God will teach me during the teaching time. Virtually every weekend the preaching event, including the important interaction I enjoy with active listeners, adds to my understanding of the preaching portion. This means that my accuracy increases while I'm preaching. In Preaching & Preachers, Lloyd-Jones states, "...you never know what is going to happen to [the sermon] until you get into the pulpit and start preaching it....You will find that the Spirit Who has helped you in your preparation may now help you, while you are speaking, in an entirely new way, and open things out to you which you had not seen while you were preparing your sermon" (p. 99). Barth adds, "We should not try to master the text. The Bible will become more and more mysterious to real exegetes. They will see all the depths and distances" (p. 128 in Homiletics). I hope that you are finding this to be true of you--that you are learning while you preach.

Two Angles in which to Explore Offensive Commandments

I just recently completed preaching through Isaiah. Before beginning another through-the-Book study, I am spending several weekends on God and the Life He Gives. The short series will highlight key characteristics of God and also key aspects of living the Christian life. A proper study of the Christian life involves studying the God who grants it. At times, we struggle with God's kind of life because we do not understand Him and His character.

Take, for instance, God's difficult instructions to Hagar in Genesis 16:9. Why would God tell Hagar to return and submit to a woman, Sarai, who was dealing harshly with her (cf. Genesis 16:6). What kind of God would instruct a female servant to return to an abusive mistress? The answer is a God who has determined to save the powerless and afflicted. This concept applies equally to instructions in 1 Peter 2:13-14. See also 1 Peter 2:18 and 1 Peter 3:1. God is a God who saves those who depend on Him or rely on Him alone.

Another angle on this is to ask what it is about the nature of our salvation that would warrant such an instruction. In this case of Hagar submitting to Sarai, salvation, by nature, involves being delivered in the midst of a terrible environment (as opposed to being delivered out of a terrible situation). Saving faith involves dependence upon God, the opposite of taking matters into one's own hand (in this case, taking matters into her own hands would be Hagar not returning and submitting to Sarai).

You might find yourself in conversations where someone asks, "Should so-and-so submit to that?!?" In other words, the particular circumstance seemingly cancels out the biblical instruction. Before you attempt to answer that specific scenario, try taking the person through these two angles: (1)What is it about God that He would require such actions? (2) What is it about the nature of salvation that would require such actions?

Isaiah 66's theology-through-vision of the future

This is a bitter-sweet ending to our Isaiah study. Actually, Isaiah's ending, like the ending of the Canon, is also bitter-sweet. It is bitter for all engaged in hypocritical worship (Isaiah 66:3). It is sweet for all true worshippers described in Isaiah 66:2. The rest of the chapter describes what will happen to people in either category. In Isaiah 66:4, 15-16, 22-24 we see visions of complete destruction and complete deliverance. Isaiah ends (Isaiah 66:24) where it began (Isaiah 1:2): the subject of rebels and rebellion. And all this drives us to make sure that we are the worshipers who will inhabit God's new heavens and new earth. Our Lord Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to become a child of God. Christ's sacrifice is seen in His perfect life where He is the contrast to those described in Isaiah 66:4 and also in His substitutionary death for sinners (cf. Isaiah 66:15-16 and Christ suffering under the fiery wrath of God for our sakes). All along, Isaiah has been urging us, like Peter, to be all the more diligent to make our calling and election sure in light of His return. This response will help us slow the tide of the Church becoming more and more like society and less and less like the Savior.

Isaiah 65:17-25 Theology Through Visions of the Future

Isaiah 65:17-25 contains a wonderful picture of the new world God will create for His people to inhabit. Your theology will probably lock you into either a millennium or eternal state understanding of the description. But do not let those systematic categories detract from Isaiah's purpose. Long before Peter urges Christians to holy living in light of God's return, Isaiah does the same. The description moves back and forth between the new creation and marred creation. God knows that His children will read this description and desperately want to inhabit His new world. Isaiah 65:23 describes the type of person who will live there. Cf. Genesis 17:7 and Isaiah 53:10. This person was described repeatedly as God's "servants" in Isaiah 65:13-14. Isaiah is ending as he began: urging all professing Believers to give proof of their faith through obedience to the Word of God (the opposite of rebellion). The Gospel is prefigured in Isaiah 65:20. On the cross our Savior was the accursed sinner, dying the death we should have died. His death and resurrection life opens the door into God's new world for all who genuinely believe.

