Starting today, you would be very welcome to follow along with the Pleased to Dwell advent video playlist. It can work alongside the book, or you can just watch the videos. Here is the playlist, please do subscribe to the YouTube channel and use the playlist to work your way through these short videos as Christmas approaches!
Theology
Catching Up With The Podcast
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!
Going Beyond the Text?
When we preach a Bible passage, we need to preach the text. That may sound obvious, but many don’t do it. Some preachers use the text as a launching point – they read the text and then preach an associated thought from their own thinking or theology. Others bounce briefly off the text and then preach other passages with some perceived connection.
God is the best communicator, so as preachers, we want to reflect his communication as best we can. When you are preaching a passage, really try to preach it. That includes helping your listeners to see what is there, to understand what is there, and to feel the force of what is there. To really preach a passage is not simply to educate listeners in the meaning, although that is a good start. It is to get them into the text and get the text into them, and it is to introduce the God who is revealing himself through the text so that they experience the transformative power of a personal encounter. The preacher is not merely teaching, but introducing, match-making, and fanning the flames of the relationship between listeners and God.
If we commit to truly preaching a passage, then we will come up against the challenge of saying more than the text says. That is, if we are really committed to a high view of the biblical text, are we straying if we add any detail not overtly stated in the passage? If we have a biblical narrative, are we restricted in telling the story so that we cannot fully tell it, but instead end up preaching theological points connected to it? Are we trying to cram a 100-word reading into a 4000-word speech without really saying anything beyond the 100 words of the passage?
Here are five thoughts that may help when it comes to the subject of “adding to the text.”
1. Think about the “informing texts” – As well as the passage you are preaching, there will be other passages that inform the content of your preaching passage. Any passage quoted, or alluded to, or that provides the relevant history (think Acts for some of the epistles) should be considered as fair game for helpful content as you preach your passage.
2. Consider “related texts” – This is more subjective, but some passages are more related to your preaching text than others. The same author or the same time period will tend to be more related than a distant author and era (unless the era is earlier and may have informed your writer, but then we are back to number 1: informing texts). Related texts can be helpful, but don’t lean on them so much that your preaching passage is lost in the process.
3. Make plain “assumed knowledge” – When the Bible writers wrote, they were not thinking of readers in a different culture, language, location, and historical era. So there is a lot of background information that is assumed. The author might assume the reader knows who the Pharisees were, named individuals, cultural events, or societal norms. Geographic descriptions weren’t needed for the original readers, but they might be highly helpful for modern listeners to make sense of the setting of a passage. It is not going beyond the text to state overtly what is implicitly assumed within the text. Study the background, the culture, the geography, etc., and help people to understand, visualize, and feel the impact of the passage as you preach.
4. “Imagined” thoughts and feelings in a passage can be shared honestly – We don’t know what was going through a character’s mind, or even what was happening in their life around the events of a story. Where we use our imagination to help bring a passage to life, be sure to help listeners know that you are not asserting divine revelation. I was listening to a Haddon Robinson sermon recently, and he said something like, “I’m not sure he said this, but I know we do…” It was a helpful way to connect the real-life aspects of the story to the real-life experiences of Haddon’s listeners. “I can imagine how Peter may have felt…” is a perfectly legitimate statement because your listeners know you are using your imagination.
5. Only “assert what the text asserts” – While sanctified, humble, and informed imagination can be helpful, it should never be the substance of your preaching points. Let the thrust of your message, both at the level of the main idea and the main points, come from the passage. Do not make assertions based on assumptions, imagination, or guesswork. An example comes from Psalms where the historical setting is not stated but only guessed, and then the preacher makes a point that depends on a guessed historical setting. Let the text drive the points you are making. Use your imagination to help proclaim the passage.
Seasoned preachers know that the bigger challenge will always be what to leave out, rather than what to add to a message. But in some settings, people have an overly restricted view of what should be said in a sermon. They fear saying anything more than the passage itself states overtly. That can restrict effective preaching.
Let’s make it our goal to plumb the depths of our passage, to proclaim it as fully and engagingly as possible, and to make sure that it does its work in bringing listeners into an encounter with the God who reveals himself through the Word.
