What makes a good sermon? This is not easily answered, especially if resting on popular opinion. Many will say something to the effect of “if it convicts the heart”, or “moves someone to some action”. These things are very true, but many things other than biblical preaching can move someone to an action or bring about conviction of some sort (think of an example like “Biggest Loser”). I want to look at 4 ways that preaching you hear can be ‘great’ by these definitions, but not biblical: 1. Typologizing (analogy in structure): Similar to allegorizing, the parallel is often drawn when the preacher has an O.T. text and feels obliged to refer in his sermon to the person of Christ, not the attempt to find Christ in the O.T. but the arbitrary manner in which this is done is many times suspect. For instance, trying to preach that Naomi’s care of Ruth becomes Christ’s care for his people, or Jacob’s wrestling at Peniel points toward Christ’s wrestling at Calvary, or Joseph’s sale to the Ishmaelite’s prefigures Christ being sold by Judas, etc. While this seems to be correct, because of the overriding desire to preach Christ, one must then resort, unintentionally, to some artifice or other in order to make the sermon Christocentric. But typology in and by itself cannot make a sermon Christocentric. When one disengages a text from the totality of redemptive history, he has robbed it of its Christological character and retains, at best, an edifying moral which contains nothing particularly Christian. For example if one could preach a Christocentric sermon on Joseph from a text in the Koran or the book of Mormon, or for that matter, one could dispense with a text entirely and preach a Christocentric sermon on any Christian who was ever persecuted. But when the Bible speaks of Joseph, he appears… as a certain particular believer who on the ‘road’ and in the framework of the one redemptive history had his unique place and significance. We do not have the right to make and multiply ‘types’. God has given them, and we must confine ourselves to the ones he has given. 2. Spiritualizing (timeless truths): By spiritualizing the events in the text is much easier to throw a bridge across the then – now gap, thereby opening the way for instant application. For example, the physical blindness of the two men in Matthew 9 becomes our spiritual blindness, the Cana wedding invitation to the earthly Jesus becomes our invitation to the heavenly Jesus, or in Matthew 8 the storm on the sea often receives an application having to do with the spiritual storms on the sea of life, etc. This spiritualization of the passages many times lead to edifying remarks and ideas, but they have nothing to do with the text. In spiritualizing, the choice of the passage and the parallel that is drawn is largely up to the preacher. Because of this, it is subjective and can hardly be distinguished from overt allegory. Moreover, since the text gives no warrant for it, it is an arbitrary way of making a text relevant for hearers today. "This spiritualization of the passages many times lead to edifying remarks, but they have nothing to do with the text." 3. Moralizing (timeless ethical code): A sermon may be "moralistic" simply when the preacher places an undue emphasis on morals, when he doesn't consider the sermon complete unless it contains admonitions, exhortations for conduct, when, in season and out of season, and parroted his form the capstone of the sermon. Four instance, and 2 Samuel 18 when David receives word of the death of his son Absalom the preacher may take this seemingly obvious route and make a practical remark in the sermon such as; “this lamenting father is a warning call to all Christian parents to take the upbringing of their children seriously as long as they have the opportunity, lest they too must cry out their despair in a similar bitterness when the grave of their children is being dug and it is too late”. Of course it is not wrong For Christian parents to be considerate of and concerned with the upbringing of their children, but is that really the intent of the text in 2 Samuel 18? The assumption that every text contains exhortations for proper behavior forces the text a priori into a moral mold, which may or may not suit the text. The text is approached with the question: what conduct is advocated here? But suppose it is not the intent of the text to answer that question? The text frequently neither approves nor disapproves of a particular conduct; and even where it does approve, the problem remains and how far can we imitate that conduct today (think of Samuel hewing Agag into pieces). When a preacher moralizes a text, the content of the sermon is determined not by the text itself but by the preachers ingenuity. This ingenuity may tack a moral onto David here, another onto Jacob there, etc.; the sermon will be very ”practical”, but also very subjective and the choice of morals to be presented is largely left up to the preacher. And in the process the first and foremost question is forgotten: is this the intent of the text? The outcome of moralistic preaching tends to become legalistic; it issues imperatives without the divine indicative. 4. Psychologizing (soul of man remains the same): Psychologizing a text can happen by describing various ‘soul conditions’ in order to picture types of godliness, or to present illustrations for the well-known ‘doctrine of salvation’. For instance the text may speak of Elijah’s body, his physical posture in prayer, his clothes, and many other elements; and “no one” would think of abstracting, that information about his clothes in order to deliver a sermon on fashion. But many times preachers feel that they are allowed to lift Elijah’s soul and faith struggle, his quest and pains and doubt out of the total complex of ideas that together constitute this one episode in the one redemptive history, and use these elements for discourse on doubt, testing, unbelief, etc. The motivation for psychologizing a text is to present relevance to the audience, and it is certainly not to be scorned; but what is the cost? Does psychologizing do justice to the text? Through these 4 different means (often called exemplary preaching), the preacher’s attempt to make a passage (particularly a historical passage) relevant to his audience (which of course is needed and laudable) does injustice to the text, the Word of God. “This attempt to gain immediate application is a homiletical short cut resulting in a hermeneutical short circuit.” *Excerpts and ideas from: Sola Scriptura by Sydney Greidanus ​ #preaching #biblestudy

