My good friends at Fellowship of Wildwood in Missouri are giving away copies of Pleased to Dwell as part of their pre-Christmas outreach this year. Alongside the book, they have a weekly reading and a discussion about an aspect of it. Here is the first reading:
And here is the first discussion:
I will post the others on here, but feel free to subscribe to their channel and see them as soon as they come out. Thanks so much!
It has been a busy few months and I haven’t posted links to the podcast on here as much as I had planned. But let’s do a quick catch-up:
After a sequence of weddings, I shared some thoughts on preaching at a wedding. The last months included some great interviews, including:
Andy Paterson – Firstly, on how the Word does the work of ministry, and then, the relationships of a preacher.
Marcus Honeysett – First, on painting with fire, then on the nature of true transformation, and finally, on the heart of the preacher.
Steve Mathewson, we crossed the ocean to hear from Steve on the importance of all scripture in our preaching, and then we reminisced together about lessons learned from our mutual mentor, Haddon Robinson!
Jonathan Lamb – back to the UK to hear from Jonathan on crossing cultures as we think about preaching, and then we thought about how preaching models for listeners!
Rick McKinley – and once more back to the US to hear from an experienced pastor in the Portland metro area on connections required to connect with our listeners, and a great discussion about the role of humility in preaching.
Along the way, we have had some bitesize episodes on specific subjects, like adding to the text, is something missing in your preaching?, preaching the prophets, preaching at Christmas, and highlighting historical accuracy when we preach.
Mike and I have also enjoyed some helpful discussions: thoughts on being a guest preacher – something we’ve both done quite a bit of over the years!, landing a message, bad preaching (another area where we have experience!), a chat about Pleased to Dwell in anticipation of the advent season, and a chat about preaching at Christmastime!
We hope these episodes have been helpful for you, and if you have missed any, please do catch up! As ever, we really appreciate any help in getting the word out about the podcast – sharing links, liking, subscribing, etc., is all really helpful. If you particularly like an episode, please do let others know about it on social media – thank you in advance!
I can remember the first time I saw a Star Wars film in the cinema. This was back in the 1980s. With popcorn in hand, we found our plush velvet seats and tried to get comfortable. Then we were plunged into darkness. A slight pause. And then it began. In just two minutes, I was transported into another world. Everything normal seemed like a distant memory. “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” Then the blast of the brass section of an orchestra as the film title appeared. Three paragraphs of background story to orient us, and we were there. The start of the Star Wars movies was genuinely epic.
The Bible can, and should, have that same effect on us. Lifting us out of the everyday rhythms of life and helping us to see another whole realm of reality. For instance, consider the theme of The Day of the LORD. It is mentioned eighteen times in the Old Testament, plus dozens of other references like “on that day.” It is that future moment when God would step into history, bringing judgment for the wicked and blessing for His people.
Not only is it anticipated in the Old Testament, but it is also still anticipated in the New Testament. Consider, for example, 2 Peter chapter 3. There, Peter describes how scoffers will ridicule the idea of anticipating that day. Their tactic? They will suggest that “nothing really changes.” And how effective that tactic can be. Nothing really changes. So why should we be concerned about anything happening in the world? Nothing really changes. Why should we try to influence what is going on around us? Nothing really changes. Why look for something to break in from outside of our world? Nothing really changes. Today is like yesterday, and tomorrow will be more of the same. As one fiction writer put it, “it is a pity that thoughts always ran the easiest way, like water in old ditches.”
And yet, the Bible wants to lift our eyes and our hearts beyond our psychological preference for predictability. It wants us to know, and live in light of, the reality that one day, God Himself will step into history again.
Consider one of the passages that anticipates “that day” – Malachi chapter 3. For the first few verses, we read of how God is coming, the messenger of the covenant who will come like the purifier’s fire, like fuller’s soap. Two vivid images of cleansing, purging, separating – that fire so hot that metal melts and the impurities are separated; that lye that pulls out the impurities from fabric and bleaches it clean. The Lord is coming to cleanse and purify. Yes, the focus is on restoring proper worship, but the imagery is imposing and intimidating.
