Old Testament

Preaching and the Bible Neighbourhood 2

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Yesterday I suggested we need to help listeners know the key landmarks.  This takes repetition and emphasis.  We can’t assume that one time over anything will make it stick.  So as we preach, let’s look for ways to flag up key locations in the canon.  This can be done by character, by key event (giving of a covenant, exile, etc.), or by passage (people should know that Genesis 12 is critical, and Exodus 19, and 2Samuel 7, and Jeremiah 31, etc.)

But we also need to …

2. Help them join the dots.  This is like learning to get from the grocery store to the office.  I could go from home to both, but I needed to figure out how to go from one to the other.  Learning your way around a city is often about joining the dots without home being the starting point.  The same is true in the Bible.

I am not suggesting that we should be preaching chains of references and safari hunts of cross-texts.  This doesn’t help do much but numb listeners.  But when appropriate, we should help people see why putting Moses in the context of Abraham is important.  Or why the New Covenant promised in the midst of the failure of Israel under the Old Covenant matters.  Or why Ruth being in the time of the Judges makes a difference.

And then, of course, what about the thematic development of Old Testament promises and ideas right the way through to the New Testament?  While there are some bizarre links being made from Old Testament to Jesus, we must not miss the intended ones.  The Bible has a unity and so it is not illegitimate to pursue the genuine connections that are present.

This is not a free ticket to speculative connections of common terms, etc.  This is an encouragement to know the Bible well, and to help others become familiar with it.  They don’t need to be instant experts (you and I are still learning too), but it is good for them to have confidence that they can open it, read it, and have a decent sense of what is going on and why it matters to the bigger story.

Tomorrow, I’ll add another suggestion . . .

Preaching and the Bible Neighbourhood

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Eight years ago we moved to south London.  I well remember the early weeks of driving (pre-GPS) with the 250-page map book open on the passenger seat next to me.  I knew one way to get to the office.  I found a way to get to the grocery store.  I found a different way from the grocery store to the route for the office.  I discovered how to get to our church.  Bit by bit I put the pieces together.

It was completely overwhelming at the start.  How could you ever find your way around a city like this?  Winding roads, town after town swallowed up by the sprawling claws of greater London.  But it wasn’t too long before the map sat on the back seat and I could find my way around without much concentration.

As preachers we need to recognize that our congregation may not be super-familiar with the biblical landscape.  It can feel like a confusing mess of history, geography, long names and absent timelines.  And if we aren’t careful, our preaching can only reinforce that sense.

So what can we do to help?  I’d like to share some thoughts today and in the subsequent days.  Here’s the first one:

1. Repeatedly offer them the critical landmarks.  Depending on where they are at, the landmarks may be as basic as Old Testament versus New Testament, or they might be a bit of specific.  But don’t assume too much.  While many will have a sense of Jesus’ life and ministry being in the Gospels, and then the subsequent action being in Acts, I suspect more than we realize are profoundly foggy on Old Testament landmarks.

Abraham and God’s promises to him – critical marker that people need to know is important.  Where does Moses come (and why does he matter?)  What about David (are these all covenant recipients?)  And what about the exile.  All the prophets relate in some way to the exile, so we can’t let it remain a mystery for folk!  There are other landmarks, but it would be good to make sure people are hearing of the significance of these as a starter.

Tomorrow I’ll go to the second point . . . we need to help people join the dots.

Interactive Bible Observation Preaching 2

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Yesterday I shared some reflections on the advantages of the approach I took to preaching through Ruth last month.  The evening meeting allowed a different approach to the morning meeting, so I had folks marking up the passage on a handout, and then interacting together about observations along the way.

Here are some of the disadvantages, limitations or challenges in this approach.

1. It takes longer.  If the church is very strict on end time, then you have to begin it earlier in the meeting.  What might take 30 minutes to preach, can take 45-50 minutes with this approach.  Having said that, people should feel fully engaged if it is done well.  It may also take longer in preparation. That is, even though the homiletical crafting may be less, the exegetical awareness needs to be maximal.

