Religion

Three Applicational Emphases in Preaching Deuteronomy

/ Peter Mead / 2 Comments

OpenScroll5DeuChristians tend to view the books of Moses as a flat collection of laws.  Many tend not to distinguish the progression within the books, both in terms of the progression of revelation of law (in response to progressive sin and failure), as well as the progression in generations.  Deuteronomy is anything but flat.  Here we have a new generation and the aged Moses giving his parting-shot sermon to the people he has seen grow up in the wilderness.  There is a passion in Moses and a unique opportunity set before the people.  Don’t miss the following applicational emphases in the book:

1. God’s loving instruction.  It would be a gross misrepresentation to turn Deuteronomy into a flat book of laws and codes.  Through Moses God is communicating a loving desire for the people to thrive as His people, to be blessed, to prosper in the land, etc.  It is easy to communicate threat without love, or warning without motive.

2. The danger of comfort.  Surely a people who had watched their parents die in the wilderness, who had heard stories and perhaps remembered their miraculous deliverance from Pharoah and his armies, who had seen the miraculous as children and as adults, surely such a people would be well situated to thrive in the land before them? Deuteronomy repeatedly warns of the dangers of forgetting.  We humans can struggle to remember.  Especially when things are going well and we are comfortable.  Perhaps Deuteronomy should be preached in our culture once a year?  It wouldn’t be wasted!

3. The motives of obedience.  God certainly lays out for the people the expected obedience.  What would it look like for them to be faithful to the marital arrangement that is set before them?  Obedience, of course.  But Deuteronomy never lets us settle for an outward conformity.  Just as in a human marriage there is no satisfaction in ritual and plastic obedience, so in relationship with God the core issue must be the heart.  That is what needs to be circumcised.  How easily we turn loving instruction into self-concerned ritualistic obedience.  Even in these days God knew that ultimately it would take a prophet greater than Moses to capture the hearts of a straying humanity.

Delivery Dynamics: Are You You?

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Microphone2One of the biggest challenges in sermon delivery is being yourself.  Preaching is not about performing.  It is not about taking on a new persona.  A pulpit voice should be a thing of the past.  People don’t trust performances.

Are you you?  Three thoughts to ponder:

1. Being Natural Is Not Natural – When we walk up to the pulpit we step into an unnatural environment.  People sitting in rows and looking up at us is not normal.  Consequently, our presentation will be anything but natural if we just “go with the flow” and try to be ourselves.  It takes work for movement, gesture, expression, voice, etc., to come across as natural and authentic.  Remember, if people feel it is frozen, forced or fake, they will subconsciously not trust the preacher.

2. Breaking the Froze-Zone – The default reaction is to freeze.  I have heard many people say something like this, “when I ran through it earlier it was so natural and free-flowing, but then I went to preach it and I froze.”  That is normal.  Our voices become restricted to a narrow zone of pitch with a constant level of volume and a clipped (often too rapid) pace.  Our gestures become limited in variety and extent.  Our expressions become as fixed as a wedding photo shoot, typically without the smile.  Our movements become rigid and awkward.  This is natural.  Thus we need to work to break out of that fro-zone in order to come across without conveying nervousness and tension.

3. Don’t Be Too Much – Some people are more successful than others at breaking the frozen effect.  They can end up going too far.  While it is true that gestures need to be larger to look natural in front of a larger group of listeners, it is possible to go over the top.  This can be physical excess, or vocal excess, or even content excess (beware of feeding off nervous energy and turning into a bad comedian).  Dare I say it, some personalities are naturally over the top and putting them in a pulpit can make for an uncomfortable situation.  If there is a chance that this applies to you, pray and then ask some trusted advisers.  Not easy, but better to know than to unknowingly make others suffer.

Delivery Dynamics: Do They Trust?

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Microphone2Delivery matters because communication does.  We have considered two important questions: can they hear and will they listen?  Another important consideration relates to how listeners perceive the speaker.

Do They Trust?

