Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Stage 2 - Passage Study’ Category

If you have a commitment to expository Biblical preaching as it is understood on this site, then some versions of preaching obviously stand out as poor.  The anecdotal platitudinal rambling with a verse attached won’t fool many of us.  The non-expository topical sermon where verses aren’t handled with care and the Bible isn’t in authority [...]

Read Full Post »

The question “why?” is critical for good preaching.
Why did the author write the passage? Wrestling with the intent of the author is critical if the goal is to understand the passage.  This means not only asking “what does the passage say?” – that is, content.  But also asking “why did the author write it?” – [...]

Read Full Post »

Some churches apparently have “topical sermons” every week.  Apparently some preachers think they are easier to prepare and easier to listen to.  Yes and no. A topical message is easier to prepare if you are simply wanting to say your own thing and bounce off a couple of verses along the way.  A topical message [...]

Read Full Post »

Thanks to Sarah for commenting on the post about Illustration Saturation.  As I mentioned in the post, many of us struggle with finding and using “illustration” material.  Sarah asked how to improve at intersecting life experiences with the text.  Here are a few random thoughts to get us going.  Certainly this is no developed strategy, [...]

Read Full Post »

Unity.  Order.  Progress.  Three essentials in effective communication of a message.  Yet it strikes me that we can sometimes take these for granted when we are preaching on a single passage.  Unity?  One passage.  Order?  Moving through the passage.  Progress?  Getting closer to the end.  If this is all we have, then I suspect our [...]

Read Full Post »

Okay, that should be “developmental questions,” but they are dynamite.  Sunukjian and others have followed Robinson in making quite a fuss of these three questions.  I would encourage you to do the same.  The questions represent the three ways in which a stated idea can be developed.  There are no other ways to develop an [...]

Read Full Post »

Observation does not work in haste.  It takes time to keep looking at something and really see it.  I’m told that you cannot get the best out of an art gallery by rushing around and taking mental snapshots (my default approach).  I know that neither can you get the best out of a Bible passage [...]

Read Full Post »

One last time, the basic definition of “Biblical Theology” that I am leaning on for this series of posts: Biblical theology is the fruit of studying the Bible in such a way as to recognize the individuality of each biblical author, the progress of revelation over time and the unity of the canon resulting from [...]

Read Full Post »

Here’s the basic definition of “Biblical Theology” that I am leaning on for this series of posts: Biblical theology is the fruit of studying the Bible in such a way as to recognize the individuality of each biblical author, the progress of revelation over time and the unity of the canon resulting from the inspired [...]

Read Full Post »

Biblical Theology is a very fruitful field for preachers.  Not every fruit is worth eating, of course, but there is real benefit to studying works in this field.  To give a basic definition for the sake of this post: Biblical theology is the fruit of studying the Bible in such a way as to recognize [...]

Read Full Post »

I recently heard a friend make an excellent point.  Apparently there are only three passages in the Bible.  How do we know this?  Well, there seem to be only three sermon outlines, so obviously there are only three texts.  The sermon outlines are as follows:
1. Jesus died for your sins, repent and believe, when you [...]

Read Full Post »

It is so important to understand the text before you preach it!  I don’t mean just knowing what the big words mean.  I don’t mean just having a collection of exegetical insights to share.  I don’t mean even having a sermon vaguely based on certain parts of the text.  I mean really understanding what the [...]

Read Full Post »

This post is building on the previous two.  Yesterday I shared “Five Looks” approach to Bible study to illustrate a discussion on Monday’s post.  The issue raised on Monday was do we preach the main thought of a text, or a biblical theology prompted by the main thought of a text?  The question really focuses [...]

Read Full Post »

Perhaps you have come across the “Five Looks” approach to Bible study?  It is a clear and helpful approach credited to Andrew Reid of Ridley College, Melbourne.  Here is a brief synopsis:
1. Look Up – We need to receive the Bible as the word of God.  This implies a commitment to prayer and faith.
2. Look [...]

Read Full Post »

Here are the last three points of rationale for my list.  This follows on from the last two days of posts.
5. The brick wall approach urges book by book study – By definition it helps avoid the “mastery of preferred proof texts approach,” or the “selected doctrines based on preferred theology approach,” or other less [...]