2. It requires a certain relational comfort level.  Maybe requires is too strong a word.  I appreciated knowing the people and feeling a sense of mutual trust.  Having said that, I have seen someone do the same thing with a group of people he’d never met before and it worked very well.  But he had to win trust very quickly.  Too big of a group and it would lose the relational connection potential.

3. It requires care in interaction management.  When people participate, you have to handle what is said graciously.  Even when they are wrong.  This is where knowing the congregation really helps.  A comment shouldn’t be crushed, or too overtly corrected, etc.  I see this as common courtesy, but I am used to it in more “classroom” environments.  Some preachers seem unable to handle interaction without offending people.  I was talking with someone recently and we mentioned a speaker who might be invited to something.  The comment was telling: “yes we could invite him, but don’t let him have any Q&A time!”

4. It requires lots of preacher thinking.  When people participate, there is less control for the preacher.  You don’t know where they will go.  Your questions will influence that, but you really have to know your stuff, and know your plan.  How will you create and sustain tension with this approach?  When will you preach, and when will you interact?  How can the conclusion have impact?

5. You may have to overcome other messages and ideas.  Perhaps it wouldn’t work so well in a very familiar New Testament passage.  Or perhaps it is just what is needed.  But you would need to help people see the text itself, rather than their preconceived ideas and favourite points from other preachers.

Overall, none of these issues disqualify the approach and I will used it again, modifying continually.  Print the text, let them mark it up and lead as you all enjoy the adventure together.

Interactive Bible Observation Preaching

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Last month I decided to try something a little different in our church.  I used the Sunday evening service (we have two services on a Sunday), for a study through the book of Ruth.  Each person attending was given a handout with the plain text of the passage for the evening with headings removed, but plenty of margin space allowed.  At various points I had them marking the text and then interacted with them as we observed the passage together.  I still preached, but it wasn’t a tightly controlled sermon.  I determined when there would be interaction, and overall I think it worked well.

Upon reflection, here are some of the advantages of this approach (not saying it should replace normal preaching, but I think it has a place).

1. It shows people that they can read and think about the passage, they don’t need to be spoon fed.  It is easy to get into the habit of only getting Bible input from “experts” – either at church, or for some, on MP3 downloads during the week.  But this approach subtly reminds people that they can look at and think about the text themselves.

2. It shows some people that they don’t automatically know everything.  This is in contrast to number 1, I suppose.  Some people are over confident in their view on everything.  This approach allows them to discover that they missed something and should look closer.  “I never saw that before” isn’t such a scary phrase from the preacher’s perspective, when they are actually observing the text with other people and it is plainly before them (rather than a homiletical invention).

3. It gives people experience of observing, then interpreting, then applying.  Some never really observe, some skip straight to application, etc.  This is a good group exposure to inductive Bible study.

4. It slows the pace of experiencing the text.  In this instance, it was Ruth, a narrative.  Good preaching can also slow the pace of experiencing the text, but this approach certainly did.  People felt the tension and it built nicely, both during the message and over the weeks.

5. The preaching element is proven.  That is, if done well, the preaching element should not get the “I wouldn’t have seen that in the text” kind of response.  They are seeing it, the preacher is just building and reinforcing what has already come through.  I found the more traditional preaching element in this series felt very gritty and real: it was the explanation and reinforcement of the main theme in each passage, tied into the bigger picture of the book.

There are other advantages, so feel free to add by comment…

Holiday Post 3: Carefully Communicate Compelling Characters

/ Peter Mead / 2 Comments

Another January 2008 post for you, another day of holiday for me with my family (this is pre-loaded, in case you are wondering). . .

As preachers we always run the risk of preaching in black and white. We read a biblical text, compile the facts and preach them. Biblical writers wrote in a time where detail concerning characters in the narrative was sparse to say the least. We don’t read physical descriptions very often, other details are usually lacking and a character’s character is often only hinted at. Yet today we preach in a world where character detail and description are much more prominent (in advertising images, commercials, dramas, movies, etc.)