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Here is last week’s podcast episode on this subject:
Podcast Catch-Up: Insights for Preachers
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!
Mentored by the Text
I recently had the privilege of speaking at the Josiah Venture Spring Conference. What a joy to spend those days with great people in a beautiful place, enjoying an excellent Bible book! In light of that time, I have been pondering the idea of being mentored by the biblical text.
To begin the series of messages, I suggested that if we could time travel, we would be changed by spending half an hour watching Jesus, Moses, Daniel, Paul, or whoever. If we could just be there and see them in action, we would be mentored by the experience. But we have the Bible! So why not allow the experience of the text to mentor us? Time spent watching Jesus (in this case) should surely mark our lives in significant ways.
Here are some thoughts on “Preaching as Biblical Mentoring” –
1. The move from then to now is essential, but the move from text to sermon can be overdone. I have seen sermons so crafted that listeners may marvel at the sermon construction but lose the passage. Maybe our sermonic work of art is not as valuable as the inspired text. After all, whatever we can do with the text is not as good as what God did when He inspired the text. So perhaps we need to consider how to let the passage drive the message more in our preaching.
2. Overly crafted wording can hide rather than reveal the inspired text. In the detail of the sermon, do we demonstrate our linguistic skill rather than elevating the text itself? Our wordcraft may impress listeners, but is our goal to impress them? Surely our pastoral goal should be for them to encounter God Himself in His word? Let us make it our goal to communicate rather than to exhibit our craftsmanship.
3. The shape of an overly crafted sermon can hide rather than reveal the shape of the text. I remember one moment as a student in a class. I was the member of our group who went up to write our outline on the whiteboard. “That is incorrect,” the teacher declared, “you have to make all the points parallel.” I was taken aback and responded, “But, isn’t that the shape of the passage?” The teacher looked at the Bible. “Yes, it is the shape of the passage, but your outline has to follow the rules of rhetoric, so it is wrong.” I politely pointed out that Haddon Robinson (who was in charge of the preaching department at that seminary for many years) had taught us to reflect the shape of the text in our sermons. It became clear that there was a point of difference between these two excellent teachers. I’m with Haddon. Let’s aim for sermons that reflect the shape of the text rather than squeezing the text to fit our rhetorical expectations and standard sermon shapes.
4. Overly crafted rhetoric can hide rather than reveal the experience of the text. As we preach, we should communicate clearly, with good organisation and a thought-through structure. But sometimes, our sermons can hide the text and keep listeners from experiencing the tensions and contours of a passage. So let’s use whatever skill we can, but remember that our goal is not to present the work of art that is our sermon. No, our goal is to bring our listeners into a rich experience of the passage and, in doing so, to encounter God as He reveals Himself there.
5. We should preach so listeners can “see” the movie projected in their hearts. I find it helpful to imagine every listener with a movie screen in their hearts. If I prayerfully and carefully present the message to them, a movie should form on that screen. It is easy to offer theological insights and speak theoretical truths. But those screens will remain blank. However, suppose I can effectively describe what is on the page. In that case, my prayer is that they will not only understand it but also experience it. And when they experience it, it will change their lives. It can be like being mentored through the text by God revealing Himself in that passage.
I am sure there are more angles to consider on this subject. Perhaps too much of our ministry uses the Bible, begins with the Bible, or connects to the Bible, but what people really need is to experience what God has given us in the Bible. Supremely, the Bible reveals Him. Let’s prayerfully shape our ministries so that people can encounter Him and not simply learn theological truth at arm’s length.
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Preaching to a Mixed Crowd – Part 2
When we preach, we always have a mixed crowd, so we are thinking about five principles to help us preach effectively. Yesterday, we started by affirming that it is possible to preach effectively to a mixed crowd and by assuming that we have a greater mix than we can see. (Remember, for our discussion of different mixes at play, please check out the latest episode of The Biblical Preaching Podcast.)
