Layered Story Sensitivity

February 5, 2014 / Peter Mead / 3 Comments

We are trained as children to pluck out Bible stories and learn a lesson. Let’s try to fix that as adults.

You know the routine. You select a story, such as Abraham and Isaac on the mountains of Moriah. You tell the story. You offer a lesson…be willing to obey God whatever He asks. Job done. And the children go away thinking that that is how to handle the Bible. Pluck the story, point to a life lesson.

Then as adults we can easily do the same thing. You select a story, such as Jacob wrestling with the stranger at night. You tell the story. You offer a lesson…or maybe several (adults can cope with more): three top tips for handling complex threats. (I’m making this up, although it is true that preaching this way doesn’t require much time.) Be careful what situations you put yourself in. The dark is dangerous. Fight hard because God doesn’t let anything happen to you that you can’t cope with. (Forget that last one, it is problematic on so many levels!)

God did not give us a compendium of life lessons dressed up as character stories. The Bible writers were masterful in crafting the historical accounts into literary masterpieces. The brevity of individual stories woven together into epics of grand proportions. So what to do?

1. Study stories in the context of the bigger stories. Abraham and Isaac heading to the mountains of Moriah is the climax of a twelve chapter, decades long faith journey for Abraham and God. It wasn’t a random test coming out of nowhere. It was a heartbreaking and confusing test in the context of a story that had stretched as long as many of us live on earth. Promise, travel, gradual response, family separation, land assignment, further travel, false starts, wrong-headed plans, bizarre marital failures, repeated promises, eventual faith, later covenant sign, divine protection over the marriage and very late promise fulfillment.

2. Study bigger stories in the context of the bigger stories. So don’t just make sense of Jacob’s wrestling in the context of Jacob’s bigger story, see it as part of the sweeping story from Abraham’s promise down through the generations. Jacob was a deceiver, as was Laban, and the threat of Esau was massive . . . but was God a deceiver? Could He be taken at His word? Was Jacob’s big issue really his problematic relatives? Or was it himself and his own view of God?

3. Study bigger stories in the context of the biggest story. While this shouldn’t override the passage and completely change its meaning from what it could have originally meant, we have to be sensitive to the whole Bible epic of God’s dealings with humanity.

Tomorrow I’ll poke at this issue from another angle.

Preaching Epistles Webinar

January 20, 2014January 19, 2014 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

The traditional sermon was always built around a list of parallel points. But what if the passage does not work that way? How can we reflect the flow of thought in a passage in order to not only say what it says, but also seek to do what it does in our preaching?

This webinar is on Thursday the 30th of January at 6pm UK time. Click here to register.

Read Your Bible in 2014? Part 2

December 23, 2013December 20, 2013 / Peter Mead / 7 Comments

It has been a couple of years since I suggested that the famous reading plan of a certain famous Christian was not a good idea. (If you want to see that post, click here.) That plan, and many that have copied it, involves reading a small handful of chapters each day. The chapters are from different places in the canon. I know some people swear by this approach, but I am unconvinced. Here’s why:

1. Why treat the Bible chapters as vitamin pills rather than part of a coherent feast? Why pursue “balance” with a passion, but sacrifice the divine design? God gave us books, not an assortment of random chapters.

2. Why choose to not read chapters in their context? Esther is hard to put down, so is Ephesians, and Hebrews always grips me, and there are over 60 other books, most of which are an awesome read in flow. Why take a bit of one meal and then a bite of another?

3. Why miss out on the delight of noise-free reading? For the first minutes of our Bible reading, perhaps 10-15, we have a mental noise in the background: things to do, don’t forget this, remember that, what about… Once that clears, we zero in and enjoy what we are reading. Read for ten minutes and you will be ready to stop. Read for 30-40 and you will struggle to put it down. Most reading plans cater to 10-12 minute reading loads. So you could struggle year after year with these disciplined approaches, but absolutely thrive on the simple approach of reading a decent chunk in flow. Really? People who struggle to read the Bible through in a year may find it easier and more enjoyable to read it 2 or 3 times in a year? Yes.

4. Why take a checklist approach to the most important relationship? I don’t have to force myself to read sports news, or eat three meals a day, and certainly don’t require a checklist to remember to interact with my wife each day. I don’t tend to be impressed with reticent disciplined Bible readers. But those who delight in God tend to be people who devour the Bible. That may look like discipline, love usually does, but discipline is not the way to get there.