Warning! – The danger here is that we preach from the biblical lack of detail in a manner that resembles an abstract or colorless lecture. We can easily preach messages that people don’t relate to, can’t connect with and probably won’t be touched by.

Possibility! – The text often does give us more than we may at first notice. So with a little extra work and care, perhaps we can preach narrative texts in a more compelling and gripping way.

Definitely! – First we must be sure to make the most of whatever the text does give us. Don’t skim over a physical description, or the meaning of a name, or dialogue from their lips, or any other statement regarding the person.

Carefully! – Typically the text will not give enough information to build a full profile of a character. But carefully proceed to build more of a profile if you can. Consider all pertinent biblical, historical and cultural information. In areas where there is no possible certainty, perhaps suggest possibility without being definite. “Perhaps he felt . . . or was . . . or wanted . . .”

Remember that your goal is to preach the idea of the text with relevance to your listeners. Don’t get sidetracked into endless character profiling like an obsessive detective in a crime drama. Of course, facts are critically important. However, remember that lectures can be boring, but characters in dramas are compelling.

Solutions

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This week I am on holiday with my family.  This means that I am preloading old posts rather than presenting new material.  I suppose if I hadn’t told you then nobody would have noticed, but maybe there are some preachers reading who need the nudge to take a break, get refreshed, be with your family.

Anyway, this post is new.  It is my bi-weekly offering on the Cor Deo site.  It is longer than my normal length on this site, but it might be worth a look.  What happens when we only present one-fifth of the New Covenant?  What happens when we fall back into a default Old Covenant approach to life?  Why does this happen?  Click here, or the picture, to go to the post.

Narrative Lived

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Why did God give the majority of His Word in the form of narrative?  I suspect part of the answer lies in the incarnational nature of narrative.  It is theology fleshed out in concrete.  Real lives, real situations, real challenges, real responses.  Narrative engages us, and that is exactly the way God would have it.  Why?  Because He seeks to engage us.

So as I am studying a couple of narratives for forthcoming messages, I am struck by how my life this week has been a sequence of micro-narratives, within the larger narrative of my year, within the macro-narrative of many lives intersecting, within the supra-narrative of God’s history.  Just like we see in the Bible, the world is a stage where lives live in response to each other and to God.  Some trust Him, others trust self.  Some live out love for God, others live out love for self.

I suppose most, if not all, of the story lived out this week will be consigned to unrequested history books in the annals of heaven’s library.  Most of each Bible character’s life was not the action snippet that we see in children’s bible story books.  I was talking with my children this week about how the Bible characters were full people, not just caricatures.  There was much more to Noah than a beard and a saw.  Full lives, full characters, full stories.  Most not getting into the book, but all of it mattering profoundly.

Which makes me stop and think as I head into another Sunday: what kind of character am I in God’s great story?  The Bible proves it isn’t about brains, or beauty, or brawn.  The Bible points to heart response to God’s Word, which then spills out in every aspect of life.

In the visual silence of an unseen God, how does my life live out its response to His Word?

People speak of the great tapestry of history.  My life is just a thread in that whole work of art.  This week is probably only a micro-fibre.  But it counts.  It is coloured.  And in all the complexity of biblical narrative we see every shade of colour, and yet everything seems to boil down to love or hate, trust or self-reliance, faith or fear.

Let’s be sure God’s Word is marking our lives as we seek to help others be marked by it in the coming weekend.

Preparing to Preach OT Narrative – 5

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This week I have been getting my head and heart in gear to prepare messages from the book of Ruth.  I’ve pondered issues of contextual unawareness, perceived irrelevance and the challenges of application.  I am not saying any of this should come before issues of study and interpretation, but before the messages can be prepared, these issues have to be faced.  I’d like to raise one more issue:

What is my strategy for preaching through the book?I have four sessions to preach through Ruth.  Slam dunk, decision made, right?  Four weeks, four chapters.  Voila!  Perhaps.  But I’m not a fan of instant obvious decisions.  I want to think through it first.

1. Preaching a narrative means preaching multiple scenes, not multiple chapters.  It may be that there are four scenes in four chapters, but I need to check that first.  Going with chapter breaks is lazy and sometimes naive.