So, continuing our list:
3. We need to learn about our listeners. When it comes to our own church, we can consider several levels of analysis. We can think about the culture in which our church exists and the specifics of the locality. Is it urban, suburban, or rural? Is it close to the cultural centre of society or at a distance from what is happening in the “big smoke?” Then we can think about our congregation: What are the typical profiles of people? Are there many people in a certain age and stage of life? What about typical education levels or employment types? There is a more specific analysis, too – pastorally, to get to know the individual people and families in the church. (As a guest speaker, you may only be able to analyse the level of culture, locality, and a brief guess at typical profile, but your preaching will still be better for it!)
4. We need to preach sermons that aim to land in the lives of our listeners. It is tempting to preach generic biblical truth and hope that listeners will grab hold of that truth for themselves. Don’t settle for vague generalisations. Our task is not only to be comfortable in the world of the biblical text but also to be targeted in our relevance to specific situations. Listeners will translate and personalise specifics but allow generalisations to float on by. Authentic expository preaching is not only faithful to the biblical text, but it also requires effective communication from the preacher that emphasizes relevance to the listener. True expository preaching also relies on God to be at work:
5. We need to pray for God to work in a profoundly personal way. We know that God cares about congregations with an awareness of the groupings within that congregation. Take, for instance, how God inspired Paul to give Titus specific instructions for each group in the church (Titus 2:1-10), or to help Timothy think about different groups in the Ephesian church (1 Timothy 5:1-2). We know that God cares about individuals (for instance, see Psalm 17:6-8). And we can be confident that God wants to continue his work in his people and complete what he has begun (Philippians 1:6). So let’s be sure to pray that as we preach, God will land the message in very targeted and specific ways in those that hear us.
Please check out the conversation on the latest episode of the podcast. We really appreciate any help in getting the word out about this new resource. In the next post, I will offer a starter guide for evaluating the mix that makes up your congregation.
Preaching Easter (Podcast Post – Episode 6)
In the latest Biblical Preaching Bitesize, I share ten pointers for preaching Easter effectively. The Easter story is the heart of the Christian faith, and a key moment in our church calendar. So why might we struggle with preaching at Easter?
1. The story is so familiar. The Easter story comes up repeatedly throughout the year as we present the gospel in various situations. Sadly, the most wondrous news of all can become stale and predictable. We can end up saying the same things about the cross and the same things about the empty tomb. Listeners can bring assumptions from artistic images they have seen, or from presentations they have heard before.
2. The wondrous truth can get buried. Each passage that we might choose to preach is saying something about Easter. But sometimes, that theological and potentially life-changing truth can get buried in the story’s recounting. Or it can be lost because listeners get the sense they are listening to a famous old myth rather than the central moment of human history. When stories feel like a myth, listeners listen differently.
3. The preacher can feel flat. Familiar material, a busy time of year, and a preacher recounting history rather than feasting on the Word of God can lead to a flattened heart at the front of the church. We don’t want that, for our sake and theirs.
So, ponder the ten pointers in this Biblical Preaching Bitesize! To watch the Bitesize, click here.
And don’t miss the encouragement at the end. What could be more powerful than a vivid image projected on the screen in a church using the best contemporary software?
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Jonathan Thomas on Revival (Podcast Post – Episode 5)
“A reawakening of religious fervour” – that is a dictionary definition of revival. But in our latest podcast episode, Jonathan Thomas says we shouldn’t want revival. Jonathan has studied revival and produced documentaries on the subject. It was so good to interview him recently.
I remember reading Walter Kaiser’s book on the sixteen biblical revivals. Psalm 85:6 says, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” It is thrilling to read of seasons of God’s work being so tangible and imminent. Think of the revival under Josiah and Jeremiah or in the book of Acts. Kaiser finishes his book with these words, “I conclude that there can be no revival without the Lord initiating it and carrying it out. But I also conclude that no one can hide behind the doctrine of God as the explanation for why we have not had a revival in our day.”
So, how should we, as preachers, think about revival? After all, while we might assume we are unlikely to experience a revival, we cannot ignore the fact that revivals tend to involve preachers. I encourage you to watch these two podcast episodes, be encouraged by Jonathan’s thoughts, and join the conversation via the comments under the episode. (As always, please subscribe to the Cor Deo YouTube channel to easily find more content like this as it is released!)
And to find out why we shouldn’t want revival, here is part 2:
Imitate Who?