There are many factors that influence whether listeners will trust or distrust the speaker.  For instance:

1. Eye Contact.  You wouldn’t buy a car from someone who refuses to look at you.  Shifty eyes are a real turn off.  If someone wanted to tell you about a wonderful place they visited, but kept hesitating and checking some notes, you might be suspicious.  Eye contact is massively important in the whole package of sermon delivery.  Whatever we can do to maximize appropriate eye contact, let’s do it.  Don’t skip around or you’ll seem flighty and untrustworthy.  Don’t linger too long or you’ll communicate intimidation or intimacy.  But do make and maintain meaningful eye contact with listeners if you want them to trust what you are saying.

2. Belief.  Bert Decker’s book, You Have to Believe to be Heard, is well worth a read.  We are able, as listeners, to perceive whether someone believes what they are saying.  The signals are made up of multiple factors in tone, articulation, gesture, expression, posture, etc.  If people perceive cockiness, that won’t help.  But if they don’t perceive belief, they won’t trust.

3. Body Language.  So what are some of these visual signals of conviction?  If something is important, then not only should the words chosen reflect that, but the communication of our bodies should reinforce it.  A confident and secure posture is important.  Don’t stand awkwardly and squirm.  Be seen.  Don’t hide behind a heavy pulpit, be as visible as possible.  Leaning forward tends to underline an important point.  Appropriate gestures help.  Leave the hands in pockets casual look for a casual illustration.

Delivery Dynamics: Will They Listen

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Microphone2Yesterday I pondered the question “Can they hear?” and thought about projection, pronunciation and pace.  But that is only one layer of a bigger issue.  Here’s a follow up question:

Will they listen?  Just because people technically can hear the preacher, this doesn’t mean that they want to listen.  Here are three factors to ponder:

1. Personal Warmth.  Dogs can tell when they are not liked.  So can congregations.  If the preacher lacks personal warmth, then the listeners may feel more critical of the preacher, or they may tune out what they perceive to be a critical spirit toward them.  There is no need to act like syrup and present a fake flattery (people see through that, of course).  But genuine warmth and care is critical to creating a true communication connection.

2. Prideful Attitude.  Many people have a sensitive radar when it comes to personal pride.  They can spot any hint of it in others (even while being oblivious to their own profound problems with pride!)  So be careful not to show off, to drop names, to seek to impress, to be proactively self-conscious.  When listeners thinking you are prideful, they tend to stop being good listeners.

3. Provocatively Annoying.  Not to put too fine a point on it, don’t be annoying.  I could list any number of habits that preachers might develop that might annoy their listeners, but the best way to find out is to humbly ask a few trusted listeners and be willing to listen to them.  It could be a matter of a gesture, or a vocal habit, or a strategy for interaction, or whatever.  It would be a shame for people to choose not to listen to your message because something you are doing is annoying to them.

Can they hear?  Will they listen?  Two key questions in considering the dynamics of delivery.

Delivery Dynamics: Can They Hear?

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Microphone2I have been pondering the issue of sermon delivery again today.  Part of the reason is that I am leading a workshop on the subject this evening.  I don’t want to go over the whole rationale for even engaging the subject.  I know some are prone to suggest that to give any consideration to delivery is to fall into entertainment and performance, or to fail to trust the Spirit of God.  Maybe I’ll come back and offer some thoughts on why that is not the case.  But for now I’d like to offer a basic pairing of key issues:

Can they hear?  If the people in the meeting cannot hear what is said, then communication is not happening.  No amount of good content will overcome the fundamental flaw of not being heard.  Three factors to consider:

1. Projection.  The preacher needs to project their voice.  Even if you have a microphone, preach as if you don’t (without shouting) and let the experts on the sound desk adjust accordingly.  Some people assume a microphone will pick up and amplify sound that barely has the strength to make it across the few inches to the black foam.  Shouting and straining may harm your vocal clarity and make it so listeners don’t want to hear you, but lack of projection can be just as frustrating.

2. Pronunciation.  You don’t need to put on an accent that is not your own.  You are preaching, not reading the news.  But be lovingly sensitive to those present, and adjust as necessary to allow them to make out the words you are saying.  Mumbled words are not casual, they are unloving.  Practice moving the mouth a little more and make sure the words and sounds are articulated.

3. Pace.  You will often hear people talking about how the pace should not be too quick.  It is certainly possible to overdo the pace, but the human mind can cope with quick speech.  That is, as long as the words are distinct, and the pace is not sustained for too long.  So beware of going too fast, but also recognize that some listeners cannot tolerate it when a speaker goes too slowly, either.