We might expect the passage to conclude with a call to run. Run for your lives! Flee this terrible day that is coming! And yet, as in so many of the “Day of the LORD” passages, we find an invitation. This God, who is coming to purge and to cleanse, is a God of grace who invites His people to draw near to Him.
In verses 6 and 7, God speaks of His character. He does not change, which means they are not consumed (because He keeps His promises). But they should change. They should change direction. They have gone away from God, but if they return to Him, then He will return to them. As James later put it, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).
They asked how they could return. So God raised the issue of their giving. In verses 8-12, God describes how they should test Him (an unusual concept in the Bible!) by seeing if they could outgive God. They never would be able to do that! As we come to the end of the chapter, we find that some of the people who were challenged to give of their treasure, which really belonged to God anyway, were also moved in heart to fear God and be responsive to Him. So they are described as being God’s treasured possession.
A chapter that begins with such overpowering imagery of judgment is so full of God’s overflowing grace. Yes, the Day of the LORD is terrifying, and many in this world should be shaking with fear at what is coming. And yet, for those of us who know what it means to belong to this God, we can look forward, waiting, anticipating, hoping. We live today in light of that day, knowing that the old ditches of life are not forever. We understand that the “nothing really changes” mindset is doomed to be proven profoundly wrong. We wait, knowing that with a blast of the brass section of heaven’s orchestra, we will be transported into another time.
Honestly, I am not concerned with whether we agree on the details of what is to come in the future. I am worried that we are discouraged by the scoffers who claim that nothing really changes. Let’s read God’s Word and let it lift our eyes and our hearts. We have a God who has stepped into time and history and who will again. His coming will shake up everything. And we who live in anticipation of that day should live differently today.
In light of Malachi 3, let’s be sure to turn to God now and be ready for that day. Let’s consider our “tithing” – that is, our giving and investing in eternity today. And let’s rejoice at the privilege of being His treasured possession. May the Lord use us now as we live for Him, and wouldn’t it be great if He came back soon!
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With Christmas coming soon, it is time to start making plans … especially if you are involved in preaching or teaching! Check out the latest episode of the podcast, and please do subscribe so you don’t miss any of the forthcoming episodes!
On Wednesday 29th October, I will be doing a free webinar on enjoying the Bible. You are very welcome to join if you are free. Click here for more information and to register.
Evangelical Focus just published an interview with me. Lots about preaching in here, so I hope you find it helpful!
“The solution is not less preaching, but better preaching”, Evangelical Focus
It does not surprise me when I find scholars who do not believe the Bible is God’s inspired Word and also have a problem with the Apostle Paul. But it still surprises me to find Bible-believing Christians who view Paul negatively. For some, this is a reaction to his argumentative persona and intellectual presentation of complex truths. For others, the antagonism comes from the feeling that he is misogynistic or overly self-referential.
Where there is a specific criticism based on a particular passage, it helps to study that passage in its context and take into account the rest of his writings as well. But where the criticism is more a general feeling (i.e. he is too argumentative or complex), I think what helps is to try to enter into his world and see Paul in action.
At the beginning of Galatians, we find an extended biographical section that, at first glance, may appear self-congratulatory. However, delving into Paul’s world is a worthwhile endeavour. Not only will we find a brilliant and articulate fighter for the truth of the gospel – perhaps even a hero of the faith – but we will also find a motivation we can emulate. Maybe most of us will never be as brilliant as Paul. But all of us could love Jesus and the truth of the Gospel as Paul did. And if we did, perhaps the global and eternal impact would be beyond anything we have dreamt.
Let me try to give you a taste of this. On Paul’s first missionary journey, as recorded in Acts 13-14, Paul and Barnabas arrived in the region of Galatia, preached the gospel, and saw churches established. They were understandably excited as they headed for home base to report what God had done. But when they arrived, they discovered that others had followed in their footsteps and sought to correct their ministry. The criticism? Paul was not a full apostle, and Paul did not preach a complete gospel message. Perhaps Paul was portrayed as well-intentioned, and his message was seen to serve as a good starting point. But these later teachers were promoting themselves as representatives of the Jerusalem apostles and their Law-based message as a more complete and committed version of what God expects.