Perhaps it is worth pondering how to encourage people by enthusiastic invitation, rather than by affirming the “difficulty” and “trudgery” of “getting through the Bible” in a year or three. Here is a link to my friend Ron’s article on Bible reading – as “Bible presenters” lets be sure to be genuine Bible enthusiasts that do more than try to fire up the so-called disciplined wills of our listeners!

Read Your Bible in 2014?

December 20, 2013 / Peter Mead / 2 Comments

Two years ago I wrote a post that seemed to polarize readers. I suggested that the famous reading plan of a certain famous Christian was not a good idea. If you want to see that post, click here. Let me offer some thoughts on this as we head toward a new year and probably a fair few resolutions for preachers and non-preachers alike.

I am a huge fan of getting people to read the Bible. While there are numerous ways to walk devotionally with our God, every other option surely must be undergirded and shot through with exposure to the Bible – God’s primary means of self-revelation and input into our lives.

If a reading plan is the only way to motivate someone, fine, so be it. But I am concerned whenever I sense a lack of motivation in myself or in others. I think that too often we treat a lack of motivation as a normal emotional problem to be overcome by diligence, accountability and determination.

I would suggest that we treat a lack of motivation as a flashing light on the dashboard of our lives. When the oil light flashes I don’t obey it and choose not to drive the car. Equally I don’t disregard it and press on. I address the issue. Same with a lack of motivation for Bible reading . . . don’t simply obey it, nor ignore it, but address it. The best way I have found is to talk to God about that lack of motivation. Be honest. Out loud. Tell him what is more attractive to you than His self-revelation. That should prove to be convicting and bring us back in humility with a brokenness and renewed, albeit weak, hunger to hear from Him that we might respond as we should.

The best motivation for Bible reading is a hunger to know God more. Therefore the best motivator for stirring others to read their Bibles is to know God more and be infectious with it. When you are captured by a person, others will want to know Him too. This is a far cry from language of diligence and discipline and so on.

I don’t ask my friends to hold me accountable to pretend to love my wife and listen to her. I may ask them to point out if they see me rationalizing a drift from healthy relationships though. Same with the Bible reading. I don’t need someone to crack the whip to make me do it, but I am wide open to hearing from a friend that I seem touchy or less excited about God than is normal.

So next time I will come back to the reading plan issue and share some thoughts. None of this is intended to stir up the hornets nest again, just to stir our thinking as we head toward a New Year and probably a lot of renewed motivation to be consistent in Bible reading . . .

One Step Closer

December 7, 2013 / Peter Mead / 4 Comments

Sometimes taking one step forward can make a huge difference. Instead of remaining at arms length, one step can cross numerous boundaries of personal space and move you into a zone of great importance – this is true in romance, in fighting, in conversation, and in preaching.

Beginning preachers, and some that have preached for years, tend to preach their message at arms length. Some do so by some sort of conviction, others more unawares. They study and prepare, but it is all about the notes. From the Bible to the notes to the people. Arms length. Somehow there is a nervousness about this thing out there called the message. The preacher is anxious about saying the right words and that anxiety sometimes shows. Even without showing overtly, it does leave the message somewhat flat, just about the words.

But one step forward can make such a difference. If the entire process of Bible study, message preparation and delivery can all be brought inside the personal space, the preaching is very different. Instead of something the preacher is straining to not forget, now the message comes from the heart. Instead of preaching being truth preached by a personality (often a stilted personality trying to remember the message), now the message can be truth through personality. Instead of a message being handled at arms length from the Bible text to the listeners, via the notes of the preacher, now the message comes through the preacher with the force of the life transforming power of the Word – clear and unhindered.

I am not really writing about notes. More about whether the Bible is a curiosity and data source, a professional tool, or a personal treasure from a God who moves intimately into our personal space to wreck our self-absorbed worlds, bring about massive transformation and a deep intimacy. I am suggesting our message preparation should be a unique experience for each of us, rather than following the checklist of someone else’s model. I am saying that our delivery should come from the totality of a gripped heart and life in transformation, rather than being a mere transfer of information from notes to listeners.

It’s hard to pin down exactly how one message can be preached at arms length, while another comes through the heart of the preacher. Yet as a listener it is usually not so hard to tell the difference.

Letter Frame – Preacher’s Treasure 7

November 29, 2013November 28, 2013 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

In this series I have looked at letter openings and closings. Lots of treasure that is often overlooked and ignored despite being fully inspired and massively preachable! Here are a few closing ideas to pull the series together:

1. Preach a whole book through the lens of a key element in the letter frame. By taking an opening greeting, a doxology, or whatever, it is possible to introduce and preach the big message of an entire epistle. This could function as a stand-alone message.