How important is preaching? For some of us, we don't realize the importance of the public preaching and proclamation of the gospel (1 Pet 4:11; Rom 10:14-15; Acts 14:1). I fear that in a pendulum swinging response to the common Christian environment of eloquent and knowledgeable preachers and speakers who lack any life of holiness, we have at best minimized, and at worst denounced the art, craft, and impact of biblical preaching. I for one was turned off by the apparent facade of eloquent preachers who lacked any real evidence of repentance taking place in their hearts and lives. All to many scandals have been seen from religious leaders. And so, we have reacted by denouncing the public limelight, and all that comes with it (like preaching) in order to focus singularly on one's personal life and holiness. Generally, if someone is living righteously, pursuing holiness, and living an exemplary life, this qualifies them to preach the word of God publically. But does it? Jesus said, "You have heard it said, but I tell you the truth ... ". Jesus of course, talked privately with his disciples and taught them (as Paul is recorded as doing also - cf. Acts 20:20), and of course Jesus lived a life that was unable to be properly accused (cf. Mark 15:3-5), and he healed people and performed many miracles ... but he also preached. I believe a balance must be struck (and for my immediate context, I think we lean in one direction generally) where people have an exemplary life of holiness that others can be called to (cf 1 Tim 4:12) but also who are qualified and can accurately and persuasively preach the word (cf. 1 Tim 4:12; 2 Tim 2:15) so we can aid the body in becoming mature (cf Eph 4:11-16). #preaching

Continuing the Summer of Wisdom series where we seek wisdom for the modern world through the ancient wisdom literature of the Bible. Here we continue our study of the book of Job. #SummerOfWisdom #sermons #Job

Continuing the Summer of Wisdom series where we seek wisdom for the modern world through the ancient wisdom literature of the Bible. Here we begin our study of the book of Job. #SummerOfWisdom #sermons #Job

Thomas à Kempis wrote; "Jesus has always many who love His heavenly kingdom, but few who bear His cross. He has many who desire consolation, but few who care for trial. He finds many to share His table, but a few to take part in His fasting. All desire to be happy with Him; few wish to suffer anything for Him. Many follow Him to the breaking of bread, but few to the drinking of the chalice of His passion. Many revere His miracles; few approach the shame of the Cross. Many love Him as long as they encounter no hardship; many praise and bless Him as they receive some comfort from Him." And while my own American 21st century culture is fundamentally no different from others of the past, I still see things quite similar to this just as Kempis did in the latter half of the 14th century. I still see it in myself. Originally upon my true meeting of the biblical Jesus, as opposed to my cultural pop Jesus, I was obviously floored by what he offered me, forgiveness with His heavenly Father, entrance into His kingdom and family, not to mention greater purpose and meaning in this life than I could ever have otherwise, and believe me I was quite desperate for such things. But as I have known Jesus for some time now and as I have fallen deeper in love of Him and in awe of Him, I have realized that there is quite a difference between loving Jesus because He is exceptionally wonderful and all together unlike me, and loving Him because of what He can offer me. "There is a great difference between loving Christ because He is exceptionally wonderful and all together unlike me, and loving Him because of what He can offer me." Sure originally I was enamored, as well I should have been, by the great vastness of reward that Jesus offered me in His Father's grace, that I, a wicked sinner, could be pardoned and set free ... and I am still grateful to this day, not less, but ever increasing. However I have also increased in my appreciation and awe of who Jesus is in his character and glory -- the patience, love, humility, lack of vengeance toward his oppressors, his ever steadfastness to His Father's cause, even at the peril of His own life, reputation and family. I seem to realize more and more that this Jesus is the Christ, and is totally worthy of following, I pray even to a cross. #spirituality #ImitationOfChrist