Paul was livid! He wrote Galatians to ward off this falsehood and try to win back the hearts of the believers before they were pulled away by this destructive corruption of the good news he had preached.
Why did Paul write with an edge? (No pun intended) Why does he seem to be shouting? Why is Paul so sharp with them? (Ok, that was slightly deliberate for the context!) The answer is that Paul loved Jesus, the Gospel, and the believers in the Galatian churches. Like a parent shouting sharply at a child walking towards a busy road, Paul was desperate to get their attention.
In the latter verses of Chapter 1, he laid out his apostolic credentials. This was not about showing off but about exposing the lies being told about him. He did not derive his authority from Jerusalem. He had barely been there. His authority came from God himself. And in the opening verses of Chapter 2, he focused on his Gospel message. It was a message that he had laid before the Jerusalem apostles. Even under pressure from the same false teachers, Paul’s Gentile companion Titus had not been compelled to be circumcised. The highest council of apostles, the inner circle itself, had affirmed his calling with a hearty handshake and no doctrinal caveats.
When you ponder the world Paul inhabited, it becomes clear that he was driven not by a desire to win arguments or a passion for self-promotion like an early social media influencer. A deep love for Jesus drove Paul, and therefore, a passion for the gospel of God’s grace that truly transforms lives from the inside out. It was that deep love that drove Paul to travel, to preach, to be misunderstood, to be persecuted, to suffer, and eventually, to die for the Lord that he loved. In Galatians 2:11-14, it was that deep love that drove Paul to take a most uncomfortable step: he publicly called the great senior apostle Peter a hypocrite in front of his home crowd.
I’m not suggesting we should be looking for opportunities to poke others in the chest. I’ve seen far too much bombastic finger-wagging on social media. But I’ve also seen far too little courage in person when faced with character and behaviour that compromises the Gospel. Will we be willing to take uncomfortable steps in the face of compromise, or will we be willing to take uncomfortable steps in the calling of missionary need?
We cannot give ourselves a good talking-to and suddenly generate sacrificial motivation for ministry. Neither can we muster up Paul’s level of theological brilliance just because we start to find him inspiring. But we can gaze long and hard at Jesus. We can ponder the wonder of the gospel of God’s grace in Christ deeply. We can ask God to give us a heart-exploding glimpse into the wonder of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. Because if we see Jesus for who he is, if we get a sense of the wonder of the gospel, then perhaps we will start to share in Paul’s motivation for the truth of the gospel.
Why did Paul contend for the truth of the gospel, even in the face of opposition? Two words from Galatians 2:5 – it was so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved “for you.” And by extension, from Galatia down through two millennia, it was for it to be preserved for us. May we be ever more captivated by the glorious good news of God’s great love for us so that we are motivated to preserve it for others.
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The last couple of months have been busy, to say the least. A conference with Josiah Venture in Czech Republic, the European Leadership Forum in Poland, two family weddings, two baptism services in the midst of a busy season at church – these all added up to not sharing much on this site. So, it is time for a catch-up on the podcast. What has been happening since the last post that was linked to an episode?
Mike and I discussed the various kinds of interruptions that can add some intricate dynamics to a preaching event. We also talked through the most basic sermon preparation process. While there is plenty of potential for complexity in the area of sermon preparation, we wanted to make sure the basic process is clear.
We have had quite a few bitesize episodes, including Peter on 5 Aspects of Natural Delivery, The Four Worlds of the Preacher, and Preaching Without Notes. (I will write another post on that subject soon!) Mike shared about the courage to confront yourself, and the potential poison of preaching ministry.
Along the way, we also had a couple of episodes hearing from Si Munsie of Life Church, Southampton. (Click here for part 1 on preaching to real people, and here for part 2 where we think about past employment and preaching.) And this week, we have part 1 of my interview with Andy Paterson, currently pastoring in Hong Kong – a fascinating conversation with a very experienced pastor-preacher! We have some great interviews lined up in the next months too.