2. Introduce or conclude a series in a book using opening or closing elements. Instead of sounding like an introductory page in a study Bible (i.e. just giving a bland author, recipients, date, occasion, map, etc.), diving into the body of an epistle and ignoring the opening or finishing a series abruptly, consider the value of an overview intro or conclusion that is a legitimate exposition of an inspired text.

3. Consider a series of doxologies, closing prayers, or whatever, with whole epistles reinforcing each message in the series. This would be a challenge for the preacher, and might require some awareness from the listeners, but it could be highly effective. It would help us break out of a “standard section length for every sermon” approach. Whole books have big ideas that transform lives. Letter frames offer summaries that root those ideas in shorter texts.

What other ideas would you add? How have you heard a letter frame preached effectively?

Letter Frame – Preacher’s Treasure 6

November 28, 2013 / Peter Mead / 5 Comments

There are some stunning doxologies in the epistles. They are a potential treasure for preachers:

1. Doxologies tend to offer a succinct overview of the content of a letter. What the writer was pondering as he wrote or dictated tends to come out in this late point of praise. As preachers we can tap into that to review or overview the epistle as a whole.

2. Doxologies offer the preacher an opportunity to preach a different genre within the epistle. Just as introductory and closing materials can offer a more narrative type of content (i.e. accessing the narrative behind the letter), so the doxology allows the preacher to preach something akin to poetry. Preaching poetry offers something different to the discourse that predominates in the epistles.

Here are some doxologies to ponder:

* Hebrews 13:20-21 . . . The preacher (remember that Hebrews is not an epistle, but rather a sermon with an epistolary postscript) points to God’s raising Jesus from the dead, and to the blood of the eternal covenant, as the one who will equip the hearers to live lives pleasing to Him. The Jesus-focused encouragement throughout the “letter” is seen even here.

* Jude 24-25 . . . One of the more famous doxologies pointing to God’s ability to guard and protect believers in an antagonistic world.

* 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 . . . An easy one to miss, this is effectively a doxology within the body of the letter (similar to Paul’s explosions of delight at the end of Romans 8 and Romans 11:33-36).

* 2 Corinthians 13:14 . . . Is Paul offering three elements of God’s goodness within a trinitarian framework, or is he actually referring to the One who is the grace and love of the Son and Father, that is, the Holy Spirit? Jonathan Edwards understood this doxology as being entirely about the Spirit, which would fit a letter gripped by the New Covenant ministry theme.

* 1 Corinthians 16:22-24 . . . A striking and often ignored conclusion to a letter. Perhaps verse 22 is key to the complexities of church life in Corinth? I have never heard anybody preach from this section, have you?

* Revelation 2-3 . . . Don’t miss the treasure in Jesus’ seven epistles to the churches of Asia Minor. Recognizing the consistent themes within and throughout each individual letter is key to making sense of the details. The promise to the overcomer always makes sense in light of the description of Christ and the commendation/complaint within the letter.

Seems like there is plenty of scope for a series of messages based purely on the doxologies. After all, pondering the truth and life-changing relevance of the gospel should lead us to praise God!

Letter Frame – Preacher’s Treasure 5

November 27, 2013 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Yesterday we saw that there are a host of ingredients that could go into an epistle closing section. One way to use the closing is to select an element and preach an overview of the whole epistle using that text. Some examples:

1. Preaching Final Personal Remarks – Galatians 6:14-15

Paul keeps on reinforcing the big themes of Galatians: it is all about Christ crucified, the promised deliverer, and the work of the Spirit in making us new creatures in relationship with our Abba. Here Paul gives a Christ and Spirit (New Covenant shorthand term) summation, just to reinforce the point already made in chapters 3-4, in the summary of 5:5-6, etc. From these two verses you could effectively preach the whole letter.

2. Preaching Concluding Exhortations – Romans 16:17-20

Paul addressed the issue of a disunited Roman church from the beginning of the letter. The applicational climax in 15:7-13 is brought back here in the final verses of the letter. Romans could be preached or reviewed with this text, as it could with the doxology to follow in 16:25-27.

3. Preaching Closing Prayer – 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Again, the big themes of the body of the letter are clearly evident in this single verse: sanctification and anticipation of the Lord’s return.