2. How do I keep the unity in mind?  Ruth wasn’t written to be read over four sittings in four weeks.  It was written to be heard in one sweep.  I have to ponder that.  Should I preach the whole narrative in one go?  I could do that week 1, but then what?  I could take three weeks to revisit the text and zero in on specific aspects of the story.  Or I could review the whole narrative at the end.  Or I could let it build week by week, as if people don’t know what is coming.

3. And what about other options given by four weeks?  Maybe I need to take a week on the opening verses and engage the complexity of divine providence, suffering and life as experienced by most people.  Perhaps there are a couple of chapters that could flow together.  Perhaps the ending that points forward to David is worthy of a wrap-up message on its own.  So many options.

Simply splitting it into four roughly equal chunks with a big number at the start does seem a bit too hasty at this point.  I need to spend some more time in the text of Ruth, and be prayerfully considering what would be most helpful to our congregation.

Preparing to Preach OT Narrative – 4

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So I am preparing to preach Ruth.  I know that all preachers are tempted to overcome the perceived lack of relevance by multiplying applications from the details of the story.  Yesterday I suggested that the details are there for the sake of the plot, rather than as automatic teaching points. But there is more to be said on this matter of applying the text.

Furthermore, (2) I have to remember that narratives were not given to us merely to instruct our conduct.  It is not just conduct that matters in facing the horrors life can throw at us (Ruth 1), it is also truths applied at the level of personal belief, and even affection.  Ruth didn’t cling to Naomi, and give up everything to go with her, based on knowledge of “the right things to do in this situation.”  She did it all because of the God that had gripped her heart.

I don’t want my listeners to have lists of behavioural applications, but untouched hearts.  That would make a mockery of the force of Ruth.  Relevance doesn’t have to be just a to-do list.  Relevance is more to do with the impact of the text on the heart of the listener so that they leave the service as a changed person.

Finally (although not definitively), (3) I need to recognize that the relevance in the text is not on a merely human level.  It is tempting to look at people interacting with people and consider applications that can come straight over into our seen world.  But all biblical narratives are about the seen intersecting with the unseen.  There is a God alive and yet often not seen.  The narrative is about lives lived under the constant question of trust or non-trust in the Word of God.  If my listeners finish with great insight into an ancient narrative, but without a greater sense of God (both then and now), then I have failed to be truly relevant.

Tomorrow I’ll ponder another practical issue in preparation…

Preparing to Preach OT Narrative – 3

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I am preparing to preach a series from the book of Ruth.  This week I’ve been thinking out loud about aspects I need to keep in mind as I head into the preparations.  I’ve thought about the unfamiliarity of the context for the listeners, as well as their perception of the irrelevance of something so far removed from today.

Today I’m pondering a temptation I know I’ll face in preaching the narrative genre.

It is always tempting to multiply applications.  I suppose this is a response to yesterday’s concern with apparent irrelevance.  The preacher can fall into the trap of turning every detail of the text into a point of application.  “Look, Ruth isn’t an irrelevant book, we are only five verses in and here are four principles for keeping your family together!”  Oops.

As a preacher with a desire to be relevant to the listeners, I have to guard against illegitimate application of details in the narrative.  Just because a character demonstrates it, doesn’t make it an instruction for the reader.  Just because it happened, doesn’t mean it should.

As a general approach, perhaps I should put it this way – (1) my effort in preparation should go into grasping the thrust of the whole passage, and then seeking to clearly apply that main thrust.  And there will be ways to multiply the applications of that main thrust.  This will be better than multiplied mini-thrusts based on particular details plucked out of their unique role in the passage as a whole.

That is, all the details matter, but not all the details need to be applied.  Every detail in a narrative is working together to make the whole plot work.  But not every detail is there as a teaching point.  The plot as a whole (either the whole plot, or the plot of a scene if I preach it section by section), the plot as a whole carries a certain thrust that we would do well to open our hearts to and be changed by.

Tomorrow I’ll add a couple more thoughts on applying the narrative.