Today's Word

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
Titus 1:15-16

Today's Preaching Insight...

Presentation vs. Content

In a past issue of the Preaching Now newsletter, Michael Duduit wrote: "As the father of two boys, I'm learning some of my most important lessons around the breakfast table.

For example, I have learned that the nutritional value of the cereal is of far less concern than the box: what's on it and what's in it. Is there something interesting to look at on the box, and/or does it have some special prize inside? If Jimmy Neutron is on the box, then it's a keeper. (For those of you without small children, and who are thus culturally unaware of the latest cartoon celebrities, you'll just have to trust me on this.)

It appears that my boys consider presentation more important than content. While I know that's not true, I've also learned that they'll absorb some pretty nutritious content if the presentation gets their attention. They'll even eat healthy stuff if it looks interesting enough!

And that's a pretty good early-morning lesson for a preacher."

Today's Extra...

This Week's Book

Eyes Wide Open by Jud Wilhite and Bill Taaffe

It's important to primarily keep our eyes on Jesus. But what does God see when He looks at us? In Eyes Wide Open (Multnomah), Jud Wilhite encourages readers to understand how God sees them -- and how they should see themselves. The Sept-Oct issue of Preaching includes an interview with Wilhite, who is senior pastor of Central Christian Church in Las Vegas.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Titus 2:14

Today's Preaching Insight...

A Prisoner of Jesus Christ

Ephesians 3:1-13 constitutes a great parenthesis in the argument of the book, which skips from 2:22 to 3:14, where it continues the topic of the growth of the Church. What could have been important enough to make a logical and systematic mind like Paul's lose its train of thought? The Stewardship of God's Grace, i.e., the ministry of the Gospel and the privilege of having a part in it. How great is that privilege? It is great enough to transform your view of your circumstances, to turn a prison into a place of praise and bonds of iron into a badge of honor, when one is a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

(To read the entire article "Prisoner of Jesus Christ" by Donald T. Williams at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Honesty / Dishonesty

Did you hear the story of the boy who brought home a very low grade on a test?  His mother asked, "Why did you get such a low mark on that test?"  His reply was, "Because of absence."  The mother inquired, "You mean you were absent when they discussed the material?"  The student said, "No, the kid who sits next to me was absent the day of the test."

J. Michael Shannon is professor of preaching at Cincinnati Bible College in Cincinnati, OH.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:5

Today's Preaching Insight...

Sermon Form

In an article on "The Theology of Sermon Design" in the Sept-Oct 2007 issue of Preaching, Dennis Cahill writes, "Karl Barth, in his volume Homiletics, states, 'There is no need, then, to consider the problem of what should come first, second, and third. The preacher has only to repeat what the text says.' Barth rejects introductions, conclusions, and sermon divisions out of his theological conviction that humanity can do nothing to make the Word of God effective and should not try to do so, perhaps because of his dislike for the artiness of the sermons of his day. For Barth, sermon form only served to obscure the Word of God. Preachers, he argued, need not make much of the issue of sermon form.

The problem with this line of reasoning is that the biblical preachers and writers did have a concern for design. Long argues that the New Testament writers were intentional in their rhetorical design and that New Testament preaching was based on the preaching of the synagogue, which was complex in its communication strategy.

Consider the difference between Paul's sermon in Acts 13 to a largely Jewish audience in the synagogue and his sermon in Acts 17 to a Gentile audience in the Greek marketplace. In Acts 13 Paul's sermon is filled with Old Testament references and theology. In Acts 17 Paul takes a very different approach, appealing to an altar to 'an unknown God' and quoting from Greek poets, while not using a single quotation from the Hebrew Scriptures. These two sermons reflect different audiences and thus different rhetorical designs. They are designed differently, but they are designed.

Form is inescapable. Even if one simply reads the text, issues of design must be considered."

Today's Extra...

This Week's Laugh

Translating Christianese

The Evangelical Press Association (EPA) website recently shared the following: Christianese is a language used in the Christian subculture and understood easily only by other practicing Christians. As Christian communicators it's important to avoid words in our writing that could be misunderstood or fail to communicate — terms that have meaning only in the Christian subculture.

As a public service, here are some common phrases used in the church, along with their English-language equivalents:

Christianese: "If it be God's will."
Translation: "I really don't think God is going to answer this one.

Christianese: "Let's have a word of prayer."
Translation: "I am going to pray for a long, long, long time."

Christianese: "That's not my spiritual gift."
Translation: "Find someone else."

Christianese: "Fellowship"
Translation: "Organized gluttony."

Christianese: "The Lord works in mysterious ways."
Translation: "I'm totally clueless."