4. Preaching Prayer Request – Colossians 4:2-4

Not only does Paul offer a “practical” prayer request, but it is focused on the key issue of the whole epistle – the person and mystery of Christ.

5. Preaching Greetings – Romans 16:3-16, 21-23

Paul’s list of connections in Rome gives an insight into the constitution of the church in Rome – several Jewish names among a predominantly Gentile group. This is tricky, but if handled well, this could be a gateway into the issue that Paul has been addressing theologically throughout the letter.

Tomorrow I will almost wrap up the series by looking at doxologies, and then will offer a final post with some big letter-frame preaching suggestions.

Letter Frame – Preacher’s Treasure

November 21, 2013 / Peter Mead / 2 Comments

The “letter-frame” is a jargon-laden way of referring to the opening and closing of the New Testament epistles. I’d like to ponder these sections for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because they are fully inspired text. The words are worth just as much as the more familiar content of the epistles. Secondly, because they are so often ignored.

Inspired and ignored. Two words that should not be introduced!

“Standard” Openings – it is wise to be slightly wary of “standards” in biblical literature, as if the author was consulting a writer’s guide whenever he wrote. A lot of research has been done on the nature of letters and epistles, and I don’t want to review that here. But let me offer the normal view of the “standard” opening:

Sender, to the recipients, greetings, I thank God . . .

This probably sounds familiar: Paul, to the saints at…, grace and peace, I thank God every time I think of you . . . here are a few introductory preaching thoughts on preaching the introductory thoughts, or at least an introduction to the subject:

1. Notice what is added. Paul could just write “Paul” at the start of each epistle, but typically he adds more. In Galatians he dives in, third word, to address the critique against him. He is an apostle! And he gives details on how that is the case and that he is not alone in what he writes! However, in Philippians, Paul sounds a different note – he and Timothy are servants. To the Corinthians he adds a very generous saintly description of a profoundly unholy group of believers, and then drives straight into another theme by associating them with all believers (something they weren’t clear on!)

2. Notice when the pattern is changed. On all but two occasions Paul is careful to use his opening prayer graciously and significantly. But in Titus he presses into the heart of the matter, perhaps because the epistle is a brief reminder to close friend Titus, rather than a fully developed epistle to less connected friends? And then there is Galatians. Hold on tight! Instead of thanking God on every remembrance of them, Paul is astonished that they are deserting the gospel. They aren’t going to another religion, or giving up on being Christians, or going all worldly. No, they are taking onboard a law-heavy entrance and development plan that is totally against the gospel he preached to them. Result? They are turning from God by their “greater” commitment to godliness (in the flesh).

It is one thing to recognize what is there, but what difference does it make to our preaching? More ideas next time…

Felt Relevance

October 18, 2013 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

People want relevant preaching, but there are various ways to be relevant.

One way is to make the Bible a resource for advising listeners on how to be more successful in their attempts to live their lives. This statement is loaded with theological concerns, but the approach is popular and for many, the end justifies the means. So since people will respond positively to tips for life, and that will multiply attendees at church, then all is well. But what if we find ourselves uncomfortable with offering this kind of preaching? Are we forced to give up on relevance and instead switch to a heady theological and doctrinal type of preaching?

I don’t think so.

Another approach to relevance is to recognize the implicit relevance in inspired Scripture. It is God-breathed and it is useful. Our task as preachers is not to add relevance, but to make the relevance clear and felt. When the Scriptures are not treated as a flat data bank from which to pluck truth statements or instructions or whatever, but instead as fully dimensioned interpersonal communication, then we are on the right track. What I mean is that we need to make the Scripture clear, engaging with it in its historical and literary context so that its uniqueness is not only evident and clear, but also vivid and felt. Not only should we invite listeners into the world of the text so that the narrative or poem or discourse is felt and experienced, but also we should be inviting listeners to engage with the God who is revealing Himself in the text.

The combination of vivid text and personal revelation of God makes for powerful and felt relevance. Of course, some may not appreciate this approach. For one thing, God’s self-disclosure can be offensive to those who hunger more for instructions for independent living. But this should not put us off.

When we preach the Bible, let’s not settle for a tips-for-life kind of relevance. Let’s instead be Bible preachers who give our very best to help listeners experience the full meaning of the text and encounter the self-revelation of God.

True biblical preaching is relevant, because the Bible is relevant. True biblical preaching does not just use the Bible, or start with the Bible, instead it brings together two worlds, so that the God who is over all history can work glorious transformation in the world of the contemporary listener.