There are some strange stories of people imitating other people. For instance, in 1951, the Canadian Naval Ship the Cayuga was engaged in the Korean War. It took onboard three Korean fighters who needed immediate surgery. The ship’s surgeon, Dr Joseph Cyr, went ahead and removed a bullet from the chest of one man, amputated the foot of another, etc. He performed sixteen operations onboard and surgeries on shore in Korea. But that man was not Dr Joseph Cyr. With no training in surgery, Fred Demara had “borrowed” Cyr’s credentials to get into the Canadian Navy. He had also imitated his way into being a Psychology Professor, a university administrator, a prison warden, and a Trappist monk. It truly is a bizarre story.
And yet, perhaps it is even more bizarre that the Apostle Paul instructed the Ephesian believers to “be imitators of God” (See Ephesians 5:1). There are a handful of places where believers are urged to imitate Paul or even to imitate Christ (e.g. 1 Corinthians 11:1). Still, the instruction to “imitate God” is unique to this verse. Let’s probe Paul’s point.
What is Paul’s instruction? “Therefore, be imitators of God” (Ephesians 5:1). Paul is not suggesting that we pretend to be God or that we in any way usurp God’s position. For humans to invite worship, to function as if they are the central character in the universe, or to give the impression of being all-knowing, and so on, would be spiritual treason. God is God, and I am not.
On the other hand, we are very much expected to reflect the good character of God in every area of life. For instance, in the verses before and after Ephesians 5:1, we see instruction as honest, gracious, self-controlled, generous, kind, forgiving, loving, self-sacrificing, holy, and pure – all beautiful aspects of God’s perfections. (See Ephesians 4:25-5:4).
It would be fair to say that whatever is good about God’s character would be good to emulate and imitate, as long as we never blur the Creator and creature distinction. It would also be fair to notice that since the Fall of Genesis 3, humans have been much more inclined to get these categories reversed. How many people act as if they are the centre of the universe, worthy of worship, all-knowing, and in control, but lack the kind of goodness we have just described? The Fall absolutely messed us up!
Why should we imitate God? Because we are “children” (Ephesians 5:1). Whether it is fair or not, people observe children and evaluate the parents. Sometimes, a critical evaluation may be justified; other times, an outsider will have no idea of how much the parent is achieving considering the child’s circumstances. For those of us who are parents, we know how much we feel the watching eyes of others, so we hope our children will behave well in public situations.
As unfair as it may feel to us to have people evaluating us based on our children, how much more unfair is that for God? Imagine having your reputation and perception determined by representatives like you and me. After all, we are all flawed and broken people. Image bearers of God, of course, but so far from divine perfection!
And yet, the watching continues. People who never think about theological matters are watching you and me and assuming things about our God. This watching is not only from those outside the church but also from inside. Believers watch and learn from one another. I can think of people I have watched and from whom I learned something of God’s forgiveness, or God’s generosity, or God’s humility, or God’s redemptive power. The church is a living theological case study!
But how can we imitate God? The idea that we can and should imitate God’s character can feel overwhelming. How is it possible? Are we supposed to self-generate a super-human effort and achieve the impossible by sheer willpower? Notice the other word in the verse: “as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1). This imitation instruction is not based on the burden of striving effort. Instead, it is to be fueled by the joy of a loving relationship. Being saved and brought into God’s family means we are beloved children.
The word “beloved” makes it clear that we are not “tolerated” children, or “technically” children, or even “one of millions of children.” The word “beloved” gives a sense of the lavishing of all the parental love poured out on a uniquely favoured, even an only, child. More significantly, it is the same idea used of God’s unique Son, Jesus. Remember the baptism declaration, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased!” (Matthew 3:17).
There are multiple layers in the idea of being a child of God. Just as we have three types of paternity tests used among humans, the same idea works for us as believers. There is the legal reality of being lovingly adopted into God’s family (e.g. Ephesians 1:5-6). An adopted child has the paper evidence of the adoption certificate. Then there is the DNA test proving something of a parent in a child. For believers, we have the Spirit of God living within us (e.g. Ephesians 1:13-14). And thirdly, there is the resemblance test. When we see a baby, some people will immediately pronounce that the baby has his father’s nose, eyes, or whatever. That is the DNA showing through immediately. But Ephesians 5:1 is calling us to a more developed character likeness. Just as a child in a loving relationship will grow to resemble the character of the loving parent, so it can be with us.