Christianese: "Lord willing . . ."
Translation: "You may think I'll be there, but I won't."

Christianese: "I don't feel led."
Translation: "Can't make me."

Christianese: "God led me to do something else."
Translation: I slept in instead of going to church.

Christianese: "God really helped me with this test."
Translation: "I didn't study but I guessed good, so I'm giving God credit in the hope that He helps me again."

Christianese: "She has such a sweet spirit!"
Translation: "What an airhead!"

Christianese: "I have a 'check' in my spirit about him."
Translation: "I can't stand that jerk!"

Christianese: "I'll be praying for you."
Translation: "There's an outside chance I'll remember this conversation later today."

Christianese: "Prayer concerns"
Translation: "Gossip"

Christianese: "In conclusion . . . "
Translation: "I'll be done in another hour or so."

Christianese: "Let us pray"
Translation: "I'm going to pretend to talk to God now, but I'm really preaching at you."

Christianese: "You just have to put it in God's hands."
Translation: "Don't expect me to help you."

Christianese: "God wants to prosper you!"
Translation: "Give me all your money."

(Author Unknown)

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.
Hosea 10:12

Today's Preaching Insight...

Establish a Context When Preaching from Old Testament Narratives

A very important first step to making a section of Old Testament narrative "preach-able" is to read it in relation to its immediate context, the larger narrative within of which a given pericope is a part. For our purposes, we might note that there is an intriguing development in the Kings narrative wherein Jeroboam is appointed by Solomon himself to be the one who oversees the men whom Solomon had compelled to labor. Soon after, as 1 Kings 11:29-39 informs us, the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh goes out with Jeroboam from Jerusalem to tell him that YHWH has decided to tear the kingdom from Solomon and make Jeroboam king over ten tribes. In the space of about one chapter we learn that Jeroboam has gone from a man who had been "taken" by God and given all Israel to rule to a man against whom YHWH had sent his prophet in judgment.

What could bring about such a turn in fortune? What had Jeroboam done that turned him from God's appointed and approved king to God's enemy? Surely 1 Kings 13 gives its own implicit explanation, but we will endeavor to show that one way to feast upon Old Testament narrative is to take cues from its interplay with prominent themes that have been traditionally associated with memorable portions of other biblical narratives. Our second step, then, will be to discern any literary and cultural motifs that the writer may have woven into his work and filled with theological significance.

(Read the entire article, "A Homiletical Spiral for Preaching Old Testament Narratives" by Carlos R. Bovell at Preaching.com)

Today's Extra...

Self-Awareness

Some people already know they have a problem. According to an October 28, 2002 Associated Press story, a 22-year-old Green Bay man led police on a chase that often moved as slowly as 20 mph and ended in the Brown County Jail's parking lot. The man parked his pickup in the jail's lot, smoked a cigarette, got out of the truck and lay face-down on the ground to be arrested, police said.

He apparently told police he knew he was drunk and was going to be sent to jail, so he just drove himself there. The man also was arrested for cocaine possession and an outstanding warrant for a hit-and-run accident.

AP reports that the chase began around 1 a.m. An officer spotted the truck ignoring signs and going the wrong way on a one-way street. The officer chased the pickup, which often traveled as slowly as 20 miles per hour. A 21-year-old female passenger tried to get out of the vehicle several times and eventually bailed out near an intersection. She was not injured. The man's next stop was the jail.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
Titus 3:8

Today's Preaching Insight...

Is Submission to God a Loss of Freedom?

Many people believe that if they submit their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ, they will lose their freedom; they cannot do anything that they want to do in life. A tragic flaw in this reasoning is that a person who is not under the lordship of Jesus is not free. The Bible says that you are in bondage to sin, to the lusts of your own flesh, to the whims of an evil spiritual opponent who wishes you destroyed, and to a world that is alienated from the one who brings true freedom. Or as that great theologian Bob Dylan put it,

You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may the Lord
but you're gonna have to serve somebody.
(http://bobdylan.com/songs/serve.html)

This myth then precipitates another lie: You can be a disciple of Jesus without a radical submission to Jesus in every area of your life. This desire to have it both ways took on a very seductive heresy a few years ago when we heard about Jesus being our Savior but not our Lord. This is a lie. If He is not Lord, He is not Savior.

(To read the entire sermon "Four Myths about Submission in the Christian Life" by Michael Milton at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Conversion

Australia is the only country in the world to have a picture of a convicted forger on its currency. Francis Greenway came to Australia—as many early settlers did—as a convict. He had been convicted in England of forgery. Once in Australia, he changed his life. He began to use his hidden skills as an architect. Some of the most beautiful buildings in Sydney, Australia, were designed by him; and they put his picture on the Australian 10 dollar bill. They believed he had changed.

Jesus always believed that people could change. He also helped them to change, just as He will help you to change.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.
Matthew 14:26-27

Today's Preaching Insight...

Excitement

Dealing with Psalms 135, pastor Paul Martin writes, "I'll tell you right now, the Psalmist is excited in this psalm. He cries, 'Praise the Lord,' ten times in twenty-one verses! Why should we be excited?

1. It is exciting to think about God as the Creator. "Whatsoever the Lord pleases He does. In heaven and in earth. In the seas and in all deep places." (verse 6)

2. It is exciting to think of God as present in every crisis. "He defeated many nations and slew mighty kings...and gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people." (verses 10-12)

3. It is exciting that man can talk to God, and that God talks to man. If you look for God's delicate intervention in your affairs, you will see it. And sometimes, as Samuel Shoemaker says, "God is there flat-footed, sort of 'barging in.'" What a precious privilege, talking with the living God!

4. It is exciting to know that God wins the victory over evil by love...not by might or power, but by the Spirit of love. But He wins! I see them continually—men and women, once slaves to sin, now free through Christ. Alive, happy trophies of His love!  (Paul Martin, 'Get Up and Go')"

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

The LORD will fulfill [his purpose] for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever-- do not abandon the works of your hands..
Psalms 138:8

Today's Preaching Insight...

Lawsuits among Believers

The issue is this: Can't we the redeemed of the Lord deal with our own problems within the family of God? It scandalizes a church not to be able to handle its own affairs. We are called to try to settle these issues as brothers and sisters.

Paul did not come up with this teaching on his own. It is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and it is in direct concurrence with the teachings of Jesus, who in Matthew 18 gives a pattern as to how we should deal with grievances between brothers and sisters. Jesus gives this very clear scenario in Matthew 18:15-17. He suggests that, if you have a grievance against a brother or sister in Christ, go to that person, share your thoughts. If the person listens, you've made a friend for life. If not, take one or two other witnesses along with you, so that your word will be confirmed. If that person still refuses to listen, then take it to the leadership of the church. If this person even then refuses to listen, if the leadership of the church concurs with your concern, treat that person as if he was a Gentile.

What I extrapolate from the teaching of Jesus is that, if the matter is not that significant to you, move on. Don't get uptight over it. But if it is a significant matter of justice, you are welcome to pursue the issue in the civil courts. For God's sake, your sake and the witness of the church, don't be dragging every petty concern, every squabble before the civil courts. It damages the church both internally and externally.

Then Paul introduces a most significant fact. He reminds us that we are actually better qualified to judge with equity than are nonbelievers. With a note of sarcasm, he writes, "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels - to say nothing of ordinary matters?" (1 Corinthians 6:2-3).

(To read the full article "Lawsuits among Believers" by John A. Huffman Jr. at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

Cross

The Zugspitze is the highest mountain in Germany. Alongside the German-Austrian border, it towers 9,718 feet high. You can go up the mountain by cog railway or cable car but not to the peak. The last few yards, you must walk or climb. On the top of the peak is a cross. Climbers believe it is worth the sacrifice to make it to the cross. We feel that way about Calvary. It is worth it to make it to the cross.

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Ephesians 4:30-31

Today's Preaching Insight...

Belief in Preaching

In his classic book Power in Preaching, W.E. Sangster talks about why preachers often seem to lose the power they once felt in the pulpit. One of the most important things a preacher can do, Sangster insists, is to actually believe in preaching. He observes:

"Grasp the fact that the heart of the Gospel is a meeting of God and man, and preaching provides the best medium for that meeting. Many people - many preachers even - find this hard to believe. They believe the Gospel and they believe that it must be proclaimed. What they cannot believe is that there is anything sacrosanct in preaching as the method of proclamation. St. Paul, of course, said that 'it was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe' but printing was not invented then, nor the cinema, nor wireless [radio], nor television - and even the drama was in a primitive form. They have come to believe that there are better ways of proclaiming the Gospel than by preaching...

"And who can deny some force in this? A thousand will look at television for every ten who go to church. People love a 'show,' and if the show can be sanctified and do the work, need we worry by what road the wanderers travel so long as they travel home?

"Now all this is plausible, but it is not convincing to those who know the nature of the Gospel. That God uses these ancillary methods we do not deny, but we maintain that preaching is primary in the purpose of God. 'It was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of preaching...' It is God's good pleasure still.