Read Full Post »

Yesterday I shared my foundation and brick wall approach.  This post won’t make sense without reading that one first.  Here are seven of the underlying thoughts that make me think this approach is a healthy one:
1. Motivation is Key – This approach is designed primarily to facilitate the motivation of the individual.  Too often Bible [...]

Read Full Post »

Back on April 7th I wrote about the need for us all to prioritize mastering, and being mastered by, the Bible.  Winston commented and asked for my suggestions on this.  I’ll share my thinking briefly here.  I’d encourage you to read the earlier post again to refresh your memory and stir the motivation – it [...]

Read Full Post »

Yesterday I pointed out that prayer is by no means a short cut when it comes to preparing to preach.  It is critical, but it should not be viewed as a short cut.  Today I’d like to share another unhelpful short-cut.
2. Passage Details. It is always tempting to bounce off a detail in the passage [...]

Read Full Post »

There are a couple of short-cuts taken by many preachers that need to be highlighted for the sake of Biblical Preaching.  Please be sure to read the explanation as well as the heading (it’s amazing how people miss the point of what’s written sometimes!)
1. Prayer. Prayer is not a short-cut.  It is a necessity.  It [...]

Read Full Post »

I’ve written on commentaries before, such as here and here, and even here. I was just prompted by something I read to point out something else concerning commentaries. As well as the standard sage advice to not overly revere the commentaries, but rather treat them as conversation partners; as well as the solid [...]

Read Full Post »

Here’s a provocative quote from Charles Kraft:
The amount of crucial information involved in Christianity is, I believe, quite small.  The amount of Christian behavior demanded in response to all that information is, however, quite large.  We have, however, given ourselves over to a methodology that emphasizes the lesser of the two ingredients. (Jesus Model for [...]

Read Full Post »

We’re coming toward the end of terms and semesters. Just a few weeks to go until many will walk the stage, shake the hands, get the paper, etc. Here are some great thoughts from Al Mohler’s commencement address at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary last December. It’s worth reading the whole address, here’s [...]

Read Full Post »

I suppose many of us preachers have a desire to make every passage understandable.  This is good and right on many levels.  Yet some passages, and some details in passages, are tough.  I was leading a Bible study on Isaiah 49-50 the other night . . . there was a tough detail.  Should I force [...]

Read Full Post »

In the last two posts we’ve considered Greg Haslam’s list of eight reasons why preaching is ailing.  I’d like to add a couple more to the list, from my perspective.  Feel free to add your thoughts.
Some don’t know how to interpret the Bible. Some preachers have the best intentions, and even good presentation skills, but [...]

Read Full Post »

My post today is not here, but you can get there from here. It’s a guest post on a blog I appreciate very much – spreadinggoodness.org. It is a blog by Dr Ron Frost. I commend the blog to you, and I’m not just saying that because Ron has kindly invited me [...]

Read Full Post »

I don’t want to oversimplify Bible study, but in most basic terms it involves two steps. The first step is to understand what the author meant by what he wrote back then.  The second step is to then consider the enduring application of that text for us today.  Back then . . . today.  Two [...]

Read Full Post »

I’ve had Bibleworks for many years (since the Hermeneutika days!), but I’ve had Bibleworks 8 for just a couple of weeks.  Is it worth upgrading from an older version?  Is it worth buying Bibleworks for the first time?  Yes and a qualified yes. The qualified yes is that it is worth buying Bibleworks for the [...]

Read Full Post »

I like this term, “smooth preaching.”  I was just reading about it and resonating with the thought.  Peter Jensen uses the term in his chapter on the role of the seminary in the training of the preacher.   (Preach the Word, p216.)  He writes, “There is a variety of smooth preaching that replicates what it sees [...]

Read Full Post »

Yesterday I quoted from JI Packer’s chapter on Charles Simeon in Preach the Word.  I wanted to finish quoting the paragraph since it is provocative and perhaps helpful:
The motive behind his almost obsessive outbursts against Calvinistic and Arminian “system-Christians,” as he called them, was his belief that, through reading Scripture in light of their systems, [...]

Read Full Post »

On one level it is a feeling that can come for any reason.  A little moment of doubt.  An unexpected event, or listener, or conversation, or comment . . . and suddenly the temptation is there to give up on the planned message.  Some may have this feeling every time they preach.  Others may never [...]

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »