Transforming Sermons (via Mowser)

Hebrews links

I don't intend to plug the new website every day, but today's expository links for Hebrews are especially rich, particularly in the historical section.

The bottom line

"Face it, the Bible is pretty straightforward: people who love money and stuff do not love God."

I just wonder what it would be like if for six months if all of us had preachers like those in Acts 6:4. If the preachersâ€™ only task was preaching and praying. If deacons really did what deacons are supposed to do, I wonder how different our churches would be?

Well?

Gospel and righteousness

"The gospel is not, â€˜Try doing things this wayâ€™. The gospel is â€˜It is finished!â€™"

Faith and worry

Thanks to Blogotional for this gem from Mark Daniels:

The opposite of faith isnâ€™t unbelief. The opposite of faith is worry. May we live in the assurance that God has given us eternity and so, free from worry, glorify the God Who gives us everything! May faith supplant fear. When we do worry, may God help us remember all His blessings, including our crucified and risen Lord. And may we, instead of worrying about tomorrow, learn to truly live.

Amen.

Spontaneity & preparation

Biblical Preaching shares some worthwhile thoughts on preaching, spontaneity, and preparation.

1 John links now posted

Links to expository resources on 1 John are now posted at Expository Links.

Power of the cross

"I did a Bible study last week about how Paul talks about the cross and the crucifixion. In each context Paul explains that the cross is an active force in our life, ridding ourselves of what we were and becoming what Christ is.

"Many view the cross as back there, already done, I did all that when I got saved. But the cross isnâ€™t just an entrance into salvation; itâ€™s the life of faith. Paul always explains the cross as having an impact on what you are doing right now."

- Jeff Weddle

2 John resources

I don't usually post on weekends, but have just put up links at Expository Links for studying 2 John.

3 John preaching links

Today at Expository Links: resources for preaching and teaching from 3 John.

Right reading for the little ones

We need to pay attention to this one: hermeneutical errors in children's Bible curricula (via).

Whom do we glorify?

"For our gospel to be Jesus' gospel, it must move. It must be embodied. Faith without works is dead, of course.

"But works outside the context of the proclamation of the gospel isn't the gospel at all.

"The danger within the new church movements, even as we seek to be the gospel in healing, comforting, clothing, and feeding, is that we practically confuse our good works for the gospel of Christ's good work. As I've argued elsewhere, my neighbor being loved by me may be the gospel, but me loving my neighbor is not.

"If we divorce the sharp edge of the gospel -- the scandalous message of sin and grace -- from our missional efforts (or whatever you want to call them) we are not glorifying God at all. We are glorifying our own compassion."

- Jared Wilson

Links for expository preaching (& teaching)

The last couple of weeks I've been consolidating links to the best free, online Bible study resources for sermon preparation. Now I've started sharing them on the web. The site is called simply Links for Expository Preaching.

These links are aimed at being especially helpful for preaching and teaching in contrast to purely academic or devotional resources. I've tried to find works that reflect both methodological rigor and a faithful approach to the Word. I'm posting links each day for one biblical book, in reverse canonical order. So far I've posted links to author bios, Revelation, and Jude.

Tagged

I've been tagged by faithful TS reader Nancy to be part of an ongoing blog meme. If you're interested, you can read my responses here.

Boiling down

John Frye is tired of "the American sound byte gospel."

True relevance

A while ago I posted an excerpt of an article on church, evangelism, and "relevancy." John Schroeder has been thinking about the same topic and came to this conclusion:

People come to church, like anywhere else they might go, because church has something they need or desire. So the essential question is what does church have to offer that people need or desire?

The answer of course, has nothing to do with culture; it is Jesus Christ - Him crucified and resurrected for the sake of our transformation into the beings we were created to be. Why don't people find that "relevant"?

I would submit to you they do not find it relevant because they HAVE NOT SEEN IT. Why did the first century church succeed so well when we do not? Because they genuinely reflected the glory of the risen Lord!

Relevancy does not lie in presenting ourselves in a package that appears more culturally in tune with our times. Relevancy does not lie in changing our culture into something that is more in tune with the church. Relevancy does lie in each of us coming to be more in tune with Jesus Christ - and allowing that fact to transform us into something the likes of which the world has never seen.

Amen and amen.

Being humbled

Worth reading: "Lessons learned from a decade behind the pulpit"

Wise words on youth ministry

This one pretty much speaks for itself:

The best ministry we provide teenagers is the equipping of their parents, who in turn invest the passionate pursuit of Christ's glory in their children. I'm afraid this is much more intimidating for the parents than teenagers. It's time we confess that we've played fast-and-loose with our children's souls, and begin the long march back to biblical faithfulness. It's time parents seriously recover the grandeur of Christ in their own hearts for the sake of their children. God help us be strong and courageous.

Amen.

Sermons and community

They may, as the author asserts, be random and partially developed, but Eddie Arthur's thoughts on preaching are worth considering.

Beyond attraction

I'm looking forward to David Fitch's new series of weblog posts on church growth and when they will not come. Here's how it begins:

A lot of my interaction with students, pastors and church planters is over the issues of post-Christendom and the revolutionary change required of us who seek to engage those outside Christ with the gospel. It truly is stunning to recognize how things have changed in this country over the last fifty years. Over and over again I hear the stories of churches and the lament "all we're doing is shuffling discontented believers from one form of church to another." Or I hear "another mega church has moved into the area and emptied out three traditional local churches." It's post Christendom and we're competing for customers.

For those who refuse to enter this ugly frey, we are left to plant churches and think about the Christian life in a different way. There simply are not a ready made group of people out there ready to join your church-plant in just a few months of your beginning (hallelujah). Salvations don't just fall out of trees . . . and disciples take several years to grow. There are no simple techniques or boot camps. I'm ok with this. For indeed church planting now has to be life on life - sustainable over many years.

This is the situation of "when they will not come." It is church planting, church pastoring and church life as it is after the "attractional" nature of the church has disappeared. Now all we have left is "us."

Amen--as long, of course, as "us" includes Jesus.

Celebrating what?

Matt Dirks, with a little help from D.A. Carson, asks Christians in the United States, "Do we worship democracy more than God?"

Faith that overcomes

"This isnâ€™t about living some successful, victorious, abundant, physically rich and healthy life; it is about things that money cannot buy, and the devil cannot steal. The abundant life that Jesus says Satan is trying to steal, kill, and destroy, he canâ€™t, because it is spiritual abundance (John 10:10). Our faith is what teaches us that (1 John 5:4). The victory that overcomes the world, even our faith, doesnâ€™t mean our faith gets us out of the problems; it means we remain faithful even while we are in them! We have been granted the faith and the power to endure suffering, not to remove it. It isnâ€™t the more faith you have the less suffering and trials you will have but the more faith you have the more faithful you will be during them! We keep on conquering what the world would try and have us do, turn our backs on God, and instead, our faith turns us back to God, crying Abba Father (Romans 8:15)!"

- J.D. Hatfield

Transformation, week-by-week

Peter Mead offers some good advice on not expecting a Big Idea every time we preach:

When you come up with a stunning Big Idea that absolutely nails the meaning and relevance of the text, then use it (and publish it, etc.) But most weeks you will have to make do with the best you can come up with. An idea that is hopefully accurate to the text, fairly succinct, somewhat memorable, or perhaps just plain clear. These are the sermons that gradually transform lives. They may not make the preaching books, but the fruit of good honest prayerful preaching preparation will last for eternity. Donâ€™t feel intimidated by the â€œbig gunsâ€ and their best bullets. Remember that they preach some very average Big Ideas too.

Amen.

Stepping on toes, not massaging feet

Brian Lowery writes on the need for preachers to resist the temptation of playing to the crowd: "we aim not for the affirmation of applause or laughter or hearty slaps on the back, but the affirmation of transformation, in all its messy glory." Amen.

What's relevant?

Here's Bill:

It's common to talk about "making the Bible relevant". As you're reading the Bible, or listening to a sermon, or sitting in Bible study, thoughts of relevance can invade your attentions, if you're like me.

"Is this relevant to me?"

But how many of us ever ask,

Just how 'relevant' am I?

Good question.