So my apologies for being quieter on here and social media in recent weeks. We really do appreciate every encouraging comment, both in person and online. If you are able to subscribe on YouTube and in whatever podcast platform you use (eg Spotify or Apple), that really does help. Also, every like, comment, share, etc., is massively appreciated. Thank you for helping to get this podcast off the ground!
Delivery matters. And yet some do not want to think about improving their delivery. Perhaps they feel comfortable with the rhythm of preaching that their tradition and experience has set in place and do not want to tinker with something that seems to work. Perhaps they consider it more spiritual to avoid any hint of performance in their preaching. Maybe they believe that the content of the message, or even the vitality of their personal walk with God, should and will speak for itself.
There may be some preachers who are highly confident in their own rhetorical prowess and cannot imagine that everyone else is not continually wowed by their combination of presentational ease and flair. More likely, there could be many preachers who know they have delivery weaknesses but are hesitant to face them in case it is overwhelming. Then, there will be preachers who do not know how much their delivery impacts their communication and have never stopped to give the matter any thought.
Delivery matters. It either helps or hinders your attempts to communicate God’s Word with your listeners. Improving your delivery is both an act of love for your listeners and a matter of good stewardship of your ministry before God. It is about making sure your good study and preparation is given a chance to get through, and it is about making it as easy as possible for the listeners to hear God’s word.
What if the best message is presented at too low a volume, with a persistent cough, distracting vocal mannerisms, and you can’t quite see the preacher – is it possible for you to listen to that sermon? While it’s possible to hear and still be impacted by the sermon, it will take extra effort on your part to fully absorb what’s being said. As a preacher, it’s an act of love to minimize the effort required for your listeners to truly engage with your message.
In this episode of the podcast, I present a simple three-step process to improve your delivery. It is not complicated. But the question is, will you follow this process and improve?
I’d love to hear from you – what is the one thing that you need to work on next? Also, what have you worked on in the past and what did you find helpful? Please do comment on this post, or after the podcast episode. Please click here to watch Episode 11.
The book of James is a fascinatingly practical epistle. Some have called it the Sermon on the Mount in letter form. On the one hand, we shouldn’t expect anything less than practical from the son of a carpenter. On the other hand, we don’t want to miss the profound theological thrust of the letter.
After addressing issues of suffering, true religion, favouritism, the use of the tongue, and the right kind of wisdom, we arrive at James chapter 4. Now, James drills below the practical matters of the letter. Yes, there is a gap between conduct and confession, which seems to bother James. We could frame this as a gap between past habits and new identity, but James presents a more significant gap that we must face.
In James 4:1-3, he goes below the surface to explain what is going on and what is going wrong with his readers. Why do they have conflict? Very simply, it is because of the passions that bubble away inside them. Their conflict comes from their wants, like shoppers fighting to get bargains at the opening of a sale, like children fighting over the happy meals in McDonald’s, or even like chicks pushing to be in prime position to receive the worm from the mother that is bringing food into the nest . . . we clash, because we want.
It is encouraging to see James give a glimpse of the heart of our Father. We only need to ask since he is willing to feed us. So, the problem is inside each one of us – our selfish desires cause havoc in our lives.
What is the solution? Our world and Western tradition tend to tell us that self-control is the solution to our passions. Yes, we have an engine that moves us along, but we need to get a grip on the steering wheel and take control of ourselves. Interestingly, James does not instruct his readers to get a grip. Instead, he gives them a glimpse of what is happening inside God.
In James 4:4-6, we see inside God’s heart. What do we find? We see his jealousy over his people; he calls them “adulteresses.” James is not focusing on the women of the church; he is focusing on the people of the church, who are the bride of Christ. As the bride of Christ, we are flirting with the world. And God’s heart is grieved. It is jealously yearning for us to come back to him.
Here is the real gap that we need to face. Not just the gap between our conduct and our confession, nor even the gap between our past habits and our new identity. It is the growing gap between our hearts and his. Where there is unfaithfulness, God yearns for us to return. Where there is drift, God yearns for us to come close.