In what has become a far too common occurrence in recent American history, another mass shooting broke out in Orlando, FL (a couple hours from where I grew up). President Obama in his term as President of the United States has now address the country 15 different times because of mass shootings. This marks the deadliest shooting in American history with 50 dead, and 53 injured (at the time of this writing) and was carried out by a young man, an ISIS supporter, who opened fire on a prominent gay nightclub and had a 3 hour long hostage stand off before being killed by authorities. So what can we learn? It is such a tragedy, and sadness fills my heart to see these acts of violence carried out on such a scale. What was once reserved for the battlefield, which was clearly defined, has now spilled over into our everyday lives to the point where it is quite realistic that a shooter could open fire at any moment, in the most mundane settings; a school, a movie theatre, a church, a nightclub ... the farthest thing you expect to be a battlefield. And yet people find themselves in these settings lying in pools of blood clamoring for their cell phones to have one last communication with their loved ones. It is a heart-breaking reality. One of the terrible tragedies of this incident is the fact that the LGBT community was targeted, as if they needed one more antagonist against them. And to make things go from bad to worse is the undoubted folks who will come along in the name of God and Jesus and say that because they were living in sin, they deserved it. Oh, brother. Are you kidding me? Well while we are at it, if we are pouring out God's wrath onto others like it's our job, then let's go ahead and pour it out on ourselves just as quickly and fiercely my plank-eyed friend (c.f. Mat 7:1-5). "If we are pouring out God's wrath onto others then we should pour it out on ourselves just as quickly and fiercely my plank-eyed friend." We can learn from Jesus, who had some things to say about such thinking: Luke 18:9-14 "To some who were confident in their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 'I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.'" This is a tragedy for people. This is a tragedy for America. This is a tragedy for the LGBT community. But this is not a victory for the enemy. I do not consider our enemy to be ISIS, or anyone who has pledged allegiance to such a group. In fact, we should learn who the real enemy is. I do not consider our enemy to be flesh and blood of any kind, but rather the spiritual forces of evil in this dark world (c.f. Eph 6:10-18). Jesus teaches us to pray for our enemies, not condemn them: Matthew 5:43-44 "You have heard it said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you." In this time of tragedy, let us as Christians, do just that. #culture #homosexuality #LGBT

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men, couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again. " You know the song. It's perhaps the most well known nursery rhymes in the English language. So what does this children's song have to do with Jesus? The song speaks of Humpty Dumpty having a "great fall" and not being able to be "put back together again" in spite of great efforts to do so, and this is precisely what Jesus came to do for humanity, to put them back together to their original God given state. And unlike the king's men and king's horses in the children's song, Jesus absolutely has the power to do it. "The foundations for understanding of our true selves are expressed in Genesis 1:26-27. Being created in God's image means that we were designed to reflect him in every way - physically, emotionally, intellectually, and socially. Sin is essentially a wedge that separates us from God and our divine-likeness, which in turn leads to fragmentation within ourselves and between one another. Within this crisis, like a physician setting broken bones, Jesus's work of atonement was the thoroughgoing act of restoring human wholeness. As the first man in the new humanity, Jesus put right all that was wrong within the human condition. As members of this new humanity we can now confidently "put on the new self, created to be like God in and holiness" (c.f. Eph 4:24)." (Divine Sex, Grant, pg. 151-152) "The irony is that often we think the things that will satisfy and make us whole are the things that continue to fragment our souls." Because of the fall of man (which specifically represents your sin and my sin) we have become fragmented from our true selves, splintering us from the whole and healthy self that God desires us to be. Sin fragments us in various ways but if you are honest with yourself, you can even perceive this fragmentation, knowing that something is not right with you and the world. The irony is that often times we think the things that will satisfy us, help us become whole, complete, and find meaning are the very things that continue to fragment our souls further. This is perhaps felt no more acutely than in the realm of sexuality (notice the uniqueness of the sin discussed in 1 Cor 6:18). Jesus came to make you and me whole again, and although this is many times a grueling process, including self denial and the crucification of the flesh (and is not the wave of a some magic wand that happens in an instant) being a Christian and following Jesus is the process of being made whole, becoming the true selves that God intended us to be. As we follow Jesus and are obedient to Him, he teaches us, guides us, and empowers us, to be put back together again living a life on this earth as he did, whole and close to God. Our wholeness will not be made complete until we are rid of these temporary tents (2 Pet 1:13-14), but as we walk with him we are sanctified even in this life and our being put back together again begins. #culture #sexuality #sex