Tomorrow I’ll probe another question that will take us to a new level on the issue of delivery dynamics.

 

Three Thoughts in Preaching Numbers

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

OpenScroll4NumI have to admit that Numbers is not a book that I rush toward.  The main reason for this is that I have not studied it in depth and so should probably preach it in order to develop my appreciation.  Nonetheless, here are three thoughts from reading it through these last few days.

1. Faith does not automatically flow from the miraculous.  Many people assume that if we could just see something miraculous, then we’d believe.  After all, if we could just see God doing wonders in our midst then the culture would come flocking.  Numbers again underlines that even God’s people don’t automatically respond in faith to observed wonders, so assuming others will is presumptuous.  Water from a rock, a budding staff, the ground swallowing rebels, and consequently that generation were a people of faith?  Not quite.  The issue is not what we see, but how our hearts perceive what we see.  If we don’t want to believe, no amount of miraculous intervention will guarantee true faith.

2. The Law’s community function did not generate faith.  The nation that had started with one man, become twelve men, then seventy, then hundreds of thousands needed to be constrained and ordered.  Their sin and rebellion had led to a growing statute book and legal code.  By the time we get to Numbers we might assume that being a people with well defined laws meant they were ready to believe and trust God.  Caleb and Joshua are the glorious exceptions.  The ten spies didn’t.  The people didn’t.  Even Moses didn’t.  In fact, rather than getting caught up in what Moses actually did wrong in chapter 20, perhaps the writer is vague on the errant action to point us to underlying faith issues.  The great leader under the Law who disobeys God through lack of faith (Num.20:12) seems to contrast with the great man of faith before Law who kept God’s commands (compare and contrast Gen.26:5).

3. God’s promise plan is not thwarted even when the faithless miss out.  It is important to help listeners know that Numbers sits in the flow of the Pentateuch, rather than as a stand-alone collection of stories.  God’s plan to bless the world back in the beginning of Genesis was articulated clearly in his promise to Abram.  By the end of Genesis the seed promise has grown into an extended family, with blessing to all families reiterated in the blessing of Judah by Jacob.  That nation through which the blessing would come is born in Exodus despite the three-fold attempt by Pharoah to curse the “too numerous people.”  At the other end of the wilderness sojourn we see another king seeking three times to curse a “too numerous” Israel.  Again, the attempts to curse God’s nation lead only to their blessing.  Thus the promise to Abraham marches on, with just Deuteronomy left: a sermonic call for circumcised hearts and love for God from the new generation heading into the dangerous place of security and peace.

Three Themes to Preach from Leviticus

/ Peter Mead / 4 Comments

OpenScroll3LevI admit it, I haven’t preached through Leviticus.  For many people it is the book that undoes their read through (my suggestion?  Read faster and get the sweeping history rather than trying to meticulously study through Leviticus every time . . . and keep the pace through the rest of the Bible too!)  So I haven’t preached it, but I can say this: when I preached the whole Bible in a single message, the key text came from Leviticus.

So here are three themes that are worth pondering, both in preaching Leviticus itself, and for preaching elsewhere:

1. Worship and Atonement.  Leviticus launches with seven chapters on sacrificial offerings, then builds to the climactic Day of Atonement description in chapter 16.  It is too easy to preach from the New Testament and make vague references to “Old Testament sacrifices” and how glad we are not to have to do them.  As a preacher it would be well worth reading this section closely enough to be able to describe what was involved in “all those sacrifices.”  Can we really grasp all that Jesus has done for us if we are basically unaware of the system in place prior to His sacrifice?

2. Living and Loving.  The priestly code of early Leviticus flowed out of the conclusion to Exodus (and the terrible golden calf incident).  But then in Leviticus 17 there is a passing reference to another ghastly failure, this time on the part of the people: worshipping goat demons.  What follows is yet more law, this time focusing in on the people who needed to live with one another and love one another in light of who the LORD is.  In the midst of this section we find the seven Mosaic feasts described in chapter 23.  Again, to preach the New Testament effectively we need to know our way around the annual feasts of Israel.