"It does not turn on what the people like but on what He likes. It is not a question of our particular gifts but of the divine intention. As DR. H.H. Farmer says: 'The activity of preaching is not merely a means for conveying the content of the Christian faith, but it is in a real sense bound up with that content itself.' 'The necessity of preaching resides in the fact that when God saves a man through Christ he insists on a living, personal encounter with him here and now in the sphere of present personal relationships.'"

Today's Extra...

Gambling, Lottery

In an article for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Hal Lane writes: "Gambling shows a lack of love for others. The few who win lottery payoffs do not care where the money came from or who was hurt in the process. In their book, Selling Hope: State Lotteries in America (Harvard University Press), authors Clotfelter and Cook state that 10 percent of lottery players account for 50 percent of lottery purchases and the top 20 percent account for 65 percent of purchases. Many of these players are gambling addicts who are robbing their families of needed resources. How can a Christian feel good about benefiting from the misery of others?" (http://erlc.com/article/whats-wrong-with-buying-a-lottery-ticket)

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.
Proverbs 19:11

Today's Preaching Insight...

The Shepherd in the Valley of the Shadow of Death

What is to become of us when it is the Shepherd's valley of the shadow of death?

In the 23rd Psalm we see ourselves walking through darkness with the Shepherd as our guide. In C.S. Lewis' The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, as Aslan makes his way to the stone table he comes to a point where he does not allow Lucy and Susan to go any further. They are not permitted to make that last leg of the journey with him. It is a path which he must walk alone, into the heart of death and darkness. I say again, "What is to become of us when it is the Shepherd's valley of the shadow of death?"

Perhaps this is the place where our faith is most shaken. Those long hours before the dawn. That silence in which we so often live. You know the silence I speak of. That dead space between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Of course we will beg history (fooling ourselves that it in some way helps). We will say, "I know the rest of the story." But Peter, John and Mary did not have that. They are left with words. "On the third day I will rise again." "I will tear down this temple and in three days raise it up." They are left to contemplate possibility and promise. They are thrust into a crisis of faith.

As Jesus proceeded toward the cross He lamented over the abandonment He would experience by His disciples. Peter however insisted that he would not fail. It is here that Jesus informs him of his triple failure. Three times he would deny the Lord. Strikeout. Yet Jesus intercedes. Jesus said, "Peter, Satan has asked that he might sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith fail not. And when you have returned to me strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32).

What is to become of us when it is the Shepherd's valley of the shadow of death?

Fear not. Christ has prayed for you. He has passed through the valley of the shadow of death for you. We need not fear any evil. Our salvation is not maintained by our fragile faith. But we are kept by the power of God. Our forgiveness is in His shed blood. In your crisis of faith, the long pause the deep breath, do not lose heart for hope flies on the wings of the dawn.

(To read the entire article, "Whose Valley?" by William Berkheiser at Preaching.com, click here)

[Judy Harder]

Today's Word for Pastors...

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
1 Timothy 6:6-8

Today's Preaching Insight...

Grandchildren: Regaining What Was Lost

In the Dallas Seminary Daily Devotional for 10-17-07, F. Duane Lindsey writes, "Asked if she had yet made a long trip to visit her son and his new wife, a woman replied, "No, I've been waiting until they have their new baby." When her friend thought the delay was to save money, she explained, "No, it isn't that. You see, I have a theory that grandmothers are more welcome than mothers-in-law."

Ruth and Boaz were no doubt delighted in their new baby. And Naomi was certainly welcome to lavish her love on her grandson. Like any doting grandmother, Naomi "took the child, laid him in her lap, and cared for him" (Ruth 4:16).

Because of his special legal status as the heir of Elimelech and Mahlon, the neighbors said, "Naomi has a son" (v. 17). She no doubt treated him as her own son. In fact, the childcare that Naomi provided may have been on a more or less permanent basis. Ruth may have given Obed over to Naomi to raise as her own son, for he was the legal heir to the estate of Elimelech.

The name given to the child was Obed, meaning "servant," perhaps in anticipation of the comfort he would be to Naomi in her old age. Naomi found in her grandson Obed all that she had lost in Moab. In fact, she gained more than she lost, for she was back in Bethlehem with joyful family surroundings and a secure future."

Today's Extra...

Second Coming, Judgment

Dr. Ian Paisley, the fiery Irish cleric and politician was reputed to have been preaching one Sunday on the end times -- and in particular on the Day of Judgment. As he reached the climax of his address, he said that on the Day of Judgment, "there would be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

At that point an old woman put up her hand and said, "Dr. Paisley, I have no teeth." Paisley replied, "Madam, teeth will be provided."