As we seek to lead other believers into greater God-likeness, we would do well to pause and reflect on this one word. Do I believe I am “beloved” of God? It is easy to say it, but then live as if I am merely tolerated. And yet, what rocket fuel for transformation there is in being loved by God, even as He loves the Son (see John 17:23, for instance).
In response to Ephesians 5:1, let us pray a simple prayer that has massive implications in our lives and those we influence. “My loving Father, what do you want to work on in me so I may look more like you?”
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The Biblical Preaching Podcast is your conversation about preaching that shares God’s heart! Please find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, other podcast directories, and on YouTube. We would love to have your help in spreading the word – thank you in advance for every like, comment, share, follow and positive review!
Why Biblical Preaching? (Podcast Post for Episode 1)
The Biblical Preaching Podcast is live! My plan is to build on episodes with blog posts here so that you can get extra content on the blog, but also hopefully want to check out either the podcast or the related videos on YouTube.
In Episode 1, we discuss “Why Biblical Preaching?”
People often raise the issue of a changing society. The logic is simple – our world is changing at a rapid rate. Technology is advancing faster than ever; people are bombarded with highly stimulating, rapidly moving content, and consumers access information differently than they did even a few years ago. Therefore, many say that a verbal monologue delivered to a gathered congregation must be a mode of communication that should be consigned to history. Spurgeon’s Victorian England may have needed preachers, and maybe Lloyd-Jones’ twentieth-century London required preachers, but surely we now live in a different world?
In the first part of the podcast, we discuss the question, “why preaching?” We mention three reasons:
1. Because of the Biblical example – From Moses and Joshua, through the times of the Old Testament prophets, to the ministry of Jesus and the apostles in the early church, the consistent example is that of spoken messages pointing people to God’s person and purpose in this world.
Note: The world of the Bible is not monolithic. There were vast shifts and changes between the preaching of Moses in Sinai, and the message of Joshua in the Promised Land, to the proclamation of Paul in Athens or Miletus. And yet, through all the rising and falling of great empires, the shifting of cultures, the progression in God’s plan of history, still the pattern is consistent. God’s messengers spoke a word that changed lives and shifted history. It could be considered arrogant to think that our brief period of change should override millennia of shifting contexts in which preaching was a primary means of God working in the world.
2. Because of Biblical instruction – Paul’s final letter, written to Timothy, closes with the instruction to preach the Word. It is fascinating that he does not focus on spectacular spiritual gifts or any other possible emphases for continuing ministry beyond his own time. Instead, he urges Timothy to prioritize reading God’s Word and preaching it! In other places, we can see instruction that would lead us to consider preaching as a critical component of gospel ministry.
3. Because of theological reality – What is God like? He is a revealing, speaking and incarnational God. In preaching, we see all persons of the Trinity in action – the Father’s loving initiative driving the whole mission of God in this world; the Son’s revealing of his Father and rescuing of humanity is the focus of both Scriptural and biblical preaching; and the Spirit woos, convicts and changes hearts through preaching. In the podcast, I note how preaching (in this case, including spoken testimony), plays a key role in the story of salvation. Where humanity fell into sin by doubting the word of an apparently absent God, so God wins a redeemed people back based not on a great show of power but based on the apparent weakness of words spoken in the kingdom of darkness.
In the second part of the podcast, we get into why we use the label “Biblical Preaching” and whether that is the same as “Expository Preaching.” I will let you listen to the podcast to find out more! Please check out the podcast, follow it on your podcast platform of choice, and thank you in advance for every interaction with the podcast or YouTube clip, as it helps the algorithm spread the content to more people. Positive reviews are invaluable as we get the podcast going – thank you!
Click here to find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and click here to find it on Spotify, or search for The Biblical Preaching Podcast on whatever app you use to find podcasts. And here is the YouTube video if you like to watch:
Biblical Preaching 