3. Living in God’s Presence.  So the last time I preached the whole Bible in a single message, what text proved pivotal?  It came from Leviticus.  It is about living in God’s presence.  Sounds like it will feel like a pressure passage pushing us to live holy lives so we might be able to approach God?  Not quite.  The anticipation of Leviticus 26:11-12 shows God’s desire to dwell with His people, a desire that shows throughout the canon and culminates the whole story in Revelation 21.

“I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you.  And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.”

Too Strong a Term?

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

minpornThe other day I saw a video clip of Ed Stetzer where he referred to “ministry pornography.”  He was speaking of a group of megachurch pastors who might be perceived by normal church pastors in an unhealthy way.  This is how he put it:

Ministry pornography is an unrealistic depiction of an experience you are never going to have that distracts you from the real and glorious thing.  …It is an unrealistic dream that does not let you love the people you are with right now, and not see them as a stepping stone to something bigger.

The terminology is provocative, but the point deserves pondering.  Are we guilty of “lusting” after a ministry image that has been airbrushed, or a preaching style that has been edited for radio?  Does this interest in some of the contemporary big names cause us to lose a godly love for those we are supposed to be caring for?  I’ve certainly seen churches left hurt by pastors who seemed to be using them as a stepping stone to the next bigger invitation.

What is the solution?  Unlike true pornography, I wouldn’t say we should avoid looking at the ministries of those we appreciate.  Cold turkey is not necessary here, but discernment surely is.  Rather than develop a complex model of advice, I’ll just keep it simple.  I think we need to be sure to keep the conversation going with our Lord, being real about all aspects of our feelings and motivations, asking Him to search us and know us.  Surely He is able to help us learn from, but not be harmed by, the airbrushed world of big church ministry.

Three Momentous Moments Preaching Exodus

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OpenScroll2ExoExodus is not just a book with stories for children, it continues the weighty foundational role and themes of Genesis.  Does God keep His promises?  How will He redeem His people?  What kind of God is He?  What is their relationship with Him?  I suspect Exodus may well be under-preached in light of its significance.  It is a book that is quoted and alluded to repeatedly in the rest of the Old Testament, and in the New Testament as well.  Here are three momentous moments not to be passed over:

1. Passover in chapter 12.  Here is the moment that the Jewish people would look back on for centuries to come.  With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, the LORD delivered His people from captivity in Egypt and launched them on their journey to home.  The hardened heart of Pharoah was baked solid as God prepared to deliver His people, with the showdown between the LORD and the gods of Egypt being decisively won.  And at the very heart of this key moment in human history?  A perfect and innocent lamb slain to provide blood protection for the people who trusted God’s word.  The LORD himself protecting them from the destroyer.

2. Sinai in chapters 19-20.  Delivered safely into the wilderness the kingdom of priests arrived at the place where God would meet with them. It was an impressive encounter, perhaps too much for them to bear.  The kingdom of priests seemed to shrink back in fear (as Moses tells us later on), and the first boundary markers of the Law were established for them, along with a simple earthen altar.  If God had called His son out of Egypt, then the familial imagery seems to move to the marital at Sinai – covenant commitments both ways, but would both prove faithful?

3. Glory in chapters 32-34.  The revelation of the Law given in Exodus and Leviticus has a progressive development, apparently instigated by failure on the part of the people.  Despite chapter 24 and their fellowship with the LORD, they were unfaithful to Him in profoundly flagrant ways before the Golden Calf.  God’s anger raged hot, for He is Jealous, but Moses interceded for His presence to go on with them.  Amazingly, while on the mountain with the LORD Moses dared to ask to see His glory.  How could he have confidence to make such a request?  Earlier in the same chapter we are told of his regular face to face conversations with the LORD whose tent was pitched down near the people.  But the LORD up on the mountain could not be seen.  Yet Moses got that wonderful encounter with the trail of God’s glory.  And what did God reveal?  A stronger power than that image of power, the golden calf?  Absolutely.  He was given a divine glimpse of God’s goodness and covenant loyalty and mercy.  Not a weak God, for He does deal with sin.  A powerful God whose power of character overwhelms our conceptions of raw force.

So much to preach, and this post has only scratched at the surface!