#sermons #ecclesiastes #summerofwisdom

For Christian's, virginity is a virtue, yet the harsh reality is that many times people come to faith, and into the Lord’s church with, a broken sexual past and all of the baggage that comes along with it. I should know, I am one of them. Unfortunately, an even harsher truth is that sexual baggage can be created in the church. Just look at the church in Corinth. Or you could just look around at your own church. "The truth is sexual baggage can be created in the church - look at the church in Corinth, or you could just look at your own church" So when is the right time and the best way to go about broaching the subject of your sexual past with your significant other? Before you start going steady, during engagement, perhaps after the wedding day? And how much should you share? Every painful sexual detail and rendezvous, or perhaps generic terms and information that leave enough ambiguity for one to never really know the truth? My wife and I over the years have had to navigate this difficult terrain together with the help of trusted mentors and spiritual advisors (more on this in a moment), along with the Spirit of God and the time-tested truths of His Word. My advice to couples is generally not to discuss anything intimate in terms of one's sexual past while they are dating (or courting, or going steady, or whatever terminology you prefer to use to indicate a romantic relationship in which a man and a woman are exclusively on a path together to explore the possibility of marriage) but instead to just have fun getting to know one another and each other's character, passions, hobbies, gifts, etc. There are some exceptions to this, but it is not the norm. In the case of an exception, conversations should never be had about sexual past experiences without a TON of prayer and guidance from trusted and proven spiritual advisors. (I delineate “proven” spiritual advisors from someone who gives advice or is simply older. I have for instance heard of a young couple receiving ‘advice’ from an older couple to experiment sexually together before they were married just too make sure they were “sexually compatible”. This is not what I would call “proven” advice. The only fact it proves is that their advice is just plain worldly and not of God. A "proven" advisor in the manner that I mean would be someone that has proven themselves in the past and given you sound Godly advice that adheres to the principles of the scriptures). "A proven advisor is someone that has proven themselves in the past giving you sound Godly advice that adheres to the principles of the Word." If there is sexual baggage in the past of one or both of the individuals involved in the relationship, I usually advise that discussing it wait until engagement, or possibly just before (again the details will be nuanced based on each couple since every relationship is somewhat unique), and only after there has been much counsel and advice sought about how to discuss it. It is generally not needed, or very helpful, to discuss every detail of one’s sexual past with a future spouse, but at the same time you don’t want to paint the picture so vaguely that someone might feel duped should they find out some piece of information in the future. A simple rule of thumb in this matter would be to ask yourself, “Is this information relevant to our future relationship, and if they were to find out this piece of information in the future, would they be hurt that I had not shared it now?” Another good rule of thumb is to simply ask the person how much information they want you to share with them (but again, many times a person cannot anticipate what is best for themselves in this regard so outside counsel is imperative). The truth is that if there is sexual baggage in one or both of the person’s history, this is not going to be a one-time conversation, and it will not likely cease after marriage. For that matter, even if there is relatively little sexual baggage and both people are virgins (although every sinful human has some degree of “baggage”) there will still need to be efforts made and conversations had in order to achieve a fruitful, enjoyable, and God-honoring sexual relationship. The way in which modern media portrays romance and sexuality as being intuitive and ‘easy’ is simply not true, and often sets up unrealistic expectations and disappointment. Not to mention that fact that the modern Western concept of sexuality is one of consumerism. Simply put; a Godly sexual relationship is just like everything else we try to do in this life in a Godly manner; it takes self-denial (Lk 9:23) and self-control through His Spirit (2 Tim 1:7). #sex #relationships #dating

Continuing the sermon series "Summer of Wisdom" where we explore the wisdom literature of the bible, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job as well as some wisdom poetry of Psalms. This is Proverbs part 3. #SummerofWisdom #Proverbs #bible #wisdom