James 4 is like God has sat us down in a chair and confronted us with our drift. “What is going on?” We seem to be far from him. We seem to be motivated by other things. It may be overt unfaithfulness, or it may be signs of drift. It may be something that is not bad in itself, but it has become more important than him. Our career, bank balance, hobbies, favourite sports team. Just as we see in Hebrews 12:1-2, there is sin that entangles and everything that hinders—bad things, “good things,” but alternatives to him.
So, how do we respond when God lovingly confronts us for the drift in our spiritual marriage? If we stick out our chests and get defensive, claiming the right to define our spiritual health on our terms, then we reek of pride. God opposes the proud (James 4:6), but will we humbly admit the drift?
In James 4:7-10, we have the wonderful invitation. If we humble ourselves, submit to God, and resist the devil, we can draw near to God. We deserve his rejection, but that was also true before the cross. God loves us and gave Jesus to win our hearts to him. And as we drift, he continues to love us and waits with arms open to welcome us back to him. There may need to be mourning and grief over our unfaithfulness. Turning to our heavenly bridegroom should break our hearts as we see our waywardness and drift. But as we resist the devil and repent, turning back to our bridegroom, we will find that he also draws near to us.
The most critical gap in Christianity is the gap that can develop between our hearts and his. He may take James 4, sit us down in a chair, and confront us with our adulterous drift. But he does so lovingly, longingly yearning for our hearts to draw near to him. And as we do, he will draw near to us.
Hallelujah! What a saviour we have.
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Please check out the new Biblical Preaching Podcast – in this episode, Peter Mead and Mike Chalmers discuss the four most important questions for all in ministry:
So we have covered five principles for preaching to a mixed crowd in part 1, and in part 2. Now, I’d like to share a starter guide to evaluating the mix that makes up your congregation. Take this list and prayerfully think through it, making notes about the different groups in your church. Consider which groups are bigger, and which are smaller but still present. Then, perhaps share your thoughts with someone else involved in the leadership of your church. Together, you will be able to pray for your church and preach more effectively to your church.
1. Believers and not-yet-believers – what is the mix? How would you describe the believers? How would you describe the not-yet-believers?
2. Bible literate and Bible unaware – what is the range of biblical awareness in your church? Where do the majority currently stand on that continuum?
3. Churched and unchurched (guests/newcomers) – how often do you get visitors coming to the church? Do people feel confident to bring guests along?
4. Mix of ages in the church – what is the proportion of children, youth, students, young adults, established adults, older working-aged adults, retirees, and older seniors?
5. Lifestages in the church – as you consider the ages, how would you describe the life stages? Are people out of work, jumping between jobs, established in their careers? Are the empty nesters settled or struggling? What is the nature of the life experience of the seniors in the church?
6. The gender mix in the church – there are two options, but what do you observe about numbers? In couples where only one is a believer, which gender is typically a believer?
7. Education and employment – what type and level of education do people have in the church? How many had no higher education? What about university educated? What about vocationally trained? Or higher degrees? What type of employment do people have? How financially stable and secure are the households in the congregation?
8. Family dynamics – consider the make-up of the church in terms of married and single. Are the married couples doing well relationally? And what about the single people? How many are content long-term single, disappointed long-term single, young adults, newly single by divorce, etc.? And what about parents? Parents of young, of teens, of adults? Broken marriages? Blended families? What about those with responsibilities for elderly parents?
9. Nationality and culture – how many of the church are local first language speakers? What about non-local first-language speakers? And non-local second language speakers? Are internationals newly arrived or more settled? Are the internationals from various nations, or are there larger groups from specific countries? What are the dynamics within those groups and between the groups?
10. Is the congregation typical of the locality, or is the congregation “travelling in” to a central hub? Do people live in the community the church is trying to reach? Where do guests come from? Are guests able to connect with church regulars?
11. What other factors come to mind as you evaluate your congregation?
If you haven’t seen it yet, please check out our discussion about preaching to a mixed crowd on The Biblical Preaching Podcast.
Biblical Preaching 