Isaiah 63:15--65:16 Theology in Isaiah's Prayer

As you near the end of Isaiah's Gospel, you discover a lengthy prayer (cf. Isaiah 63:15-19 and Isaiah 64:1-12 and Isaiah 65:1-16). This section functions much like the earlier section of Isaiah that read like a Psalm. So, Isaiah intends that God's people pray this prayer. I find it best to focus on the requests, the special relationship we have with God, the problem that gives rise to the requests, and the solution to the problem (cf Isaiah 64:4-5). The last section continues to carry Isaiah's intention forward: creating a righteous people ready for Christ's return. One unique feature of Isaiah 65:1-16 is that it contains God's answer to a very specific question (cf. the question in Isaiah 64:12 and God's answer in Isaiah 65:6). A saved remnant is hinted at in Isaiah 65:8. The repetition in Isaiah 65:13-14 is a strong call for every congregant to be sure they can be accurately identified by God as his "servants." Of course, the only way any of us can be identified as the servants of God is because God's Servant, our Lord Jesus Christ, took all our uncleanness upon Himself (cf. Isaiah 64:5-7) when He died on the cross for us sinners, when He literally "spread out" His hands for a rebellious people (cf. Isaiah 65:2).

Tracing The Argument Of A Text

Isaiah 63:7-14 Theology In Isaiah's Psalm

Isaiah 63:7-14 reads like a Psalm of David and it functions like one, too. Isaiah's memories are designed to shape our own memories. We are to remember God's "steadfast love" (Isaiah 63:7-9); we're to remember our terrible tendency to spurn God's steadfast love (Isaiah 63:10). Finally, thankfully, God Himself (according to the ESV and KJV reading) remembers the time when He rescued His people. All that remembering is designed to lead God's people to put an end to their rebellion and their grieving "His Holy Spirit." Or, to use the language of Isaiah 63:14, the Psalm of Isaiah is designed to make sure all of us are being led by God. According to Romans 8:14, being led by the Spirit of God confirms that we belong to God. Paul can instruct his readers in Ephesians 4:30 to stop grieving the Holy Spirit because faith in Christ gives the desire and capacity to do so. Isaiah 63:9 previews the Gospel. Christ truly "was afflicted" on the cross and those who receive Him respond to His love by yielding to His Spirit.

Isaiah 62:11--63:6 Responding to Prophecy

One of the ways in which Isaiah 62:11-12 and Isaiah 63:1-6 function for the Church is by urging us to evaluate whether the future name of God's people ("The Holy People") is appropriate for us in part now. All along the study of Isaiah, Christians have been challenged to make sure a profession of faith is matched with corresponding holiness and righteousness. In Isaiah 63:1-6 the scene shifts from total deliverance to total destruction. It's a warning for any of us Christians. Despite our profession of faith, we do not want to be caught on "the day of vengeance" (cf. Isaiah 63:4) on God's bad side. So, this section provides the best news ever (Isaiah 62:11-12), the worst news ever (Isaiah 63:1-6), and leaves us readers with the decision to embrace the best news and so avoid the worst news. This means embracing the Savior pictured in this section. In Isaiah 63:3 the prophetic vision of our Redeemer shows Him stained with the blood of God's enemies, including those who were in church. There was a time in history, of course, where our Redeemer was stained with His own blood as He gave His life for us. Faith in Christ is the starting point for a holy life and assures us that on His Day we, too, can be called "The Holy People" (cf. also 2 Corinthians 7:1; Hebrews 12:14 to see the necessity of holiness-in-process).

Isaiah 61 The Spirit in Jesus and in Us

Once again, Isaiah teaches us through a prophetic description of what our Spirit-led Savior was sent to do and what His salvation does to us who believe. In Isaiah 61:1-3 we learn what the Holy Spirit in Jesus enabled Him to accomplish. Then, beginning in Isaiah 61:3-9 we learn what that same Spirit does in us. Isaiah 61:10-11 closes with a song that every, genuine Christian can sing. This chapter functions for the church by causing us to evaluate whether what is said about Jesus' ministry has actually happened to us (or, better, is still happening to us who believe). Has Isaiah 61:1-3 happened to us? Is it still going on in some measure? Is it true that everyone of us who believes can truly "be called the priests of the Lord...the ministers of our God"? (cf. Isaiah 61:6) Can we say, "he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness..."? (cf. Isaiah 61:10). Isaiah's prophecy functions by urging us to evaluate whether these things are somewhat true of us. If they are not, then our presence in worship or our profession of faith in Christ may be futile. Our Lord, of course, selects this section to read as recorded in Luke 4:16-22. Thankfully, Jesus stopped reading where He did! His sacrifice on the cross for our sins made it possible for us to experience His salvation. Certainly something to rejoice in!

Isaiah 59 Turning Rebels into Righteous Christians

The bulk of Isaiah 59 describes the terrible state of God's people (cf. Isaiah 59:1-2). Then, in Isaiah 59:16 God steps in to do what human beings could not do. Theology is being conveyed through prophetic description (what God promises to do for His people). So we have to ask ourselves: "Is this description true to some extent now in our lives?" However, before we get to our response, we should note Isaiah 59:17. Long before Paul instructs Christians to put on the whole armor of God (cf. Ephesians 6:11, 13), Isaiah tells us that our God put on the armor. The clothing tells what God was going to do--bring righteousness and salvation to His people. While God is ready to do battle against his enemies (cf. Isaiah 59:17-18), He is also ready to deliver those who repent (cf. Isaiah 59:20). Isaiah 59:21 explains what is true of every repentant Christian. It's time to ask ourselves in church whether we'll be on the receiving end of "repayment to his enemies" or "a Redeemer...to those...who turn from transgression." Isaiah continues his assault on all who profess faith in Christ, but do not show evidence of a living faith at work. We have the desire and capacity for righteous living because, on the cross, our Savior experienced God's wrath aimed at his adversaries (cf. Isaiah 59:18).

Isaiah 58 When Worship Doesn't Work

What drives the theology of Isaiah 58 is the commandment in Isaiah 58:1. Sermons that expose the sins of worshipers are not popular or fun to preach. God's people are active in worship, but also just as active in sin.  Cf. Isaiah 58:1-2. This chapter gives us an opportunity to evaluate our worship practices. Isaiah's description of God's people creates yet another negative example ("go and do otherwise"). We can't afford to worship the way they do and live like the devil (cf. Isaiah 58:4). Isaiah 58:6-7, 9-10, 13 show the kind of "fast" the Lord chooses for His people. All the "if you's" are followed by "then you's" to show the kind of healing God's true worshipers experience when God's condition is met (e.g., Isaiah 58:8-911-12, 14). In this section sin is exposed, exchanged for true righteous acts, and results in salvation. We're living in a time when morality in the church matches the morality in the world. And this is taking place while we worship. Apparently, many church-goers are engaged in deficient worship. In order for someone to become righteous, they must first look to the one to whom Isaiah pointed. On the cross our Savior did indeed bow His head in the greatest act of humility (cf. Isaiah 58:5; John 19:30).

Isaiah 57:14-21 Theology through Positive and Negative Exemplars

Despite what some say about exemplar preaching, it's impossible to avoid it entirely in a preaching portion like Isaiah 57:14-21. Surely, Isaiah addresses the Church by showing us a good example to follow (the "go and do likewise" of Isaiah 57:15). Just as certainly, Isaiah also addresses us by showing us a bad example to avoid (the "go and do otherwise" of Isaiah 57:20-21). Where exemplar preaching breaks down in my opinion is when the exemplars are held up by themselves and God's people only hear the preacher say at the end of the sermon: "Now, go and do likewise or go and do otherwise." Better to begin the end of the sermon by point out that our Lord was presented in Isaiah 53:5, 10 as being "crushed" (same Hebrew term translated "contrite" in Isaiah 57:15). When a person receives Christ as their Sovereign Savior, He transforms them into one "who is of a contrite and lowly spirit." He turns the wicked into the righteous. The exemplar works after the Gospel has done its work. Isaiah continues to urge the Church to leave worldliness behind and ready itself for the return of the Servant/King who will completely destroy all who rebel against Him and completely deliver all who trust Him. The catch: all who trust Him must look like Him. In this case, they must share God's perspective on their sin and need of redemption.

Isaiah 56:9-12 Theology through Negative Example

Isaiah 56:9-12 presents a stern warning for church leaders. Theology is presented through the extremely negative example of Israel's spiritual leaders. Unlike the feast of Isaiah 55:1, the feast of Isaiah 56:9 is one we want to avoid at all cost! We do not want to to be the main course at that feast. One way to avoid that is to follow our Lord's example and instruction in places such as 1 Peter 5:1-4. Our Lord lived out the opposite of Israel's shepherds and faith in Him gives us the desire and capacity to shepherd like Him. God help us to do so!

Isaiah 56:1-8 Saved by Faith, But Judged by Works?

Isaiah 56:1-8 is driven by the commandments and conditional elements in Isaiah 1-4, 6 such as keeping God's Sabbath. These obligations of righteousness become our ticket for entering and remaining in God's feast or banquet (cf. Isaiah 55:1). The end of Isaiah 56:1 explains why the conditions must be met. Isaiah 56:5, 7 explain what the righteous will enjoy. An angle on the gospel is found in the fact that Jesus experienced what the foreigner and eunuchs feared in Isaiah 56:3. It's very interesting to me that in a system where we are saved by faith, we are judged according to our works. Isaiah now helps me understand James a bit better, especially being justified by works which proves the authenticity of our faith. In their new book, Puritan Theology, Beeke and Jones include an insightful chapter on the subject of judgement according to works by Thomas Manton.

A.B.I.T. - Your First 3 Hours of Study

How is your Sunday sermon conveying theology?

Recently, I enjoyed a full afternoon conducting a preaching workshop with 20 other pastors and lay teachers. One thing we explored was how theology is conveyed in a preaching portion (the amount of Scripture you select for your sermon). I commented that theology is conveyed in Scripture through the structure of the preaching portion. It is common, however, for preachers to stray from the logic or flow of thought created by the Author/author. So, take a look at your sermon for this Sunday. How is your sermon conveying theology? Is your sermon somehow following the logic conveyed in your preaching portion or have you changed it? If you changed it, what theology are you communicating? The most important part of my study is the first half hour that I devote each week making sure I can identify the logical flow of my preaching portion. 

Isaiah 55 hinges on the invitation given to professing Christians

One of the fun things about preaching through a book of the Bible like Isaiah is the opportunity to learn famous verses in their context. Virtually every Christian that has read Isaiah 55:1 or heard it mentioned in church hears it as an invitation for non-Christians. The invitation, then, is for all of us to leave our worldliness behind (cf. Isaiah 55:7). Each week we're all tempted to adopt the ways of the world as our ways, as the right way. Each weekend we come together and affirm our desire for our Lord (cf. Isaiah 55:6). Another famous verse is found in Isaiah 55:11. Whenever God's call to repentance is announced, that word always accomplishes God's goal. Those with ears that can hear in the Church hear God's call and respond by forsaking their wickedness. You might make sense out of the chapter this way: 1. Our condition (vv. 1-2a). 2. God's offer (vv. 2b-5). 3. Our reaction (vv. 6-11). 4. Our new condition (vv. 12-13). The main thing is to be sure that the offer in Isaiah 55:1 is connected to the instruction in Isaiah 55:7. Those who respond to the offer will one day inhabit God's new world in Isaiah 55:12-13. Oh, and it's all possible because our Lord experienced the thorns during His crucifixion. That is why we can purchase sustenance "without price" (cf. Isaiah 55:1). It's free to us because it cost Him everything.